Customer Reviews

Bullet in the Head

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Those people familiar with John Woo's work might know what to expect from this movie -- except you won't. This was one of Woo's final Hong Kong films before he went to Hollywood, and it is rivalled only by his masterpiece "Hard Boiled". But while Hard Boiled offered pure action, Bullet in the Head is an entirely different story. It's neither a typical Vietnam film, nor is it a typical HK action flick -- instead it's a shattering drama about friendship and brotherhood violently destroyed. In the past, to friends who aren't familiar with Woo's work, I've described his films as "chick flicks for guys" -- which is accurate. Woo invokes feelings of fraternity and male friendship like female-oriented movies tend to do for the opposite gender. In Woo's world, violence (even theatric, unrealistic violence) is one of the few ways the male can express his emotions, even if the violence is forced on him by the circumstances. When one friend betrays another -- as happens in this film -- the consequences are staggering. At this point, late in the film, Woo produces the most dramatic scenes ever seen in any of his films. This is my favorite Woo film ever -- and for good reason.

BULLET IN THE HEAD
[Die Xie Jie Tou]

(Hong Kong - 1990)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Theatrical soundtrack: Mono

Produced in the wake of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, John Woo's BULLET IN THE HEAD is both a response to the appalling violence that was taking place in mainland China at the time, and a pointed examination of the director's traditional themes of loyalty and brotherhood and the consequences of betrayal. For all its explosions and gunplay, however, the film is a very human drama, played out against the vast backdrop of the Vietnam conflict, and invested with such a palpable sense of love and compassion for its leading characters and their circumstances that it defies all attempts at categorisation.

The cast is pure gold: Tony Leung (superb as the film's tragic 'hero'), Jacky Cheung (giving a revelatory, career-making performance) and Waise Lee play lifelong friends who flee from a murder rap during the civil unrest of 1960s Hong Kong, only to have their loyalties tested to breaking point by their experiences in wartime Saigon. Overall, the film is less an action-thriller than an operatic valentine to Woo's teenage years in HK and to the personal values which have shaped and defined his films since A BETTER TOMORROW. Only HARD-BOILED comes close to it in terms of greatness, though many people - myself included - would argue that BULLET is not only Woo's finest achievement to date, but also one of the best films ever made, anywhere.

Yes its true, unless you saw the movie in its theatrical debut or live in France and happen to own a laserdisc player you have never seen the full version of this film.

The full version runs 138 or 135 minutes(depending which ending, there are 2). Its a very different film compared to this hacked up for the rest of the world version. ITS NOT RIGHT!

And how about those subtitles? I don't even speak the language and i could have done a better job than that! They even dub Tony Leung in his own language for some beyond strange reason.

This DVD is a throw away.

Wait and hope until Anchor Bay gets the full print and beefs it up. This is just pathetic.

I noticed nobody mentions this detail :

Bullet in the Head is John Woo's version of the third part of the "A Better Tomorrow" saga... or Tsui Hark's ABT 3 is another version of Bullet in the Head, depending on who you trust.

The Amazon review of ABT3 (by David Chute, see elsewhere on this site) states that John Woo wrote the script, but was supplanted by Tsui Hark as director of the movie. There is no hard evidence of this.

Apparently, Tsui Hark and John Woo competed to shoot and release their own version of the script of ABT3... I don' know who was faster, but Tsui Hark had the rights to the title. According to articles in the trade specialist press (HK Orient Extreme, possibly the most professional magazine on Asian cinema worldwide), they had worked together on the script before they ended their collaboration. So "A Bullet in the Head" and "A Better Tomorrow 3" are actually 2 versions of the same storyline. The differences and variations, and the way each of these two geniuses shot their own version is quite interesting. For those who know Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), the way each of the two directors shot the outdoor scenes is also quite interesting.

Whose version is the best? In any case, the two movies are great, and they are even better when compared to each other (if that makes sense).

Who owns the actual story? My personal intuitive inclination goes to Tsui Hark, who was always a better writer than John Woo and had a personal involvement in this story (if I'm not wrong, he grew up in Saigon and witnessed the fall of the city). For one thing, he depicts the city and its people with more empathy and depth than John Woo. But I may be wrong : If someone has the final word or some kind of historical angle on this, please enter your review, I'll be glad to read more on this.

If Mr. John Woo or Mr. Tsui Hark would care to comment on this issue on this Amazon site, (you never know, I get lucky sometimes), I think it would be great for all HK cinema fans worldwide.

first off, i love this movie, its very dark and evil and is john woo's best movie.

a staggering 18 minutes has been cut from this version! thats right, and not only that but they even place what little intact scenes they have left out of order and do the worst dubbing job in the history of asian films.

the prison camp scenes were pretty gruesome and horrifying until Tai Seng decided to slice this film to shreds. what were they thinking! they put out a french laserdisc that is the full version, its just sad.

do not buy this! if you want help don't buy any Tai Seng stuff (i know, i can't either) until they get it in their heads people actually like uncut films.

Having loved this movie (and everything else John Woo has done) after seeing it for the first time on Laser Disc, I always wondered if something was missing in the last sequence.Those familiar with the LD version know that the final action sequnce has a strange , abrupt start to it. The DVD finally shows the whole sequnce from beggining to end, making much more sense. As far as the picture goes, like the Better Tomorrow DVD's, the picture seems much too bright and washes out the color. I turned my monitor black level down but then some of the darker scenes are too dark. I never had that trouble with the LD version, so it seems to be a constant problem with this distributor.Happy to say, unlike A Better Tomorrow, they didn't substitute the original soundtrack with Forrest Gump music. And the remixed stereo sounds more natural as well.

i haven't got the DVD yet but this VHS is pretty horrible. does Tai Seng even know chinese? when the americans speak in the film subtitles are still playing even in english and they are really way way off from what they are really saying! this is a angering reminder that what the chinese actors are supposedly saying is not what they are really saying. after 1 hour it seems tai seng gave up on the subtitles and just started mindlessly typing, some are repeated over and over. and a good 3 minutes has been hacked from this version making the film look sloppy and some scenes making absolutly no sense at all. the film itself is great. tony gives one of his best performances ever. everyone should see this film but not like this. hope the DVD isn't this bad. there is a very early VHS edition that has correct subtitles and scenes intact, wonder where it is. anchor bay, are you listening?

John Woo is one of modern cinemas greatest visionaries. In this intense and harrowing eastern Deer Hunter he weds his trademark themes of brotherhood, honour and loyalty betrayed with his own childhood memories of 1960's Hong Kong and wartorn Vietnam. Ben, Frank and Paul are three idealistic youths living in Hong Kong circa 1967. When Ben and Frank accidently kill a gang leader (on Ben's wedding night, no less) the three flee to Saigon, having organised to smuggle contraband for a Hong Kong crime boss. They are at once caught up in local riots and lose their goods in the chaos. Their friendship is ultimately doomed when, with the aid of suave ex-CIA agent (Simon Yam), they come to possess a case of gold bullion. The bonds of brotherhood are tested in a climate of war, betrayal and greed as the film races to it's incediary conclusion. The performances of all the cast are exceptional, particularly Jacky Cheung's bold, brave performance as the "title character", and Tony Leung turns in the performance of his career. As with Woo's The Killer, images of soporific calm are at once juxtaposed with images of strife and chaos, to incredible effect. This is a superbly ambivalent film; at once condemning man for his inhumanity yet simultaneously redeeming him for his decency. Bullet in the Head is a supremely intense film; each scene drains the viewer as the innocence, ideals and the friendships of these three young men are shattered by war. In the end, this film may be too bleak and violent for mainstream audiences and it is definitely not for sensitive viewers (the scenes inside a Viet Cong containment camp are especially harrowing). Bullet in the Head is John Woo's masterpiece; a frenzied kaleidoscope of war, friendship, greed and violence.

This is one of the John Woo's Best films.
He takes his viewers through the Darkness in his most personal work an epic depicting of the lives of three childhood friends trapped in hell through the turmoil of the War in Vietnam.

This film is extreamly depressing yet very raw and brilliant. This film will probably make you sad and depressed but still this is a very well made film and I give credit to the actors who made this movie what it is.

4.9 out of 5 stars.

It's a common belief that John Woo lost his way when he moved to Hollywood, but in truth his career was always highly erratic even in his Hong Kong days. For every Better Tomorrow or The Killer on his resume there's at least one disappointment on the level of Bullet in the head.

On paper Bullet in the Head looks like John Woo's most ambitious and under-rated film, but sadly it turns out to be an entirely derivative and largely ineffective shoot-em-up that blows its few good ideas in all the overkill. There's the germ of a good idea in its sprawling tale of three friends who skip the rioting Hong Kong of 1967 to make their fortune in the chaos of Vietnam, but it's quickly lost amid the cartoon carnage - this is the kind of film where Woo will add a bomb disposal man having his arms blown off to the background of a romantic parting, and that's one of the more subtle scenes. Clunking construction and wild leaps of logic abound (it's hard to take Jacky Cheung's cries of "Don't make me commit murder!" seriously after we've just seen him gun down thirty people) and the tragedy of Vietnam is reduced to the level of a video game in several over the top and largely uninvolving action scenes.

There are a few mildly effective moments, such as Simon Yam's memorable introduction, but the lasting impression is of a hack who has seen The Deer Hunter and The Killing Fields several times without ever really understanding them. Horrendously disappointing. No misjudged underappreciated lost masterpiece, just a mess - and even more so in this cut DVD.