17 Movies Directed by John Woo

A Better Tomorrow

A Better Tomorrow

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1986-08-02

Languages:

Cantonese, Mandarin, English

Countries:

Hong Kong

Runtime:

95 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

7.6 (14965 Reviews)

Director:

John Woo

Cast:

Writer:

Hing-Ka Chan

Suk-Wah Leung

John Woo

Fullplot:

This story is the tale of two brothers: one a successful counterfeiter and the younger a fledgling graduate of the HK police academy. The plot revolves around the split when the younger brother learns the other is a criminal and the efforts of the criminal brother to reform. Along the way are plenty of heists, double-crosses, and shoot outs.

A Better Tomorrow II

A Better Tomorrow II

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1987-12-17

Languages:

Mandarin, Cantonese, English

Countries:

Hong Kong

Runtime:

105 min

Rated:

UNRATED

IMDB Ratings:

7.4 (6668 Reviews)

Director:

John Woo

Cast:

Writer:

Hark Tsui (story)

John Woo

Fullplot:

Restaurant owner Ken Gor, twin brother of Mark Gor, teams up with police detective Kit and his struggling ex-con brother Ho to avenge his old friend's daughter's death by a Triad gang.

The Killer

The Killer

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1990-09-01

Languages:

Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese

Countries:

Hong Kong

Runtime:

111 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

7.9 (36458 Reviews)

Director:

John Woo

Fullplot:

A violent Hong Kong action film, this is the story of an assassin, Jeffrey Chow (aka Mickey Mouse) who takes one last job so he can retire and care for his girlfriend Jenny. When his employers betray him, he reluctantly joins forces with Inspector Lee (aka Dumbo), the cop who is pursuing him. Together, the new friends face the final confrontation of the gangsters out to kill them.

Bullet in the Head

Bullet in the Head

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1990-08-17

Languages:

Cantonese, English, Vietnamese, French

Countries:

Hong Kong

Runtime:

136 min

Rated:

NOT RATED

IMDB Ratings:

7.7 (7596 Reviews)

Director:

John Woo

Cast:

Writer:

Janet Chun

Patrick Leung

John Woo

Fullplot:

In 1967, on the way to the wedding of a friend a young man is accosted by a local gang member. Later, the three friends administer justice, in the process of which the gang member is killed, so they leave Hong Kong to avoid the police and the gang. They run black market supplies to Saigon and get embroiled in the war, being arrested as Viet Cong, then later captured by the Viet Cong, and find that their friendship is tested to the limits as they try to escape.

Once a Thief

Once a Thief

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1991-02-02

Languages:

French, Cantonese, English, Hakka

Countries:

Hong Kong

Runtime:

103 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

6.8 (4271 Reviews)

Director:

John Woo

Cast:

Writer:

Janet Chun

Clifton Ko

John Woo (screenplay)

John Woo (story)

Fullplot:

Once a Thief is an action/comedy/romance movie involving the plight of three master thieves (in the mode of Pink Panther). All three were raised by the same father and in fact were most certainly street orphans. The story begins with a successful art heist followed by a pledge to make this the last crime ever for the trio. The plot revolves around the theft of a mysterious "cursed" painting and how its obsession affects the family.

Hard Boiled

Hard Boiled

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1992-04-16

Languages:

Cantonese, English

Countries:

Hong Kong

Runtime:

128 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

7.9 (36499 Reviews)

Director:

John Woo

Cast:

Writer:

John Woo (story)

Barry Wong (screenplay)

Fullplot:

Mobsters are smuggling guns into Hong Kong. The police orchestrate a raid at a teahouse where an ace detective loses his partner. Meanwhile, the two main gun smugglers are having a war over territory, and a young new gun is enlisted to wipe out informants and overcome barriers to growth. The detective, acting from inside sources, gets closer to the ring leaders and eventually must work with the inside man directly.

Hard Target

Hard Target

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1993-08-20

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

97 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

6.1 (32457 Reviews)

Director:

John Woo

Fullplot:

Natasha Binder comes to New Orleans looking for her father, who has gone missing. In doing so, she meets a very hard man called Chance. He helps her find out that her father was killed by an organisation who sell the opportunity to hunt human prey. They are taking advantage of a police strike in New Orleans. Will the Muscles from Brussels win through?

Broken Arrow

Broken Arrow

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1996-02-09

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

108 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

(73371 Reviews)

Director:

John Woo

Fullplot:

"Broken Arrow" is the term used to describe a nuclear device that has been lost. In this movie, two nuclear missiles are stolen by rogue US pilot Deakins, but hot on his trail is his co-pilot Hale and a Park Ranger, Terry. The action takes place in Utah's canyon country; a high stakes game of cat and mouse.

Face/Off

Face/Off

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1997-06-27

Languages:

English, Latin

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

138 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

7.3 (263648 Reviews)

Director:

John Woo

Fullplot:

Sean Archer, a very tough, rugged FBI Agent. Who is still grieving for his dead son Michael. Archer believes that his son's killer is his sworn enemy, a very powerful criminal, Castor Troy. One day, Archer has finally cornered Castor, however, their fight has knocked out Troy cold. As Archer finally breathes easy over the capture of his enemy, he finds out that Troy has planted a bomb that will destroy the entire city of Los Angeles and all of its inhabitants. Unfortunately the only other person who knows its location is Castor's brother Pollux, and he refuses to talk. The solution, a special operation doctor that can cut off people's faces, and can place a person's face onto another person. Archer undergoes one of those surgeries to talk to Pollux. However, Castor Troy somehow regains consciousness and now wants revenge on Archer for taking his face. Not only is Troy ruining Archer's mission, but his personal life as well. Archer must stop Troy again. This time, it's personal.

Mission: Impossible II

Mission: Impossible II

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2000-05-24

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA, Germany

Runtime:

123 min

Rated:

PG-13

IMDB Ratings:

(219038 Reviews)

Director:

John Woo

Cast:

Writer:

Bruce Geller

Ronald D. Moore (story)

Brannon Braga (story)

Robert Towne (screenplay)

Fullplot:

IMF agent Ethan Hunt has been sent on a mission to retrieve and destroy the supply of a genetically created disease called 'Chimera'. His mission is made impossible due to the fact that he is not the only person after samples of the disease. He must also contest with a gang of international terrorists headed by a turned bad former IMF agent who has already managed to steal the cure called 'Bellerophon' and now need 'Chimera' to complete their grand plan of infecting the whole world. In order to infiltrate and locate the terrorist group he relies on the help of an international thief Nyah of whom he quickly develops a love interest. Time is not only running out for Agent Hunt to find and destroy 'Chimera' before the terrorists get their hands on it, but he must also find 'Bellerophon' so as to save his love interest who has already become infected by the disease from a terrible and rapid death.

Windtalkers

Windtalkers

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2002-06-14

Languages:

English, Navajo, Japanese

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

134 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

(52385 Reviews)

Director:

John Woo

Fullplot:

During World War II when the Americans needed to find a secure method of communicating they devised a code using the Navajo language. So Navajos were recruited to become what they call code talkers. They would be assigned to a unit and would communicate with other units using the code so that even though the enemy could listen they couldn't understand what they were saying. And to insure that the code is protected men are assigned to protect it at all costs. One of these men is Joe Enders, a man who sustained an injury that can make him unfit for duty but he manages to avoid it and is told of his duty and that the man he is suppose to protect is Ben Yahzee. Initially there is tension but the two men learn to get along.

Hostage

Hostage

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2002-10-24

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

9 min

IMDB Ratings:

7.3 (4230 Reviews)

Director:

John Woo

Cast:

Writer:

David Carter

Greg Hahn

Vincent Ngo

Fullplot:

The driver races to locate a kidnapped victim locked in the trunk of an abandoned car somewhere on the water's edge. Linked to her only by cell phone, the driver narrows in on her location in a desperate race against time and tide.

Paycheck

Paycheck

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2003-12-25

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA, Canada

Runtime:

119 min

Rated:

PG-13

IMDB Ratings:

6.3 (85755 Reviews)

Director:

John Woo

Cast:

Writer:

Philip K. Dick (short story)

Dean Georgaris (screenplay)

Fullplot:

Michael Jennings is a reverse engineer and what he does is technical jobs for certain companies and as soon as he is done, his memory of the work he has done is wiped out. Now the longest he has been contracted is 2 months. But now billionaire, James Rethrick offers him a job that would last 2 years, maybe 3, and he promises that he will probably earn 8 figures. Michael agrees. Before beginning he turns in all of his personal effects. And when the job is done, his memory is erased and he learns he made over 90 million dollars over the three years. When he goes to claim it and his personal effects, he discovers that prior to the erasure of his memory he waived his rights to the money he earned and that the items that were given to him were not the ones he gave when he began. Later he is arrested by the FBI who say that he committed some act of treason and murder. It's while he is in custody that he escapes using some the items that he was given. He later meets with a friend who gives him some information that helps him understand what is going on. And at the same time Rethrick for some reason wants him so he is being pursued by Rethrick's people.

All the Invisible Children

All the Invisible Children

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2006-03-03

Languages:

Mandarin, English, Italian, Serbo-Croatian

Countries:

France, Italy

Runtime:

124 min

IMDB Ratings:

7.6 (3097 Reviews)

Genres:

DramaMusic

Cast:

Writer:

Mehdi Charef (segment)

Diego De Silva (story)

Stribor Kusturica (segment)

Cinquè Lee (segment)

Joie Lee (segment)

Qiang Li (segment)

Kètia Lund (segment)

Jordan Scott (segment)

Eduardo Tripa (segment)

Stefano Veneruso (segment)

Fullplot:

Seven shorts about childhood problem through the eyes of seven directors. 1) "Tanza": Mehdi Chafer shows a boy called Tanza in an undefined country in Africa fighting in a civil war with machine gun and explosives, and dreaming on having his home and going to school. 2) "Uros": Emir Kusturica shows a gypsy boy called Uros in his last day in a juvenile prison in Serbia-Montenegro without any other perspective but returning to the place. 3) "Jesus Children of America": Spike Lee shows a HIV positive girl called Blanca, daughter of junkies' parents with Aids and the cruelty of her schoolmates in school. 4) "Bilu and Joèo": Kètia Lund gives an optimistic approach of two homeless children that fight to survive working on the streets, collecting beer and soda tins and paper to sell in a junkyard, and transporting shops in street fairs. 5) "Jonathan": Jordan and Ridley Scott show a photographer correspondent of war in pain for his past experiences. 6) "Ciro": Stefano Veneruso shows a young boy in Naples that pickpockets to survive. 7) "Song Son and Little Cat": John Woo shows a tale of fantasy, with a homeless orphan and a spoiled wealthy girl.

Red Cliff

Red Cliff

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2009-12-04

Languages:

Mandarin

Countries:

China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea

Runtime:

148 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

7.4 (34540 Reviews)

Director:

John Woo

Cast:

Writer:

John Woo (screenplay)

Khan Chan (screenplay)

Cheng Kuo (screenplay)

Heyu Sheng (screenplay)

Guanzhong Luo (novel)

Fullplot:

In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale, led by the Prime Minister, himself. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance. Numerous battles of strength and wit ensued, both on land and on water, eventually culminating in the battle of Red Cliff. During the battle, two thousand ships were burned, and the course of Chinese history was changed forever.

Red Cliff II

Red Cliff II

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2009-11-20

Languages:

Mandarin

Countries:

China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea

Runtime:

142 min

IMDB Ratings:

7.6 (17930 Reviews)

Director:

John Woo

Cast:

Writer:

John Woo (screenplay)

Khan Chan (screenplay)

Cheng Kuo (screenplay)

Heyu Sheng (screenplay)

Guanzhong Luo (novel)

Fullplot:

In this sequel to Red Cliff, first minister Cao Cao convinces Emperor Han to initiate a battle against the two Kingdoms of Xu and Wu, who have become allied forces, against all expectations. Red Cliff will be the site for the gigantic battle.

The Crossing

The Crossing

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2014-12-02

Languages:

Mandarin, Japanese, Min Nan, Shanghainese

Countries:

China, Hong Kong

Runtime:

129 min

IMDB Ratings:

6.2 (446 Reviews)

Director:

John Woo

Genres:

Drama

Cast:

Writer:

Hui-Ling Wang (screenplay)

Fullplot:

In the midst of the Chinese Revolution during the late 1940s, couples flee to the island of Taiwan.

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