Bullet in the Head

Rating:
Summary: Excellent and disturbing.
Review: A title like 'Bullet in the Head' sound odd until you see the film, remember Face/Off, which is also directed by John Woo.
Once you ignore the low budget filmming methods employed in Hong Kong movies, this film can be box office hit.
But it contains some disturbing themes that is mixed in the violence which may put off some viewers.
However, this particular disturbing POW killing scene is captured and edited with quality skill.
This may embark John Woo to make a realistic-warfare film, a product simalar to 'Saving Private Ryan'.
I have heard that 'Windtalkers' starring Nicholas Cage, is one such film.

Rating:
Summary: The Epic Story Of Three Best Friends...
Review: Ben, Paul, and Frank have been best friends since they were teens. On Ben's wedding day Frank gets into some trouble with some gangs, who beat Frank up. Hoping for revenge, Ben and Frank look to teach Ringo the gangster a lessen, but in the process accidentally kill him. So all three friends flee to Saigon during the Vietnam war hoping to become "Big time smugglers." This is where their tragic adventure begins...

That is the basic premise for this 1990 John Woo movie set in The Vietnam War. It is a combination of action, drama, loyalty, honor, and so much more. I strongly recommend it, however, be aware that this movie is not for the weak at heart. There are many disturbing scenes, including the infamous POW camp scene. In my opinion, the best scene is when a guy gets shot in the head in a church yard, and you can see Mary holding Jesus in the backround. So do yourslef a favor and watch Bullet In The Head.

Rating:
Summary: This is possibly the best action movie ever made.
Review: Bullet in the Head is John Woo at his finest. This epic movie takes us through the good and bad times of 3 friends that end up in the middle of the Vietnam war, although it can't be classified as a war movie. I will say, the movie is very violent. The action scenes are incredible, and very plentiful. The story line is great, as well as the acting. If you like John Woo, you must have this film. In my opinion, this is the best action film ever made.

Rating:
Summary: DVD Review
Review: First let me say that this review will focus on the DVD only, and not review the film - although I believe it's one of the greatest ever made!

This DVD is an example of how good Hong Kong films can look on the format, with a sharp transfer that adds an extra dimension to the film. The only minor (and I mean minor) problems with this film is that the picture "jumps" up very slightly in a few places, and that when English is being spoken the Subs. don't match the dialouge.

Also, the sound quality, remixed into 5.1, is slighlty disappointing. It sounds a bit "tinny", lacking some depth, although the beautiful theme has never sounded better! You do get a few extras, although "a few" is exaclty right: the trailer, coming attractions and filmographies.

Apart from the above, I would recommend this DVD to anyone who loves this masterpiece.

Picture: 9/10 Sound: 7/10

Rating:
Summary: more than 3 minutes cut i'm afraid
Review: first off, i love this movie, its very dark and evil and is john woo's best movie.

a staggering 18 minutes has been cut from this version! thats right, and not only that but they even place what little intact scenes they have left out of order and do the worst dubbing job in the history of asian films.

the prison camp scenes were pretty gruesome and horrifying until Tai Seng decided to slice this film to shreds. what were they thinking! they put out a french laserdisc that is the full version, its just sad.

do not buy this! if you want help don't buy any Tai Seng stuff (i know, i can't either) until they get it in their heads people actually like uncut films.

Rating:
Summary: A dark, brutal rip-off.
Review: Haven't we seen this story before? How about The Deer Hunter? How about Rebel Without A Cause? How about Treasure of the Sierra Madre? Okay, John Woo usually steals his plots from other movies, but here it was much more blatant than usual. Also, the picture is REALLY grim and violent, even by Woo's standards. And the subtitles are pretty lame ("Damn up!" being my favorite example). Finally: no Chow Yun-Fat, and nobody else with his charisma in the leading roles. Tony Leung is good, but not enough.

Rating:
Summary: Finally, the Complete Ending
Review: Having loved this movie (and everything else John Woo has done) after seeing it for the first time on Laser Disc, I always wondered if something was missing in the last sequence.Those familiar with the LD version know that the final action sequnce has a strange , abrupt start to it. The DVD finally shows the whole sequnce from beggining to end, making much more sense. As far as the picture goes, like the Better Tomorrow DVD's, the picture seems much too bright and washes out the color. I turned my monitor black level down but then some of the darker scenes are too dark. I never had that trouble with the LD version, so it seems to be a constant problem with this distributor.Happy to say, unlike A Better Tomorrow, they didn't substitute the original soundtrack with Forrest Gump music. And the remixed stereo sounds more natural as well.

Rating:
Summary: masterpiece mutilated, film 5 stars, this edition 0
Review: i haven't got the DVD yet but this VHS is pretty horrible. does Tai Seng even know chinese? when the americans speak in the film subtitles are still playing even in english and they are really way way off from what they are really saying! this is a angering reminder that what the chinese actors are supposedly saying is not what they are really saying. after 1 hour it seems tai seng gave up on the subtitles and just started mindlessly typing, some are repeated over and over. and a good 3 minutes has been hacked from this version making the film look sloppy and some scenes making absolutly no sense at all. the film itself is great. tony gives one of his best performances ever. everyone should see this film but not like this. hope the DVD isn't this bad. there is a very early VHS edition that has correct subtitles and scenes intact, wonder where it is. anchor bay, are you listening?

Rating:
Summary: This is John Woo's version of A Better Tomorrow 3
Review: I noticed nobody mentions this detail :

Bullet in the Head is John Woo's version of the third part of the "A Better Tomorrow" saga... or Tsui Hark's ABT 3 is another version of Bullet in the Head, depending on who you trust.

The Amazon review of ABT3 (by David Chute, see elsewhere on this site) states that John Woo wrote the script, but was supplanted by Tsui Hark as director of the movie. There is no hard evidence of this.

Apparently, Tsui Hark and John Woo competed to shoot and release their own version of the script of ABT3... I don' know who was faster, but Tsui Hark had the rights to the title. According to articles in the trade specialist press (HK Orient Extreme, possibly the most professional magazine on Asian cinema worldwide), they had worked together on the script before they ended their collaboration. So "A Bullet in the Head" and "A Better Tomorrow 3" are actually 2 versions of the same storyline. The differences and variations, and the way each of these two geniuses shot their own version is quite interesting. For those who know Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), the way each of the two directors shot the outdoor scenes is also quite interesting.

Whose version is the best? In any case, the two movies are great, and they are even better when compared to each other (if that makes sense).

Who owns the actual story? My personal intuitive inclination goes to Tsui Hark, who was always a better writer than John Woo and had a personal involvement in this story (if I'm not wrong, he grew up in Saigon and witnessed the fall of the city). For one thing, he depicts the city and its people with more empathy and depth than John Woo. But I may be wrong : If someone has the final word or some kind of historical angle on this, please enter your review, I'll be glad to read more on this.

If Mr. John Woo or Mr. Tsui Hark would care to comment on this issue on this Amazon site, (you never know, I get lucky sometimes), I think it would be great for all HK cinema fans worldwide.

Rating:
Summary: What's wrong with this copy?
Review: I really like this film. However, there is something seriously wrong with the Media Asia print. First, the subtitles are awful. Second, is it just me, or is the audio track off by a few seconds? I need a second opinion, because sometimes the audio track comes in the middle of the actors speaking! I can't tell but it looks really bad. Perhaps we can get a second opinion? 5 star film, 1 star print.