• Made: 1992
• Format: DVD
• Region: 2 PAL
• Release Date: 7 Feb 2005
• Company: Prism
• Length: 123 minutes
• Picture: Letterbox Widescreen
• Language: Cantonese with Subtitles / English Dubbed
• Extras: Interactive menus, scene selections, traliers
• Classification: 18
• (see below for Special Edition disc specs)

Hard Boiled, is arguably John Woo's best-known pre-Hollywood work and the same can be said for the film's lead, Chow Yun Fat. Most discerning film critics have seen Hard Boiled and predictably quote it almost instinctively whenever Hong Kong action cinema is mentioned. Few other vehicles have had comparably sustained international success and recognition, even though the domestic performance was decidedly mediocre, taking HK $19,7111,048 during a seven week run in April 1992. It also takes credit for one of the highest death totals in a non-military film in the history of cinema, with over 230 kills!

This work is one of the later collaborations between Chow Yun Fat an John Woo, a partnership that produced many of the landmark films on the Hong Kong movie scene after 1986's A Better Tomorrow. Tony Leung Chiu Wai plays as Tony, the undercover cop opposite Chow Yun Fat's hard-boiled cop ('Tequila' Yuen).In Hard Boiled, both are up against the crime lord Johnny Wong (Anthony Wong), who apparently struggled with the stunts and gunplay in the film. This helped increase the role given to ex-Venom Kuo Chui (aka Philip Kwok), who plays Mad Dog. Kuo Chi (the Lizard in Five Venoms) is also responsible for the action and stunt work for this movie. This is largely due to John Woo deciding to retain his talents after his work on Once a Thief in 1991 (which incidentally took HK $14,000,000 more than Hard Boiled, but does not enjoy anywhere near the same recognition).

Kuo Chi also went onto work alongside Liu Chia Hui (Lau Kar Fai) and Chow Yun Fat in Treasure Hunt (1994), which was only a modest success and will always walk in the shadow of Drunken Master II. Few people know that there are actually two Venoms in Hard Boiled, Lo Meng (the Toad), gets a cameo with a shotgun scene on Tony's boat. This feature was after seven years in the cinematic wilderness for Lo Meng after Pursuit of a Killer, 1985. Whereas Kuo Chi was (and still is) heavily involved in the movie industry. Philip Chan (Twinkle, Twinkle, Winners and Sinners) gets an outing as Superintendent Pang, and Teresa Mo Sun Kwan gets to play Teresa Chang, probably the pinnacle of her short career.

Chow Yun Fat (Tequila) is conducting a war against a smuggling ring, but unfortunately his partner gets killed in the famous opening sequence in the teahouse. Unlike most U.S offerings, where the lead would get given a 'light comedy' sidekick, Tequila gets to wallow and brood alone. He finds solace with his buddy at the Jazz Club (John Woo, who like Hitchcock, is very keen on cameos in his movies). Meanwhile, Tony has been 'ensnared' by Johnny Wong to kill his own boss and join Johnny's 'crew'. In the following gunfight at the arms warehouse Tony kills his boss and all his old comrades, but Tequila gets in on the action and wastes many of Johnny Wong's men.

This leads to a trademark John Woo stand-off between Tony and Tequila and Tony spares Tequila his life. Tequila realises this is no ordinary criminal and after pressing his Superintendent, he finds out that he is undercover. They begin to develop a relationship and Tequila repays the debt by saving Tony's life when a bunch of triads (including Lo Meng as Lonny) attempt to shoot Tony on his boat. When Tequila finds out that Johnny Wong's arms dump is in the hospital basement, he immediately gets backup to arrive. Along with Tony they finish off all the bad guys, save many patients (although countless are massacred) and the end piece involves Johnny Wong exiting the blazing hospital with a gun to Tony's head. But what happens? That would be telling…