Bullet in the Head (1990)

One of the most intense, powerful, and profound cinematic motion pictures. BULLET IN THE HEAD (The original Cantonese title is known as DIE XUE JIE TOU.) is mesmerizing and perplexing, yet equally emotional motion picture that gives the audience a completely different perspective on the Vietnam War...and how this event has changed the lives of three friends forever.

Ben (Tony Leung), Frank (Jacky Cheung), and Paul (Waise Lee) are three companions who have decided to escape from the perils of their native homeland in Hong Kong. Since Ben and his other two friends wanted to escape from their troublesome pasts, they felt that they could start over and make new, enriching lives for themselves. The three saw opportunity in the country of Vietnam. Little do these three realized that no matter where they would settle, violence was bound to ensue.

In 1967, the conflict between North and South Vietnam has elevated. Riots have been precipitated, fear and panic are widespread, and carnage is rampant. The three main characters are unfortunately caught in the middle of the Vietnam War. Eventually, more mayhem is not far behind.

As the three are trapped and incarcerated in the prisons of the Vietcong main quarters, their friendship with each other is slowly disintegrating...their lives hang in the balance... Whether all three of them can trust each other now and make it out alive is a question that remains ambiguous...

BULLET IN THE HEAD is one of the most sickening albeit cathartic films the viewer will ever witness. Director John Woo is definitely one of the most contemporary action directors around. He spares no punches or bullets with his incredible bursts of action sequences; yet he can still deliver a striking message about the powers of morality and how a humane attitude can help overcome all opposition. BULLET IN THE HEAD has more than enough action to satiate viewers of effervescent action films. There are tons of explosions, shoot-outs, and an even riveting helicopter rescue mission that is a true, vivid climax. These haunting images of BULLET IN THE HEAD, from the unspeakable acts of slaughter, to the moments where friendships triumph over all, will paint an indelible picture in one's mind.

BULLET IN THE HEAD is an unconventional, action-packed film that is moving and enthralling. The disturbing violence in this movie grips the audience as it coerces them to feel the pain. BULLET IN THE HEAD, instead of glorifying violence, rather shows the anguish, the abhorrence, and the abomination of how a once potentially prosperous country now lays in shambles thanks to the devastating war. Cities have been destroyed, villages are burned, and lives are forever scarred, physically and mentally.

Through the experiences of three unlikely heroes in BULLET IN THE HEAD, the viewer can commiserate with all the suffering the people in Vietnam have tangibly felt. The realism of the atrocities of the Vietnam War are captured thanks to the astute direction by John Woo.

BULLET IN THE HEAD is one movie which will adhere to your thoughts forever, even if you watch it only once. This film has excellent action scenes, and a constant mix of feelings as the movie jerks around with the character's emotions. They range from victorious, to heartbroken, to horrific. The cast, including the three leads along with Simon Yam and Fennie Yuen are excellent.

BULLET IN THE HEAD may well be John Woo's best film. Although the graphic violence in BULLET IN THE HEAD is u

Fmovies: Wow, an amazing film. I've been a big John Woo fan for a few years, and this is the last major film of his I've gotten around to seeing. The action scenes are incredible, as to be expected. Not as much action as The Killer or the record-holding Hard Boiled, but still a lot of exciting stuff. This is also a really moving drama. Jackie Cheung in particular was amazing. Of his three acting nominations that year, this was the leading actor nomination he earned at the Hong Kong Film Awards, and I can't believe he didn't win. The POW sequence was so sad, so tragic, so powerful, so moving. Maybe The Deer Hunter was as moving to me. Maybe.

Anyway, this truly is John Woo's Apocalypse Now. An unforgettable drama, not just because it's a memorable, high quality, and entertaining film, but because of the emotional impact the events have on the characters and it'll have on you. 10/10

In 1989, John Woo made a film that would simultaneously redefine and reinvent the action genre forever. The film I speak of is, of course, The Killer. Blending a touching storyline with exuberant gunfights, The Killer worked through excess and it was an absolute delight to be behold. It's hard to follow up on something like that, and for his next A-class feature; Bullet in the Head, John Woo wasn't quite able to recreate that what he did so incredibly well a year earlier. However, what he has created is still an excellent thrill ride and one that fans of The Killer wont want to miss! Woo is keen to keep that gang element from The Killer, except this time he fuses it was action from the Vietnam war, and as the story spans across many different locations, it can aptly be considered an epic. We follow the stories of three young men who leave Hong Kong after two of them kill another gang member. They decide to become smugglers and take advantage of the Vietnam War, but little did they know that they would end up in the thick of it.

The film takes obvious influence from the classic Vietnam war dramas such as 'The Deer Hunter' and 'Platoon', but through Woo's stylising, it takes on a life of it's own and stands apart from those films that influenced it. Woo is known for going over the top, and seeing three men in suits in the middle of the Vietnam war is over the top alright! However, also going over the top is the sentiment and I don't know if it's just the way that Chinese translates into English or what, but this film is definitely cheesy! The sentiment boded well in The Killer, but here it definitely doesn't and the film would be a lot better if the amount of sentiment was more realistic. The sentiment messes up the characters as well as the film too, as seeing one or more of them break into great long speeches undermines the fact that they're supposed to be criminals. However, all this doesn't matter once you get into the gun battles; which are incredible to say the least. If it wasn't for the sentiment, it would have been a complete whole; but it's still a damn good movie regardless.

Bullet in the Head fmovies. If you've never seen a John Woo movie before, you're in for one hell of a surprise about forty minutes into Bullet in the Head. Up until this point, there has been violence in the film but it has mostly been restricted to street level brawling, clashes between armed police and war protesters in Saigon and punch ups in Hong Kong slums. Then at the height of an argument in a Triad owned nightclub, things get turned up to eleven as Waise Lee pulls a machine gun from out of a piano and massacres an entire room full of gangsters in one breathtaking swoop. After this, things barely let up as Woo mixes in harrowing prison camp madness with over the top gun battles. If this implies that Bullet in the Head has no heart however then nothing could be further from the truth; not only is this an incredibly violent movie, it might also be Woo's most emotional.

Stamped over everything is in the indelible trace of the Tiananmen square massacre, which might explain the film's poor showing in Hong Kong, where it played to the people who faced it first hand far too soon for them to embrace it. Over fifteen years later though, Bullet In The Head could do with a reappraisal so that it might stand on its own two feet, rather than simply being viewed as an Eastern alternative to The Deer Hunter or Apocalypse Now.

The Eastern setting though provides a fresh spin on the Vietnam war which had already been captured on camera by an America eager to exorcise the ghosts of the war. The story of three ghetto youths (Waise Lee, Jackie Cheung and future superstar Tony Leung) forced to flee Hong Kong, it captures them in their early days before sending them to Saigon, where the trio intend to take advantage of the war and make a fortune. Needless to say, things do not go entirely as planned and they have to flee once more with a box filled with gold they have captured from a local kingpin. Unfortunately for them, there is nowhere to run but into the Vietcong-infected jungle...

For the first time, the true scale of the war is made readily apparent. In the East, it is sometimes known as The Second Indochina War as the conflict didn't restrict itself to Vietnam itself, spilling over into neighbouring Cambodia and Laos and affecting everyday citizens of countries who weren't even involved. Woo's vision of the 1960's Far East is one of unprecedented chaos triggered by the clash of Capitalist and Communist ideologies, where suicide bombs are detonated in traffic jams and citizens plucked from the street to have their heads blown off by overzealous military police. It's an uncompromising vision and no mistake.

All of this is told from the eyes of our heroic trio and the effects of the war leave an impression on all of them. Their friendship is tested to the limit and watching it dissolving, counter-cut with earlier moments when they were smiling, happy youngsters is nigh on heartbreaking. Corny yes, but still heartbreaking.

However, for those of you have seen a John Woo film before and want action on an unprecedented scale, well look no further. The aforementioned nightclub battle is just an impressive iceberg tip, as Woo hurtles the characters from one set piece to the next with a riotous enthusiasm. A riverside gun fight keeps things moving, followed by skirmishes in the jungle and a breath taking helicopter assault on a Vietcong camp, bullets flying in all directions as fireballs bloom upwards and bodies contort in slow motion death rattles. Provided you've got the unedited version, you&#

This is the opposite of a kid's movie. Many R rated violent movies are fine for kids, but the story, the tragedy, the horror, and just the characters are too much for children. This is not a movie to watch if you are having a party. This is a fine, fine work by John Woo. The four main characters are excellent, and one is a killing machine. In the end you get more from this than even The Killer (which I feel is a better movie). While The Killer may tug at your heart, this will screw with your mind. This movie must be seen much more than the Matrix when it comes to being unable to explain what's going on. John Woo's opening seems very in character for him, but it might not be perfect for this film. Still, it serves its purpose and the end is truly incredible.

BULLET IN THE HEAD (Die Xie Jie Tou)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Mono

Fleeing from a murder rap during the political turmoil of 1960's Hong Kong, three devoted friends (Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Jacky Cheung and Waise Lee) seek their fortunes in war-torn Vietnam and are ripped apart by greed and betrayal.

John Woo's ambitious movie - an operatic valentine to his youth in HK and his love of David Lean epics, and a response to the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 - went over-schedule and flopped at the local box-office when released in 1990, but has since been recognized as one of the finest productions in HK film history. Newcomers Leung, Cheung and Lee are terrific as the three friends whose lives are devastated by the violence they encounter in a foreign land, and they're matched throughout by Simon Yam as the Eurasian hit-man who rescues them from the worst of their experiences. For all its explosions and gun play, however, BULLET IN THE HEAD is a very human drama, played out against the vast backdrop of the Vietnam conflict, and invested with a palpable sense of love and compassion for its leading characters. Cinematography and editing are world-class, and Woo's dark-hearted script (co-written by Patrick Leung and Janet Chin) incorporates the themes of loyalty and brotherhood which have shaped and defined all of his films since A BETTER TOMORROW (1986). Cheung's final scene is absolutely heartbreaking; classic score by James Wong and Romeo Diaz.

(Cantonese dialogue)