Bonding Over Bullets: Gun Fu is the Way to a Better Tomorrow John Woo redefined the action film genre with his 1986 Hong Kong film A Better Tomorrow. Staring the Asian TV star Chow Yun Fat and movie star Ti Lung, the film transcended the action genre already well-established in the West by using the various tropes of the genre (gangsters, the conflicted family, brother-against-brother, friend-in-peril, reformed hood, betrayal, and so

East/West An Analysis of Eastern Influence in Western Art The American/English poet T.S. Eliot references the Upanishad in his most famous poem "The Wasteland," a work that essentially chronicles the break-up of Western civilization and looks to Eastern philosophy for a kind of crutch in the wake of the abandonment of Western philosophy. Since then, Westerners, whether in literature or in film, have continued to look to the East for inspiration and

Having unleashed Demon, the Song is now welcomed into the gang and begins sporting the traditional "black suit" of the gang members. Here, again, it is important to remark on the deviation from stereotype to contemporary national image that wardrobe and props bring to the film. There are no robes of silk, no long, silky geisha looking women waiting on men in the community baths. Rather, Landlady, one of

In the fifth place, some English language cinemas compete directly with Hollywood within its own playing field. The sixth and seventh cinema types are interesting, since they attempt to retain a singular identity without external influence. One of these is the cinema that exists entirely within a state-controlled industry, which is often subsidized by the same state. Finally, there are those national cinemas that hold such a specific identity

John Woo After a fairly lucrative career in Hollywood, film director John Woo has returned to Hong Kong to continue making movies. While in the United States. Woo directed several successful films, including Face/Off with Oscar award-winning actor Nicholas Cage. Some refer to his American films as being "terrible" (Middlebrook 1) and "disappointing" (Leong), while others claim that his departure from Hollywood was a "loss to us all," (Leigh 1). Undoubtedly

Miller's Crossing gives the best example of the "ethics" of the crime film genre -- beginning as it does with the classic speech delivered by Giovanni Gasparo: "I'm talkin' about friendship -- I'm talkin' about character -- I'm talkin' about -- hell, Leo, I ain't embarrassed to use the word: I'm talkin' about ethics…" The film, of course, is full of characters whose actions are shady and unethical -- but