Product Details

• Actors: John Woo, Chow Yun-Fat, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh, Kong Chu
• Format: Color, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: Cantonese (Unknown), English (Unknown)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Fox Lorber
• DVD Release Date: October 3, 2000
• Run Time: 111 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (151 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004W457
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #28,885 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

  #3 in	Movies & TV > Art House & International > By Country > Hong Kong > Cops & Triads
  #16 in	Movies & TV > Action & Adventure > Action Stars > Chow Yun-Fat
  #10 in	Movies & TV > Action & Adventure > Hong Kong Action > Yun-Fat, Chow

• For more information about "The Killer" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This 1989 rouser is apocalyptic pulp--the bloodiest, showiest, most shamelessly sentimental specimen of Hong Kong's gangster melodramas. A torch singer named Jennie (Sally Yeh) is accidentally blinded during a slaying in a night club, and Chow Yun-fat's sad-eyed Jeff, a self-lacerating assassin, drags himself out of retirement to take on one last job--rubbing out a major mobster for major bucks--so he can pay for the singer's cornea transplant operation. But Jeff pauses to ferry a wounded child to the hospital during this final outing, and because of this a cop finally gets a good look at him: "He was seen on the job," snarls a saturnine Mr. Big, "and I want him wasted." Armies of thugs converge on the saintly slayer. Some of writer-director John Woo's flourishes are kitsch classics (doves flying upward in a candlelit church), while the action sequences are rapturous. "Life's cheap," a character opines. "It only takes one bullet," but in this case it actually takes about a dozen spewing bullet hits to kill anyone, as soulful triads in mirror shades and duster overcoats blaze away with high-tech weaponry. (A favorite trick involves grasping an enemy by the lapels, pulling him into a waltz embrace, and pumping several slugs into his duodenum.) Danny Lee, Chow's costar in City on Fire, is the intense, young officer who fixates on the killer's contradictory personality. --David Chute

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CRITERION COLLECTION DVDs BOOTLEGS ALERT!, July 23, 2006

By	Bootlegs Hunter - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Killer - Criterion Collection (DVD)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heroic Bloodhshed and Cool Charisma - John Woo`s "The Killer, June 10, 2000

By	Andrew MacAskill (Australia (currently living in Japan)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Killer - Criterion Collection (DVD)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Apex, May 29, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Killer (DVD)

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.