Looks like Park Chan-wook (Old Boy, The Brigands of Rattlecreek) isn’t the only acclaimed Asian filmmaker taking a shot at the western genre…
Acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To (Three, The Mission) is set to direct Two Gun Cohen, a “Dim Sum western” (Chinese western) based on the true story of legendary historical figure Morris Cohen, also known as Ma Kun.
Cohen was a Jewish adventurer who spent his early years in Canada, where he became close with the local Chinese community and revolutionary circles. He learned Cantonese and eventually traveled to China, where he took part in the Xinhai Revolution. He went on to become President Sun Yat-sen’s personal bodyguard and a major general. According to legend, after being shot in the right hand, he trained himself to become an expert at dual-wielding pistols (just like we saw in John Woo films like A Better Tomorrow and Hard Boiled). He reportedly always carried two guns, earning him the nickname “Two-Gun.”
Here’s the official plot, via Screen Anarchy: “The western frontier, 1911. Con man, swindler and general gadabout, Morris Cohen, is in a bind. Sitting in a jail cell after being caught cheating at cards, Cohen’s luck appears to have finally run out. That is until a mysterious Chinese man makes him an offer: ‘Ask no questions, join our service and we will bail you out.’ It’s an easy decision, but little does Cohen know that his new employer is fomenting an armed rebellion half a world away and is being pursued by ruling forces that will stop at nothing to eliminate the threat.”
Two Gun Cohen is being produced by Todd Brown (The Raid, The Raid 2) and written by Patrick Whistler (In Cold Light). There is no casting information at this time.
🔥 Footnote: Johnnie To is definitely the right person for the job. He’s one of the most versatile filmmakers working today, consistently delivering quality, style and substance, no matter what genre he tackles. He even dipped his toes into the western genre with 1998’s Spaghetti western-esque A Hero Never Dies, giving us a taste of what he might bring to a full-fledged western. So him taking on a western is a reminder of the greatness of Wisit Sasanatieng’s dreamy, yet ultra-violent throwback Tears of the Black Tiger; Takashi Miike’s surreal Sukiyaki Western Django; Kim Ji Woon’s thrilling action spectacle, The Good, The bad, The Weird; and only time will tell how Park Chan-wook’s The Brigands of Rattlecreek will turned out, but if we’re betting, we’re putting our money on something special.
We’ll keep you updated on this story as we learn more. Until then, check out Teaser art for Two Gun Cohen, and some of the Trailers to the aforementioned Asian-Western titles below:
This project seems more director for hire Johnnie To rather than Milkyway Productions johnnie To. Fans of his movies love his takes on romcoms and crime thrillers but not sure anyone was asking for this. Maybe Matt Damon can star and it could be spiritual sequel to the great Wall
Lunch With Charles-sploitation!
I get you, but I’m starving for some Johnnie To, so I’ll take what I can get. Maybe it’ll be as cool as Vengeance was. Not one his BEST, but a great time, nonetheless.
Normally I would agree but To was so prolific during his Milkyway phase there’s more than enough to revisit. Even the movies he didn’t direct, all Milkyway productions have his fingerprints or his style all over them. Motorway, Accident, Trivisa….all these could have been ghost directed by To. And in the case of Expected the Unxpected and The Longest Nite, he actually did ghost direct! Having such a great run of movies for 20 years is an amazing achievement.While his peers sold out and make weak sauce movies for the Chinese market, he set one of his best crime thrillers in China, riding that line between full fat To and censorship like his reputation was on the line. All of this is to say, I hope the new movie isnt a blemish on his filmography.