Back The Killer (1989) German Επαγγελματίας δολοφόνος Greek The Killer Spanish قاتل (فیلم ۱۹۸۹) Persian The Killer Finnish The Killer (film, 1989) French A bérgyilkos (film, 1989) Hungarian The Killer (film 1989) ID The Killer (film 1989) Italian 狼 男たちの挽歌・最終章 Japanese
| The Killer | |||||||||||
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&sq=&lang=en&file=File:The-Killer-1989-Poster.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 喋血雙雄 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 喋血双雄 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | pair of blood-splattering heroes[1] | ||||||||||
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| Directed by | John Woo | ||||||||||
| Written by | John Woo | ||||||||||
| Produced by | Tsui Hark | ||||||||||
| Starring | |||||||||||
| Cinematography |
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| Edited by | Fan Kung-Ming | ||||||||||
| Music by | Lowell Lo | ||||||||||
Production companies | |||||||||||
| Distributed by | Golden Princess Film Production | ||||||||||
Release date |
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Running time | 110 minutes[3] | ||||||||||
| Country | Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Language | Cantonese | ||||||||||
| Box office | HK$18.3 million | ||||||||||
The Killer (Chinese: 喋血雙雄)[4] is a 1989 Hong Kong action film directed and written by John Woo and produced by Tsui Hark. The film stars Chow Yun-fat, Danny Lee and Sally Yeh. Chow plays Ah Jong, a professional assassin for the Triads who wants to retire, but accidentally damages the eyes of singer Jennie (Yeh) during a shootout and sets out to perform one last hit to pay for her treatment.
After the financial backing from Hark became problematic following the release of Woo's film A Better Tomorrow 2, Woo had to find backing through Chow Yun-fat's and Danny Lee's financing companies. Woo went into filming The Killer with a rough draft whose plot was influenced by the films Le Samouraï,[5] Mean Streets and Narazumono. Woo wanted to make a film about honour, friendship and the relationship of two seemingly opposite people. After finishing filming, Woo referred to The Killer as a tribute to directors Jean-Pierre Melville and Martin Scorsese.
The Killer was not an immediate success in Hong Kong but received critical acclaim internationally with reviewers praising its action scenes and over-the-top style. The film became Woo's steppingstone into Hollywood and has been a strong influence on many directors, including Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez and Johnnie To. In the years since, The Killer has come to be considered one of the greatest action films ever made. An English-language remake of the film, also directed by Woo, was released in August 2024.[6]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Hall213was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Rayns, Tony (1 September 1990). "Diexue Shuang Xiong/The Killer". Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 57, no. 680. British Film Institute. p. 260.
- ^ "THE KILLER (18)". British Board of Film Classification. 17 September 1990. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
- ^ Hall, 2009. p.107
- ^ Elder, Robert (2013). The Best Film You've Never Seen: 35 Directors Champion the Forgotten or Critically Savaged Movies They Love. Chicago Review Press. pp. 160–163. ISBN 978-1569768389.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page).