John Woo – Manhunt #Venezia74

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews John Woo, director of the film Manhunt.

Legendary action film director John Woo sits down with FRED for a chat about his latest feature, Manhunt, presented out of competition at the 74th Venice International Film Festival. The filmmaker tells us about his latest work, the inspiration behind it, his love of cinema, and his desire to make films that are entertaining first and foremost.

Manhunt: produced and distributed by Media Asia Films, director John Woo’s Zhuibu brings together the most outstanding film talents from China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong for an action-packed extravaganza. Produced by Gordon Chan and Chan Hing-kai, the film stars Masaharu Fukuyama, Zhang Hanyu, Qi Wei, Ha Ji-won and Angeles Woo. It also features the renowned Yohei Tanada as Art Director, Takuro Ishizaka as Director of Cinematography and Taro Iwashiro as the composer of film’s original score. It is adapted from Juko Nishimura’s novel Kimi yo Fundo no Kawa wo Watare (You Must Cross the River of Wrath), published by Tokuma Shoten Publishing, and the Kadokawa Pictures production of the same name. The film was shot on location in Japan, including the city of Osaka. Zhuibu follows the journey of upstanding lawyer Du Qiu, who is unwittingly drawn into a murder case when all the evidence at the scene points to him being the perpetrator. Knowing that he’s been framed by Luo Zhi, Du Qiu runs from the law to uncover the truth. The police launch a large-scale manhunt, but veteran detective Yamura sees that this seemingly open-andshut case is not that simple after all. During the intense pursuit, a bond begins to build between the fugitive and his pursuer, even though Yamura knows that he can’t fully trust Du Qiu. Is the real killer lurking elsewhere? Is there a hidden conspiracy behind the murder?