Arguably it would have been unimaginable 20 years ago, when his crowning glory The Killer was originally released – if only because few filmmakers from Hong Kong were lauded at the time – yet next year John Woo will be presented with a lifetime achievement honour at the Venice Film Festival.

Some may indeed scoff (and some of Woo’s back catalogue, such as Payback, may well be better glossed over) but his influence over cinema in the last 30 years, particularly action films, is undeniable.

Organisers praised him for being “an innovator of the contemporary language of cinema”. Continuing: “Woo is considered a master who has changed the language of contemporary film for generations of filmmakers.”

The award will be presented next September.

Read more on the BBC News website »

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This entry was published by Andy H on Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 at 10:00 am and is filed under Festivals, Filmmakers, Hong Kong, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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