User:FrostFairBlade/sandbox/Broken Arrow (1996 film)

  • In 1995, Woo had been working on developing two projects: one called Shadow War with Universal, and Tears of the Sun with 20th Century Fox; however neither came to fruition[1][2]
  • Woo had been working for eight months location scouting for Tears of the Sun, and was frustrated that scheduling delays forced him to be unable to film the movie[3]
  • He was ultimately offered by 20th Century Fox to switch to directing Broken Arrow (1996)[4]
  • Broken Arrow (1996)
    • Written by Graham Yost, who also wrote Speed (1994)
    • Woo found directing Broken Arrow a miserable experience, claiming that studio executives refused script changes, some of the crew were difficult to work with, and the line producer would undermine him by sneaking changes behind his back[2]
    • Janet Maslin of The New York Times believed that even though Woo's storytelling abilities were "at the level of cartoonish jousting", the visual effects, Travolta's performance, and action sequences "[marked] a big step forward" for the director[5]
    • Desson Howe of The Washington Post lambasted the film for its inability to translate the kinetic action of Woo's Hong Kong movies to Hollywood[6]
    • Roger Ebert believed Travolta was miscast[7]
    • In contrast, Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle enjoyed the "inspired casting" of Travolta, and appreciated Woo's directorial touches throughout the film[8]

Plot

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Cast

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Production

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Conception

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Writing and development

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Casting

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Filming and post-production

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Music

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Design

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Release

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Context

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Box office

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Reception

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Critical response

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Accolades

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Post-release

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Home media

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Other media

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Thematic analysis

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Legacy

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Cultural influence

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Critical reassessment

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Sequels and spin-offs

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ Havis, Richard James (2023-06-18). "How filming Hard Target taught John Woo some hard lessons about Hollywood". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  2. ^ a b Stokes & Hoover, p. 310, Hong Kong Calling.
  3. ^ "Woo's back in action". South China Morning Post. 1995-04-28. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  4. ^ "Woo set to swap movies". South China Morning Post. 1995-01-08. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  5. ^ Maslin, Janet (1996-02-09). "A Smoking, Swaggering All-Around Bad Guy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  6. ^ Howe, Desson (1996-02-09). "Woo's Broken Arrow". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  7. ^ Ebert, Roger (1996-02-09). "Broken Arrow". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  8. ^ LaSalle, Mick (1996-02-09). "Travolta Hits the Bull's-Eye in 'Arrow'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-12-14.

Cited literature

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Further reading

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