Page 1 of 1
The Killer
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2026 3:04 pm
by Finch
Fresh from the success of the first two A Better Tomorrow films, in 1989 action maestro John Woo would unleash The Killer, a spectacular blend of explosive gunfights and dramatic performances, including the magnetic Chow Yun-Fat in one of his most memorable roles. Ah Chong (Chow Yun-Fat) is a hitman whose latest job takes a wrong turn when, during a shootout at a lavish nightclub, he accidentally blinds singer Jennie by firing his gun too close to her eyes. Racked with remorse, Ah Chong decides to retire from his life of crime and help Jennie get a cornea transplant. But when Ah Chong's rancorous former boss betrays him, Ah Chong receives an unexpected helping hand from hot-headed police detective Lee Ying (Danny Lee, City on Fire). An international sensation, The Killer put Woo on the radar of genre fans the world over and inspired waves of imitators, but none that could outclass it.
Special Features: Booklet, Bonus Footage, Commentary: John Woo and Drew Taylor (film journalist); David West (critic); John Woo and Terence Chang, Deleted Scenes, Documentaries: 'The Hero of Heroic Bloodshed'; Four archival featurettes from 2001 with John Woo and Tsui Hark (producer), Image Gallery, Interviews: John Woo (director); Terence Chang (producer); David Wu (editor); Peter Pau (cinematographer); Sally Yeh (actor); Kenneth Tsang (actor), Reversible sleeve and double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella; Six postcard-sized reproduction artcards; 'Hong Kong Confidential': Appreciation by Grady Hendrix (author); American Cinematheque 2025 introduction with John Woo; Taiwan Extended Cut (130 min) included, Trailers
Re: The Killer
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2026 3:39 pm
by rapta
I mean yeah, this is exactly what we all wanted, right? 3 discs with multiple cuts, stacks of extras, Tony Stella artwork, hard box, book, poster...Arrow are definitely doing this all right. Excited to get all these Woo and Lam titles like I did for the Leone ones last year.
Re: The Killer
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2026 4:39 pm
by tenia
Have to say those Tony Stella designs are getting increasingly tiring to me, though.
Re: The Killer
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2026 5:23 pm
by dwk
It doesn't help that he is using nearly identical layouts and color palettes for all of these covers..
Re: The Killer
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2026 10:09 pm
by Marwood
Any info on the Taiwan Extended Cut? Is it worth the extra hassle and money to get the LE 3-disk release just for this?
I had planned to wait for the non limited release in a regular case sans postcards and tat, but since that release most likely will omit disk 3, I'm not so sure...
Re: The Killer
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2026 10:14 pm
by Finch
Exclusive to Arrow:
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
- Extended cut of the movie!
- Newly translated subtitles, booklet and art cards
Re: The Killer
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2026 3:08 am
by andyli
There's also a solo commentary track by Woo rescued from the Fox Lorber DVD.
They could have saved one extra disc by only including the SD Taiwanese cut and placing it on disc two. Yet they opted to stitch together an HD cut with the restored theatrical footage and SD inserts. It's not very clear from the wording in the specs, but it seems so. I just hope they use more care in the process and avoid making similar mistakes to those on Shout's Bullet in the Head release.
Re: The Killer
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2026 9:51 am
by tenia
dwk wrote:It doesn't help that he is using nearly identical layouts and color palettes for all of these covers..
Exactly. It was nice looking when there were visible at a slower pace, but now that I feel like seeing his work 5 times per month, I can't unsee his underlying style and how too many often, there aren't thar many varations.
For instance, this The Killer artwork reminds me way too much of what he did for ESC in France for The Long Good Friday, which I don't think should happen.
Marwood wrote:Any info on the Taiwan Extended Cut? Is it worth the extra hassle and money to get the LE 3-disk release just for this?
Should be this :
https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=366327
Re: The Killer
Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 2:27 pm
by Finch
Arrow confirmed that the Taiwanese cut is exclusive to the LE.
Re: The Killer
Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2026 12:49 pm
by Finch
Arrow regraded The Killer, too. Comparison
here
Re: The Killer
Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2026 2:21 pm
by Finch
Authoring error on disc 3 for the Taiwenese cut
Re: The Killer
Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2026 3:00 pm
by therewillbeblus
How does this affect the cut? Any chance/necessity for replacement discs?
Re: The Killer
Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2026 8:49 am
by nicolas
therewillbeblus wrote: Fri Apr 24, 2026 3:00 pm
How does this affect the cut? Any chance/necessity for replacement discs?
Arrow’s customer service has now confirmed that a replacement program is in the works.
Re: The Killer
Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2026 10:23 am
by tenia
therewillbeblus wrote:
How does this affect the cut? Any chance/necessity for replacement discs?
You pretty much can't do anything once you started the cut, because everything is a user prohibited operation (skimming through chapers, fast forward or backward, pause, etc).
Re: The Killer
Posted: Sat May 02, 2026 10:23 pm
by Finch
Word of warning to anyone who hasn't seen A Better Tomorrow yet: the John Woo documentary on disc 2 of The Killer has a major spoiler for ABT in it. They should have mentioned upfront that there were going to be spoilers, especially when ABT is one of the last Woos to be released. I'd seen the film before but wanted to give a heads up.
Re: The Killer
Posted: Sun May 03, 2026 12:25 am
by Orlac
It's always annoying when that happens. I always warn people of the commentary on THE LAST WARNING, which spoils the ending of THE BAT.
Re: The Killer
Posted: Sat May 23, 2026 7:34 pm
by Yohei72
Hi, all. I see the Limited Edition seems to be sold out everywhere, and a quick google gives no indication of a Standard Edition. Does Arrow always release Standard Editions? At what point could we expect such a thing to be announced/available?
I usually get SEs from whatever label anyway, as they're usually significantly cheaper and the LE content tends to not be of great interest to me. I don't know if any of you have noticed, but this is an expensive hobby.
Thanks for any insight.
Re: The Killer
Posted: Sat May 23, 2026 8:51 pm
by tenia
It's extremely likely there'll be a standard release. It has sold out very fast, and in such cases, Arrow puts out standard releases usually within 3 to 6 months.
Re: The Killer
Posted: Sat May 23, 2026 9:51 pm
by swo17
Did they pull all the copies they could because of the authoring error on the Taiwanese cut, and we can expect a corrected limited edition to be available soon?
Re: The Killer
Posted: Sat May 23, 2026 10:36 pm
by dwk
I don't think it was pulled because of the error. Jesse from DiabolikDVD posted on reddit that Arrow has already sold out of the limited editions of The Killer (and Hard Boiled and City on Fire)
Re: The Killer
Posted: Sun May 24, 2026 8:05 am
by tenia
Yes, my understanding is that it's simply sold out, before any replacement disc has been made available.
Re: The Killer
Posted: Sun May 24, 2026 5:28 pm
by Yohei72
tenia wrote: Sat May 23, 2026 8:51 pm
It's extremely likely there'll be a standard release. It has sold out very fast, and in such cases, Arrow puts out standard releases usually within 3 to 6 months.
Thanks! I figured that was likely, but wanted to check with more knowledgable folks as I figure out what Golden Princess blus I'm going to buy from among what's available or in the works from Arrow and Shout. Planning the D-Day invasion must have been a bit like this.