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The Killer (1989)

  • For his next project, Woo pitched the idea of a film about a hitman to Tsui, who rejected it because he thought the concept was not commercially viable[1][2]
  • According to producer Terence Chang, Tsui felt that Woo had "screwed up" A Better Tomorrow II, and had asked Chang to fire the director; when Chang refused to, Tsui began rejecting Woo's movie ideas[3]
  • The Killer (1989) starred Chow as a contract killer named Jeff, who takes one last assassination job to help a nightclub singer (Sally Yeh) he accidentally blinded in a previous mission[4]
    • Jeff would be pursued by maverick police officer Li (played by Danny Lee)
  • It was inspired by Teruo Ishii's An Outlaw (ならず者, 1964)[5]
  • The Killer attracted considerable praise in film festivals abroad, helping to establish Woo to a Western audience[6][7]
  • Woo himself believed The Killer to be one of his best films: "The Killer is a nearly complete movie to me. I am never 100% satisfied. However, the technical experiments worked pretty well and helped me to establish my style. [...] It was one movie where I had total creative freedom."[8]
  • At the 9th Hong Kong Film Awards, it was nominated for six awards, winning two for Best Director and Best Editing (Fan Kung-wing, 樊恭榮)[9]

Plot

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Cast

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Production

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Conception

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Writing and development

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Casting

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Filming and post-production

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Music

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Design

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Release

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Context

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Box office

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Reception

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Critical response

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Accolades

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Post-release

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Home media

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Other media

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Thematic analysis

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Legacy

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Cultural influence

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Critical reassessment

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Sequels and spin-offs

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ Hall 2012, p. 109, The Killer: Heroism Defeated.
  2. ^ Hall 2009, p. 20, Production History and Background.
  3. ^ Heard 2000, p. 64, 1989–1992: Woo Asserts Himself.
  4. ^ Donovan 2008, p. 183, Mayhem in Slow Motion: The Viral Cinema of John Woo and the Hong Kong New Wave.
  5. ^ Havis, Richard James (2022-09-25). "What they said about The Killer: director John Woo and stars Chow Yun-fat and Sally Yeh on shooting the classic Hong Kong action movie". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  6. ^ Fang 2004, p. 65, Global Reception, ca. 1997.
  7. ^ Hall 2009, p. 73, Woo After The Killer.
  8. ^ Hall 2009, pp. 81–82, Conclusion.
  9. ^ "第9屆香港電影金像獎提名及得獎名單" [List of Nominees and Awardees of The 9th Hong Kong Film Awards]. Hong Kong Film Awards (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 2024-04-13.

Cited literature

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Further reading

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