Bullet In the Head

After re-inventing the action film with The Killer, John Woo would turn inward and deliver the semi-autobiographical Bullet in the Head, complementing the stylistic flourishes that made his name with an unflinching and nihilistic brutality to deliver one of the most intense war films of all time. Set during the Vietnam war, the film follows Ben, Paul and Frank (iconic actors Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Jackie Cheung and Waise Lee), three best friends fleeing from Hong Kong to seek their fortune as smugglers. In Saigon, they join forces with fellow expat Luke (Simon Yam) and double-cross the ruthless gangster Leong to steal his gold and rescue nightclub singer Sally (Yolinda Yan) from his clutches. The gang must fight their way out of the country in a nightmarish odyssey where each new battle pushes them beyond their limits and threatens to destroy their friendship. Combining the gravity of Apocalypse Now with the spectacular action of his earlier films, Bullet in the Head is an uncompromising look at the ravages of war where ideals of brotherhood and comradeship disintegrate into greed and cruelty in a storm of bullets and blood.