Bullet in the Head (1990)

Die xue jie tou (AKA: Bullet in the Head) is directed, co-written, co-edited and produced by John Woo. It stars Tony Leung, Jacky Cheung, Waise Lee and Simon Yam.1967 and three Hong Kong friends leave behind a violent incident and aim to earn their fortune in war-time Saigon. Getting mixed up in the war because of their criminal activities, the friends encounter the Viet Cong and it sets off a chain of events that will change and shatter their hopes, dreams and lives forever.It was originally planned to be a prequel to A Better Tomorrow, but with Woo falling out with producer Tsui Hark, he decided to rework the script into what is now Bullet in the Head. Taking inspiration from the Tiananmen Square incident, and no doubt nodding appreciatively in the direction of The Deer Hunter, Woo self financed the film and set about creating an epic. Which he did, an apparently 3 hour + epic that was promptly ordered to be sliced down into something more compact. What that means is there are a number of different cuts of the film available, depending how far you wish to pursue a cut that is. On release it flopped in its native country, but as Hong Kong cinema became popular in America and Europe, the film has garnered much critical praise, with some critics even proclaiming it the best Hong Kong movie ever made.It's a deeply affecting movie, one that contains all the bullets and violent carnage so befitting its creator. And it finds the director at his most personal, most political and dealing high in morality. One can guess that the original cut would have been a near masterpiece of cohesion and emotional fortitude, as it stands now, it plays like two halves shunted together without any care for flow and substance. The first half plays out like a Woo gangster piece, characters are introduced, formed and get involved in bloodshed. Then it's on to Vietnam and the film starts to follow a distressing course, before we come full circle and Woo gets his sledgehammer back out to close with a bone crunching thud. The action is superb, an assault on the eyes and the ears, with the cast providing an energy that's a joy to behold. While the emotional threads that Woo pulls at really are upsetting and hold the attention in a vice like grip. At times visceral and uncompromising, at others tender and panging the heart, it's very much a film operating on more than one front. But with that comes moments of alienation and snatches of incoherence, and that brings on the onset of frustration. The end result being a film that's essential for Honk Kong connoisseurs, but difficult to recommend to first timers looking for a Honk Kong starting point.Ambitious, lively and emotionally sharp, it however isn't quite a satisfying whole. 7/10

John Woo's "Die Xue Jie Tou" of 1990 is a great and intense action film that definitely keeps what its international a.k.a. titles "Bullet in the Head"/"Bloodshed In The Streets" promise. This must be one of the most blood-soaked, ultra-violent and tough-minded action flicks of the 90s, and even though I personally liked Woo's earlier films "A Better Tomorrow" and "The Killer" even more, "Bullet In The Head" is also a great film that lovers of violent action and uncompromising cinema can not allow themselves to miss! "The Killer" and "A Better Tomorrow" were not exactly Disney flicks either (more precisely, they are exceptionally violent films too), but "Bullet In The Head" even surpasses them in means of brutality, and is easily the most violent film by John Woo, who wasn't exactly known for his tame films back in his Hong Kong days.After an incident in Hong Kong in which a person is killed, three friends decide to go to Vietnam in order to get rich as quickly as possible. The time is 1967, and the war-torn country is pure hell, but also a promising opportunity for people looking for nothing but a quick fortune...All three leading men, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Jacky Cheung and Waise Lee are great in their roles, especially Leung is outstanding. The supporting performances are also very good, Simon Yam is especially worth mentioning. Both the story itself, and the graphic depiction of violence is uncompromising and exceptionally brutal. But "Bullet in the Head" is not only recommended for its brutality. This is raw, stunning Action cinema in its purest form, and no lover of cinema can afford to miss the brilliance of John Woo's Hong Kong cinema. John Woo truly is an exceptional director of action cinema. None other than Horror genius Sam Raimi has once stated, that Woo is for Action cinema, what Hitchcock was for the Thriller, and, regarding the Hong Kong-produced films I agree. Sadly, John Woo is mostly associated with silly blockbusters of the "MI 2" kind since he went to Hollywood, but the films he made back in Hong Kong, such as "Bullet in the Head" still shine out as true gems of cinematic greatness!

Although some would say anti war movie. Long before Windtalkers, John Woo made this movie in HK. To tell you the truth, I wouldn't even call it a war movie ... more an action movie that plays while a war is being fought around them! Tony Leung and others do their best, to bring believability to a script that isn't really the best John Woo has worked on. But despite that fact, it's still mesmerizing and the ending gave me goose bumps! I think it's flawed and maybe I could/should have given it only 8/10, but then again I liked it and that is what matters.I heard that there are a few scenes missing, but that is something you can read about in another section on this IMDb site! :o)

Saw BITH on DVD last night after watching it once years ago on TV. I found it surprising the impression it gave me this time is completely different. I did not actually seem to be impressed by it at all when it was shown on a local TV channel, but is now completely overwhelmed when I watched it again on DVD last night. I suppose this movie must be enjoyed uninterrupted by TV commercials, in order to get to grips with the atmosphere it created. From casual and light-hearted to brutal and dead-serious. In other words, it requires no less than totally focused attention from the audience.I'd like to clear the air for those fans who considered this movie involving the war in IndoChina is something of a first for Woo. Woo actually did a little-known jungle warfare movie called "Ying xiong wei lei" (Heros Shed No Tears) in the early 80's on a shoestring budget, of a story about the Thai government hires group of Chinese mercenaries to capture powerful drug-lord from Golden Triangle, before he became famous in 1986 for his gangster classic "A Better Tomorrow".In BITH Woo succeeded in recreating the nostalgic look and feel of the 1960's Hong Kong and Vietnam. The characters and events all appeared so genuine and real. I appreciate it as a great movie from the following angles:In Hong Kong the street lives of those gangster youths vividly coincided with the anti-British riots in the then Crown Colony. The three protagonists living life in poverty, turf wars and a little romance over a backdrop of terrifying bombing campaign waged by pro-Chairman Mao rioters met by brutal clampdown from the Hong Kong police in full riot gears, all being exactly shown as how it would look in those unforgettable days. The scene showing a British bomb disposal expert deactivating a bomb is very true. I still remember in real life seeing the gruesome news picture of one of these guys got his arm blown off while doing such a nasty job in the Wanchai district. All these strongly convinces the audience why the three friends, apart from a murder case hanging over two of them, have good reasons to leave and go somewhere else.In Saigon the endless anti-war street protests leading to violent bloodshed, dare-devil assassinations met by ruthless summary executions, the ever present pack of International photo-journalists chasing after their opportunity of a good news story, Chinese businessmen living in the country wheeling and dealing with the Vietnamese from North and South. Those (mainly Americans and other foreigners) who had the means enjoy themselves in seedy nightclubs as if nothing unusual was happening outside, where life was so chaotic that looters could be anybody including the soldiers.In the Vietnamese jungle the three friends and the local hit-man character went through a harsh lesson of survival, including escape through unfamiliar terrain, intense firefights, frequent bickering, unsavory POW camp rituals and a spectacular last-minute rescue by commandos and helicopters. A lesson of survival in which the temptation of getting rich quick was too much for one of the friends to resist, leading to more tragic events. Although some of the scenes would remotely remind audience of Hollywood movie "The Deer Hunter", the fact is that the two are very different in many ways. Just as you can't really say "The Great Escape" and "The Bridge on River Kwai" are similar. Back in Hong Kong, the two friends who managed to return had to confront each other in a finale that brought the whole story like a roller-coaster to an abrupt end.IMHO BITH is Heroic Bloodshed on the grandest possible scale never seen before or after.