The Weinstein Company’s Dragon Dynasty series has been releasing DVD editions of classic Asian action and cult films for a couple of years now and they have finally seen fit to include John Woo’s The Killer among the ranks. Long seen by many afficianados as the quintessential action film, this two-disc ultimate edition of The Killer packs enough features to please casual fans, but compared to other Dragon Dynasty releases it leaves a little to be desired for hard-core Woo fans.
There’s no denying that 1989’s The Killer is one of the best action films of the last twenty-five years, if not of all time. It tells the story of Ah Jong (Chow Yun-Fat, Hard Boiled, Bulletproof Monk), a killer-for-hire who adheres to a code of honor. Wanting to get out of the business, he takes one last job so that he can help pay for eye surgery for Jennie, a woman (Sally Yeh, The Diary of a Big Man) he injured in his previous assignment and subsequently has fallen in love with. When he’s double-crossed by his bosses and the hit goes bad, Ah Jong finds himself the target of an obsessive police detective (Danny Lee, 14 Days Before Suicide) who, in his efforts to track down Ah Jung, also falls for Jennie. With Ah Jung forced to deal with the police and his mob bosses who don’t take kindly to contract killers quitting the business, the stage is set for an all-out epic gun battle in a church (of course…this is a John Woo film, after all) featuring an unlikely friendship, a love triangle, and loads of spent bullet casings.
Having been written and directed by John Woo (Hard Boiled, Broken Arrow), The Killer features many of his trademarks, including outrageously choreographed gun battles, Mexican standoff-type scenarios, and Woo’s ever-present white doves. However, the film is more of a stepping stone to the much more accomplished Hard Boiled, which, it can be argued, is the perfect Hong Kong action film. That’s not to say that The Killer isn’t an excellent flick in its own right, though. Darker and more raw than Hard Boiled, it can perhaps best be described as ‘action film noir’.
Featuring a decent 1.85:1 widescreen transfer, the film is presented in mono sound, which is a big disappointment. Packed with special features, it’s what’s missing that really stands out: there’s no audio commentary. Sure, Woo delivered an audio commentary for the out-of-print Criterion Collection edition of The Killer and probably didn’t feel the need to re-hash the same stuff here, but where’s Hong Kong cinema expert Bey Logan, Dragon Dynasty’s go-to motormouth who’s chock-full of interesting tid-bits about anything and everything to do with Asian action films and who contributed a great commentary track on the Hard Boiled DVD from Dragon Dynasty? As for what is included:
Deleted Scenes: There are five deleted scenes included here, totaling about eight minutes. Four of the scenes are more-or-less throwaways, but there’s one four-and-a-half minute scene in which Ah Jung watches from the wings as Inspector Li saves Jennie from some thugs and takes her home that would have added plenty of atmosphere to the film.
Exclusive interview with director John Woo: a twenty-four minute ‘interview’ in which Woo sits on a couch and discusses the film, from its inception as an idea in his head all the way through to the final product. Of note is the fact that Woo cites Martin Scorsese’s early films and Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1967 Le Samourai as huge influences on The Killer.
Q&As with director John Woo: is a set of two sit-down discussions in front of an audience at the American Cinematheque with its program director, Dennis Bartok. From 2002, one is a twelve minute discussion of Hard Boiled and the other is a thirty-five minute discussion of The Killer. Both are very informative, and the questions are set up in such a way as to lead Woo into many amusing anecdotes about the making of both films while also delivering many insights into the making of two of his most beloved films.
The Killer Locations: is an eight minute guided tour of some of the locations where the film was shot, including a gunfight scene on a train where many of the commuters didn’t know a film was being shot and called the police.
John Woo Trailer Gallery: features trailers for The Killer and other Woo films of his pre-Hollywood ouevre.
Being released on its own as well as together with Hard Boiled‘s Dragon Dynasty edition, The Killer is an essential addition to any action film fan’s collection. The lack of a commentary track and the mono sound aside, Chow Yun-Fat’s charisma as a hit man with a conscience and Woo’s technically masterful gun battle scenes make for a one-two punch that is hard to resist.
