Bullet in the Head - 1990

Stewart, Rastislav and Ken have survived the carnage of director John Woo’s Bullet in the Head, a 1990 release from Golden Princess Film Distribution. This, along with other Hong Kong action classics, has been released on disc by Shout Factory (North America) and Arrow Video (Europe). It is also available to stream on Plex.

The story follows Ben, Frankie and Paul, three friends from the streets of Hong Kong who have grown tired of trying to make their lives better amidst the poverty and civil unrest all around them. When Frankie is badly beaten after trying to get a loan to cover the cost of Ben’s wedding, they go after the thugs responsible and accidentally kill the thugs’ leader. They’re forced to leave their loved ones behind and go on the run; they decide to try and smuggle a cargo of penicillin to a crime lord named Leong in Saigon but it’s destroyed by a suicide bomber. After this, they meet Luke, a shadowy underworld figure who agrees to help them rescue Sally, a Hong Kong singer from their youth who is now more or less a slave to Leong. The rescue goes badly, resulting in a shootout during which Sally is injured. Paul finds a box of gold inside which is hidden intelligence photos which Leong was planning to sell to the North Vietnamese army. They escape and in the morning are waiting for a boat to take them to freedom but are captured by the Viet Cong. Sally dies, Ben, Frankie and Paul are captured and Luke escapes. The trio are interrogated and forced to kill POWs before Luke returns with a group of American special ops to rescue them and the POWs. The battle that follows leads to a bad result between Frankie and Paul. Luke takes Frankie to safety while Ben pursues Paul but is injured. He is helped to recover by monks who find him, and he and Luke eventually help Frankie find peace, and show Paul that some things are worth more than gold.

Stewart, Rastislav and Ken are in agreement that this is an intense ride; a bit sentimental and hard to follow at the start but as the story progresses, the action and brutality hit hard. They appreciated the examination of how friendship can be eroded by greed and harsh conditions. High marks were also given for the large scale, kinetic action scenes. They recommend that fans of Woo’s style and storytelling seek this out, as it doesn’t seem to have gotten the attention reserved for The Killer or Hard Boiled.

Written by John Woo, Patrick Leung and Janet Chun, and directed by John Woo. Starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai as Ben/Siu Bun, Jacky Cheung as Frank/Fai Jai, Waise Lee as Paul/Sau Ming, Simon Yam as Luke/Lok, Chung Lam as Leong, Fennie Yuen as Jane/Siu Jan, and Yolinda Yam as Sally Yan Sau Ching. Not rated but has violence, gore, mature situations and profanity. The theatrical cut runs 131 minutes, and the festival cut runs 136 minutes.

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