Gambino: Nicolas Cage in John Woo's new film
This film will not be an ordinary biopic
Almost three decades after "Face/Off", John Woo and Nicolas Cage are teaming up again for the gangster film "Gambino".
As Deadline reports, Cage will embody the role of the notorious godfather. George Gallo and Oscar winner Nick Vallelonga, known for "Green Book", are responsible for the screenplay. There is no start date yet.
"Gambino" tells the story of the notorious New York mafia boss Carlo Gambino, who was a central figure in American organized crime. Born in Sicily, the son of a butcher, he rose to become the leader of the Gambino family named after him with cool determination and exceptional strategic intelligence. Until his death in 1976, he was considered one of the most powerful and mysterious bosses of the Cosa Nostra.
However, the film not only follows the rise of Gambino, but also has a special twist: journalist Jimmy Breslin attempts to reconstruct the life of the godfather with the help of numerous interviews.
John Woo: The most famous films of the master of action film art
John Woo is regarded worldwide as one of the most influential figures in modern action cinema. Hardly any other director has had such a lasting influence on the genre, made his visual language so unmistakable and created so many iconic motifs as the filmmaker, who was born in Guangzhou in 1946. Slow-motion shots, choreographed shootouts, stylish double-gun action and poetic symbolic images – all of these are inextricably linked with his name. Over the course of his long career, Woo created classics in both Hong Kong and Hollywood that redefined the genre. A look at his most famous films shows why John Woo is still revered today as a master of the action film.
The Killer (1989): Action as emotional opera
The film tells the story of a contract killer (once again great: Chow Yun-fat) who tries to help a singer he has accidentally injured out of a sense of guilt – and in doing so goes up against a brutal underworld. Woo's production resembles a melancholy ballet performance: white doves, elegiac music and artfully choreographed shootings create an atmosphere in which violence and morality merge inseparably. To this day, "The Killer" is considered one of the most stylish action films of all time and was decisive in attracting the attention of Hollywood to Woo.
Hard Boiled (1992): The ultimate Hong Kong action film
With "Hard Boiled", John Woo bid farewell to Hong Kong cinema – and with a bang. Chow Yun-fat plays the relentless policeman "Tequila", who teams up with an undercover agent to stop a brutal arms dealer organization. The legendary hospital shootout, which lasts over twenty minutes, is still one of the most ambitious and technically impressive action sequences in film history. "Hard Boiled" is wilder, harder and faster than its predecessors and at the same time showed that Woo is a master at combining chaos and clarity in a single shot.
Hard Target (1993): John Woo conquers Hollywood
After his international success, Woo got the chance to work in Hollywood. "Hard Target" with Jean-Claude Van Damme is a stylized mix of manhunt thriller and western motifs. While the film did not quite achieve the emotional depth of his Hong Kong works, Woo showed here for the first time how well his distinctive style also fits into American productions. The slow motion, the double-barrelled weapons and the symbolic shots all brought a fresh touch to US action cinema in the 90s and paved the way for Woo to take on bigger projects.
Broken Arrow (1996): Pure action entertainment
With "Broken Arrow", Woo finally established himself in Hollywood. The film starring John Travolta and Christian Slater is about a stolen nuclear warhead and combines high-budget action with Woo's characteristic eye for kinetic dynamics. Travolta shines as a charismatic villain, and Woo brought his typical blend of humor, exaggerated coolness and precise staging to classic American blockbuster cinema for the first time.
Face/Off (1997): The cult film of his Hollywood era
If there is one John Woo film that has achieved cult status worldwide, it is "Face/Off". Nicolas Cage and John Travolta engage in an acting duel that is as intense as it is eccentric. The bizarre premise – a policeman and a terrorist literally swap faces – provides Woo with the perfect stage for his favorite theme: duality. Good and evil become blurred, identity becomes a question of perspective, and spectacular action sequences explode between all the psychology. Whether it's the wild church showdown with pigeons or the crazy car chases – "Face/Off" is still one of the most influential action films of the 90s.
Mission: Impossible 2 (2000): Blockbuster Woo style
When Woo took the helm of Tom Cruise's mega-franchise, he temporarily transformed the "Mission: Impossible" series into a stylized opera of action. "MI:2" is perhaps the most overstyled installment in the entire series: motorcycle duels, fiery fires, wind in your hair, slow motion en masse – a thoroughly aesthetic spectacle. Although the film was polarizing, it was a huge success and proved once again how unmistakable Woo's artistic signature is.
Windtalkers (2002) and Paycheck (2003): Later Hollywood years
With "Windtalkers", Woo showed an emotionally charged war drama about Navajo code talkers in the Second World War. "Paycheck", a sci-fi action thriller with Ben Affleck, was his last major Hollywood production before his return to Asia. Both films showed that Woo is not only good at action, but also enriches the film with character depth and themes such as loyalty, honor and personal sacrifice.
