The Killer (1989) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: John Woo

Cast: Chow Yun Fat, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh

Release Date: December 2, 2025

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Release Rating: 9/10

Synopsis:

A Hong Kong hitman (Chow Yun-Fat, Hard Boiled) accidentally blinds an innocent woman during a hit. He is determined to get her surgery to help her regain her sight but he needs to complete one more hit first. He completes the job but then is ambushed as he tries to escape: someone wants him dead. Meanwhile a resourceful, unorthodox police detective is hot on his trail.

The 1989 action-packed gem ‘The Killer’ tells the story of a talented Hong Kong hitman that accidently blinds an innocent woman during a botched hit. Unable to forgive himself for the incident, the killer establishes a relationship with the woman and hesitantly accepts a new job that could provide him with the money needed to pay for her to receive surgery that could potentially restore her sight. But when things go terribly wrong and he ends up as the next target everything goes violently off the rails.

Written and directed by John Woo, ‘The Killer’ stars Chow Yun Fat, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh, and more who all offer capable and solid performances for the most part throughout.

John Woo’s ‘The Killer’ (and technically his first take on the film as he additionally directed a remake of it in 2024) reteams Woo with superstar Chow Yun Fat and introduced fans to the first real cementing of Woo’s iconic style and gorgeous hyper-violent showdowns that he manages to deliver like no other. First released in 1989, the film still serves up an emotional, thrilling and gorgeously crafted ride today that may show its age in a few minor areas but still holds up quite spectacularly even so, as well as offering a glimpse at what John Woo would become with a bigger budget and more star power at his disposal.

Chow Yun Fat is nothing short of marvelous in the lead and his internal conflict paired with his caring heart and impeccable talent of killing molds together to form a truly memorable character that may not be necessarily evil but rides a fine line between good and bad, yet is still extremely difficult not to root for throughout. Featuring capable performances and plenty of jaw-dropping action and chase sequences and a great deal of heart with an unforgettable ending to top it all off, ‘The Killer’ is still a memorable ride that is definitely well worth taking if you’ve never had the pleasure, especially if you’re a fan of John Woo and/or Chow Yun Fat.

The 1989 masterpiece ‘The Killer’ arrives home in glorious 4K Ultra HD for the first time in a Deluxe Edition 3-disc 4K UHD + Blu-ray combo set courtesy of Shout! Studios and serving as the the eighteenth title in their Hong Kong Cinema Classics line. The release features a spectacular new full Ultra High Definition presentation of the film with Dolby Vision and HDR10 from a 4K scan of the original camera negative and it looks pretty outstanding. The noteworthy new UHD presentation is further complemented by a dual mono DTS-HD MA soundtrack that together have the film looking and sounding better than fans could have hoped.

The impressive presentation of the film itself is only one key part of this tremendous Deluxe Edition release which is also absolutely jam-packed with bonus content including some brand new extras created for this release. The set also comes with a standard amaray case (featuring alternate artwork) which along with a new 52 page booklet is tucked inside a nice, extra sturdy side slip case that has the appearance of the release looking almost as great as what’s included within. If you’re a fan of ‘The Killer’ that would love to own this one on 4K I can’t recommend this release highly enough and I can’t imagine any fan that won’t be utterly thrilled with what it delivers.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘The Killer’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, with the film’s original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio, from a 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative. The video presentation looks marvelous as a whole and it offers a clean, sharp and filmic presentation that looks sharper and cleaner than ever while still retaining a nice grain structure and is absent of any issues or problems to be found throughout. Detail is great on characters, scenery and the stunning action sequences, and the Dolby Vision HDR improves various elements throughout such as clothing and blood, while black levels are capably deep and rich throughout. Overall, this is a wonderful Ultra High Definition presentation that looks consistently fantastic and should easily thrill fans.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a 2.0 dual mono DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack both in the original Cantonese language, as well as English Dubbed. As per usual I opted for primarily watching with the Cantonese audio track featuring the newly translated subtitles. This mono soundtrack offers a generally clean, sharp and solid audio presentation throughout that does a nice job of juggling the various audio elements within while never allowing any clashes or issues to arise as a result of any audio elements occurring simultaneously; always ensuring that all dialogue, action and vehicle effects, along with music and everything else remains clean and fully audible. Overall, this is a very nice DTS-HD MA mono soundtrack that should have fans largely pleased.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Deluxe Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘The Killer’ features a marvelous collection of supplements that fans should appreciate, in addition to a sturdy side slip case with the standard amaray case tucked inside along with a 52 page booklet featuring 4 essays and extensive artwork. I’ve broken down the on-disc extras by disc below for easier navigation and simplicity.

Disc One (4K UHD Feature Film) includes 3 Audio Commentaries; an ‘Audio Commentary with Director John Woo and Film Journalist Drew Tayler’; an ‘Audio Commentary with Critic and Author David West’ and an ‘Audio Commentary with Director John Woo and Producer Terence Chang (Recorded by the Criterion Collection)’.

Disc Two (BD Feature Film) also includes the 3 Commentaries featured on the 4K disc; an ‘Audio Commentary with Director John Woo and Film Journalist Drew Tayler’; an ‘Audio Commentary with Critic and Author David West’ and an ‘Audio Commentary with Director John Woo and Producer Terence Chang (Recorded by the Criterion Collection)’.

Disc Three (BD Special Features) is dedicated entirely to supplements and features ‘The Hero of Heroic Bloodshed: A John Woo Documentary’ (running approximately 75 minutes in length), ‘A Bullet Ballet with Director John Woo’ (running approximately 45 minutes), plus ‘My Kind of Hero: Remembering The Killer’ (approximately 6 minutes), ‘Editing The Killer’ (12 minutes) and ‘Hong Kong Confidential: Inside The Killer with Grady Hendrix’ (11 minutes). Also included are some ‘Deleted and Extended Scenes’ from the film (approximately 12 minutes altogether), plus ‘2 Trailers’ (6 minutes combined) and an ‘Image Gallery’.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Remastered Blu-Ray disc included in the release and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Release Rating: 9/10

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John Woo’s ‘The Killer’ (1989) is Now Available to Own in a Deluxe Edition 3-Disc 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray combo pack from Hong Kong Cinema Classics & Shout! Studios

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You can purchase ‘The Killer’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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