Editing John Woo (section)

===1969–1985: Career beginnings in Hong Kong===
In 1969, Woo was hired as a script supervisor at [[Cathay Organisation|Cathay Studios]]. In 1971, he became an [[assistant director]] at [[Shaw Studios]].<ref name=":92">{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecTPwICYeBU |title=How Bruce Lee Changed the World |date=17 May 2009 |type=television documentary |publisher=[[History Channel]] / [[Discovery Channel]] |access-date=16 May 2022 |via=[[YouTube]] |archive-date=16 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516132750/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecTPwICYeBU&gl=US&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> The same year, he watched [[Bruce Lee]]'s ''[[The Big Boss]]'', which left a strong impression on him due to how different it was from earlier [[martial arts films]]. Lee's films inspired Woo to direct his own [[action films]].<ref name=":92"/> Woo worked as assistant director for some films directed by Chang Cheh during the 1970s, and took inspiration from Cheh's work.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Havis |first1=Richard J. |title=The director who revolutionised martial arts movies by making his male characters warriors instead of weaklings |url=https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3100113/director-who-revolutionised-martial-arts-movies-making-his |website=South China Morning Post |access-date=28 December 2024 |ref=SCMP}}</ref> His directorial debut in 1974 was the feature film ''[[The Young Dragons]]'' (鐵漢柔情, ''Tiě hàn róu qíng'').<ref>{{Cite web|title=John Woo|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000247/|access-date=2021-06-24|website=IMDb|archive-date=18 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718151918/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000247/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the [[kung fu film]] genre, it was choreographed by [[Jackie Chan]].<ref name="Havis">{{cite news |last1=Havis |first1=Richard James |title=Being a stunt double for Bruce Lee made Jackie Chan want to be a star |url=https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3150677/revealed-martial-arts-star-jackie-chan-bruce-lee-everyone |access-date=19 March 2022 |work=[[South China Morning Post]] |date=3 October 2021 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319134532/https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3150677/revealed-martial-arts-star-jackie-chan-bruce-lee-everyone |url-status=live }}</ref> The film was picked up by [[Golden Harvest Studio]], where he went on to direct more martial arts films. He later had success as a comedy director with ''[[Money Crazy]]'' (發錢寒, ''Fā qián hàn'') (1977), starring Hong Kong comedian [[Ricky Hui]] and [[Richard Ng]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Andrew Saroch |title=Money Crazy (1977) - Review |url=https://www.fareastfilms.com/?review_post_type=money-crazy |access-date=2022-06-21 |website=Far East Films|archive-date=24 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524022144/https://www.fareastfilms.com/?review_post_type=money-crazy |url-status=live }}</ref>