A disillusioned assassin (Chow Yun-fat) accepts one last hit in hopes of using his earnings to restore vision to a singer (Sally Yeh) he accidentally blinded, only to be double-crossed by his boss.
Director John Woo has said this film is a tribute to directors Jean-Pierre Melville and Martin Scorsese, specifically "Le Samourai" and "Mean Streets". The influence is definitely there, but it seems that Woo ended up influencing another generation even more than he himself was influenced.
We see a strong influence on many directors, including Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez and Johnnie To. Film scholars have noted the similarities between Woo's style and The Killer with the films "Nikita" (1990) and "Léon" (1994), directed by French director Luc Besson. The Tarantino connection is obvious, and indeed there could be a parallel for Besson. Can it be we owe much of our 90s action film style to 1980s Hong Kong?
Director John Woo has said this film is a tribute to directors Jean-Pierre Melville and Martin Scorsese, specifically "Le Samourai" and "Mean Streets". The influence is definitely there, but it seems that Woo ended up influencing another generation even more than he himself was influenced.
We see a strong influence on many directors, including Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez and Johnnie To. Film scholars have noted the similarities between Woo's style and The Killer with the films "Nikita" (1990) and "Léon" (1994), directed by French director Luc Besson. The Tarantino connection is obvious, and indeed there could be a parallel for Besson. Can it be we owe much of our 90s action film style to 1980s Hong Kong?