Customer Reviews

The Killer

5 star:		(119)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As the popularity of Chinese cinema begins to spread in the US, two men must be noted for their contributions - Director John Woo and Actor Chow Yun-Fat. Their names are synonymous with action in Hong Kong cinema. Both have had projects that were successful (Face/Off and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, respectively) and some that were not so (Hard Target).

The Killer, however, is the apex of both their works.

It is possibly the best movie that very few people know about, and upon seeing it, it has become my mission to ensure that it becomes more widely viewed. John Woo's cinematic stylings and breathtaking action sequences are his trademark, and are often mimicked (but never duplicated) by more accessible works. Those who believe that action began with Desperado, Resevoir Dogs or The Matrix need only look to John Woo to find the obvious inspiration for these works.

Of course, as much as a gun is a weapon in action movies, Chow Yun-Fat is John Woo's weapon. Entire tales can be told simply with Yun-Fat's expressions - the ability to "act" without saying a word is sometimes underrated, but I would say that Yun-Fat challenges even DeNiro in his method-acting abilities. His on-screen charisma is electric, and no other actor in Woo's stable has been able to produce the kineticity required of a John Woo hero figure.

The two have joined forces for a number of movies, but none better than The Killer. Besides the afforementioned qualities of each individual, The Killer brings with it a story of "Real Men" in a world where honor is a dirty word. The Killer belongs with the great mafia dramas of Hollywood Cinema and with Kurosawa's samurai epics. The Killer is listed in the guidebook, "The Top 100 Movies No One Has Ever Seen." The latter half of that statement needs to be changed.

Warning, this is a seriously BUTCHERED version of the film. Disny, in all of it's wisdom, has decided to cut over 6 minutes of the film. Do yourself a favor and get ahold of the fox lorber/winstar release, orif you've got the cash, pick up the criterion edition.

Anybody who enjoys furiously paced action mixed with superb drama and almost balletic violence should see this film. Probably Woo`s finest and most popular "heroic bloodshed" piece, it details the life of a hitman, Chow Yun Fat, and his policeman rival, Danny Lee. Woo tells his tale in typical flamboyant style, blending incredible action sequences with slow motion and stills. At times the beauty of the violence amazed me. As Chow Yun Fat is pursued by both the mob and the police he manages to present a likeable hero in a tragically difficult situation. The fascinating relationship (and obvious similarities) between the two leading men is brilliantly drawn out through the use of many interesting "gaze" shots, long trakes and close ups. As intense drama, friendship and tragedy unfold in the midst of a terrifyingly brutal world the pace of the film is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat right until the magnificent climax. Without spoiling, let me say that the finale is one of the greatest action sequences that I have ever witnessed on celluloid. This film is an absolute masterpiece and one of my all time favourites. As the SBS film reviewer said "For those of you who are about to see this film for the first time, I envy you". Enjoy.

Filled with grit, emotion, and psychological depth, not to mention lots and lots of blood, "The Killer" is the kind of passion play that is seen all too rarely in any style of film, let alone the action genre. In fact, John Woo's Hong Kong shoot-'em-up masterpiece resembles nothing so much as Shakespeare with thousands of bullets flying around. In this case the role of the tragic hero is assumed by Jeffrey, played in career-defining fashion by Chow Yun-Fat. Jeffrey is an amiable enough sort, who also just happens to be a fearless, unstoppable assassin with a steely glare and a deadly accurate shot. But when he accidentally blinds a lovely torch singer named Jenny while mowing down about a dozen criminals in a crowded bar, Jeffrey finds some new meaning in his life by assuming responsibility for the woman, even going so far as to try to get her a vision-restoring cornea transplant. However, everything is far from hunky-dory for Jeffrey and his ward: after committing one last job to get the money for Jenny's operation, Jeffrey finds himself pursued by a small army of thugs as well as Chang and Li, two relentless detectives. Oh, and his best friend and associate Sidney has (temporarily) betrayed him. With all that's going on, the stage is set for a struggle on an operatic scale, with Chow giving his character just the right mix of warmth and gravity.

As one would expect from a film directed by Woo, with Chow in the starring role, "The Killer" contains more than its fair share of shootouts and chase scenes, all filmed with Woo's signature frenetic visual style. However, it's what happens when the movie slows down that sets it apart from the pack. "The Killer" is as much a drama as it is an action yarn, and it's a mighty good drama at that. There are a bunch of scenes here that got my adrenaline flowing, but even more impressive, it's mixed with the kind of legitimately moving scenes that are almost impossible to find in Hollywood movies. Behind the constant action is an often-moving tale of devotion, honor, redemption, and friendship in the unlikely setting of the criminal underworld. The lines between good and bad, right and wrong, cop and criminal, are all blurred in a haze of moral ambiguity and divided loyalties. While Jeffrey and Sidney attempt to restore trust after Sidney's betrayal, an unlikely bond forms between Jeffrey and Li as the detective and the assassin realize they're not that different after all.

As the story unfolds, building toward the inevitable confrontation, the tension and the emotional stakes only rise along with the body count. Woo manages to elevate the crime drama to poetry, whether during a taut action sequence or a subdued conversation scene. The movie's deservedly legendary finale, involving a crazed gun battle inside a church, is the only appropriate conclusion. The viewer certainly needs some catharsis after such a harrowing journey, and Woo more than delivers the goods. "The Killer" is one of the few movies of its ilk that can legitimately be called art.

John Woo holds the distinction, not only of being the top director of actions films, probably in the history of the cinema, but of having made the quintessential movie of the genre. "The Killer," made in 1989, is quite simply, the perfect action film. Featuring an outstanding performance by star Yun-fat Chow, as Jeff, the killer of the title, it is a showcase of the specific action sequences by which the standard for the entire industry has since been formulated. But what makes it truly remarkable, is that the story lives up to the action, as well. Chow is a professional killer who accidentally blinds a young singer, named Jennie (Sally Yeh), during the fulfillment of a contract. Filled with remorse over the incident, he befriends her, and ultimately begins to care deeply for her. Up to this point in his life, he has killed people he believed deserving of their fate, but now he's changed; he's beginning to comprehend the sanctity of life. There is one more contract he must fulfill, however, for which he is to be paid one-and-a-half million dollars, after which he will retire from the life and see to it that Jennie gets the cornea transplant that will restore her vision. Further conflict arises, though, when the man who hired Jeff decides to have him killed as well, thereby saving him some money, and tying up what he considers to be some loose ends in the bargain. Never before, or since, has such extreme violence been so well integrated into the story, in any film; and Woo's sense of measure is impeccable. The violence is only as graphic as necessary, in order to be effective in any given scene, and the gunfights are choreographed with such precision and timing that it's like a kind of visual poetry. Woo, in fact, has given a lyrical, almost wistful feel, overall, to the film, which accentuates the contrast between the romance and the violence even more. His deft use of slow motion in the action sequences, and imagery (especially in the scenes which take place in a church), are further examples of the artistry and detail that make this such a great movie. The care taken with the story itself is a rare thing for a film of this genre; not to say that action films, in general, are typically wanting in plot or characterization, but in most cases, more often than not the story does defer to the action. But not in this one. Jeff's epiphany, for instance, and his feelings for Jennie, are played without the least bit of misplaced sentiment or pretentiousness, for which credit must be given to Woo and his stars; in the hands of lesser talent, it could all have easily played out as maudlin and sappy, and been used as nothing more than a framework upon which to build the action. The supporting cast includes Kenneth Tsang, Chu Kong, and Danny Lee, who gives an especially impressive performance as Lieutenant Li. "The Killer," is simply nothing less than the definitive film of it's genre, the "Citizen Kane," if you will, of action films. Even given the subjective nature of cinema, this film is so well done, and Woo has obviously made such an impact in his field, that it must be considered as one among the all-time great movies in the history of film. This is a must-have for any serious video collection.

Due to the great success of The Criterion Collection some of the DVDs have been copied and are being produced illegally, especially be aware of fake OUT-OF-PRINT titles. Must know "Red Flags":

1. If the price is drastically LOW. Be cautious if the DVD price is significantly LOWER THAN the MSRP (retail price).
2. If an out-of-print DVD has a low "Buy It Now" price. Out-of-print DVDs are no longer being produced and TEND TO BE WORTH MORE THAN THOSE STILL IN CIRCULATION.
3. When purchasing from Asia, look to see if the DVD cover has any Asian characters on it. There have been multiple bootlegs made with this slight difference on the DVD cover. Oftentimes, bootlegs will be advertised as "official Asian Criterion DVDs". This is NOT TO BE TRUSTED! Criterion Collection has never released alternate Asian Editions of any of their DVDs and they have no plans to do so!
4. Kindly ask Seller(s) for photos of the discs, cover arts, inserts, booklets including UPC number, ISBN number, Cat.No.
5. Contact Criterion Collection via their website to verify all information seller(s) have provided before making your final decision to purchase the item you are interested in!
6. After all, the seller(s) might admit that it is a bootleg or copy. Sadly, some sellers do try and make money off of these.

The Criterion Collection is the BEST version of The Killer!! The image is CLEAR, they added more slow-mo action scenes, the dvd have deleted scenes and the HORRIBLE close-up of the action scenes has been cutted and addapted to the screen so you can see the action in "small" (letterbox) widescreen and and well addapted to the screen (the other versions of The Killer have a HORRIBLE camera close-up and BAD images). This version brings the best quality of the movie.

Better than Hard Boiled because it has car chases, Chow Yeun Fat use two pistols on most of the action scenes with slow-mo, the story is interesting and EASY to understand, The images, camera angles and movements, and the special effects are SO MUCH better than Hard Boiled.

P.S: The only bad things are that the sound is not "surround" and the dvd doesn't have to much to offer on special features.

ADIOS.

Beware the dubbed version!!!!! Make sure you get the subtitled version, as the dubbed one cuts out OVER HALF of the action. Trust me, I have seen both versions.

From 1989-1992 John Woo made The Killer, Tragic Heroes, Bullet In the Head, Once a Thief, and Hardboiled. The Killer is my favorite Woo movie.

I have and never will be a big Chow Yun Fat fan but just like Simon Yam, I really like him in 1 out of every 20 performances. Chow's character as a hitman is just about as tragic as can be. This is the best hitman with a heart movie ever. The story with Danny Lee as a cop trying to take him down is very well done but Chow is what makes this movie. Add in some of the best action sequences ever from normally wuxia swordplay choreographer-Ching Siu-tung, and you have maybe the best hong-kong action movie that was ever made.

If you are having trouble finding a copy of this movie and can't dish out the $50 or whatever it is going for, just steal it from the video store like I did. Well worth it.

Just like the first Die Hard in the states began the whole genre of action flicks back in 1987, John Woo's cinematic masterpiece The Killer sets the stage for this genre of movies in the east back in 1989 and is a continual inspiration for moviemakers even now and will to come. The combination of John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat is a lethal one - Woo's knack for visual story-telling in his own unique manner of angles, manipulation of motion, use of religious icons or even just plain silence brings a new dimension of technical excellence, coupled with Chow Yun-Fat's execution of his character with poise, charisma, heart and style results in an excellent tale about an assassin with a conscience, a tortured soul who is trying to redeem himself. The action scenes are incredible, carefully executed and choreographed in a visual-stunning way. Woo is definitely the man. So many Hollywood movies try to rip this style off, actually Woo even rips himself off in his American movies. (especially Mission Impossible 2 which was a definite flop for Hong Kong fans). Forget Cruise and bring in Chow. That's the winning combination in the long run, not some American wanna-be action star. Chow just has the charisma needed to give life to the character and Woo knows how to exploit that into a meaningful story. Regarding the audio and video quality of the DVD, the audio, though recorded in mono back in 1989, could have been digitally remastered looking at today's technology and turned into Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, albeit somewhat emulated. The video transfer is pretty well done. High quality, if you think about material made from 1989. Nice transfer. And there is a nice menu. Decent extras. Overall this is a great value for collectors everywhere... Go out and get you one today! If you're not a John Woo/Chow Yun-Fat fan, you're sure to be after you see this movie!!!!