Heroic bloodshed
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Heroic Bloodshed, or Hong Kong Blood Opera (HKBO), refers to a genre of action film originating from Hong Kong revolving around stylised action sequences and common themes such as brotherhood, honour, and violence. Other prevalent themes are the redemption or salvation of the protagonist. The term heroic bloodshed was coined by UK fanzine editor Rick Baker in the later 1980s, specifically referring to the styles of directors John Woo and Ringo Lam. Woo's film The Killer is titled in Chinese Bloodshed of Two Heroes.
Hong Kong Blood Operas are films in which a sentimental story is intertwined with ballet-like violence. The action in these movies is rhythmic and acrobatic and the stories usually deal with assassins or other contract killers. These films were made popular by director John Woo and actors like Chow Yun-Fat or Leslie Cheung.
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[edit] Americanization
As John Woo embraced the American market, several movies were made in the blood opera style. He first created Face/Off, a Nicolas Cage-John Travolta movie met with mixed reviews. Woo also directed Mission: Impossible 2, the sequel to Brian DePalma's Mission: Impossible. Many denounce Woo's American films as inferior to those made in Hong Kong, possibly due to restraints on his direction and choreography.
[edit] Heroic Bloodshed Films
[edit] Chinese
- A Better Tomorrow (1986)
- A Better Tomorrow II (1987)
- City on Fire (1987)
- The Killer (1989)
- Once a Thief (1991)
- Hard Boiled (1992)
- Peace Hotel (1995)
- Fulltime Killer (2001)
[edit] American
[edit] Details
- Protagonists in these films are usually good-willed assassins with a strict code of ethics, which in some cases lead to the assassins betrayal of their employer and savior to many of the tended victims, or police officers with a conscience, who cannot be corrupted in any way and usually modeled after the Hard Boiled Detective.
- Pistols and SMGs are frequently utilized by the heroes due to the lack of encumberance they provide, enabling their wielders to move quicker. They are frequently held akimbo.
- "Mooks" are extremely minor characters, usually bad guys, who are killed very easily. They are terrible shots and exist only to increase the hero's kill count. Mooks use the most varied weaponry, ranging from knives to rocket launchers to even motorcycles.
- Assassins sometimes leave calling cards upon committing murder, such as flowers, bullet casings, origami, photographs, or playing cards.
- The heroes in these movies are extremely agile and implement all sorts of cartwheels, wall-runs, rolls, dives, slides, flips, and falls while they duel, making for a graceful, ballet-like performance in the midst of gunfire.
- Doves are a tradition in Woo's movies and symbolize the purity of the soul. They are especially evident in The Killer, Hard Boiled, Hard Target, Face/Off and Mission: Impossible 2.
- The bosses of the evil gangs are usually depicted as nigh invulnerable, up until the point where they slay the protagonist. Then some other character will come in and give the boss his comeuppance.
- The main villains usually dress in white in the final showdown, which emphasizes the blood from their bullet wounds.
