Sun, Jul 07, 2002 page17

• The gentle master of violence

  John Woo's special brand of moviemaking has distinguished him in Hollywood, Where he continues to bring his own epic vision to the silver screen

  • By Yu Sen-lun / STAFF REPORTER
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  Talking to director John Woo (吳宇森) face to face one can easily feel his gentle cordiality. He listens to questions very carefully and always gives exhaustive, detailed answers. An occasional bashful smile crosses his face when he can't express himself in Mandarin.

  He is not predisposed to giving politically correct answers and doesn't display a trace of arrogance. Given his honest and simple style, Woo thought he and producer Terence Chang (張家振) would "have a hard time surviving in Hollywood" when they first went there in 1992. His view of the city of angels was as a place filled with talent, but also money games.

  

  John Woo places his hands in wet cement in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theater during a ceremony in Hollywood, May 21, 2002.

  PHOTO: REUTERS

  Now, bringing his US$120 million film, Windtalkers to Taipei, he firmly believes honesty to be the best policy. "Success depends not only on your talent and skills, but your attitude and respect for the crew are also very important," he said.

  

  John Woo directs Nicholas Cage on location of his most recent film, Windtalkers.

  The director, originally from Hong Kong, has now left his mark on Hollywood, in more ways than one.

  In May, Woo became the first Chinese film director to have his hands and feet imprinted in cement in front of the famous Grauman's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles. "John started as a Chinese legend and has now become an American legend. He's won respect from Hollywood. He is a gentleman," said actor Nicholas Cage at the ceremony.

  "He looks gentle and nice, but don't be fooled -- Woo's lenses are powerful and wild, very distinct from his persona," added Christian Slater, who worked with Woo on Broken Arrow and now on Windtalkers.

  Indeed, this mild-mannered director has been best known for his poetic violence and also his ability to create on-screen heroes.

  In traditional Hollywood action movies, the hero never dies and seldom sheds a tear. But in Woo's classic Hong Kong action dramas, such as A Better Tomorrow (英雄本色), The Killer (喋血雙雄) and Once a Thief (縱橫四海), the heroes are tragic. His films are filled with emotion and a sense of chivalry.

  "I like to put my heroes through constant trials -- at the crossroads between loyalty to country and friendship, between family love and honor and between good and evil," Woo said.

  The plotlines in Woo's films are not complicated. A Better Tomorrow is about three friends and brothers involved in a gangland clash. The Killer is about an assassin's last job, done to save money for a girl whom he accidentally blinded. And his new Hollywood film, Windtalkers, is about how one man must choose between protecting a secret code and the friendships he's made with several Navajo soldiers.

  But Woo knows how to create a gripping story. "I believe true emotions can touch everyone's heart," he said.

  Another of Woo's trademarks is his excessive, but beautifully shot scenes of violence. In A Better Tomorrow, Chow Yun-fat (周潤發) is shot dead by machine guns in a scene filmed in agonizing slow-motion. In Face/Off, John Travolta's face is brutally torn away. In Mission Impossible II, Tom Cruise rides a motorcycle, spinning 360 degrees while shooting at his enemies. And in Windtalkers, one character's head is chopped off by a samurai sword.

  "I have a pretty good instinct about action," Woo said modestly.

  Woo claims gangland clashes are part of his childhood memories, having often witnessed streets fights and human cruelty. But at the same time he said that "the church helped educate me and also let me see the mercy and kindness of human beings."

  "I always wanted to be an actor in films and theater. I wanted to be the hero in the play in order to attract girls. But I realized I wasn't tall enough to be an on-screen hero. It was [the late Hong Kong director] Chang Cheh (張徹), made me concentrate on film directing," Woo recalled.

  Talking about his favorite actor and long-time collaborator, Chow Yun-fat, Woo said he sensed the hero quality in Chow. "Chow helped me realize the dreams of my youth," he said. "That's why I always like to work with tall actors," he added.

  For Woo, Nicolas Cage is the Chow Yun-fat of the west.

  Having never gone to film school, Woo attributes his film enlightenment to noir-style director Jean-pierre Melville. He is also a fan of Francois Truffaut, another European filmmaker of the 1960s.

  But perhaps his biggest influence came from Chang, who passed away just last month.

  In the 1970s, Woo began working at the Shaw Brothers Studio of Hong Kong, following Chang's martial arts films. "My slow motion, my aesthetic of violence and my emphasis on friendship and righteousness were all influenced by Chang," Woo said, showing a glimpse of remorse for his friend.

  Like many filmmakers who have successfully established their own trademarks, Woo now hopes to stretch himself in a way that he could not previously because of money or environmental restrictions.

  His next project, Man of Destiny is a story about nineteenth-century Chinese workers who built much of the railways that now link the eastern and western US. Chow Yun-fat will play the lead Chinese worker, who is confronted by the Irish leader, played by Cage. "I want to make it an epic," Woo said of the story that will see bitter enemies unite in the end.

  "Now that I have the chance to make international movies, I hope to make stories of my own and to be a bridge for different cultures," Woo said.

  Woo's future projects will also include a romantic comedy, which he hopes will star Jodi Foster; a female version of Face/Off. "This time they exchange personalities instead of faces," he said. More ambitiously, Woo hopes to re-make Melville's The Red Circle. "I hope to bring Alain Delon and Chow Yun-fat together in this film," he said.
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