Bullet in the Head (1990)
"Dip huet gaai tau" (original title)

Not Rated  |   |  Action, Crime, Drama  |  17 August 1990 (Hong Kong)
7.7
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 7.7/10 from 7,671 users  
Reviews: 58 user | 39 critic

When three close friends escape from Hong Kong to war-time Saigon to start a criminal's life, they all go through a harrowing experience which totally shatters their lives and their friendship forever.

Director:

0Check in
0Share...

10 Bond Trivia Facts

Count down 10 things only real James Bond fans know about James Bond.

Watch now

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 29 titles
created 01 Oct 2011
 
a list of 32 titles
created 24 Oct 2011
 
a list of 43 titles
created 20 Jul 2013
 
list image
a list of 21 titles
created 30 Dec 2013
 
a list of 42 titles
created 05 Aug 2014
 

Related Items

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: Bullet in the Head (1990)

Bullet in the Head (1990) on IMDb 7.7/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of Bullet in the Head.

User Polls

1 win & 5 nominations. See more awards »
Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Action | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

A restauranteur teams up with a police officer and his ex-con brother to avenge the death of a friend's daughter.

Director: John Woo
Stars: Leslie Cheung, Yun-Fat Chow, Lung Ti
Once a Thief (1991)
Action | Comedy | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

A romantic and action packed story of three best friends, a group of high end art thieves, who come into trouble when a love-triangle forms between them.

Director: John Woo
Stars: Leslie Cheung, Yun-Fat Chow, Cherie Chung
Action | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.

Director: John Woo
Stars: Lung Ti, Leslie Cheung, Yun-Fat Chow
The Killer (1989)
Action | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

A disillusioned assassin accepts one last hit in hopes of using his earnings to restore vision to a singer he accidentally blinded, only to be double-crossed by his boss.

Director: John Woo
Stars: Yun-Fat Chow, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh
Hard Boiled (1992)
Action | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

A tough-as-nails cop teams up with an undercover agent to shut down a sinister mobster and his crew.

Director: John Woo
Stars: Yun-Fat Chow, Tony Chiu Wai Leung, Teresa Mo
Just Heroes (1989)
Action | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X  

A respected and well liked gang-boss is betrayed and killed. One of his three adopted sons are to take his place. One of them is the traitor.

Directors: John Woo, Ma Wu
Stars: David Chiang, Danny Lee, Kuan Tai Chen
Action | Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.2/10 X  

The Thai government hires a group of Chinese mercenaries to capture a powerful drug lord from the Golden Triangle. The mercenaries manage to capture the drug lord, but soon find themselves ... See full summary »

Director: John Woo
Stars: Yuet Sang Chin, Doo Hee Jang, Ho Kon Kim
Action | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.9/10 X  

A man travels from China to Vietnam, on the brink of war with America, to retrieve his uncle and cousin but find complications when he falls in love with a female gangster with a dangerous ex.

Director: Hark Tsui
Stars: Yun-Fat Chow, Tony Ka Fai Leung, Anita Mui
Full Contact (1992)
Action | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

Two disreputable friends get tied in with a group of criminals who turn out to be excessively violent and deceptive.

Director: Ringo Lam
Stars: Yun-Fat Chow, Simon Yam, Ann Bridgewater
City on Fire (1987)
Action | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

An undercover cop infiltrates a gang of thieves who plan to rob a jewelry store.

Director: Ringo Lam
Stars: Yun-Fat Chow, Danny Lee, Yueh Sun
Once a Thief (TV Movie 1996)
Action | Crime | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.3/10 X  

Set in Hong Kong and Vancouver, the story follows Mac Ramsey and Li Ann Tsei, lovers and professional thieves who are separated while fleeing the powerful Hong Kong underworld crime lord ... See full summary »

Director: John Woo
Stars: Sandrine Holt, Ivan Sergei, Nicholas Lea
Action | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  

Inside a Chinese prison two inmates form a friendship and face the difficulty of life on the inside.

Director: Ringo Lam
Stars: Yun-Fat Chow, Tony Ka Fai Leung, Ka-Kui Ho
Edit

Cast

Credited cast:
...
...
Waise Lee ...
...
Fennie Yuen ...
Jane
Yolinda Yam ...
Sally Yen
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
...
Paul's father
Yue Ding
Shek Yin Lau ...
Fatso
Chung Lin ...
Y.S. Leong
Siu Hung Ngan
...
Ben's mother
Hang Shuen So ...
Jane's mother
Wai Man Tam ...
(as Wei-min Tan)
Kan-Wing Tsang ...
Jane's father
Edit

Storyline

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, so they leave Hong Kong to avoid the police and the gang. They run black market supplies to Saigon and get embroiled in the war, being arrested as Viet Cong, then later captured by the Viet Cong, and find that their friendship is tested to the limits as they try to escape. Written by Ed Sutton <esutton@mindspring.com>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis


Certificate:

Not Rated | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

Release Date:

17 August 1990 (Hong Kong)  »

Also Known As:

Bullet in the Head  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (heavily cut) (video)

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original cut ran 126 minutes, but Golden Princess thought the film ran too long and wanted it cut. For some European countries, the film was cut down even further to around 96 minutes. For descriptions of the scenes that were cut, check out A Website Never Dies. Most notably, the infamous "piss drinking" shot (which Mark described in A Better Tomorrow (1986) was cut. See more »

Goofs

When the action moves to Vietnam the movie posters ('Dien Bien Phu', etc.) shown are films that came out well after the Vietnam war was over. See more »

Quotes

Paul: Today I saw a soldier kill a man and I learnt something. In this world, we can do anything if we have guns!
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Ip Man 2 (2010) See more »

Soundtracks

I'm a Believer
Written by Neil Diamond
Performed by The Monkees
S.E. Asia Music
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
Oh my sweet lord...
5 May 2001 | by (Grinnell Iowa) – See all my reviews

This is the opposite of a kid's movie. Many R rated violent movies are fine for kids, but the story, the tragedy, the horror, and just the characters are too much for children. This is not a movie to watch if you are having a party. This is a fine, fine work by John Woo. The four main characters are excellent, and one is a killing machine. In the end you get more from this than even The Killer (which I feel is a better movie). While The Killer may tug at your heart, this will screw with your mind. This movie must be seen much more than the Matrix when it comes to being unable to explain what's going on. John Woo's opening seems very in character for him, but it might not be perfect for this film. Still, it serves its purpose and the end is truly incredible.


15 of 20 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Fact: It is Woo's best. And his worst? derjo201
Alternate Boardroom ending? spruce_lees
who cried at the end? ryannaughton1138-1
John Woo's Deer Hunter Noxshus
Best Woo Film Ever Shane09
I guess I loved it... benzin
Discuss Bullet in the Head (1990) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?