5 Star

The Definitive Killer.

Welcome to Arrow Films Limited Edition of the Killer, with disk one is John Woo‘s (Hard Boiled, A Better Tomorrow, Face/Off) masterpiece of Gun-Fu and storytelling. Disk two is packed full of documentaries and interviews, and disk three is for the diehard fans with the original one-hundred and thirty-minute film, pieced together from an unrestored print of the extended cut. This is considered as one of the best action films ever. So sit back and watch the bullets fly, in this true masterpiece of cinematic bloodshed.

Easy to pick up, hard to put down.

Contract killer Ah Jong (Chow Yun-Fat, Wild Search, RICH AND FAMOUS / TRAGIC HERO) sits in an old church, he is waiting for his contact, 4th brother Sydney Fung (Kong Chu, The Thief of Time, Dances With Dragon) who brings him a briefcase full of money and guns, “I trust you”.

His mark is in a nightclub where the guests can listen to the lovely voice of Jennie (Kong Chu, Peking Opera Blues, Crazy Rich Asians (Soundtrack)). As she sings, Jong plies his trade with ruthless efficiency and Jennie gets caught up in the ruckus. She gets a gun flash to her eyes, damaging her cornea and this distraction gets him two bullets in the back as he tries to protect the injured singer.

Jong feels remorse for injuring Jennie, and he spends time at the bar listening to her singing and helping her with cash in her tips glass. He gets closer to her when she cries out as she is getting mugged by a couple of guys.

The truth is, in this World not everyone is a bad person.

This causes the pair to become close, and Jong wants to help her get cornea implants, so he needs to do one more job to get the money to get to where the cornea are more available.

Elsewhere, Inspector Lee Ying (Danny Lee, City on Fire, The Eight Immortals Restaurant: The Untold Story) is on a sting operation, trying to catch gun-runners in the act, but it all goes sideways as Ying gives chase to Wong “Mad Dog” Hung, a man with murderous intentions. It comes down to Ying’s intuition as Mad Dog takes a hostage on a packed tram-car. Ying kills Mad Dog but in the exchange the woman hostage succumbs to her weak heart and passes away.

Ying is disciplined and demoted, and put on protection duty at the big Dragon boat gala, which happens to be the location of Jongs last target. As Jong lines up and takes his shot, Ying and the other protection officers swarm the body. Using his instincts again he spots the assassin in his speed boat, they find a boat and give chase, but Jung manages to give them the slip, that is until the bullets fly and the explosions start. Jung has been betrayed and Wong Hoi (Shing Fui-On, A Better Tomorrow, Prison on Fire) triad leader is ready to take out Jung for showing his face.

Now the fight is on, Jong wants his money, Jennie wants her sight fixed, and Ying wants the man that killed his ward. Watch in awe at the skills of these shooters, as well as the car chases, this stuff is awesome.

The Killer Limited Edition 4k UHD is definitely for the fan of the 1989mfilm, or anybody that has just discovered this genre, and wants to start a collection with the best edition.

Every bullet takes a life.

The Killer Limited Edition is available on Blu-ray and 4K UHD

Arrow Films UK

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

Reversible sleeve and double-sided fold out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
Six postcard-sized reproduction artcards
Collectors’ perfect-bound booklet featuring new writing on the film by critics Priscilla Page and Frank Djeng, archival writing by critic Rafik Djoumi and an excerpt from an interview with John Woo conducted by Stéphane Moïssakis

DISC ONE – FEATURE AND EXTRAS

High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
Original lossless Cantonese mono and Dolby Atmos audio, and lossless English mono audio
Optional newly translated English subtitles for the Cantonese audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English audio
Brand-new commentary by director John Woo and film journalist Drew Taylor
Brand-new commentary by critic David West
Two archival commentaries by John Woo, one with producer Terence Chang
Deleted and extended scenes
Theatrical trailers
Image gallery

DISC TWO – EXTRAS

The Hero of Heroic Bloodshed, a brand new feature-length documentary on John Woo’s career
A Bullet Ballet, a brand-new interview with director John Woo
My Kind of Hero, a brand-new interview with producer Terence Chang
Editing The Killer, a brand-new interview with editor David Wu
Hong Kong Confidential, a new appreciation by author Grady Hendrix
American Cinematheque 2025 introduction with Woo
Archival interviews with cinematographer Peter Pau and actors Sally Yeh and Kenneth Tsang
Four archival featurettes from 2001 with Woo and producer Tsui Hark

DISC THREE – EXTENDED CUT

High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of the 130-minute Taiwan Extended Cut with lossless Mandarin mono audio and optional English subtitles (contains standard-definition inserts)
Option to view the Extended Cut with additional scenes from the Taiwan VHS release
Unrestored print of the Extended Cut (standard-definition with burnt-in subtitles only)