John Woo
John Woo Traditional Chinese 吳宇森 Simplified Chinese 吴宇森 Transcriptions Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wú Yǔsēn Wade–Giles Wu Yü-Sen IPA [u  y sə n] Yale Romanization Wú Yǔsēn Cantonese Jyutping Ng4 Jyu5 Sam1 IPA [ŋ jy ːsɐ m] Yale Romanization Ǹgh Yúhsám John Woo SBS (Ng Yu-Sum; born 1 May 1946) is a Hong Kong film director, writer, and producer. He is considered a major influence on the action genre, known for his highly chaotic action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and frequent use of slow-motion. Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard Boiled, and Red Cliff. His Hollywood films include the action films Hard Target and Broken Arrow, the sci-fi action thriller Face/Off and the action spy film Mission: Impossible II. He also created the comic series Seven Brothers, published by Virgin Comics. Woo was described by Dave Kehr in The Observer in 2002 as "arguably the most influential director making movies today". Woo cites his three favorite films as David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia, Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samouraï.