Ah Jong is called John and Jeff in some subtitled prints of the film. Directed by John Woo. [21][22], The Killer was director Woo's follow-up to A Better Tomorrow 2 which was released in 1987. The film stars Kevin Kline as Nick Starkey, a smart ex-NYPD detective who is lured back into service by his police commissioner brother (Harvey Keitel) when a serial killer terrorizes the city. [11][12] The focus on male friendships in Woo's film have been interpreted as homoerotic. | Imdb He is determined to get her surgery to help her regain her sight but he needs to complete one more hit first. Woo desired to make a film about honour, friendship and the relationship of two seemingly opposite people. 01 Cast 13. He's always supercool. It features characters you care about, jaw-dropping action sequences, and , best of all, Chow Yun Fat. Due to Sally Yeh's tight filming schedule, the scene was not filmed and replaced with Ah Jong playing the harmonica. Rated R for pervasive strong violence and some language, Courtney Barnett, Kathleen Hanna Release ‘Hands Off!’ Compilation, Killer Films Celebrates 25 Years of Exemplary Indie Cinema, Paramount Network Sets 'Killer Classics' Movie Marathon Lineup for October, Beyond the Top 250: IMDb Staff's Favorite Movies, The Best 1980s International Feature Film. David Wu said the influence of the Harmonica music in Sergio Leone's western films was a strong influence on his work. Ah Jong tells Li that should anything happen to him, Li should have Ah Jong's eyes donated for Jennie's surgery or use Ah Jong's money to fly her overseas to have her surgery performed by more experienced doctors. Fung Sei brings a suitcase for Ah Jong, who discovers it to be filled with sheets of blank paper before finding himself in the middle of a Triad ambush. The killer promises the woman that he will take her home after getting his revenge. Because of their friendship, Fung Sei leaves a large stockpile of weaponry for Ah Jong. Technical Specs, See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro, Jueng Wan / This page was last edited on 13 September 2020, at 16:09. Once the child regains consciousness at the casualty ward, Ah Jong escapes Li and Tsang. [89], Woo commented that after completing his film Manhunt, he "probably will go back to Hollywood to make another action thriller. I mean, I knew of John Woo, but I hadn’t seen ‘The Killer.’ So I received the script and read it without really looking at his work in great depth, which is typically how I approach these things. 10 Chu Kong was a friend of Chow Yun-fat who had entered retirement and returned to acting in The Killer as a favor. [67] In 2014, Time Out polled several film critics, directors, actors and stunt actors to list their top action films. It's all the Woo flourishes...that elevates The Killer to another level". Director John Woo has described The Killer as being about "honour and friendship", "trying to find out if there is something common between two people" and as a "romantic poem". The battle ends with a Mexican standoff between Ah Jong, Li and Wong Hoi. One thing I can say for sure is, the American, European, Japanese, Korean and even the Taiwanese audiences and critics appreciated The Killer a lot more than it was in Hong Kong. [73] Lucy Mazdon described the style of Nikita as recalling "the work of directors like John Woo. [56][57], In the United Kingdom, The Killer was released on DVD by Hong Kong Legends on 21 October 2002 which included an audio commentary with Bey Logan and interviews with Kenneth Tsang, Sally Yeh and cinematographer Peter Pau. The home is another ambush; Li attacks, followed by a group of Triad hitmen. Hong Kong director Johnnie To borrows from The Killer's gunfighting style, oppositional character pairing, and parody in his films A Hero Never Dies, Running Out of Time, and Fulltime Killer.[76][77]. The Killer | Yeh was currently contracted with Tsui Hark and accepted the role but later felt she did not give her best performance. Comic-book rock star Mike Allred is best known as the creator of _Madman, Red Rocket 7,_ and _The Atomics._ He may also be familiar to Criterion viewers from his illustrations for Seduced and Abandoned and Chasing Amy. [86] Lee's version was set to be produced by Woo, and star Jung Woo-sung and shot in 3D. [74][75] Rodriguez's films El Mariachi (1992), Desperado (1995), & Once Upon A Time In Mexico (2003) contain stylistic homages to The Killer. [29] Scenes from the Dragon Boat festival were shot months apart, some footage was of the boat races and rest of the footage involving the actors was shot months later. A tough-as-nails cop teams up with an undercover agent to shut down a sinister mobster and his crew. [18][19], Woo draws on animal symbolism throughout the film. [58][59][60], Stephen Holden of The New York Times referred to the film as "Alternately gripping and laughable" and that "The scenes of gore and destruction are even more spectacular than Hong Kong's fog-shrouded skyline". A man travels from China to Vietnam, on the brink of war with America, to retrieve his uncle and cousin but find complications when he falls in love with a female gangster with a dangerous ex. • Chow Yun-fat as Ah Jong (阿莊 Ā Zhuāng, aa3 zong1), an assassin who accidentally blinds singer Jennie when he is on a mission for the criminal organization, the Triads. [55] Lucia Bozzola of the online film database Allmovie gave the film a five star rating, and stated it as "One of the high points of 1980s Hong Kong action cinema". The Killer (1989) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. [23][27] John Woo approached his friend, Sally Yeh, asking her to be in a film to play an important female character. But when Jeffrey is double-crossed, he reluctantly joins forces with a rogue policeman to make things right. [58] In 2010, Time Out New York ranked The Killer at number 50 on their list of the top 50 foreign films of all time. [88] Sarah Li was initially cast to play the role of the blind singer. [54][55], On 30 March 2010 The Killer was released by the Dragon Dynasty label on two-disc DVD and Blu-ray. [72] Brandon Lee used The Killer as an influence when choreographing his fight scenes in the film Rapid Fire (1992 film).In the United States, directors Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino developed films that were influenced by The Killer. Tsang Yeh Shing Fui … He completes the job but then is ambushed as he tries to escape: someone wants him dead. [29] During promotion periods for the film, Woo described the film as a tribute to Martin Scorsese and French director Jean-Pierre Melville. Jennie and Ah Jong begin to fall in love during his frequent visits to her apartment. The Killer (1989) program's information, schedule and tv listing. [48], The Killer was released in the United States on VHS by Fox Lorber in November 1992, in a dubbed and subtitled version. A Hong Kong hitman accidentally blinds an innocent woman during a hit. With his world shattered, he must decide between what is best for his son and his own future happiness. Frustrated by the outcome of the battle, Li fatally shoots Wong Hoi. Chow plays the assassin Ah Jong, who accidentally damages the eyes of the singer Jennie (Sally Yeh) during a shootout. [43][46] Film producer Terence Chang suggested that The Killer's success around the world made several Hong Kong filmmakers jealous: "It created a certain kind of resentment in the Hong Kong film industry. However, when the police arrived, Danny Lee talked to the superintendent so they could continue filming. After finishing filming, Woo referred to The Killer as a tribute to directors Jean-Pierre Melville and Martin Scorsese. [71] In Nikita, the main character's crisis of conscience after performing a number of hits is also seen in The Killer. Fung Sei arrives with the money, horribly beaten by Wong Hoi's gangsters who have followed him. [71] Film scholars have noted the similarities between Woo's style and The Killer with the films Nikita (1990) and Léon (1994) directed by French director Luc Besson. It was planned for the boats to flip over during the chase but the owners refused because they felt it would bring bad luck. Find premiere of The Killer across all tv channels. [29] The scene at the airport were filmed at the Kai Tak Airport. Li, Ah Jong, and Jennie wait in a church for Fung Sei to return with Ah Jong's money. The remake would take place in Los Angeles's Koreatown, Chinatown, and South Central. One of them is the traitor. [38], The Killer was first released in Taiwan in March 1989 with a running time of 124 minutes. The Killer. Featuring Hong Kong’s greatest star, Chow Yun-fat, as a killer with a conscience, the film is an exquisite dissection of morals in a corrupt society, highlighted with slow-motion sequences of brilliantly choreographed gun battles on the streets of Hong Kong. The action scene inside the house took 28 days to shoot. [36] During the final action scene when the statue of the Virgin Mary is destroyed, the action music transitions to "Overture" from Messiah by George Frideric Handel. Ah Jong visits Jennie and is caught in an ambush from which he manages to escape. "[10] Woo uses Ah Jong and Li as a central motif to illustrate moral points. [37] The harmonica motif in the film was influenced by the soundtracks of Ennio Morricone, specifically the soundtrack to Once Upon a Time in America, and used a bottle blower to give the music a haunting effect. [51] Woo was very happy with the film being included in the Criterion Collection stating, "it was great because it would let people know what [The Killer and Hard Boiled] are about...when I saw that Criterion Collection selected The Killer, I was very happy as The Killer and Bullet in the Head are my two favourites". Release Dates If they see something in The Killer that they consider to be homoerotic then that is their privilege. [8] Woo recalled "When I was young I was fascinated with the cartoon–I love it very much ... the white bird and the black bird are always against each other, but deep in their heart, they are still friendly, and the idea came from that. Woo's older films are as stylistic as they get, I mean stylistic as hell. The Killer is not your run of the mill action flick. Ah Jong Danny Lee Sau-Yin. [7], The Killer was shown at several film festivals outside Asia including the 1989 Toronto Festival of Festivals and, during the film's United States premiere, at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January 1990. Chow and co-star Danny Lee play very similar characters but are on opposite sides of the law. Residents thought it was a real gunfight and phoned the police. In some dubbed and subtitled prints, his nickname is "Mickey Mouse" or "Butthead". ", "Sonny Bono to Host Palm Springs Film Fest", "The drop-dead director: John Woo makes movies with guts, and buckets of blood. About the decision of flip both the gender and race of the lead, Nyong'o said: “Listen, I did not see it coming, either. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? The songs were requested by the studio and written specifically for The Killer. Bonus features included were interviews with John Woo, a location guide, and a trailer gallery. [78] In 2005, Vibe magazine placed The Killer at number 21 on their list of top fifty films that shaped hip hop. American hip hop artist, and Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon released his critically praised debut album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (1995) that sampled numerous portions of dialog from the film.

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