Since he decided to take a break from Hollywood blockbusters and return to making Chinese epics, John Woo has largely been caught up crafting his huge **Red Cliff **films. But though he has a variety of other projects jostling for attention, he’s zeroing in on a remake of Japanese Yakuza pic **Day Of The Beast.
In what sounds like the sort of movie that could benefit from Woo’s typical visual flair, Beast sees a Westerner in Tokyo getting caught up in a clash between Cold War Russian gangsters and the Japanese mob.
Seijun Suzuki directed the original film in 1963, and the new version will feature a script by Rob Frisbee.
While it might not seem as though a remake is the best use of Woo’s filmmaking gifts, he’s seeing it as more than just a chance to produce a new take on something seen before. He wants it to stand as a tribute to the studio that made the original: "This remake is my salute to the great films and filmmakers produced by Nikkatsu's 100 years in cinema history," Woo said in a statement picked up by The Wrap. He's currently gearing up to make** Love And Let Love**, which stars Ziyi Zhang.