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The action films of
John Woo have put Chow Yun-Fat on the map as Hong Kong's answer
to Charles Bronson. First came A Better Tomorrow and
it's subsequent sequel. Now we take a look at arguably John
Woo's and Chow Yun-Fat's best action efforts in The Killer.
After blinding Jenny
(Sally Yeh), an innocent woman caught in the crossfire of an
assassination attempt, Ah Jong (Chow Yun-Fat) decides to
retire. However, before he can retire he takes on one last
hit. This final foray is for the big pay day he needs allowing
him to pay for Jenny's corrective eye surgery. For this hit he
must kill Wong Dung-Yu (Wing-Cho Yip), involved with drug lords
in Central and South America. When Ah Jong's final hit comes to
fruition, his identity becomes compromised. The people who have
hired him, want him dead, as well as hard-headed police
Inspector Li Ying (Danny Lee). What follows is Yun-Fat kicking
ass in a non-stop action-packed bullet ballet.
If you're a fan of
action films, from the likes of Charles Bronson, with the action
kicked to a heightened level then that's what to expect with
John Woo's The Killer. There are so many exploding
squibs and sensational shootouts crammed in the film's
106-minute runtime to satisfy any fan of international action
films.
The strange thing
about The
Killer is the film's choice of comedic
nicknames it places on Yun-Fat's and Lee's characters. Lee's
character refers to Yun-Fat's as "Shrimp Head" and Yun-Fat's
refers to Lee's as "Small B." What makes this even stranger is
the English dubbing for the film. The English dubbing is
ENTIRELY different than the Cantonese track. When I say
entirely different, I mean it. In the English track the
character's nicknames are even changed -- to Disney characters
no doubt! Shrimp Head is changed to Mickey Mouse and Small B to
Dumbo. Truly oddball shit.
Aside from a few
minor quips such as some of the goofiness previously mentioned, The
Killer is a concrete Hong Kong action film. If there
is one thing The
Killer shows, it's not to fuck with the
Triad -- but most importantly not to fuck with Chow Yun-Fat!
Alliance in
association with Vivendi and Dragon Dynasty release The
Killer in a Two-Disc Ultimate Edition DVD. The video is
presented 1.85:1 (anamorphic) and while showing its age (1989)
looks great. The audio is presented with the option of
Cantonese and English mono which does sound somewhat hollow due
to being mono. I always prefer the film's original language,
but for two completely different viewing experiences watch the
film in both Cantonese with English subtitles and then the
English dub. Disc Two of The
Killer contains the
supplemental material. To begin, there is a 'Deleted Scenes'
section containing 5 scenes. 'Interview Gallery' contains an
interview with John Woo as well as an 'American Cinematheque'
questions and answers about The
Killer and Hard Boiled
which was conducted in 2002. Rounding out the extras is an
original theatrical trailer and UK promo trailer for The
Killer as well as trailers for Last Hurrah For Chivalry,
A Better Tomorrow and Hard Boiled.
The
Killer and Hard Boiled are available in a Value Pack DVD Set from Alliance Films. |
