The Killer (Dragon Dynasty) – Blu-ray Review

The Film:

We see a man in a suit sliding backwards on the floor, shooting two guns at thugs, in slow motion, with a couple of white pigeons flying away, and it must be a John Woo film. His style is instantly recognizable, in Asia and in America, as the director is widely known for his stylized action flicks that are unparalleled when you compare them to someone else. When Woo switched over to direct films in Hollywood, his style clashed with studio executives, and as his last few films suffered from poor critical reviews and poorer box offices returns, it reminded me of one studio head that said: “I suppose Woo can direct action scenes.“

Despite a few successes prior to 1989, like in Last Hurrah for Chivalry and the Better Tomorrow films, it was The Killer that really put John Woo on the map. The plot is pretty simple, but it’s the little things Woo added to the film, that made it an international hit. Accidentally hurting the eyes of a pretty pop singer, an assassin vows to help her out medically. But when the operations prove to be too costly, the assassin accepts one last job to get the money needed. Of course, it isn’t that simple, as the police are after this nameless assassin (Chow Yun-Fat), the triad is deeply irritated, but Woo graces everything with elegance and subtlety, through nuanced friendships, interesting tangents to this code the assassin follows by, and of course, the action.

The Killer is pure action bliss. In regards to that studio exec’s comment, Quentin Tarantino calmly replied: “I suppose Michelangelo can paint ceilings!” The climax is where it’s at if you love seeing bullets fly. Each scene  feels like Woo is ending them with an exclamation point. As wild as the climax gets, Woo’s knack for characterizations brings the heart back to the characters. Fat is amazing, but so is his counterpart, Danny Lee. The Killer is the definitive action film and yet Woo crafted a perfect, if not equal kissing cousin in Hard Boiled. Let me some up The Killer for you: “One cop. One hitman. Ten thousand bullets.”

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: This film has long been out-of-print, famously last seen on the Criterion Collection, and now Dragon Dynasty has at long last answered many action fans pleas of getting a new version of the film on DVD and Blu-ray. The Dragon Dynasty has been at the center of much controversy over their handling of video and audio. To me, most of their titles are stellar. The Killer however, is nothing but a disappointment. The video, first and foremost, is 1080i, and while it’s better than the Criterion disc and possibly a tiny bit better than its DVD counterpart, for Blu-ray and HD, it is vastly below average. Some scenes sparkle like day time scenes towards the middle of the film, but mostly the image is soft, at times washed out, and blurry in some of the darker scenes. While true videophiles could nitpick this inside and out, for most of you, it will end up as such a disappointment, considering the film’s long OOP status and ranking.

The audio is okay. The subtitles seem decent. Little to complain here, but the original source material is dated, so don’t expect a full-on sonic assault. The English dub should be skipped, for errors in translation.

Interview with John Woo: In HD, this long sit down with the great director is pretty good. Running 70 minutes, he covers a lot of aspects including influences, style, and the films of his career candidly, making the long running time, worth it.

2002 American Cinematheque Q and A’s: Following screenings of both The Killer and Hard Boiled, Woo participated in some Q and A’s. These two are selectable individually and are nice tangent pieces to the main interview.

Deleted Scenes: Taken off of the Criterion disc, and run seven minutes. Nothing too great, but interesting in seeing Woo’s development of the editing of the film.

Trailers finish out the extras.

Conclusion: The Killer is great, but the Dragon Dynasty Blu-ray is a vast disappointment. Poor HD picture and no commentary makes this hyped release a rental.

The Film: Rating:

The Blu-ray: Rating: