Hard Boiled

[Finch]

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

[yoloswegmaster]

Interesting that Arrow were also able to license the Criterion commentaries. Also interesting that they label interviews as being "brand new" even though they already appeared on the Shout release, besides the interview with Lin Feng.

[Finch]

I guess you could argue on a technicality that they are brand new to the UK.

[JamesF]

I guess you could argue on a technicality that they are brand new to the UK.

This is indeed our argument.

[Finch]

James, was the tagline unique to the UK poster at the time?

[andyli]

Interesting that Arrow were also able to license the Criterion commentaries. Also interesting that they label interviews as being "brand new" even though they already appeared on the Shout release, besides the interview with Lin Feng.

That archival commentary between Woo and Terence Chang is from the old Fox Lorber DVD. So not only are Arrow winning in the commentary department, they are also allowed to source additional documentaries for their release, it seems. We have a clear winner here!

[dwk]

James, is Arrow going to underproduce this release like Shout did theirs?

On a serious question, is the bonus Blu going to be region locked?

[JamesF]

James, is Arrow going to underproduce this release like Shout did theirs?

On a serious question, is the bonus Blu going to be region locked?

No and yes.

[dwk]

Thank for the answers (Really wasn't expecting you to answer my snark towards Shout Factory.)

[JamesF]

Hey, it's not like we've never underestimated demand for what turned out to be a massive seller either.

[Drucker]

Hey, it's not like we've never underestimated demand for what turned out to be a massive seller either.

Remembering the good old days of when we all panic-bought The Apartment

[rapta]

Hey, it's not like we've never underestimated demand for what turned out to be a massive seller either.

Remembering the good old days of when we all panic-bought The Apartment

Yes, and The Thing debacle.

[nicolas]

Arrow re-graded Shout’s Hard Boiled master. A preliminary comparison with the trailer here: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php? ... tcount=173

[Finch]

Arrow vs Shout grades

Arrow's is accurate; I remember the blue, darker grade from the original theatrical screening and the Tartan DVD.

[MichaelB]

My memory also very much favours the Arrow, and I saw the 35mm version quite a few times back in 1993.

(I worked at one of the cinemas where it premiered.)

[jtarvainen]

Based on a discussion at the Blu-ray Forum, my understanding is that the release has three technical issues:

1. A frame is missing at 00:18:40.077
2. The audio tracks do not account for the missing frame -> all tracks are out of sync by 1 frame after the missing-frame point
3. The Dolby Vision layer does not account for the missing frame either -> the DV metadata is out of sync by one frame after the missing-frame point

Let's hope these can be fixed for the eventual Standard Edition.

[domino harvey]

How could anyone possibly notice sound being one frame out of sync

[MichaelB]

Two frames out, it’s noticeable if you’re really looking for it.

But one frame out…. nah.

(And I sync up soundtracks on at least a weekly basis.)

[Peacock]

How could anyone possibly notice sound being one frame out of sync

Particularly in a movie where all the dialogue is looped.

[MichaelB]

Although there are plenty of sync-point gunshots!

But even with those you’re wildly unlikely to notice a single-frame (or 1/24th of a second) slippage.

[Maltic]

Based on a discussion at the Blu-ray Forum, my understanding is that the release has three technical issues:

1. A frame is missing at 00:18:40.077
2. The audio tracks do not account for the missing frame -> all tracks are out of sync by 1 frame after the missing-frame point
3. The Dolby Vision layer does not account for the missing frame either -> the DV metadata is out of sync by one frame after the missing-frame point

Let's hope these can be fixed for the eventual Standard Edition.

I love this and also hate it.

[Finch]

I didn't notice it either. Does the Shout 4K have that frame missing too? Ideally it wouldn't have happened but I'd rather they fix the Excalibur audio instead.

Also, disc 3 of The Killer has an authoring issue where you can't pause or fast forward the Taiwanese cut on at least some Panasonic and Sony players.

[Finch]

Shout should have subtitled John Woo's interview. I found it hard to follow and gave up. Anthony Wong's interview is refreshingly candid but I felt Shout mixed it too low. The surrounding film clips are quite a bit louder. I had no trouble following Terence Chang on the other hand. (All watched on Arrow's release)

[Matt]

“Shout should have…” is an evergreen phrase

[Finch]

This is not just Shout, other companies are guilty of it too, but one thing that really grated watching all these interviews in succession was that they kept using the exact same music for all opening and closing credits, and then Arrow also used it for the menu! Almost drove me as nuts as the same flute cue getting overused in the Picnic at Hanging Rock extras! Arrow get bonus points for finding and including a contemporary interview with Chow Yun Fat (and Tony Leung) who's basically made the decision that he'll only talk about any film he's made during promotion and that is it. I'll say that Anthony Wong spoke so warmly of his role and experience on his Ip Man film as well as Taxi Hunter that it motivated me to seek them out. The former, I think, is WellGo or Magnet, and 88 did Taxi Hunter.

Having rewatched the film with Arrow's conscientious regarding, seeing all the film clips in the interviews with Shout's warmer grade felt really jarring and the sample of their subs was not to the same standard as Dylan's.