John Woo: The Four Classics
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- Опубліковано 29 чер 2024
- Chronicling action master John Woo's hot streak in Hong Kong, with "A Better Tomorrow," "The Killer," "Bullet in the Head," and "Hard Boiled," through to his disappointing American adventures.
TIMECODES:
0:00 - Intro & Trademarks
3:36 - A Better Tomorrow (1986)
5:39 - The Killer (1989)
9:26 - Bullet in the Head (1990)
12:13 - Hard Boiled (1992)
14:59 - Conclusion
WORKS FEATURED:
A Better Tomorrow, A Better Tomorrow II, A Better Tomorrow III: Love & Death in Saigon, Bullet in the Head, Commando, Face/Off, Hard Boiled, Hard Target, Hot Fuzz, Manhunt, Max Payne, Max Payne 3 (Video Game), Pulp Fiction, Red Cliff, Reservoir Dogs, Shoot 'Em Up, The Getaway, The Killer, Wanted, Windtalkers. - Фільми й анімація
As a teenager I bought a dvd box set for about £2 with the killer, bullet in the head and hard boiled. To this day they stand as my favourite movies of all time. Such a refreshing alternative to western macho action.
What a steal! Took me years to track down The Killer and Bullet in the Head at the time; the western DVDs were out of print and trended anywhere from $100-400.
@@WildFlicks And now you can watch them on youtube. The box set is missing A Better Tomorrow, which you can see here: ua-cam.com/video/zHeicVLGC88/v-deo.html
I had a very similar experience. You catch Woo’s classics in high school as a burgeoning film geek, and everything else is ruined for you. Cheers, man.
@@WildFlicks I happened upon the American release of The Killer at the Fort Jackson PX when I was 14. I was ecstatic.
just saw the Killer last night, holy shit one of the best action movies ever
The Killer is one of those movies it's okay to cry at.
❤
Not Just The Killer, also Bullet in the Head.
Today, I Like to say: Kids cry at Fast&Furious, Men at John Woo Movies 😁
When I first saw Hard Boiled, it was the rush I'd needed for a long time.
I felt like I was watching something illegal. I thought Interpol would barge in at any moment and confiscate the VHS tape.
@@onyx2626 Ha ha ha. That good, isn't it?
I absolutely adore The Killer. Seen it hundreds of times, never ever get tired of it.
Just saw it for the first time. It’s already in my top 25 of all time.
John woo best creation The killer👍🏾
I am a John Woo fanboy. I first saw the killer in 1990 when I was in high school. I cried at the end. I was never the same since. I compare all action movies to the masterpiece known as the killer. Honorable mention to hard boiled and God of gamblers. Awesome video man
Hard Boiled will forever occupy a place in my mind as the most riveting piece of visual media I have ever seen. I just wish Criterion would get around to releasing a new BluRay of it.
Yes, that is long overdue Criterion!
Hard Boiled is the most balls to the walls action film ever!
Bullet in the Head is one of John Woo's most underrated films ever! Remember watching it on TV and thought at first that it's gonna be a dragging bore fest but man! It was super intense and sooo action packed and heart wrenching. 👍🔥
Last Hurrah For Chivalry is his most underrated film, great movie. Just Heroes is his under the radar "peak" film, it features a slew of HK talent, very much worth a watch.
Just hearing the music from Bullet in the head damn near brings tears to my eyes.
When I rented it from a library, it was the last film of Woos I had left to watch, I thought I had already seen the best and like you thought it might be boring. Boy that night was a crazy one when I finished the film. What a toll.
Excellent video essay. John Woo must be considered as a visionary. He redefined the stylistics of the action genre, and his influence is undeniable.
It begun the Heroic Bloodshed genre.
I blame John Woo for turning my mom into a Chow Yun Fat fangirl 😂
Can’t really blame your mom tho
She should watch God of Gamblers, Return Of The God Of Gamblers and Tiger on Beat if she hasn't already - they're all incredible films starring Chow.
John Woo did that on purpose. He took the James Bond element and made his MC's comically charming and over the top way too suave to just be some sort of James Bond clone.
I remember watching Hard Boiled in your basement like it was yesterday, and being fascinated with the action and explosions. I need to watch the other classics for sure. Your passion for film has impacted me profoundly. Thank you for your hard work on this video (obviously you’re talking about four flicks rather than one, but I love the longer format)!
Ah, good times. :) Thanks Casey.
That fan film of yours genuinely had me bursting out laughing, great video
I prefer The Killer to Hard Boiled but Tony Leung's mad smile when Tequila's revolver runs out of bullets is magic.
Tony Leung changes from smile to tears when killing his first boss is a tremendous acting performance. No cut, one take, all done as if it was real emotions.
I also am partial the The Killer.
I like the storyline that Chow + Lee, initially on opposite side of the Law, end up forming a "Heroic Brotherhood"
for justice. (I always though Lee would not go to jail for killing the triad perv.)
Although Tony Leung is considered to be handsome, his crew cut gave him a "harsh look". Aesthetically, Lee
looks better with Chow on screen, than Leung.
I saw them both at the same time and the critics all said The Killer was the superior film. It's a great flick, but I prefer the non-stop cartoonish action of Hard Boiled. In my opinion, the melodrama of Woo movies is his weakness, so the less of that the better.
Fantastic job. I can remember so vividly the first time I saw Hard Boiled, it felt like such a watershed moment. Mixed with what's going on in HK today, the 90s was truly the golden age of cinema and it will never be like that ever again.
As long as Beijing exist, they will never allow masterworks like the Killer, HB to be crafted.
Listening to Leslie singing brings me back so many great memories rip him and great video
That glass scene in 12:16 plus the Hard-Boiled score kicking in, still gives me goosebumps. Still my all time favorite action movie!
what a great vid. Remember being a little kid and reading about John Woo in an article on Tarantino and getting my dad to rent The Killer for me and being utterly blown away.
My intro to John Woo.
I was lucky enough to catch Hard Boiled on the big screen when it was released in the UK in the 90s. Didn't know anything about it going in. One of the best cinema experiences of my life.
Was able to get pirate VHS of Better Tomorrow 1&2, The Killer and Bullet In The Head from my local Chinese takeaway.
Good times 🙂
BULLET also my favorite Woo.
Refreshing to see you focusing not only on Woo's action, but on the power of the performances and subtle camera moves even in the simpler scenes (Tony meeting with boss in the garden) and themes.
I feel JUST HEROES deserves more praise, too.
Shame the available versions of BULLET lack the original music cues (VHS and HK VCD's excepted).
Nice work.
Cheers! I agree 100% on Just Heroes - took me a long time to track down a watchable copy, but the somewhat awkward meta bits aside, it’s Woo in peak form. May cover it in another video soon!
Hard Boiled is the greatest shoot ‘em up action movie EVER!
These movies are so special. John Woo and Wong Kar-wai are my favorite favorite directors off all time. Hong Kong cinema brought us something that Hollywood never could.
Bullet in the head is such an underrated movie, even among John Woo fans its not as well recognized as hard boiled or the killer, even though it deservers it
I agree! The Killer and Hard Boiled may be tighter and a bit more consistent (and to be clear, it’s hard to pick favourites with films as amazing as these four) but Bullet in the Head’s emotional punch is so strong.
my buddies and I have a running joke that Chow-Yun-Fat's Shotgun in Hardboiled is really a China Lake. Watch the shootout in the hospital, homeboy was leaving smoking craters in the floor
Glad I saw these four Gems on a screen in LA back in early 2002. Egyptian Theatre I believe. Woo at his ultra BEST.
Incredibly made video that expertly displays why these movies are so essential. I’m right with you that Bullet In The Head is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. Thanks for making this!
This was an absolute masterclass of a video essay and you've made me fall in love with the Woo/Yun Fat collabs all over again.
I watched A BETTER TOMORROW and its sequel at your recommend. Lemme tell you, that "Eat the Rice" scene was even more glorious than I could've ever imagined. Chow Yun-Fat is a GOAT if ever there was one.
“This fuckin’ fried rice S T I N K S!”
@@WildFlicks I'm always delighted by the foreigners they scrounge up for these HK films. If memory serves right, they'd literally put up posters in Chungking Mansions and other expat hotspots that read something like "Speak fluent English? Come star in our movie!"
@@WildFlicksEAT THE RICE.
@@WildFlicks”no no no sorry.”
I can't believe I only saw this now. This was a VERY well done video about the Woo Essentials. The Killer is still my favorite John Woo film, but the first 2 Better Tomorrows, Hard Boiled and Bullet to the head are no slouches. I even remember buying the Tai Seng DVDs wayy back in 2001, then eventually getting a double pack that includes The Killer and Bullet To the Head. Your attention to using the music from most the films are so spot on and shows how much you're a fan. Thank you for sharing this, especially since I rarely have friends whom I can talk to about these classic films. Well done sir
The Killer is like a beautiful art especially final shootout scene and its my most favorite Woo’s classics.
Truly excellent work. My third time watching it.
I was fortunate to have Showtime back in the early/mid 90s. The Killer came on one night and I don't know what made me watch it but I was hooked. Sally Yeh's singing was beautiful.
My experience was very much like yours. I caught The Killer in the early 90s when Cinemax was doing their Vanguard Cinema (or whatever it was called), and it pretty much ruined most other action movies for me. Some of the greatest action ever filmed + operatic-level tragedy = all-time classic movie!
Hey as another kid who made his own movies, yours was ten times better than what we came up with using my father's camcorder circa 1985!
Goddamn! That's a fabulous Essay about one of the best Directors of the late 80s and early 90s! My love goes completely to Hard Boiled, but his other movies (except for Bullet in the Head, I didn't had the chance to see that one) are also brilliant and I fucking love him for these movies!
I used to order vhs copies of these movies in the 90s at some video store. They cost quite a lot back then...but I loved them
Bullet in The Head was so good. That was the hardest one for me to get.
The Killer is still one of my favorite movies of All Time!
The Hero not getting the happy ending he deserves at the end (in fact it was a freakin tragedy) just stuck with me for so long. Movie is a Masterpiece!
I love John woo so much! The killer is my all time favourite
great video! I watched Bullet in the Head a couple of days ago, years after I saw the others in this video, and god damn it was incredible
Good memories, thank you so much!
I knew it was going to be these four. Personally, I think A Better Tomorrow 2 has one of his best shootouts (or maybe the best?) but otherwise it's pretty terrible until that last scene. But anyway, there's no real way to top Hard Boiled in that John Woo style. Right time, right place, right actors and right crew.
Bullet in the Head is so underseen/underrated
Heart and nostalgia strings pulled this is all kinds of awesome
Great job on this video, loved the teenage film footage too! Just re-watched Hard Boiled and A Better Tomorrow recently. Definitely going to hunt a copy of The Killer too, I remember that being a favourite.
It is absolutly awesome to see that people still talk about John Woo Movies.
Back in the 90. I knew alot of people who hated these movies.
Infinite Ammo, overdramatic, people d*i*e for minutes but are not accually d*y*i*n*g, and so on.
I never understood the hate of some people, i really loved all of this Things in this Movies. It gave them a touch of gaming character, aswell as a total unique Style of Action Genre, that still holds to this day.
Bullet in the Head was one of first Action movies with The Killer i cried to when i was in my youth or better said a Teenager (man, i'am old😅)
Thanks for the Love to this Masterpieces and sorry if my english is a lil bit broken🙂
Much Love from Germany💖
yeah, I love "Bullet...", too. it's by far his best. awesome storyline, that's how you make an epic movie...!
Oh my god thank you for the best laugh I’ve had in a long time - the foyer gun-Fu battle - excellent production ❤
Great video. I'm a huge fan of Woo and Chow Yun Fat. And I live 20 minutes from the theatre you showed at the beginning of the video.
Well put together and a completely thoughtful look at a Master of action filmmaking. 'Hard Boiled' is my personal favorite but you encouraged me to take another look at "Bullet in The Head".
Well done.
John Woo’s HK action flicks are truly wonderful. I’ve seen them many times over the years on VHS, Laserdisc, DVD and Blu-Ray. Growing up in L.A. my grandparent’s next door neighbors were a Cantonese speaking family. I spent many nights with them watching HK cinema with my shoes off on their living room floor. I still vividly remember watching my first John Woo flick Hard Boiled with them.
There are good movies, and there are good movies that stick with you as the years pass by. I still remember, very clearly, when I rented the vhs tapes of "The Killer" and "Hard Boiled". Got hooked on right away and the hype and rush and excitment for those movies are still alive in my life.
John Woo is a legend.
John Woo is a master of molding together tasteful storylines with iconic characters. I remember seeing his films in my early teens and being hooked instantly on what he was able to do in his films.
Super enjoyable and well explained content! John Woo's masterpieces have definitely influenced tons around the world however, he's the one and only!
Fantastic video! I love these movies, and it was never the same after he went to Hollywood...
Yeah... with the possible exception of Red Cliff, though it’s still a big departure from these films
@@WildFlicks Um you forgot the crossing movies
Hard boiled my al time fav movie
I wish there were more films as emotionally driven and as epic as Bullet in the head.
Bullet in the Head is great (the performances by Leung, Cheung and Waise are epic) but its suuuch a depressing movie. I think I've only managed to watch it completely through three times and I've been watching John Woo since The Killer first came out. It makes me want to crawl in a dark hole, maintain a fetal position and weep silently.
@@zze86 its so bittersweet and melancholic. He lost all his friends but at least he still had wife and son.
the studios didn’t do bullet in the head justice. that movie would have been a masterpiece if the director’s cut exist. Woo said the version that exist now is the one he dislike. the movie originally ran for 50 more minutes. It’s was like a 3 hrs + films. But the studios force woo to cut out those 50 mins footage to lower the runtime because it’s too long. Sadly I don’t think we will ever see the rest of the movie that woo intended. The ending that you seen now wasn’t the original ending for the film. It has a much better one and went on for 50 mins longer. they had multiple ending but the official one we seen now fit the cut so they went with it. could have been so so so much better but they ruin it just like what they did with ABTII when they cut like hour of that movie down and was ruin
I still think the scene of Chow Yun Fat sliding down that rail firing both guns is one of the coolest scenes ever.
ONE OF THE GREATEST DIRECTORS OF ALL TIME.
This is a great video :) There are not enough videos dedicated to thoughtful analysis of Woo's work . Keep up the good work :)
I loved Killer as a young boy, it is probably one of my mom's favorite movies, she would always say "Jeffery, oh Jeffery" in reference to the movie. I cried when Jeffery died.
The Killer and Hard Boiled are my FAVOURITE movies of all time.
3:13 That was Oscar worthy.
Haha, loved that little film of yours you showcased. That's awesome man.
The Killer was the first film I cried at. Since then . . . I cry at every bloody thing. But that's okay. It's good to feel empathy
bro that gunfight to the death and beyond scene was sick lol
All amazing movies, I remember picking up Hard Boiled in some discount movie bin somewhere... maybe blockbuster video or something, and I fell in love with it immediately.
My buddy who introduced me to Hard Boiled said, before we started watching, you're either going to love it or hate it. I love it.
Face/Off and Broken Arrow are Woo Classic(American) MI2 and Windtalkers are both solid Flix too........😎
I only recently started to get into Hong Kong cinema after wanting to immerse myself in their culture. So far I have watched hard boiled and a better tomorrow and LOVED them, specially the latter. It was such an emotional, epic story with great action scenes as well. Your videos have helped me a lot to learn about the story and context of the movies. Keep up the great work! I hope more people can have the privilege of watching these fantastic movies.
Cheers, glad I could be part of your HK cinema journey!
@@WildFlicks No problem :) planning on watching the killer very soon.
Great video. I would also put Last Hurrah for Chivalry on the list. It has a great story and so much of what would come later begins there. He just moved his same themes from period kung movies to modern gangster stories.
My top 3 John Woo's movies he made in HK: 1 - Hard boiled; 2 - Killer; 3 Bullet in the head; Movies that John Woo made in Hollywood for sure are not as ''hard boiled'' what he created in HK, but still are ok. In Hollywood he was not free, he was not able to do whatever he wanted. On making ''Hard Target'' he had a lot of conflicts with JCVD; When 'Hard Target'' finally was finished it was not the movie that John Woo wanted to create. ''Face Off'' in my opinion is the best movie he has made in Hollywood. Story line, Travolta and Cage, still good action, still 9mm guns rule the parade, still two strong characters, two Maestros in nice suits give ''old school'' stylish performance. I was lucky to watch this movie in cinema. And due to fact that Travolta and Cage were equal each other as actors (not like Bruce Willis against 20 or 30 unknown bad guys) i really had no idea who will survive in the end.
Hospital Shootout in Hard-Boiled will forever my no.1 action sequence in movie history
Banging video, and incredible channel.
Its a shame that the only readily available Woo movies are his American works. The prices for the classic quadrilogy jumps up and down in price all the time, and stuff like Bullet in the Head is hard to come by. I know some of Woos films are on UA-cam but I want to own these treasures for myself. I guess it just adds to the mysticism of John Woo. Great video lad.
underrated channel
While I personally prefer Hard Boiled and believe it to be a perfect movie, I think The Killer is ultimately John Woo’s magnum opus. It has some of the best acting ever in an action movie and overall is just a haunting, moody tragedy.
Very well executed video essay.
Actor Chu Kong (he played Chow Yun-Fat's agent/middleman in "The Killer") actually has family in Toronto. His niece used to tutor me at math, lol!
He doesn’t even acting anymore. He like dead I think
@@FmrFox-no6yk He retired and moved to Vancouver, Canada. There has been rumours of his death but he is very much alive.
spot on analysis. Thank you :)
6:52 I finally see where they got Leon's 2nd special costume in Resident Evil 4 from.
I love Hard Boiled, but now I have to see the other 3 films.
I’ve beaten that game about six times, and somehow never made that connection…
I have often over the years have watched this 4 legendary John woo movies .
Bullet in the head being my favourite since I first watched it at the age of 12 .
Sadly he was never able to make great cinema , tell a real story again .
Hollywood fucked him up
I wasn’t blown away by John Woos American films I liked some of them. But it’s his Hong Kong films I feel in love with and even though he’s not the best with characters and story I saw him as a great humanist
Agreed on every statement. I can't argue with such a love letter to John Woo!
GREAT video sir
Thank you my friend!
subbed. this was dope.
FANTÁSTICO VIDEO HE VISTO ESTOS 4 CLASICOS Y SON AUTÉNTICAS MARAVILLAS
Great review.
Cackling at the fan film, excellent work
great video man..and yes..HARD BOILED=BEST ACTION MOVIE EVER!...thanks
Manhunt was extremely silly but I enjoyed the ride. It was nice seeing even a partial return to form.
I really wish criterion would add more Hong Kong heroic bloodshed in their collection like Bullet in The Head, City on Fire, A Hero Never Dies, My Heart is That Eternal Rose
Agreed! I have a video planned on My Heart is That Eternal Rose, hopefully for the end of the month - always had a soft spot for that one.
Yo I unironically like that clip of your John Woo Home movie. Made me laugh at least
How the hell do you make a video like this you deserve more subs seriously great video
Great video
I would also add A Better Tomorrow 2 to the list of John Woo's Hong Kong classics, but other wise great video.
Hard Boiled is the hardest action movie ever made.
My recent John Woo obsession (or perhaps the resurfacing of it) has led UA-cam to recommend this to me and, gotta say, just that film of yours was worth clicking for. Laughs like that are priceless
The video I didn't know I was waiting for! Bullet In The Head is also my favorite movie out of Woo's filmography for roughly the same reasons you mentioned. I think it has the best acting performances, which might be helped by some of the dialogue being in English during my first viewing.
Bullet in the Head is great (the performances by Leung, Cheung and Waise are epic) but its suuuch a depressing movie. I think I've only managed to watch it completely through three times and I've been watching John Woo since The Killer first came out. It makes me want to crawl in a dark hole, maintain a fetal position and weep silently.
bullet in the head is a masterpiece but tony Leung was the weakest part. Everyone else overshadowed him in that movie. Jacky cheung and waise lee give the best performance I ever seen. Simon yam is also better fitting role than tony Leung if he was in the lead role.
I love A Better Tomorrow 2, but I totally respect not including it here. 😂 That movie’s a mess. I love it, but it’s a fucking mess.
“You don’t like my rice?! Mama mia! I’m so sad ABOUT it!”
Edited to add: I’m an absolute Woo-geek, and this is one of the best analyses I’ve ever seen of his work. Props, man. 🍻
“It’s beautiful to me, but to you, rice is nothing! To us, it’s just like my father and mother!”
ABT II is still ridiculously entertaining, and I grew up with it as much as the original - but… yeah. 😂 Cheers, thank you!
Hahahaha I laughed so hard at the home made shootout scene. Thanks for this vid. Subbed.
Hard Boiled and The Killer are masterpieces. Most filmmakers would be happy with just those two under their belt.
Bullet in the Head is great (the performances by Leung, Cheung and Waise are epic) but its suuuch a depressing movie. I think I've only managed to watch it completely through three times and I've been watching John Woo since The Killer first came out. It makes me want to crawl in a dark hole, maintain a fetal position and weep silently.
My intro to The Killer was the "Only Built for Ciban Links" album. When i was watching the 1st scene i recognized the dialog and flipped out.