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| DVD Released by : LSI |
| Player reviewed with : Malata DVD-520 |
| Receiver reviewed with : Sony 925 |
| Features: |
| Mandarin Soundtrack |
| English Subtitles |
| Enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs |
| ALL Region |
| Running Time : 124mins. |
THE KILLER is a story 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.
With about 8 different DVD's of THE KILLER you may be wondering what could be new with this one. Well for one, this is the extended print of the film. Previously this was only available on the Region 3 HKVIDEO DVD. It has a few extra scenes and some alternate takes are used. Music and sound effects are also slightly different on some occasions. While the added scenes were probably rightfully removed for Woo's director's cut, the added action in the final showdown in the church is probably worth the price of the DVD alone if you are a huge fan of this movie. The overall differences are a little subtle but this definitely serves as a fun novelty item for those who love this movie.
The film print is in surprisingly good shape. This is better than the other LSI DVD's of FULL CONTACT and HARD BOILED. The colors are good and there is minimal print damage. The colors are also well done. The image is anamorphic so if you have a widescreen TV this is a treat. The transfer is also done well but it seems to lack the warmth of the colors that the HKVIDEO release has. All things considered, the picture quality is good and is better than the non-anamorphic DVD versions that are out there of the regular cut.
The soundtrack is the in stereo and is in Mandarin. This is the only choice on the DVD. The sound quality is good and is in sync. It's odd hearing the soundtrack in Mandarin since I've watched it in Cantonese so many times. As mentioned before, some music and sound effects are slightly different on this extended cut of the film.
The subtitles are burned in the print and are easy to read in most instances. There are some times when they are slightly cutoff on the bottom but they can still be read. They sometimes go by just a little too quick but overall they are well timed. The translation is the old one so Chow Yun Fat is Jeff in this one.
There are no extras on this DVD. It is worth mentioning that the menu is incorrect in that it shows the menu for the LSI HARD BOILED DVD.
If you are a fan of THE KILLER you will want to see this. There is more action in the church showdown and you even see how Shing Fui On is wounded before he takes a face full of the exploding buckshot. This isn't simply THE KILLER with all the deleted scenes back in that were included on the Criterion release. The movie has a slightly different feel that the other cut due to the editing choices. I'm not always a fan of alternate cuts but I am of this one. I love this movie and seeing an alternate version was really fun. I don't recommend this if you are just a casual fan as you will probably be disappointed. This is more for those who have already seen it a hundred times and like it just as much as the first time. This isn't a replacement for the other version, but a nice companion.
Reviewed 6/06/2005
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