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The Killer - Criterion Collection

The Killer - Criterion Collection

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best action movie I've ever seen!
Review: This is an amazing movie! I guarantee you have never seen scenes quite like this in any American movie. The entire movie has a "style" that just makes it cool, but I just can't quite put my finger on it. If you've seen Woo's American movies and wondered what all the hype is, check out The Killer. You will not be dissapointed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The greatest film to come out of Hong Kong
Review: John Woo's THE KILLER is, simply, the greatest film to come out of Hong Kong. Everything is superb. Chow Yun Fat and John Woo are both at their best, and this film is just great - but the ending really is the killer. Unfortunately, the Criterion Collection DVD is now out of print and although I am lucky enough to own it, it is quite the collector's item. But this is simply a must-see film. You just have to have John Woo's greatest masterpiece.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: See it to believe it.
Review: THE KILLER is probably the most visually orgasmic film I have ever seen. The action takes place at break-neck speed, but often slows to the all-too-familiar Hollywood slow-motion style. Oops. Actually, Hong Kong cinema invented the slo-mo and John Woo is its most gifted expositor. Though he has used it less successfully in his American films (FACE/OFF, the awful BROKEN ARROW), Woo's techniques were honed in Hong Kong, and best displayed in this 1989 action masterpiece. The colors in the film are brilliant and jarring. The action in this film is visceral and cathartic. The story has some interesting twists, but the main attractions here are the all-out gun battles that shred the screen. Easily better than 99% of American action films, THE KILLER is a great vehicle for a pre-CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON/REPLACEMENT KILLERS Chow Yun-Fat. This film has to be seen to be believed.

Essential.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: One of John Woo's best films.
Review: This movie is perhaps the best example of an action movie that still retains a story. Woo's characters actually posess emotions and are not just stock characters that shoot each other.

My only problems with the DVD are on the technical side. First of all, the video (1.85:1) should have been anamorphic, but like all of Woo's other HK flicks, they are not. The video quality is not spectacular compared to other restorations of older movies (the criterion of Robocop is a good example), but it is far superior to a VHS copy.

The audio remains in its original mono format. The soundtrack, especially the beginning of the film, is very unique. I hoped for a 5.1 or at the least a Dolby Surround mix, but at least you get the option of listening to the original language track. I HATE dubbed movies!

Overall Quality
Film: 9/10
Video 7/10
Audio 6/10

I would suggest this movie to any Woo fan or a person who would like to watch a different type of action movie. Just keep in mind that it is quite violent.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: John Woo's best
Review: This is THE movie that got me obessesed with Hong Kong action flicks. I'm not gonna bore you with plot , suffice to say , it has a pro assassin Jeffrey (played by CYF) getting chased by the HK mob after he botches a hit (gets recognized). Awesome action scenes ensue. The music , the imagery , it all blends together to make one magnificent film. If there is one thing I don't understand , is that some people rag on the fact that Sally Yeh's music is played continously throughout the movie. Her music is soft and melodramatic , a perfect combination to what we are witnessing on-screen. Actually the best musical part is when Jeffrey and his buddy are fighting bad-guys in a church , but you'll have to see that for yourself.
This DVD has decent sound and picture . There is some really horrible artifacting right at the start , but it goes away. There are two languages , English and Cantonese (I recommend the latter). There is also two trailers , one for the killer , the other for Hard Boiled (excellent movie in its own right).
I believe one of the U.S critics who reviewed this movie said it best.." The Killer is great cinema".

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: WARNING!
Review: Warning, this is a seriously BUTCHERED version of the film. Disny, in all of it's wisdom, has decided to cut over 6 minutes of the film. Do yourself a favor and get ahold of the fox lorber/winstar release, orif you've got the cash, pick up the criterion edition.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best hk movies
Review: Truly a classic from the woo/chow team. Althought there is some overmelodramatic moments, this film is a power house of action, bullets and acting. Those who don't understand the end may have to watch it again. And those who don't like the movie at all, watch it again also. This is a treasure that is worth every minute.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: gun battles'r'us!!!
Review: This is a violent movie. I love it. The first time I watched it, I was absolutely spellbound by the incredible shoot outs in this movie. When these guys start, they finish things in a grand way, especially the final fight which is nonstop, totally cool shootem up. The plot is not the greatest, but it does pull at the heartstrings from time to time {mickey mouse!!!}. This is a great introduction to Chinese action movies. And I must say that Chow Yun-Fat is absolutely cool at all times. He is the man... A real action hero!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Story of a Hitman with a Heart
Review: Because I'm a 13 year old boy(and a fan of Chow Yun-Fat and John Woo), I was just looking for the best action movie of all time. I ended up with something better, a dramatic, well though-out action film. It may not be "The Matrix", but "The Killer" was awesome. It was a movie filled with mayhem and bullets. And there was so much action. Jeffrey is a hitman with a heart who, during his last hit, accidentally blinds a woman with a gun. Because he's not a cold-hearted hitman, he decides to do one more hit to pay for an operation that will keep her from going blind. Lee is a cop who wants to stop Jeffrey from making his last hit. Jeffrey is betrayed by the mob that hired him and is put in war against all odds. Jeffrey and Lee put aside their differences to blur the line between them. Together they blast through the war leading to a climatic battle that is John Woo's best battle ever. Even though I'm only 13, I know good acting when I see it. This movie has been throned "THE Movie of Mayhem".Don't bother renting it, just buy the DVD.

"One Vicious Hitman. One Fierce Cop. Ten Thousand Bullets."

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Apex
Review: 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.


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