Review: Hard Boiled 4K UHD
Hard Boiled (1992)
I remember watching Hard Boiled for the 1st time back in the early 90s. A friend bought it on Laserdisc and a group of us sat and watched it. All of us blown away by what we saw.
Sadly, that friend passed away a couple of years ago, but I thought of him while watching this new 4K UHD release from Arrow Films, as he would have thought the same as me…WOW!
Hard Boiled is a classic amalgam of the best of director John Woo and actor Chow-Jun Fat, bringing organised action madness to the screen with choreography that insists on repeat viewings.
Chow-Jun Fat is hard-assed cop ‘Tequila’, who works with undercover cop Alan (Tony Leung…who absolutely owns this movie in my opinion) to try and bring down a triad organisation.
Character depth and narrative though play 2nd fiddle to the all-out action sequences (many of them peppered with slow motion shots), some of which make you worry for the actors/stunt peoples lives as they dive around barely being enveloped in flames and all while squibs explode across their bodies…yes, before the days of crappy cgi blood spurts.
An epic and unforgettable end sequence in a hospital is just one of many occasions where this 4K UHD blu-ray release shines. Showcasing both an enveloping Dolby Atmos soundtrack and picture quality that, though keeping a nice layer of film grain, gives more clarity and depth to the darker scenes, all while adding sharper detail and brighter colours to everything.
If you haven’t yet seen Hard Boiled, then this is the release to buy, and if you have already seen it…well, this is still the release to buy.
Loaded with great special features, this will keep you entertained again and again.
4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
- Double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
- Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Priscilla Page and archival writing and an interview with John Woo by Stéphane Moïssakis
- Six postcard-sized artcards
- DISC ONE – FEATURE AND EXTRAS (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
- 4K Ultra HD (2160p) Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Original lossless Cantonese mono and Dolby Atmos audio, and English mono audio
- Optional newly translated English subtitles for the Cantonese soundtracks and optional English for the deaf and hard of hearing subtitles for the English soundtrack
- Brand new audio commentary with director John Woo and film journalist Drew Taylor
- Brand new audio commentary with film historian Frank Djeng
- Archival audio commentary with John Woo and producer Terence Chang
- Archival audio commentary with John Woo, Terence Chang, film critic Dave Kehr and filmmaker Roger Avary
- Deleted and extended scenes
- Original trailers
- Image gallery
- DISC TWO – EXTRAS (BLU-RAY)
- Violent Night, a brand new interview with John Woo
- Boiling Over, a brand new interview with actor Anthony Wong
- No Room for Failure, a brand new interview with Terence Chang
- Hard To Resist, a brand new interview with screenwriter Gordon Chan
- Boiled to Perfection, a brand new interview with screenwriter Chan Hing-Ka
- Body Count Blues, a brand new interview with composer Michael Gibbs
- Hong Kong Confidential: Inside Hard Boiled, a brand new interview with author and Hong Kong cinema expert Grady Hendrix
- Gun-Fu Fever, a brand new interview with author Leon Hunt
- Chewing the Fat, a brand new interview with academic Lin Feng
- American Cinematheque 2025 Q&A with John Woo
- The Test of Time, an archival documentary featuring interviews with John Woo, Terence Chang, editor David Wu and actor/stunt coordinator Philip Kwok
- Archival interviews with actors Chow Yun-Fat and Tony Leung
Hard Boiled is available to buy now.
Review by Dave from discs kindly supplied by Arrow Films via Fetch Publicity.
