American and Hong Kong Action Films Essay -- Movie Film Essays

American and Hong Kong Action FilmsWhen comparing the fulfill films of Hong Kong to the typical action mechanism films of America, definite differences are cl aboriginal visible. The films from Hong Kong feature more melo gambol, more fast-paced action scenes, and to the highest degree noticeably, more graphic violence, than the action films released in the US. When looking at what these Hong Kong films were influenced by, especially the films of John Woo, it is surprising to see that many of these differences from American movie theatre are, in item, inspired by American cinema. In John Woos most critically acclaimed and popular films in both Asia and the US, he has drawn aspects from other(a) works of fiction across the globe. He then takes these aspects and adds his own touches to them to trifle them something distinctly Hong Kong. John Woo first do his mark as a director on Hong Kong audiences in 1986, with the epic crime-drama A unwrap Tomorrow. The film tells the stor y of 2 brothers, one an ex-con, the other an undercover cop, and how they finally team-up to fight a common enemy. The film is foremost a drama about the love of family (both of blood and crime), but there are two scenes involving gunplay that helped redefine not only John Woos career, but to a fault the action genre itself in Hong Kong. It is interesting though, that both of these scenes draw severely from scenes found in other films from other countries (Logan 124).The first scene occurs early on in the film as mob enforcer sic Gor (played by Chow Yun-Fat) kills a gang of criminals for revenge of a comrades death. What made this scene so original and groundbreaking when compared to other action films in Hong Kong at the time was the way John Woo directed this gunfight, and the fact that it wa... ... drawing upon. Now the same phenomenon is happening in America. The Wachowski brothers appropriated Woos stylized shoot-out and added soldierly arts to it to make something entire ly new for The Matrix. And even Tarantino had something new to extend the genre, with his inclusion of quickly-delivered pop-culture referencing pastiche dialogue, something that is continually used today. This combination of appropriation and originality ensures the action and crime genres will constantly be able to reinvent itself, on both sides of the Pacific.Works CitedLogan, Bey. Hong Kong Action Cinema. Woodstock Overlook, 1995.Rodham Stokes, Lisa and Michael Hoover. City On Fire Hong Kong Cinema. capital of the United Kingdom Verso, 1999.Dannen, Fredric, and Barry Long. Hong Kong Babylon. New York Hyperion, 1997.Teo, Stephen. Hong Kong Cinema The Extra Dimensions. Suffolk BFI, 1997.