Tag Archives: John Woo

2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, Stunts

Best Movie Stunts of the Year List 2000-2009

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Here is the list for the Best Movie Stunts for the Decade 2000-2009 as listed in the book, 100 Years of the Best Movie Stunts!

2000 – Mission: Impossible IImission motocycle

The motorcycle stunts in this John Woo Directed film performed by Tom Cruise and the rest of the stuntmen are worth the ticket of admission. Great bike stunts here.

2001 – Black Hawk Downblack-hawk-down-57593_3

Military precision is on full scale display in this fine film directed by Ridley Scott.  The actors went through a serious boot camp to get them ready and to make this as realistic as possible. Very well done.

2002 – Jackass The Moviejackass golf carts

The first time a successful movie was released with UNTRAINED stuntmen performing all the stunts.  Some of them are quite dangerous and most of them just downright silly and stupid.  But all of them entertaining.

2003 – Ong Bakong-bak-2003-13-g

Stuntman-turned-Actor Tony Jaa sparkles in this fantastic martial arts film.  In the past most martial arts films uses wires and then cgi to cover the wires later, but not in this one.  Jaa seems to have elastic legs with the kicks, jumps and splits he performs at lightning speed.

2004 – District B13District B13 Lobby Card

The French turn in a fantastic film full of Parkour stunts performed by one of the creators himself, David Belle and another great stuntman and top stunt choreographers in his own right, Cyrill Raffaelli.  If you are a fan of Taken with Liam Neeson, then you’ll love this film as Pierre Morel directed this one first.

2005 – Batman Beginsbatman

Now another Director who likes to film the action scenes himself enters the list, Christopher Nolan with this film and the sequel 3 years later.  He wanted to direct a bond film and got this franchise instead and really took it to heart.  He’s a big fan of doing practical effects and the audience gets the benefit of it all the way.  Thank you, Mr. Nolan.

2006 – Casino Royalecasino jump

Speaking of Bond, Daniel Craig‘s first entry as bond has some great Parkour in it as well.  I liked it so much I used a still as the cover for the 100 Years of the Best Movie Stunts book.  It also boasts a World Record by flipping a car a record seven times!

2007 – DeathproofZoe Bell in Deathproof

I love to be able to announce another bad-ass stunt woman on the scene and Zoe Bell is not one who disappoints.  She spends the better half of Quentin Tarantino‘s movie strapped to the hood of two racing cars, with Stuntman Mike in the other car trying very hard to kill her at every chance.  Stuntman Mike played by Kurt Russell.

2008 – The Dark Knightdark_knight_7Here’s Christopher Nolan‘s sequel to Batman Begins and in so many ways it tops the original.  He manages to flip an eighteen wheeler end to end for this one by driver Jim Wilky and an amazing stunt crew.

2009 – Fast & Furiousfast-and-furious-1

The previous versions of this series were more racing films and this one transforms the series into a more stunt spectacular series from here on out.  All of the original cast is back and film is chocked full of great stunts.  Justin Lin would be the Director I would give credit to making this franchise more Universal.  And we are all the better for it.

Check out our new Book, 100 Years of the Best Movie Stunts!Screen Shot 2015-09-19 at 8.23.28 PM

1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, Stunts

Best Movie Stunts of the Year List 1980-1989

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Here is the list for the Best Movie Stunts for the Decade 1980-1989 as listed in the book, 100 Years of the Best Movie Stunts!

1980 – The Blues Brothersblues-brothers (1)

For a musical comedy this movie has the longest car chase sequence in history.  The cars are just piling up at the end, hundreds of cars destroyed…it’s awesome!  $3.5 million was spent on this sequence alone and lasts over 20 minutes of the movie.

1981 – The Raiders of the Lost ArkRaiders-Of-The-Lost-Ark-

Although there are plenty of fantastic stunts in this film to mention, Terry Leonard does another through the windshield-off the front hood-then undercarriage crawl underneath an Army transport truck, then up the back and into the driver’s side for another round of fighting.

1982 – Mad Max 2: The Road Warriormad-max-2-the-road-warrior-1981

A case where the sequel is so much better than the original. This film rocks from beginning to end and has an unbelievable chase that lasts the second half of the movie.  Great stunts throughout.

1983 – Project Aproject a clock stunt

Jackie Chan makes a name for himself and becomes a stunt legend in this movie.  From this movie on he is untouchable worldwide as a stuntman that does his own acting or as an actor that does his own stunts, whichever way you want to say it. He created his legendary Jackie Chan Stunt Team for this movie and for years to come sets a new standard for stunt teams worldwide.

1984 – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doomindiana-jones-and-the-temple-of-doom-screenshot

This decade is unique as the decade ruled by Indiana Jones in stunts and action sequences.  The first 3 Indiana Jones films make the list. Also, the second rope bridge sequence to hit since last decade’s The Man Who Would Be King. Vic Armstrong is a stand out here as Harrison Ford‘s stand-in.

1985 – Police StoryPolice-Story-1985-Chinese-Movie

Jackie Chan‘s chance to shine in a modern setting this time, and to really showcase what the Jackie Chan Stunt Team can do.  To be quite frank about this movie, it’s all stunts from start to finish and I’m surprised that all the stuntmen survived the making of this film. It’s amazing.

1986 – A Better TomorrowA Better Tomorrow Pic

The combination of John Woo and Chow Yun Fat is just too good to be true.  This film is viewed by many as the finest action film ever to come out of Chinese cinema, and put both Woo and Yun Fat in Hollywood’s viewport.  John Woo really gets Chow Yun Fat to do some fun stuff in this movie.  Very bloody stuff though.

1987 – Lethal WeaponLethalWeapon_Quad_SMALL_zpsf1d5e6c0

The next two films became great series and both just happened to be set during Christmas.  Lethal Weapon became the standard for buddy-buddy cop movies.  This film is dedicated to legendary stuntman Dar Robinson who died the year before, and features some great fight choreography by Cedric Adams, Dennis Newsome, and Rorion Gracie and a great backward high fall by actress Jackie Swanson. 

1988 – Die Harddie hard hans gruber

This movie became the template for many action films to come for years after it was made.  So much so, that pitching an action screenplay to studios became as easy as saying, “It’s Die Hard on a plane… or It’s Die Hard on a boat”.  The whole film rocks, but the highlight here is Ken Bates as he doubles for Alan Rickman in a fall from the Nakitomi building.

1989 – Indiana Jones and the Last Crusadejones45

Five years later, Vic Armstrong does it again as the stand-in for Indiana Jones.  His jump from a horse to a german tank has been voted in the top ten of movie stunts of all time on many lists over the years.

Check out our new Book, 100 Years of the Best Movie Stunts!Screen Shot 2015-09-19 at 8.23.28 PM

2000, Stunts

Tom Cruise and Mission: Impossible II

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Yes, Tom Cruise is on my list for the myriad of stunt work that he performed himself in this movie.  Most notable are the amazing motorcycle stunts he performed and the opening free climbing sequence. If you’re surprised to find out that Tom Cruise does most of his own stunts then you obviously haven’t seen any of his work in the Mission Impossible movies as well as his stunts in Knight and Day, Minority Report, and Jack Reacher.mission--impossible-ii

The studio expressed concern over the safety of filming Ethan Hunt’s entrance in the film, where he is free solo climbing. Cruise refused to drop the idea because he could not think of a better way to reintroduce the character. There was no safety net as he filmed the sequence, but he did have a harness. John Woo was so scared each time but “Tom insisted on doing it”. He tore his shoulder when performing Hunt’s jump from one part of the cliff to another. The famous rock climbing sequence was filmed at Dead Horse Point in Utah. On a few of the shots after Tom Cruise hurt his shoulder, Ron Kauk was the climbing double and the overhang stunt was performed by main stunt double, Keith Campbell.mission motocycle

The motorcycle stunts were highly choreographed affairs. If you’ve seen John Woo’s other work it does remind you of his slow-mo gun battles in A Better Tomorrow, only now it’s on Triumph Motorcycles; Speed Triple and Daytona. But it’s no less spectacular. Tom Cruise obsessively practiced his motorcycle prowess for weeks before the sequence was shot.  A few of the scenes needed cables, but for the most part, Cruise does it all without.Mission-Impossible-II-Ethan-Hunt-Tom-Cruise-knife-eye

Another quick nod to the dagger in the eye bit that Cruise insisted on.  He wanted to use a real dagger and put it a quarter inch away from his eyeball (with the use of a cable for mathematical precision) with co-star Dougray Scott using all his strength for realism.  May sound like no big deal, but you put a needle sharp edged blade a quarter of an inch to your eye and see if you flinch.

Mission Impossible 2 was directed by John Woo for Paramount Pictures.

Things to look up (go to IMDB page):

  • Tom Cruise
  • John Woo
  • Keith Campbell
  • Ron Kauk
  • Dougray Scott

Glossary of Stunt terms as defined Wikipedia:  Motorcycle stunt riding, sometimes referred to as simply stuntriding, is a motorcycle sport characterized by stunts involving acrobatic maneuvering of the motorcycle and sometimes the rider. Common maneuvers in stunt riding include wheelies, stoppies, and burnouts. Sport bikes have become a common vehicle for stunts.

Check out our new Book, 100 Years of the Best Movie Stunts!Screen Shot 2015-09-19 at 8.23.28 PM

1986, Stunts

Chow Yun Fat and Stunt Performers for A Better Tomorrow

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John Woo came into his own in 1986 with A Better Tomorrow. His signature style brought him to Hollywood soon after. Upon its release, this went on to become the top-grossing film in Hong Kong film history and held that place for several years. It’s even listed at No. 2 in the Hong Kong Film Awards’ List of The Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures.a-better-tomorrow

The action in this film is incredible and it made Chow Yun Fat an instant sensation. He became an indelible Asian action star after this film. He performs several of the stunts himself and John Woo went on to say that Chow Yun Fat was fearless during the making. He would do everything asked of him without question, several times putting him in the middle of all the flying debris, explosions and bullet hits.

He wasn’t always known as an action star. In an interview he said, “In the West audiences think I am a stereotyped action star, or that I always play hitmen or killers. But in Hong Kong, I did a lot of comedy, many dramatic films, and most of all, romantic roles, lots of love stories. I was like a romance novel hero.” John Woo directed A Better Tomorrow. Chow Yun Fat and John Woo continued their collaboration with A Better Tomorrow II, Hardboiled and The Killer.

Abetter

Things to look up (go to IMDB ):

  • Chow Yun Fat
  • John Woo
  • A Better Tomorrow
  • HardBoiled
  • A Better Tomorrow II
  • The Killer
  • Cinema City

Check out our new Book, 100 Years of the Best Movie Stunts!

Screen Shot 2015-09-19 at 8.23.28 PM