The Killer (1989)
Director - John Woo
DVD Released by : Criterion
Player : Sony S3000
Receiver : Sony 925
Features:
Commentary by John Woo and
Terence Cheng
Deleted scenes
The theatrical trailer
Optional English Subtitles
Transfer approved by John Woo
Running Time : 110 mins
DVD Released by : Universe
Player : Sony S3000
Receiver : Sony 925
Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Filmogrophies and Bios
Trailer
Cantonese or Mandarin Soundtracks
English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean,
Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia,
Vietnamese, French,and Thai Subtitles
Dolby Digital (5.1 re-mix)
Running Time : 111 mins
DVD Released by : Winstar
Player : Sony S3000
Receiver : Sony 925
Features:
Menu
Trailer
Cantonese and English Soundtracks
Mono
Commentary with John Woo
Filmographies
Running Time : 110 mins
THE KILLER is classic among classic movies. For some it is the first taste they get of a John Woo or Chow Yun Fat movie. For many, it has probably launched an interest into a whole new world of entertainment known as Hong Kong Cinema.

The story is one of honor. Chow Yun Fat portrays the hired hitman. He lives by his own code. When an innocent is blinded during one of his hits, he realizes that it is his duty to try to have her site restored. He must do one more hit and then use the money for a cornea transplant. Danny Lee is the cop who must bring him to justice. The two become unlikely friends, almost brother-like. John Woo gives us as much action as we can take and still provide a plot.

At the moment, there are several versions of this movie on DVD amongst them, The Criterion, Winstar, Universe, Mega Star, and HKVideo (Region 2/PAL). Actually, scratch the criterion version. This is out of print and is only available for extremely high prices on Ebay. For those in Region 1, Winstar (formerly FOX LORBER) is the one to get but it is currently on moratorium and won't be available again. If you have an all region player that converts PAL to NTSC, the HKVIDEO is a must have. That is, if you speak French. For an excellent review of the HKVIDEO version, click here for Matt Steven's review. On the horizon is a Buena Vista release which appears to be the R-rated cut and not Woo's preferred version. The original soundtrack may also be scrapped in favor of an English dub. For those with multi-region capabilities, the Hong Kong Legends DVD coming soon will be the one to get. Another region 2 version is the Hong Kong Legends DVD .

Criterion

Why is the Criterion so sought after? It's the first DVD release of THE KILLER and it has a healthy amount of supplements. All though not anamorphic, the picture is very good. It is the same transfer that was used for the laser discs. The source print has its share of specks but it isn't that bad. The image quality is a little better than the Criterion laser disc, it is sharper and the colors are more saturated.

The Criterion DVD has a mono soundtrack and sounds very good. It's great to not have an artificial sounding 5.1 Dolby remix. This is the way it should sound.

Criterion
The extras consist of a commentary, deleted scenes and a trailer. The commentary is entertaining and gives insight to how things were done and why. Woo gives a nod to Martin Scorcese and you can tell in some shots. The commentary keeps going and there aren't any long periods of silence.

The deleted scenes clear up or add a little irony to the movie but they are better left out. The deleted scenes have non-removable subtitles.

This is definitely the best DVD when it comes to Region 1. With this in mind, the Winstar version is a solid second place and with no anamorphic versions on the horizon for region one, it's a good choice. It has been mentioned in a Hometheaterforum chat over a year ago that this title would eventually be revisited in the future but at this time there still are no plans for it.

Winstar
The WINSTAR version uses the same print as the Criterion DVD but the English translations are different. This is the version where Chow Yun-Fat is Jeffrey instead of John. The picture quality is pretty good. It's the same print so all the white specks, and little glitches are in the same place that appear on the CRITERION DVD's and laser discs. This still a very good print of the film.

I watched the movie with the commentary track first. This is a different commentary than the one on the Criterion version. Woo spoke almost nonstop through the whole movie and pointed a lot of things out that I never noticed before even though I've seen this film several times. When I watched the movie with the mono track, it sounded about the same as the Criterion release release.

Winstar
The subtitles seem a little large but they aren't too bad. They are in yellow and easy to read. As I mention before, this is the translation with Chow Yun-Fat as Jeffrey and he and Danny Lee are Dumbo and Mickey Mouse. Some may feel that the subtitles are too big but I don't feel that they are that bad.

Winstar did okay with this. If you have the CRITERION Version, you have no need for this. The commentary is great and informative but it's not worth buying the DVD again. The good things about this DVD are the menus and commentary. The bad things are the lack of extras that the CRITERION had. Actually this doesn't really have more than a trailer. If you can still find this one, it's a good choice to pick up.

Universe
The Universe DVD of THE KILLER is average when compared against other imports but is lacking when up against the Criterion and Winstar versions.

The picture quality as mentioned before is about the same as most imports. This isn't the same source print that was used for the Criterion and Winstar versions. It has a few flaws such as occasional dropouts and noticeably film grain at times. I did not notice any problems with the actual transfer but I have heard that people with large TV's have noticed artifacts that aren't apparent on smaller sets. After viewing this on a large TV, I can say the transfer isn't as good as The Winstar and Criterion DVD's, but it's definitely better than the Mega Star.

Universe has the sound remixed. After seeing the movie so many times the way it was supposed to be seen (in mono), I found the remix distracting at first. I got a little used to it as the movie went on. It's not a horrible remix but it is unnecessary. One thing that stood out was the occasional gunshot that sounded like it was a mile away when it should have been closer. Also, the dialogue does sound a little harsh. Overall, this just about average as far as the imports go.

Universe
The subtitles have a few spelling and grammatical errors but nothing too distracting. They are generally easy to read.

This DVD contains a trailer and some bios of the actors and John Woo. The usual extras for an import.

This version was released before the Winstar version. When it was a choice between paying a bunch for the Criterion version or waiting for the Winstar release, this was a good choice. This version also has the same translation as the Winstar version.

The image on the Mega Star DVD is also non-anamorphic. In comparison to the other DVD's the colors are a lot more muted. There are also some artifacts during dark scenes and credits. The actual print used has minor damage at times but doesn't have the specks of the Criterion and Winstar DVD's. The DVD is watchable on a big TV, but may look better on something under 27 inches. This also appears to be from a PAL master due to the running time being shorter than the other DVD's. There are no cuts and this is the same version as the others.

Once again, another 5.1 remix. This does sound better than the Universe DVD but not much. It also suffers from the occasional "sound out of nowhere" that is common on these remixes. The vocals are a big improvement over the Universe DVD. This is the only movie that I notice the PAL speed up and that's only because I have seen it so many times.

DVD Released by :Mega Star
Player : Malata N996
Receiver : Sony 925
Features:
Menu
Trailer
Cantonese + Mandarin Soundtracks
Dolby Digital (5.1 re-mix)
English, Chinese, Japanese,
Korean, Bahasa, Vietnamese,
Spanish,and Thai Subtitles
Running Time : 107 mins
Mega Star

The subtitles have some spelling errors. The most noticeable is "Steaks down my face" instead of 'Streaks down my face" when Jenny is singing. The subtitles appear on both the image and bottom black bar so if you have a widescreen TV, a zoom feature on your player will let you see the most picture without the subtitles being off the screen.

There is a trailer as well as trailers for PRISON ON FIRE, ALL ABOUT AH-LONG, and PRISON ON FIRE.

I would take the Universe DVD over this one if given a choice.

At the moment, the Winstar version is the one to get if you can still find it. To view Matt Steven's review of the HKVIDEO, PAL/Region 2 DVD, please click here. If you have a multi-region player, the HKL version will be the one to own. The Buena Vista release will most likely not be reviewed here since it will be altered.

Mega Star