John Woo

Even though John Woo (Chinese name: Wu Yusen 吳宇森 in pinyin: Wu2 Yu3sen1, in Cantonese Romanization: Ng4 Yu5-sam1) (b. May 1, 1946) is a Chinese film director known especially for the ballet-like violence in his movies.

When asked about the doves that keep appearing in his films, Woo said:

"I love doves. I am a Christian. Doves represent the purity of love, beauty. They're spiritual. Also the dove is a messenger between people and God. When I was in high school and I used to draw posters for the church, I would draw a picture of a dove. When I shot The Killer[?], these two men, the killer and the cop, they work in different ways, but their souls are pure, because they do the right thing. In the church scene, I wanted to bring them together. I wanted to use a metaphor of the heart. I came up with doves - they're white. When the men die, I cut to the dove flying-it's the soul, rescued and safe, and also pure of heart. So the dove became one of my habits: I used it in Hard-boiled[?], Face/Off[?], and in Mission: Impossible II[?], at the end of the movie."

Born in China, Woo became a famous director in Hong Kong. He started making films in the United States in the 1990s, most of them action fims[?]. Face/Off was his first film made in Hollywood that critics and other movie-goers equally appreciated, while Mission: Impossible II was also an action flick, and a blockbuster.

Filmography

• Windtalkers[?] (2001)
• Mission: Impossible II[?] (2000)
• Hong Kong Face-Off[?] (1998)
• Blackjack[?] (1998) (TV)
• Face/Off[?] (1997)
• Once a Thief: Brother Against Brother[?] (1996) (TV)
• Broken Arrow[?] (1996)
• Hard Target[?] (1993)
• Lashou shentan[?] (1992) English title: Hard-boiled
• Zong sheng si hai[?] (1990) Once a Thief
• Die xue jie tou[?] (1990) Bullet in the Head
• Die xue shuang xiong[?] (1989) The Killer
• Yi dan qun ying[?] (1987) Tragic Heroes
• Yinghung bunsik II[?] (1987) A Better Tomorrow II
• Ying huang boon sik (1986) A Better Tomorrow
• Ying xiong wei lei (1986) Heroes Shed No Tears
• Liang zhi lao hu (1985) Run Tiger Run
• Xiao jiang (1984) The time you need a friend
• Ba cai Lin Ya Zhen (1982) Plain Jane to the Rescue
• Hua ji shi dai (1981) Laughing Times
• Mo deng tian shi (1981) To Hell with the Devil
• Ha luo, ye gui ren (1978) Hello, Late Homecomers
• Hao xia (1978) Last Hurrah for Chivalry
• Da sha xing yu xiao mei tou (1977) Follow the Star
• Fa qian han (1977) Money Crazy
• Qian zuo guai (1977) From Riches to Rags
• Din?hua (1975) (as Yusen Wu) Princess Chang Ping
• Shao Lin men (1975) Hand of Death
• Tie han rou qing (1975) Ninja Kids
• Nu zi tai quan qun ying hui (1974) Belles of Taekwondo