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.
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.
Things to look up (go to IMDB ):
- Chow Yun Fat
- John Woo
- A Better Tomorrow
- HardBoiled
- A Better Tomorrow II
- The Killer
- Cinema City
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