John Woo "The Killer" - anyone seen it?

[NeoNSX]

Last night i saw John Woo's 1989 HK film "The Killer" with subtitles only.

I'm extremely fussy with films, but this is one of the best I've seen in a LONG time... the editing & script is rough around the edges like most old HK films, but the action is... incredible! It is raw John Woo ... which even better than his current films that are stylized & really polished up. There's even a couple of scenes that the Matrix directly ripped off!

Has anyone else seen it? what did you think? is it just me that likes it?

Almost makes you wanna go out and become a Professional Killer! Sign me up Mr.Wolf!!!

 

[Black Knight]

it's an old movie but a classic i must add. john woo's style is unmatched by any other. i've got quite a few of his HK hits....

that's how chow yun fat made it into hollywood...all because of the wooster...

 

[NeoNSX]

Wazzzup Blue Knight!
i should have PM'ed you first about HK films... hehe...

i really like Chow Yun Fat ... he also rocked in "The Replacement Killers". I prefer him over other Asian actors like Jet Li because he has the face of a common-man who just happens to be very good at killing people. I really relate to that! j/k

Any other early John Woo / HK films I should check out?


<B>The highlights in The Killer</B> for me were:
1) The opening fight scene (I had no idea what was coming) - totally awesome!
2) The clever twist & execution of Jenny's role in the storyline.
3) The bad guy who says nothing, but goes around wearing black, driving black cars with black 80's sunglasses... LOL ... what a macho stereotype! Is this one of FuryNSX's idols?
4) The tension in the Draganov sniper sequence!
5) closing wound with gun powder. (*cough* rambo-rip-off! *cough* )
6) Final shoot up when they go totally ape with shotguns! Woohoo! I'd hate to clean up that mess.
7) Scene about the little girl, Chow Yun Fat's fight with remorse later on. It shows even killers have a heart.
8) all the idiosyncrasies like how they have heartfelt chats in the middle of an intense fight, guns that never need reloading, using 12 rounds to kill one man at point-blank, why didn't bad guys think to bring grenades, etc.. but that's what makes HK films so good.
9) UPDATE: Chow Yun Fat drives a HONDA CIVIC!!!

great flick... really enjoyed it.

 

[donwon]

If you liked "The Killer" you may also want to check "Hard Boiled" same lead role, this time with Tony Leung. I liked both of those... but wasnt impressed impressed with John Woos recent American releases. His older stuff im still a fan of.
"Bullet in the head"
"Better Tomorrow"
"Hard Boiled"

I also enjoy the excesses of John Woo's Films ..like how a guy can kick a table and while rolling: make a gun spin the air the perfect number of times before landing in his hand while he completes the roll, in a shooting position to shoot an enemy right between the eyes, and the movies are still a little long. Go figure.

 

[Mr.Wolf]

Mr. Chow Yun Fat is a rolemodel for all working in the 'Cleaning' profession.
It's about Honor, Standing by your word, and winning the women.

With regards using 12 rounds to kill one man, I say if you're going to do the job, do so in style - empty the entire 30 round clip!

 

[Cat]

I'll add another vote for "Hard Boiled." I've got both that and "The Killer" unfortunately with subtitles but oh well.

I'll see any movie that John Woo or Chow Yun-Fat makes. I wish that "Bulletproof Monk" had had a better technical team, it was a fun script that could've had much better photography and editing.

 

[NeoNSX]

<B>Cat:</B> Yeah, i was a little disappointed by BulletProof monk too. The only really-cool scene was when Chow Yun Fat jumped on the roof of the car & spun around.

I watched "The Replacement Killers" again last night. Great flick. I'm definitely going to hunt down Hard Boiled and Bullet-in-the-head now.

<B>Mr.Wolf</B> : lol... use all 30 rounds on 1 guy... i love your style. So what happens if you have a C-mag? (with 100 rounds) ...

 

[ajnsx]

killer is a classic, as above check out the other stuff mentioned. Doesnt really do it for me though i like 'stormriders' and 'man called hero' type stuff.

All the cool stuff in japan has the titles changed so its getting confusing. For example (not hk related) i saw company man here a while back, but elsewhere its called cypher? its by the guy that did 'cube' check it out, trippy film.

 

[Black Knight]

actually, besides being an awesome action start, chow yun fat is one of the funniest comedians in HK. he has much more comedy films than action films. a good actor is versatile and that's exactly what he is.....always looking good in every type of character he plays.....comedy, drama, action, romance. he's one of the big romantic actors as well due to his 6 feet plus stature....and i can tell you that not many HK actors are over 6 feet.

if you ever come to SF, i can show you a place that sells chinese VCD movies that has almost his whole collection of oldies and current films.

some of his best films were with actor/singer leslie cheung

"a better tomorrow" part 1,2
"once a thief"

all directed by john woo.....

 

[NeoNSX]

Argh! ...so many of these films are not available on DVD here in our region! And the industry wonders why there is piracy!

John Woo is pretty cool... it's his early films that have blown me away most. Hollywood tends to censor the realism somewhat.

Don't forget that John Woo directed one of the BMW Films "The Hostage" which is cool ... download it <B>free </B> from here: http://www.bmwfilms.com They also have a short film by John Frankenheimer who is the "John Woo" of car chases. But i don't want to digress the topic...

back to HK films.

<B>Blue Knight</B>... what's your personal fav. HK flicks?

<B>AJNSX</B> : no offense... but i find Japanese flicks weird. or maybe it's just the one's i've seen.