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“The Killer” is a tale of friendship, blurred moral lines, revenge, guilt, and lots and lots of bullets. This 1989 Hong Kong action thriller revolves around top-notch assassin Ah Jong (played by the iconic Chow Yun Fat). When he accidentally blinds beautiful singer Jennie (Sally Yeh) in a shootout, he decides to retire after one last job to pay for Jennie’s eye surgery. But when Ah Jong becomes the target of police detective Li Ying (Danny Lee), things become complicated. Foot chases, car chases, stand-offs, and massively epic shoot-outs are present all throughout this intense action classic.

John Woo is known for his symbolic imagery and his over-the-top action scenes, both of which are present all throughout “The Killer.” Woo has had such an influence on stylistic violence in film that we may now find it cliche to see a hero sliding across the floor on his back while firing double pistols in slow motion. However, back in 1989, Woo was creating these tropes. His stylistic take on violence has inspired countless action films and directors, including Quentin Tarantino.

Director: John Woo
Cast: Yun-Fat Chow, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh, Kong Chu, Kenneth Tsang, Fui-On Shing, Wing-Cho Yip, Fan Wei Yee
Country: Hong Kong
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller

DVD5 | NTSC 4:3 | 01:50:54 | 4.15 Gb + 3% rec
Language: Chinese
Subtitles: English

Extras:
• Commentary by director John Woo and producer Terence Chang
• Deleted scenes
• Theatrical Trailer
• DVD Production Credits

BD25 | 1080i AVC | 01:46:48 | 21.4 Gb + 3% rec
Language: Chinese, English
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Extras:
• Interview with Director John Woo (23:47)
• American Cinematheque Q+A on The Killer (35:01)
• American Cinematheque Q+A on Hard Boiled (11:35)
• The Killer Locations (8:47)
• 5 Deleted Scenes
• John Woo Trailer Gallery (5 trailers)