62 years old, film director

The master of heroic bloodshed was a household name in Hong Kong way before he made it big in Hollywood in the nineties. And while the man behind such distinguished films as A Better Tomorrow (1986), Face/Off (1997), and the historical epic Red Cliff (2008) is no stranger to the concept of being a hero, it’s not a title that he readily accepts for himself.

“I’ve never seen myself as a hero,” says Woo, taking a short break from post-production work on the sequel to Red Cliff, scheduled for release in 2009. “For the most part, I’m only fulfilling my own responsibility. Ever since I was a child, I have been taught to be a responsible person, to try my best in whatever I am doing. No matter where I am, I strive to make a good movie every time, especially as I’m a perfectionist.”

Speaking of his heroic ideals, Woo explains: “I’m full of admiration for the spirit of chivalry [in Chinese traditional culture]. Although the heroes in my films tend to be more romantic and idealistic, in reality, I consider all the nurses and firemen who save people, and all those kind-hearted teachers who work in the rural villages, as heroes. All the righteous and courageous people who really help and care about others are real heroes; they don’t just exist in the martial arts world.”

Known as much for his slo-mo gun ballets as for his male characters’ strong bonding (which sometimes borders on the homoerotic), Woo finds the roots of his inspiration in his fellow Hongkongers’ reluctance to retreat into self-pity at the worst of times. “Hong Kong is a unique place, one which has developed the positive attitude to always try hard. Our experience of fighting for [a common goal], of overcoming hardship in the 1950s, made us realise the value of fraternal brotherhood.”

Friendship and loyalty, both essential themes in the director’s oeuvre, also shape Woo’s broader world view. “I’ve been helped and inspired by many people in my career, and I’ve put all of these personal relationships into my films, which in turn evolve into my central motif of chivalry. By romanticising this feeling towards people, my films get recognised in many places because the sentiment is common across cultures.”

In fact, the same enthusiasm has followed Woo throughout his film career. “When I was a student, my fellow film lovers and I founded [a film club] to share our interest. My personal favourite moments are the times when I watched art films, made experimental super8 films, and learned about film with these knowledgeable people. My fondness for this friendly atmosphere has never faded; deep down I still feel like I’m making experimental films with other film lovers – even when I’m making Red Cliff in a [much] bigger set, using [much] more film!”

While this latest film is one of those rare, gun-free moments for the director – who usually revels in racking up the body count – Woo will long be remembered as the mad scientist who introduced the now-customary tradition of double-pistol shooting in the action genre. “When I was preparing for a scene in A Better Tomorrow, where Chow Yun-fat has to take on a large group of people, I asked Chow to use two pistols at the same time to produce the musical rhythm of drum beats and the damages of a machine gun.”

And as it turns out, this rationale has something to do with heroism, too: “A real hero in my definition doesn’t use machine guns; he can only use a pistol,” Woo philosophises. “In my mind, it’s just not quite heroic enough to shower bullets [on your enemies] with a machine gun.” Edmund Lee