The Killer (1989)

A disillusioned assassin accepts one last hit in hopes of using his earnings to restore vision to a singer he accidentally blinded, only to be double-crossed by his boss.

Director:

John Woo

Writer:

John Woo

Stars:

Yun-Fat Chow, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Yun-Fat Chow	...	Ah Jong (as Chow Yun Fat)
Danny Lee	...	Insp. Li Ying / Little Eagle
Sally Yeh	...	Jennie
Kong Chu	...	Fung Sei (as Chu Kong)
Kenneth Tsang	...	Sgt. Tsang Yeh (as Tsang Kong)
Fui-On Shing	...	Wong Hoi (as Shing Fui On)
Wing-Cho Yip	...	Wong Dung-Yu
Fan Wei Yee	...	Paul Yau
Barry Wong	...	Chief Insp. Dou / Tu
Parkman Wong	...	Insp. Chan Bok
Alan Ng	...	A Killer (as Siu-Hung Ng)
Yamson Domingo	...	Bodyguard A
Siu Hung Ngan	...	Bodyguard B
Kwong Leung Wong	...	Wong Hung

Storyline

A Hong Kong hitman accidentally blinds an innocent woman during a hit. He is determined to get her surgery to help her regain her sight but he needs to complete one more hit first. He completes the job but then is ambushed as he tries to escape: someone wants him dead. Meanwhile a resourceful, unorthodox police detective is hot on his trail.

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Plot Keywords:

hong kong | hitman | gunfight | police | 1980s | 

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Taglines:

This film will blow you away.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive strong violence and some language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jennie's (Yeh) hospital visit shows a vision of Ah firing his gun while blood fills the screen. It was reportedly inspired by the bloody elevator scene in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980).

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Goofs

The road sign board pointing to the hospital says "SCARED HEART HOSPITAL".

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Quotes

Joe (Cantonese)/Jeffrey (English): I think you and I could be friends.
Lee: If I put my gun down, right? That's your condition?
Joe (Cantonese)/Jeffrey (English): Can you do it? (No response) At least we can be temporary friends. We have a common enemy.

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Alternate Versions

Original Hong Kong and international versions have slightly different soundtracks in two scenes:

• in the tram you hear some music in the international version, whereas in the original version there is no music
• in Joe's appartment after the gunfight you hear the song from the bar (international) or a different song (original) respectively

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Connections

Referenced in Il solitario (2008)

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Soundtracks

Once In A Lifetime
Performed by Sally Yeh

User Reviews

This is like no other action film!

Of all John Woo's bullet-ridden action movies, this is his greatest. You see many of Mr. Woo's "trademarks" (flying doves, reflections in mirrors, very strong Catholic symbolism) that appear in his inferior American directed films (save Face Off) first in this Hong Kong cinema classic. Sure the violence is over the top, the plot only adequate, the sentimentalism a little thick. The actions scenes are filmed with such, I dare say beauty, that no Hollywood 'by the numbers' action film can possibly compete. While this film is not for the squeamish or those offended by excessive and rather graphic violence, if you are in any way a fan of action films - you mush see this movie (and many other John Woo directed films during his Hong Kong days, i.e. Hardboiled, A Better Tomorrow, etc).

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese Mandarin Japanese

Release Date:

September 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Killer

Filming Locations:

The Peak, Hong Kong

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Workshop, Golden Princess Film Production Limited, Long Shong Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min 104 min (USA) (2002) (R-rated) 124 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1