John Woo is the man responsible for the emigration of so many Hong Kong filmmakers to Hollywood (such as Ronnie Yu, Stanley Tong, and so on). Woo was the first to try his luck in Hollywood, and the jury is still out on whether his U.S. films are superior, since several of them have failed at the box office. But THE KILLER and HARD BOILED are hailed as Woo’s greatest works, thanks to the efforts of action superstars Chow Yun Fat, Danny Lee, and Tony Leung. These actors have the distinction of being able to back up their macho behavior with actual acting ability (unlike Hollywood action stars). When THE KILLER was released in 1989, American action heroes were lifting weights, going to tanning salons, and working on developing their American accents. Meanwhile, a half a world away, John Woo was getting ready to revolutionize the action genre by releasing THE KILLER. Woo used the very plain-looking Chow Yun-Fat and Danny Lee as his heroes, and those Hollywood heroes (with their bulging muscles and missile launchers) were simply never looked at the same way again. Those American action films are okay, but Woo’s films are much more entertaining simply because they have the added benefits of style, character development, and innovation, rather than just a star who spends his time in the gym pumping iron. THE KILLER was an international hit and played in art houses and revival theaters across the nation. In the ensuing years, THE KILLER has been released on import and domestic home video (in various edited and dubbed forms) on VHS, VCD, LD, and DVD. Winstar\Fox Lorber Home Video recently released the uncut version on widescreen DVD.

Chow Yun Fat plays reluctant assassin Jeff Chow, who wants to break away from the underworld, but keeps getting pulled deeper into it. Danny (SUPER INFRAMAN) Lee portrays the intense Inspector Li, the man who becomes obsessed with tracking down Jeff Chow. Sally (I LOVE MARIA) Yeh plays the depressed blind woman, Jennie, who is caught between the two. Kenneth (ONCE A THEIF) Tsang is Li’s friend and partner, Sergeant Randy Chang. Fui-On (THE UNTOLD STORY) Shing plays slimy lead gangster, Johnny Weng. Chu (THE BIG HEAT) Kong plays the guilt-ridden Sydney, Jeff Chow’s best friend who unknowingly lures him into a trap.

Jeff Chow is a hitman working in modern day Hong Kong. He lives by a code of honor, and plays by the rules of the assassination game. He is the kind of man who would keep his word, and not betray those close to him. He takes his assignments from his best friend and mentor, Sydney (Chu Kong). Sydney is an ex-assassin who had to quit the business when his hand was mangled, rendering him unable to properly handle a gun. But Sydney still has mob ties, and acts as a middle man between Jeff and those who hire him. Jeff’s latest assignment sees him sneaking into small and intimate nightclub, where he tracks down his target, a well-protected underworld figure. Jeff easily dispatches the guy, but his armed bodyguards prove to be more than a problem. While attempting to save a scrambling nightclub singer, Jennie (Sally Yeh), Jeff fires at his opponents and the powder burns from his pistol blind the screaming woman. Jeff blasts his way clear, and quickly wraps her eyes in a makeshift bandage, before he runs down the street, nursing a bullet wound of his own.

Johnny Weng orders Sydney to dispose of Jeff or Sydney will be killed. So Sydney then confronts an angry Jeff, and apologizes for unknowingly giving him away. Meanwhile, Inspector Lee gets to Jennie and convinces her to set a trap for Jeff, for his own good. Sydney proves his friendship to Jeff by helping him rescue Jenny from the clutches of Inspector Li’s trap. Inspector Lee is demoted for his failure to capture Jeff. This comes at a perfect time because Johnny Weng steps up his attempts to kill Jeff. After Johnny Weng has Inspector Li’s partner Randy killed, Jeff and Inspector Li now share a common enemy. Fate teams up super cop Inspector Li with assassin Jeff Chow. They will need each others skills if they are to survive Johnny Weng’s private army!

THE KILLER is simply an awesome cinematic effort. The action is unbelievably lightning fast, and the plot is surprisingly effective. The violence in this film is so wild and over-the-top, that these scenes can be best described as "bullet ballet." John Woo elevates the action and gunplay to an art form! The violence that Woo captures here reflects real technical brilliance in special effects and action choreography. Woo admits he is influenced by the westerns of Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah; and it shows here with the bloody slow-motion death scenes. Woo wrote and directed the film with the precision and craftsmanship of a true cinematic mastermind. He creates characters with some depth that the audience can care about, and uses remarkable filmmaking techniques to convey the story on so many different levels. Woo composes an action film that stimulates the audience, and does not center around the action scenes themselves. Yes, we’ve all seen endless action movies before, but Woo’s action scenes are ripe with class, originality, and meticulous timing that few directors can match. THE KILLER is emotionally attractive as it is visually stunning.

THE KILLER is a psychological study of a killer and the policeman who hunts him. The chemistry between the two heroes Chow and Lee shows how sometimes two completely opposite lives can mysteriously parallel one another. The film also observes the friendship between the two assassins, Jeff and Sydney (the only relationship that is not fully explored is Jeff and Jennie), and the code of hitman ethics that they live by. The relationship between Jeff and Jennie is nicely handled, and never really descends into deep romance, or similar cliched terrain. The psychological intricacies of these complex characters are never overshadowed by the non-stop blood bath. The relationship between Jeff and the Inspector Li is quite complex. In one of THE KILLER’s most memorable moments, Inspector Li confronts Jeffrey in Jenny’s apartment. Jeffrey and the police inspector stand face-to-face, at arm’s length, pointing pistols at each other’s face! The blind Jenny is unaware of the confrontation and makes tea and exchanges social pleasantries with them, as they attempt to get the upper hand on each other. They tell Jenny they are old acquaintances, and call each other ‘Dumbo’ and ‘Mickey Mouse’ like they are childhood friends. But as the film progresses, they become united against a common foe. This is where their relationship becomes even more fascinating.

In essence, THE KILLER is really a modern combination of spaghetti western/ samurai film. It explores issues of honor and moral codes in a changing world in order to bring together two men who appear to be completely different on the surface. For all the differences implied in the surface examination of Jeff and Li (one’s a killer, the other a cop), they’re much the same underneath—two modern day Ronin (masterless samurai) wandering a landscape that’s becoming increasingly hostile to their way of life. Jeff has been double-crossed by his employer (who wants him dead), and has Li has been unfairly demoted and loses his faith in the justice system. These similar characters are ultimately throwbacks to another era—one where your code and your honor were far more important than anything else. It’s through this realization that these two characters—so different in a superficial sense—manage to come together and not only fight a common enemy, but become friends in the process.

THE KILLER also showcases several fine acting performances as well. Chow Yun-Fat brings a sense of depth and emotional resonance to his portrayal of Jeff. Yes, Chow can jump/dive/shoot with the best of them, but he can play the quiet scenes too—something that most contemporary action stars are incapable of doing. Danny Lee is also great as Inspector Li. Lee’s performance manages to convey both the character’s extremely driven nature, and his frustration at living in a world that’s changing for the worse. Let’s not forget Chu Kong, who does a great job as Sydney. His is a quiet, understated performance, yet it captures the essence of his character—a crippled gunslinger that can no longer live by his guns—perfectly. It’s a performance that’s often overshadowed by the two leads, but it’s a fine, three-dimensional portrayal of a man who lives by his word no matter what the cost.

The elaborately staged set pieces (especially the climactic scene in the church) are a wonder to behold as Jeff and Inspector Li shoot down wave after endless wave of bad guys—a pistol in each hand spitting out a never ending supply of bullets. And rest assured that no one gets shot once and dies here—no, in Woo’s world you must plant at least five slugs into every villain, ensuring his death and sending him flying backwards in a slow-motion dance of death. It’s violence elevated to art; something we’ve seen far too little of since Peckinpah’s THE WILD BUNCH, only Woo takes to the next level of the extreme. Woo includes irony and symbolism into the story. In the end, Jeff sustains similar wounds to the ones he inflicted on Jenny earlier in the film (he is blinded). The two are seen trying to find each other, crawling on the ground, but they never connect. This scene is symbolic of their love—that it was never meant to be, sort of like two ships passing in the night and never finding each other. A perfect ending to a symmetrical film. This is not a Hollywood movie; the hero does not win in the end, and he does not get the girl. In a sense, Jeff really does win, because he made Inspector Li promise to use Jeff’s money to see that Jennie gets the operation she needs.

John Woo holds the distinction, of not only of being a top director of action films in the history of cinema, but of having made the quintessential movie of the genre, THE KILLER. This film is a showcase of the specific action sequences that has set the standard for the entire film industry. But what makes it truly remarkable, is that the story and characters live up to the non-stop action. Never before, or since, has such extreme violence been so well integrated into a story, and Woo’s sense of aesthetics is impeccable. The violence and gunfights are choreographed with such precision and timing that it’s pure visual poetry. Woo, in fact, has given THE KILLER a lyrical, almost wistful tone and feel, which accentuates the contrast between the relationships and the violence even more. Fox Lorber produces an admirable DVD effort including the fascinating audio commentary by John Woo. The transfer is not what it could have been, but its still on a par (and cheaper) with the import DVD (which lacks the commentary track). With Criterion’s version of THE KILLER now out-of-print, this DVD is the best way to go for Woo fans.

THE KILLER is available at DVDEmpire

THE JOHN WOO COLLECTION is available at DVDEmpire

-  Tony Mustafa