The Killer (Die xue shuang xiong, 1989)
John Woo
Hong Kong
111 mins, color, Cantonese (English subtitles)
Action-packed drama about an assassin with a soul, a non-traditional cop with a soul, another burnt out ex-assassin with a soul, and a female singer, also with a soul. That soul thing, of course, does not interfere with slaughtering hundreds, or maybe thousands, of nameless mob guys without souls. Every other frame of this film is liberally sprinkled with gallons of red liquid, presumably blood, the soundtrack is from a world war two front newsreel, and the romantic interludes are spiced up with delicious cantopop. The splatter-fest is directed by John Woo, back in the glory old days before he sold out to the Satan of Film (Hollywood) and began spewing godawful TV remakes of his old classics.
THE KILLER is a classic, there is no doubt about that. Given the number of trees sacrificed in print reviews and the number of low-paid Chinese kept employed manufacturing hard drives to store the electronic reviews, the film seems very popular everywhere. It has at least four different DVD releases that I am aware of: (1) Criterion, out of print, and overpriced by shameless infidels plying their wares on eBay; (2) Fox Lorber, which I've never seen, but which seems comparable to Criterion's; (3) Universe, the one I have; (4) Mega Star, which seems the worst. Before you rush out and buy the superior Criterion release for $100, consider this. Universe has done a great job with the transfer and it looks comparable, if not better at times, to Criterion's. If you get used to the remixed Dolby 5.1 sound, it does not sound too bad (they really should have kept the mono), and although the silence between speeches can be deafening, it really is tolerable. The English subs are actually almost error-free and make sense all the time. Even though there is no commentary, Chow Yun-Fat is Jeff (not Joe, dammit) and we have Mickey Mouse and Dumbo (not Butthead and Numb-nuts, goodness gracious). Yeah, it costs 10 times less. I have it, so should you.
Without giving away the plot (as if the trailer did not give out the story already), Chow Yun-Fat is Jeff, an assassin, who only kills bad guys. Why? Because he says so. Danny Lee is Li, a police inspector, who only kills bad guys. Why? Because he's a cop. Kong Chu is Sydney, a retired assassin, who only kills bad guys. Why? Because he's nostalgic. Sally Yeh is Jennie, who does not kill any guys. Why? Because she's blind. It is inevitable, according to cinematic fate, that these should meet in very explosive circumstances. Unfortunately, both Jeff and Li have a problem with hurting innocent bystanders. They also share other things, like having best friends die or being misunderstood and all.
One time, Jeff goes to rub out some dude but blinds Jennie in the process. Consumed with guilt, he goes to rub out another dude and almost gets a little girl killed. Granted, he takes her to a hospital (in a great misprint, the name is SCARED Heart Hospital) and she does not die. This establishes that he does indeed have a soul. We already knew that because Chow Yun-Fat is such a good actor, he cannot hide it for long. Jeff decides to help the girl get her sight back, but is hunted down by a triad boss, who is unhappy with Jeff's last publicity stunt. Li is the proverbial cop, who never gives up (in Bulgarian we have a saying for these: "dumb but persistent"). He goes after Jeff big time and they have several trademark stand-offs in various settings. Eventually, a strange bond develops between them, and they start calling each other Mickey Mouse and Dumbo. Then many people die.
This film is deservedly considered one of Woo's best. The acting is top-notch, the action scenes are delicious (courtesy of Ching Siu Tung), the cinematography is superb (Peter Pau, ladies and gentlemen), and the story is gripper. As a recognized influence, the film should be required viewing in any film studies class. Also, if you thought Rodriguez was god (DESPERADO and EL MARIACHI), see his father in action. The cantopop is nauseating and the cheap keyboard work detracts from the enjoyment a bit, but since I've gotten used to this "feature" of Hong Kong movies, it does not annoy me as much anymore. The film would have been better had it had a decent soundtrack. Nevertheless, it is a great treat that you should watch at 3 a.m. (I did, my neighbors now hate me but they are also afraid of me). You will not regret it, especially because THE KILLER ends like every great film should.
April 26, 2001. BLS