John Woo has to take a moment to consider his reasons for making Manhunt, which premiered at the Venice film festival in September. “I just wanted to go back to basics,” he says. “I got fed up with big budget films. The more budget we have, the more pressure. So it’s a very unhappy thing. When you’ve got so much pressure, all you have to worry about is the numbers. How much [money] is left? So it cuts the freedom and the joy of creation.”