Product Description
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A tough-as-nails cop teams up with an undercover agent to bring
down a smuggling ring. Features some of the most amazing and
influential action set pieces in cinematic history.
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Masterful Hong Kong action director John Woo (The Killer,
Face/Off) turns in this exciting and pyrotechnic tale of warring
gangsters and shifting loyalties. Chow Yun- (The Replacement
Killers) plays a take-no-prisoners cop on the trail of the triad,
the Hong Kong Mafia, when his partner is killed during a
battle. His guilt propels him into an all-out war against the
gang, including an up-and-coming soldier in the mob (Tony Leung)
who turns out to be an undercover cop. The two men must come to
terms with their allegiance to the force and their loyalty to
each other as they try to take down the gangsters. A stunning
feast of hyperbolic action sequences (including a climactic
sequence in an entire hospital taken hostage), Hard-Boiled is a
rare treat for fans of the action genre, with sequences as
thrilling and intense as any ever committed to film. --Robert
Lane
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Set Contains:
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Dragon Dynasty's two-disc "Ultimate" edition is a welcome
alternative to the out-of-print Criterion Collection DVD released
in 1998. On disc 1, the film is presented in a pristine
anamorphic transfer that's every bit as crisp and colorful as
Criterion's non-anamorphic transfer was. For purists, a
disc-to-disc comparison reveals a very minor difference: The
film's original theatrical aspect ratio was 1:85:1, and because
this edition is enhanced for viewing on 16 x 9 widescreen TVs (16
x 9 being roughly equivalent to 1.78:1), the result is a very
slight image cropping on top, bottom, and sides. (In any case,
these are nitpicking differences that only the most exacting
videophiles will notice.) Dragon Dynasty's release also uses
English "dubtitles," so named because they're taken from the
English dub-script written for the film's original
English-language dubbing track; while previous DVDs may have
offered a more accurate translation from the original Cantonese,
Dragon Dynasty's DVD is certainly the most accessible version for
those who don't plan on collecting every DVD of Hard Boiled
that's ever been released. And while the feature-length
commentary by Hong Kong cinema expert Bey Logan may be lacking in
critical in, it's obvious that Logan is a devoted and
well-informed fan of the "heroic bloodshed" genre of Hong Kong
action films, and his knowledgeable commentary is filled with
relevant details that place Hard Boiled in a thorough historical
context. (And yes, Logan really is playing a drinking game during
his commentary, downing a of liquor every time Anthony Wong
appears in a different-colored sport coat!)
The special features on disc 2 consist primarily of in-depth
interviews with Hard Boiled's core creative team. The absence of
Chow Yun- is regrettable, but in the 38-minute "Baptism of
Fire" featurette, director John Woo goes into great detail
(speaking in English) about how he wanted to create a screen hero
like Clint Eastwood or Steve McQueen; how he refined Chow
Yun-'s "cool" image on screen; how he constantly wanted more
fire and bigger explosions; and the daily conditions that
affected the filming of Hard Boiled. Woo's long-time producing
partner, Terence Chang, is the subject of the 25-minute "Partner
in Crime" interview, and he brings a producer's budget-minded
perspective to his often humorous discussion (in English) about
bringing Woo's vision to the screen . In a 15-minute interview,
former Hong Kong undercover cop Philip Chan discusses (in
English) his co-starring role in Hard Boiled, his experiences
working with Woo, Chow Yun-, and others in the cast, and his
astute observations about the film's lasting impact. "Mad Dog
Bites Again" is a 25-minute interview (in Cantonese) with Hard
Boiled villain and action coordinator Kwok Choi, whose onscreen
presence is one of the film's most memorable ingredients. The
"Location Guide" featurette takes its cues from Bey Logan's
commentary, as Chinese-Canadian actress Kea Wong (who played
Jubilee in the second and third X-Men movies) hosts a present-day
tour of Hong Kong locations (some now gone, some still remaining)
used in Hard Boiled. Also included: the film's Hong Kong
theatrical trailer and U.S. promotional trailer. --Jeff Shannon
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