Arrow’s superb run of John Woo restorations continues with the criminally underseen Bullet In The Head. Inspired by The Deer Hunter, it sounds like a project that should have been beyond his comfort zone. Instead, the result is one of his most disturbing, thematically ambitious, and emotionally resonant films, and very different from his usual brand of sensational shoot-em-ups.
Themes of friendship, brotherhood and loyalty run through all of Woo’s films, but they are rarely as potent as they are here. Perhaps due to the deterioration of Woo’s relationship with longtime collaborator Tsui Hark, this film presents an altogether darker worldview. Where films like A Better Tomorrow celebrate loyalty between men, this is a story about what happens when those bonds begin to fracture.
The story follows three friends growing up together in the slums of Hong Kong. Frustrated by poverty and limited opportunities, they travel to Vietnam hoping to make their fortunes smuggling during the war. When they stumble upon a case of stolen gold, greed and desperation begin to poison their friendship, setting them inexorably on a path toward betrayal and tragedy.
Woo has described Bullet In The Head as his most personal film, with several sequences lifted wholesale from his own childhood experiences. The opening act spends considerable time establishing the dynamic between the three leads, and honestly, it takes a little too long to get to the plot. Woo’s original cut ran over three hours, which is mad—this 2.5-hour cut already feels overlong.
Thankfully, once the action shifts to Vietnam, the pacing picks up dramatically. There is some genuinely incredible cinematography here, at times looking unlike anything else Woo has made, with shot compositions that rank among the most impressive of his career. These include the three-way Mexican standoff, the sweeping location footage, and the recreation of the Saigon Execution photo.
The influence of The Deer Hunter is obvious, particularly during the harrowing prison camp sequences. What makes these scenes particularly effective is that Woo approaches the violence with the same heightened intensity he brings to his action films. Rather than diminishing the horrors of war, the familiar visual language has the opposite effect. Watching young men gunned down with the same casual brutality that characterises Woo’s gunfights only reinforces the senselessness of the violence.
Tony Leung, in his first collaboration with Woo, immediately demonstrates why he would become one of the great actors of his generation. As the idealistic, loyal Ah Bee, he provides the film’s emotional centre, particularly during the prison camp scenes, where his desperation and terror feel painfully real. As the younger Fai Jei, Jacky Cheung gives a deeply humane performance. He’s a hapless, ultimately tragic figure, constantly trying to hold his friends together, and his breakdown is among the film’s most heartbreaking moments.
Waise Lee has the most difficult role as Sau Ming, the friend gradually consumed by greed. He begins the film with a harder edge than the others, slightly blunting the impact of his transformation, but Lee still finds enough humanity to make his descent believable. Rounding out the cast is Simon Yam playing a much more familiar Woo archetype, the effortlessly cool hitman. Yam is perhaps best known for his villainous roles in Johnnie To films, especially the Election series (2005-6), but here he steals every scene he appears in.
The film is also oddly reminiscent of the films of John Huston. Specifically, The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (1948) in the way it shows the corrosive effect of greed on friendship, and The Man Who Would Be King (1975) in its depiction of roguish, ambitious protagonists whose dreams of wealth ultimately destroy them.
Bullet in the Head isn’t as slick, streamlined or crowd-pleasing as The Killer (1989) or Hard Boiled (1992). It’s sprawling, occasionally messy and overlong. But it’s also Woo’s most emotionally mature, devastating film. It’s an unforgettable examination of loyalty, greed and the terrible cost of survival, culminating in a finale that still hits like a punch to the gut. Arrow’s special edition comes loaded with special features across three discs. These include the theatrical cut (with a newly recorded commentary from film critic Frank Djeng), the longer festival cut, and a selection of interviews and featurettes. Extras include newly recorded interviews with cast and crew, and film experts Grady Hendrix and Dr Lars Laamann. Additional features include archival interviews and deleted and extended scenes.
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Limited Edition Special Features
- 4K Ultra HD (2160p) Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of the Hong Kong Theatrical Cut
- Original lossless Cantonese mono and Dolby Atmos audio, and lossless English mono audio
- Optional newly translated English subtitles for the Cantonese audio and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English audio
- Brand new audio commentary by film critic and Hong Kong cinema expert Frank Djeng
- Deleted and extended scenes
- Alternate boardroom ending
- Alternate English opening and closing credits
- Cantonese and English trailers
- Image gallery
- High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of the Festival Cut
- Original Cantonese lossless mono audio
- Optional English subtitles
- Extended Festival Cut, including footage previously exclusive to the Theatrical Cut
- Option to play with the alternate boardroom ending
- Brilliance with a Bullet, a brand new interview with director John Woo
- The Long-Suffering Siu-Chun, a brand new interview with actor Fennie Yuen
- Head Case!, a brand new interview with actor Waise Lee
- Army of One, a brand new interview with regular John Woo collaborator Terence Chang
- Apocalypse Woo, a brand new interview with editor David Wu
- Tumultuous Times, a brand new interview with associate producer Catherine Lau
- Hong Kong Confidential: Inside Bullet in the Head, a brand new interview with author and Hong Kong film expert Grady Hendrix
- Apocalypse How, a brand new interview with author and historian Dr Lars Laamann
- Archival interviews with John Woo, David Wu, actors Jacky Cheung, Waise Lee, Simon Yam, stunt coordinator Lau Chi-Ho and associate producer Patrick Leung
Bullet In The Head is out on 4K on 22 June.
