Bullet in the Head: Hong Kong Cinema Classics: Deluxe Edition – Shout! Factory (UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1990
Director: John Woo
Writers: John Woo, Patrick Leung, Janet Chun
Cast: Tony Leung, Jacky Cheung, Waise Lee, Simon Yam, Fennie Yuen, Yolinda Yam, Shek Yin Lau, Chung Lin 

Release Date: January 6th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 131 Minutes 7 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10 Dolby Vision
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $39.99

"In 1967, on the way to the wedding of a friend, a young man is accosted by a local gang member. Later, the three friends administer justice, in the process of which the gang member is killed, and they leave Hong Kong to avoid the police and the gang. They run black market supplies to Saigon and get embroiled in the war, ultimately becoming captured by the Viet Cong. Their friendship is tested to the limits as they try to escape." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD, Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "4K Scan from the Original Camera Negative."

Bullet in the Head comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 88.4 GB

Feature: 88.1 GB

Another John Woo film gets a massive upgrade after lackluster home media releases; this new release will be a revelation for those who are familiar with the film. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look. That said, this new transfer looks phenomenal, and it is easily the best this film has ever looked on home media.

Bullet in the Head comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 36.1 GB

Feature: 35.8 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Bullet in the Head, the festival cut, comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 44.1 GB

Feature: 22.7 GB

Audio: 5/5 (Both Audio Tracks)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. The Cantonese language track has some dialogue in Vietnamese. Both tracks sound excellent; dialogue always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise action sequences sound appropriately robust. Included are English subtitles for the Cantonese language track, English SDH for the English language, and English subtitles for text in Cantonese and Vietnamese. Language tracks and subtitles can only be changed via the setup menu and not during playback.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include film critic Frank Djeng.

Extras on Blu-ray disc one include Frank Djeng. 

Extras on Blu-ray disc two include an image gallery (stills/Japanese press book/posters/home video art), two theatrical trailers (7 minutes 38 seconds, DTS-HD mono Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles),, an interview with author Grady Hendrix titled Hong Kong Confidential: Bullet In The Head (13 minutes 8 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Dr. Lars Laamann titled Apocalypse How?  -  The Period of Provocations (27 minutes 8 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips),  an interview with production planner Catherine Lau titled Tumultuous Times (15 minutes 10 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with editor David Wu titled Apocalypse Woo (7 minutes 50 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with producer Terence Chang titled Army of One (4 minutes 41 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Waise Lee Head Case! (18 minutes 23 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with director John Woo Brilliance with a Bullet (43 minutes 27 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), an alternate boardroom ending (5 minutes 31 seconds, DTS-HD mono Mandarin with burnt-in English and Cantonese subtitles), and the Festival cut of Bullet in the Head (136 minutes 20 seconds, DTS-HD Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles).

Other extras include a slipcover.

Summary:

Three friends flee Hong Kong after one of them murders a street punk. They go to Vietnam to wait things out. Upon their arrival, they get caught in the crossfire between the war protestors and military, causing them to lose the merchandise they were transporting from Hong Kong. Struggling financially and feeling hopeless, they befriend Ah Lok, a professional hitman who offers to assist them in escaping Vietnam. While they are in the country, they become embroiled in a conflict that tests the limits of their friendships.

What began as a prequel to A Better Tomorrow evolved into what is widely acknowledged as John Woo’s most personal film. When John Woo and Tsui Hark ended their working relationship, the latter decided to direct A Better Tomorrow prequel. After their breakup, John Woo decided to rework his original idea, and what evolved is a film that takes on the 1967 Hong Kong riots; it also takes aim at the 1989 incident in Tiananmen Square in Beijing using the Vietnam War as the backdrop.

Nostalgia is present in Bullet in the Head’s opening setup; reportedly, John Woo drew moments of inspiration from his experiences growing up in late 1960s Hong Kong. While most of this initial setup shows a carefree side of the three friends, once they arrive in Vietnam, things take a considerably darker turn. From there, the narrative is one bleak moment after the other, building to its poignant finale: the two living friends force each other to confront the choices they made.

Although Tony Leung would become famous years later working with Wong Kar-wai, at this point in his career he had yet to establish himself as a box office draw. His two co-stars, Jacky Cheung (High Risk) and Waise Lee (A Better Tomorrow), were more supporting than leads at that time. The most prominent cast member is Simon Yam (Naked Killer) in the role of a Hong Kong hitman living in Vietnam. That said, all of the performances are excellent, especially Jacky Cheung's, whose character suffers a brain injury from a bullet in his head.

Something that immediately grabbed me while watching Bullet in the Head was how its production design puts you back into the 1960s. This extended to the score, notably the use of Neil Diamond’s song, I’m a Believer. In addition to the main credits featuring an instrumental rendition of "I’m a Believer," this song plays a significant role during one of the film's most memorable scenes, which involves an assassination that occurs in the bathroom.

While there is never a shortage of carnage in the cinema of John Woo, Bullet in the Head is by far and away his most brutal film. The sequences set in the prisoner of war camp and the aftermath of the three friends' escape are particularly striking. Another brutal moment takes place shortly after the three friends arrive in Vietnam, and a young man responsible for a car bomb is found by the military, who then shoot him in the head. Ultimately, Bullet in the Head is an emotionally charged, thought-provoking film that stays with you, making it John Woo's crowning achievement.

Bullet in the Head gets an exceptional release from Shout Factory that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of insightful extras. Highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer