'Hard Boiled" Criterion vs. Winstar vs. Mei Ah

(aka "Lashou shentan" or "Hard Boiled" or "God of Guns" or "Hot-Handed God of Cops" or "Ruthless Super-Cop")

directed by John Woo
Hong Kong 1992

Violence as poetry, rendered by a master—brilliant and passionate, John Woo’s Hard Boiled tells the story of jaded detective “Tequila” Yuen (played with controlled fury by Chow Yun-fat). Woo’s dizzying odyssey through the world of Hong Kong Triads, undercover agents, and frenzied police raids culminates unforgettably in the breathless hospital sequence. More than a cops-and-bad-guys story, Hard Boiled continually startles with its originality and dark humor.

Posters

Theatrical Release: September 12th, 1992 - Toronto Film Festival

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DVD Comparison:

Criterion - Region 01 - NTSC vs. Fox/Lorber- Region 1 vs. Mei Ah Region 0 NTSC

Big thanks to Enrico for the Mei Ah Region 0 screen captures

(Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT -. Fox Lorber - Region 0 - NTSC MIDDLE -. Mei Ah Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Criterion Collection Spine # 9 Region 1 - NTSC	Fox/Lorber - Winstar Region 1 - NTSC	Mei Ah Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	2:07:20	2:07:24	2:07:24
Video	1.92:1 Overmatted Average Bitrate: 5.73 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.70:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate:6.80 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.77:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 7.41 NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s
Bitrate: Criterion NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Fox
Bitrate: Madman
Audio	Cantonese (Dolby Digital 1.0), English (Dolby Digital 1.0)	Cantonese (Dolby Digital 1.0), English (Dolby Digital 1.0)	Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1) + Mono + DTS, Mandarin (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles	English and none	English, None	English, Chinese (traditional + simplified) Japanese, None.
Features	Release Information: Studio: Home Vision Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen - 1.92:1 (overmatted) Edition Details: • Optimal image quality: dual-layer edition • Audio commentary by John Woo, producer Terence Chang, filmmaker Roger Avary, and critic Dave Kehr • Trailers for 11 of Woo’s Hong Kong films • A student film by Woo • Optional English subtitles and dubbed track • Guide to Hong Kong crime films • Notes on Hard Boiled DVD Release Date: June 16, 1998 Keep Case Chapters 45	Release Information: Studio: Fox Lorber Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterbox - 1.70:1 Edition Details: • Color, Widescreen • Commentary by John Woo • Production notes • Theatrical trailer • 3-D Motion Menus • Widescreen letterbox format DVD Release Date: October 3, 2000 Keep Case Chapters 30	Release Information: Studio: Mei Ah Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.77:1 Edition Details: Database - text screens -bios etc. DVD Release Date: March 19th, 2002 Cardboard Case Chapters 12
Comments:	There are many fans of this film as all editions at one time or another were OOP (Out of Print). Mei Ah have re-mastered their first effort and added 5.1 sound. All editions seem to have some issues. The new Mei Ah has no Extras worth speaking of, comes in a nice cardboard box, has flaws in the subtitles, is the only edition of these three that is anamorphic and the picture is slightly cropped and saturated. Okay the Criterion has the best Extras, is severely overmatted (cropped) and has the original Mono sound. The Fox - Lorber release is the best of the three with the 'fullest' image, a directors commentary and the original mono sound. I've read that the Mono sound is better than the 5.1/DTS offering on the Mei Ah - so the overall winner here is the Fox DVD (surprising no?). - Gary W. Tooze

DVD Menus

(Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT -. Fox Lorber - Region 1 - NTSC MIDDLE -. Mei Ah Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)