He also directed a string of successful comedies and even set a Cantonese opera to film in 1975. But Woo had an itch to make a gangster movie. That was my favorite. In 1983 he changed studios and began work on the pounding Hong Kong thrillers that put him on the cinema map. Largely considered his most passionate work, through the course of the film the killer and the cop discover they have much in common, like loneliness, nobility and determination.
Emotions tend to run high in Woo's movies.
The first draft was frustrating. I told the studio I love the concept, but I want more character, more humanity. If there is too much science fiction, we lose the drama. In the opening scene we find out the terrorist was responsible for the death of the agent's young son. Suddenly, while we're shooting, he turned and yelled and screamed at his doctor.