The school he went to was run by an American, which was a factor in his love of American culture. His own mother played no small part in his affinity for film, as she would him bring to see movies on a daily basis. He cites 'Wizard of Oz' as the first film he ever saw; a memory that would inspire him to use the song 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' to chilling effect in his film 'Face-Off'. 

During his high-school years, he began acting in and directing plays. After this he knew that directing film was his first, best destiny. However, if you are a poor, un-employed young man in Hong Kong, where on earth do you go to learn your trade? There were no film schools in Hong Kong. John Woo circumvented this roadblock by frequenting libraries and bookstores. He was an avid reader, and even confesses to stealing books (hey...he was poor). 

He also fell in with a group of intellectual film aficionados who shared his love of the media. The group also shared disdain for the movies that were being made in Hong Kong. They vowed to change things. They even wrote scathing reviews of some Hong Kong movies of the time. Unfortunately, this would come back to haunt them, as the studios in Hong Kong would remember these indiscretions when it was time for them to try to get jobs in the studios. 

His first professional job was as an assistant at Cathay Studios. Eventually he would move to Shaw Brothers. A main turning point in his development arose when he became an assistant to the director Chang Cheh. Chang Cheh was famous for his 'swordplay' films, which depended heavily on chivalry, and honour. Woo often refers to his films as 'swordplay with guns'. The themes of friendship and honor which permeate Woo's best works are heavily influenced by the works of Chang Cheh. Woo got some first-hand experience with film-technique while working for him, notably editing. 

At the age of 27, Woo directed his first film, 'The Young Dragons", which had a young fight choreographer named Jackie Chan. The movie was shelved for two years, but when it was released in 1975, Woo was offered a job at Golden Harvest to direct films. His work up until 1977 consisted mainly of kung fu movies. Notably, John Woo gave Jackie Chan his first official screen role (as a villain) in "Countdown In Kung Fu." There was one incident during the making of this movie, where Jackie Chan was kicked so hard that he stopped breathing. There was much rejoicing amongst Woo and his crew when they revived him shortly thereafter. 

In 1977, Woo started making comedies, which he was quite successful with. "Money Crazy" was the first. He continued making comedies into the mid-eighties. His career started taking a tumble though, as his movies started doing less and less well. 

In 1986, Tsui Hark helped him get a job to direct a movie entitled "A Better Tomorrow." This movie changed everything for Woo. It jump-started his career, as it became the highest grossing movie in Hong Kong. His style redefined the action/gangster movie in Hong Kong, and the movie made a huge star out of Chow Yun Fat, who was known as a romantic TV actor at the time. Initially the role of Mark, Chow Yun Fat's character, was not a large role, but Woo recognized a star when he saw one, and expanded the role in the movie. The actor would become his alter ego in almost all of his movies afterwards. After this, Woo continued to redefine the action movie, and honed his craft in the process. After being unable to get a good directing job in the early 80's, he was now one of Hong Kong's premier artists. 

During the editing of the sequel, "A Better Tomorrow 2", Woo and Tsui Hark had a falling out. Tsui Hark did not want Woo to direct for his company again. Woo was having trouble getting projects green-lighted.  He proposed a Vietnam movie which eventually would become "Bullet In The Head", and "Once A Thief", but continued to get turned down. Woo was in a rut. He dearly wanted to make a movie that was different from his 
"Better Tomorrow" stories. 

This led to an idea that harkened back to a movie Woo had always loved, "Le Samourai" by Jean-Pierre Melville. He was also heavily influenced by a Japanese movie starring screen legend Takakura Ken. "I was fascinated by a Japanese movie in the 1960s," he states, "I forget the name. Takakura Ken was the star; it was shot in Hong Kong and Macau. Takakura was a killer who had principles, he only killed bad people. But he goes to Hong Kong to do a job, and discovers that he has been used by a gang to kill a good person." Woo proposed the idea to the company who again turned it down. However, Chow Yun Fat went over Tsui Hark's head and was instrumental in getting the movie green-lighted. The end result was Woo's classic "The Killer." 

Hollywood began to catch on. The movie "The Killer" is the movie that made western audiences aware of his talents, as it did very well on the festival circuits. In Hong Kong however, resentment was brewing among filmmakers and film critics, as Woo began collecting accolades from around the world. 

Woo's relationship with Tsui Hark got even worse at this point. Tsui Hark made "A Better Tomorrow 3," using Woo's Vietnam prequel script, the very script that Tsui Hark had turned down previously. Woo then rewrote his script and turned it into his very personal work "Bullet In The Head." The professional relationship behind the two directors had now been effectively severed. 

Hollywood began knocking at Woo's door as early as "The Killer", though he didn't seriously start considering the offers until "Bullet In The Head", where it became very obvious that the notion of emigrating was weighing heavily on his mind.  He made one more Hong Kong movie before he did the big move though. "Hard Boiled" is extremely interesting to watch when one recognizes the many references to emigration that are on display. Woo now had a large cult-following around the world, and it seemed it was just a matter of time before Hollywood snatched him up. 

There were many factors to weigh before emigrating. His marriage was in disarray, as his work had taken over his life. If he moved to North America, he would be able to spend more time with his family and hopefully save his marriage. "Americans don't work on weekends," he reflects. Also, though he was given total autonomy while filming his movies in Hong Kong, there was still a lot of unpleasant studio politics, as can be evidenced by his fights to get projects green lighted. The impending communist takeover of Hong Kong in 1997 also led to speculation of how life would be changed. Considering that Woo was a hippie in his formative years, and had even participated in anti-government demonstrations at the time, it becomes very clear that it was now time to leave Hong Kong. 

His inauguration into the Hollywood scene was the movie 'Hard Target' with Jean Claude Van Damme in 1993. The experience was not a happy one for Woo. Rumour had it that Universal was keeping producer Sam Raimi around to take over directing duties if Woo didn't turn out. The environment was not  conducive to creativity. Battles with Universal and the MPAA kept Woo from being able to express himself as a director. At this point he could have left America to go back to Hong Kong, but being the trooper that he is, he stuck around. 

Woo decided to make a quintessentially non-Woo American action film at this point, as a test to see whether he could make a movie in the American system. What resulted, was 1996's "Broken Arrow", which was a box-office smash. The movie was a hit with audiences, but generally, Woo fans were disappointed. However, Woo was also doing his best to understand what American audiences want. As a result of this endeavour, Woo gained the trust of the studio executives. 

In 1997, 'Face-Off' was released, and it appears to be a return to form for John Woo. After the success of 'Broken Arrow,' it appears the studio brass decided they could allow Woo more autonomy, and the results are simply smashing. Now he has several potential projects in his future, and he and Terance Chang are executive producing a CTV TV series based on his movie "Once A Thief."