Dip huet seung hung (1989)

Director:

John Woo

Writer:

John Woo (written by)

Release Date:

September 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Music | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

This film will blow you away.

Plot:

A disillusioned assassin accepts one last hit in hopes of using his earnings to restore vision to a singer he accidentally blinded, only to be double-crossed by his boss.

Plot Keywords:

Hitman | Lounge Singer | One Last Job | Gangster | Gun Fu

Awards:

2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

The Killer (Hong Kong: English title) (UK) (USA)
Bloodshed of Two Heroes (International: English title) (literal title)
Die xue shuang xiong (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive strong violence and some language.

Runtime:

111 min | Australia:96 min | Taiwan:141 min | USA:104 min (R-rated version) | 124 min (extended version)

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:18 (uncut) | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | Canada:18+ (Quebec) (Original rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Chile:18 | France:-16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:(Banned) | UK:18 | USA:R (edited version) | USA:Unrated | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Film Workshop

Trivia:

The scene where Jeff beats up Jennie's would-be attackers in the alley was tough for Chow Yun-Fat, who doesn't like violence. Woo wanted hard hits, but Chow had trouble at first. After some coaching from Woo, Chow was able to muster up anger to make the scene more convincing. In fact, it became too convincing, as the stuntmen had to tell Chow to pull his punches a bit after one of them got hurt. Chow got hurt himself during the filming of the church shootout, when a piece of plaster cut his face, missing his eye by an inch. You can see the cut during the part where Jeff and Li talk before leaving the church.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Jeffrey is analyzing his 9mm Beretta alone in his apartment, a close-up of the gun reveals a small hole in the top of the barrel for gas to escape. This would only be on a blank-firing only weapon.

Quotes:

Joe (Cantonese)/Jeffrey (English): Don't hurt her, you maniac!
Johnny Weng: No, I won't hurt her. I'll blow her head off!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Chek law dak gung (2002)

Soundtrack:

It's Been Written

Brilliant!

At the time movies were punching bags such as the films Arnold put out. The killer revolutionized the merging of Kung Fu with action films. The cuts and special edits made American cinema look like a piece of trash. John Woo's career started with this movie and ended with Hard Boiled. It is unfortunate to see Hollywood eat up another creative talent. In fact, Robert Rodriguez has said in a documentary in Desperado that he had modeled his movie after Woo. He wanted to make an American action movie that displayed wit and terrific gun battle scenes. We'll see how American cinema can cope with this revolution in the future. The movie stars Chow Yun Fat (before he became famous) in one of the best roles of his career. He is a hit-man and ends up messing up really badly. He deafens a girl who ends up becoming his lover later on in the film. All in all, the cuts are spectacular, the stunts are incredibly well done, and the acting is good.