Hailed by action star Jean-Claude Van Damme as "the Martin Scorsese of Asia," Woo was a legendary action director in the burgeoning Hong Kong film industry before emigrating to Hollywood to direct Van Damme in "Hard Target" (1993). Reportedly the first Asian to direct a major Hollywood studio film, Woo made his name with action-packed, emotionally florid movies with titles like "The Killer" (1989), "A Bullet in the Head" (1990), and "Hard-Boiled" (1992). Enthusiastically embraced by "hip" Brit and American critics while dismissed as a chop-socky poseur by skeptics, this bold visual stylist