Blu Tuesday is a weekly column where we review the newest Blu-ray and 4K releases, along with a brief rundown of the included bonus material, to determine whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping.
Pick of the Week: “Hard Boiled”
John Woo’s collaborations with Chow Yun-Fat are the pinnacle of his career, and “Hard Boiled” might just be the best of the bunch. It’s an action lover’s dream, as Woo conducts a symphony of mass destruction filled with some of the greatest action sequences committed to film. The movie rarely slows down, and when it does, it’s only to catch its breath before launching into yet another onslaught of gunfights, explosions and shattered glass. Chow Yun-Fat and Tony Leung make for an awesome onscreen duo, but Woo’s spectacular action is the real star, and it looks better than ever thanks to Shout! Factory’s new 4K release, which is sharper and just all-around more vibrant. It’s a truly impressive restoration that provides a much-deserved upgrade to this essential piece of Hong Kong cinema.
Extras include a pair of new audio commentaries (one by Woo and film journalist Drew Taylor, and the other by film historian Frank Djeng), as well as the previously released commentary track from the Criterion Collection, new interviews with the cast and crew, deleted scenes and a 52-page collector’s booklet with four essays. FINAL VERDICT: BUY
Disclosure: Bullz-Eye was provided a copy of the above titles for review purposes.
