A Better Tomorrow
"The Killer" was director Woo's follow-up to "A Better Tomorrow 2" which was released in 1987. The first cut of "A Better Tomorrow 2" was too long for the studio so the film was edited within a week separately by both producer Tsui Hark and Woo. According to producer Terence Chang, Tsui Hark felt that John Woo ruined "A Better Tomorrow 2" and asked Chang to fire Woo from the studio. When Chang refused, Hark began rejecting Woo's new film ideas, including ideas for films that would later be made, such as "Bullet in the Head" and "Once a Thief".