| Videos (see all 2 NEW) |
| Yun-Fat Chow | ... | Ah Jong (as Chow Yun Fat) | |
| Danny Lee | ... | Insp. Li Ying / Little Eagle | |
| Sally Yeh | ... | Jennie | |
| Kong Chu | ... | Fung Sei (as Chu Kong) | |
| Kenneth Tsang | ... | Sgt. Tsang Yeh (as Tsang Kong) | |
| Fui-On Shing | ... | Wong Hoi (as Shing Fui On) | |
| Wing-Cho Yip | ... | Wong Dung-Yu | |
| Fan Wei Yee | ... | Paul Yau | |
| Barry Wong | ... | Chief Insp. Dou / Tu | |
| Parkman Wong | ... | Insp. Chan Bok | |
| Siu-Hung Ng | ... | A killer | |
| Sing Yeung | ... | Bodyguard A | |
| Siu Hung Ngan | ... | Bodyguard B | |
| Kwong Leung Wong | ... | Wong Tong | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Chung Lin | ... | Jueng Wan / Ah Jong's first victim (uncredited) | |
| Hsiang Lin Yin | ... | Syndicate man (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| John Woo | |||
Writing credits | ||
| John Woo | (written by) | |
Produced by | |||
| Hark Tsui | .... | producer (as Tsui Hark) | |
Original Music by | |||
| Lowell Lo | (as Lowell Lowe) | ||
Cinematography by | |||
| Peter Pau | (as Peter Pao) | ||
| Wing-Hung Wong | (as Wong Wing Hang) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| Kung Ming Fan | (as Fan Kung Ming) | ||
Art Direction by | |||
| Man-Wah Luk | (as Luk Man Wah) | ||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Chun-Ching Tai | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Shirley Chan | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Benny Chow | .... | hair stylist | |
| Judy Mann | .... | makeup artist | |
| Yvonne Yen | .... | makeup artist | |
Production Management | |||
| Claudie Chung Chun | .... | executive in charge of production (as Claudie Chung) | |
| Virginia Lau | .... | production manager | |
| Roy Leung | .... | assistant production manager | |
| Kwong-King Ngan | .... | unit manager | |
| Lai-Ping Tsang | .... | post-production supervisor | |
| Deanne Yew | .... | production manager (as Deannie Yew) | |
| Patrick Yip | .... | production manager | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Chi Ming Leung | .... | second assistant director (as Leung Chi Ming) | |
| Patrick Leung | .... | first assistant director | |
Art Department | |||
| Hsu Wei-Kuo | .... | assistant art director | |
| Sai-Ching Yeung | .... | property master | |
Sound Department | |||
| Siu-Lung Ching | .... | sound effects | |
| Hsue-yui Fung | .... | dubbing editor: mandarin | |
| Yu Ting | .... | dubbing editor: cantonese | |
Stunts | |||
| Siu-Tung Ching | .... | action coordinator (as Ching Siu Tung) | |
| Siu-Tung Ching | .... | stunts | |
| Chi-Ho Lau | .... | action coordinator (as Lau Chi Ho) | |
| Chi-Ho Lau | .... | stunts | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Kim-Kit Chik | .... | chief electrician | |
| Kam Fook-Shing | .... | electrician | |
| Wai-Ming Ip | .... | still photographer | |
| Tak-Shing Lee | .... | chief electrician | |
| Stephen Shin | .... | still photographer | |
| Lee Wai-Tak | .... | assistant camera | |
| Chun-Wah Yuen | .... | assistant camera | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Tong Ping | .... | wardrobe mistress | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Chin-Kuen Pang | .... | assistant editor | |
Music Department | |||
| Susan Tang | .... | lyricist: theme song | |
| James Wong | .... | lyricist: theme song | |
| David Wu | .... | music editor | |
| Sally Yeh | .... | singer: theme song | |
Other crew | |||
| Billie Chan | .... | unit publicist | |
| Kathy Cheung | .... | production accountant | |
| Janet Chin | .... | continuity | |
| Sylvia Fung | .... | tea lady | |
| Gloria Ho | .... | production security | |
| Wysum Pao | .... | continuity | |
| Chi-Wah Tse | .... | production assistant | |
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| Lat sau san taam | Ying hung boon sik | Face/Off | Kill Bill: Vol. 1 | Chik yeung tin si |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Action section | IMDb Hong Kong section |
| Add this title to MyMovies |
Before seeing a genuine Hong-Kong produced John Woo movie, I thought I knew what action was, and what the action-movie genre was capable of. I was wrong. The Killer was the single most impressive, awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping action movie I had seen in years, and is now one of my favourite movies of any genre. It is #2 on my all-time list.
Why? First of all, the well-known poetic violence of the super-charged action scenes make for a tremendously exciting film. These combine choreographed bloodshed (there is an almost constant stream of bullets) with raw emotion that puts even the best Hollywood actioners to shame. Look at Hollywood action movies today; almost all Hollywood action is inspired (not to mention plagiarised) from the "heroic bloodshed films," the best of which is The Killer.
Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez are only the most obvious examples of American directors to put Woo's trademark stylized violence to use, and neither handle it as well as Woo.
But beyond this, the characters and the story are what drive this movie and what truly set it apart. The story of the relentless cop and the vicious killer is only the latest in a long line of detective stories, starting with Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allan Poe in the 19th century, and continuing in every cop show on TV today. The hero and the villain are practically the same; they are only divided by an almost arbitrary line called the law. In The Killer, both "Mickey Mouse" and "Dumbo" are unrelenting, capable, though misunderstood, professionals. Their motivations differ, but they both have the killer instinct. The classic storyline of the interaction of the two characters who eventually realize their similarities and end up working together has been seen before, but never has it been used to such effect as in The Killer.
Woo's familiar themes of brotherhood, betrayal and loyalty also reach their cinematic peak in this movie. The viewer not only wants to see the next pyrotechnic action scene, but is actually concerned with the lives of the characters, an element that is almost always lacking in typical Hollywood fare.
Finally, the gun-battle scenes, when they come, are simply the most spectacular, mind-blowingly violent, yet strangely beautiful, action scenes ever imagined or filmed. And last but not least, is the unbelievably powerful screen presence of Chow Yun-Fat, as always cool incarnate. His effortless lead and the tension created by his playing off of co-star Danny Lee make The Killer as close as I have yet seen to the perfect action movie. I recommend it to any hard-core action fan and also suggest Hard-Boiled, though Woo's American efforts thus far have not been up to his Hong Kong works.
Rating: 10