You missed one thing Woo does in Hard Boiled that makes it look so good: his mastery of the squib. If you're doing a gunfight in a space, you should also be visually destroying that space. Bullets always hit something, and that something will react. Dust, smoke, fragments, shards, blood. Bullets are destruction. In Hard Boiled, sets are annihilated by the gunfights one small explosion at a time, and the debris scatters about in the slo-mo, making it even more visually dynamic. John Woo circa Hard Boiled is the master of the squib.

@drakashrakenburgproduction5369

3 жыл бұрын

The video game FEAR took a lot of inspirations from this film.

@johnnychopsocky

3 жыл бұрын

@@drakashrakenburgproduction5369 Remedy also used a lot of this idea in the 'Max Payne' games and 'Control'. Especially 'Control'. Sets get ripped to hell by firefights in that, and being able to use the debris itself as a weapon works and looks so good.

@CrispyHulk1

2 жыл бұрын

I noticed this too. The chaotic and natural visuals it creates is refreshing from the clinical and calculated CGI editing we have today.

@IzunaSlap

2 жыл бұрын

Max Payne 3 levels get absolutely destroyed like in this film

@neurotica5461

Жыл бұрын

Michael Bay also tries to emulate that in his movies

John Woo is without a doubt one of the best action directors of all time

@matman000000

7 жыл бұрын

Woo, Peckinpah and Mann, the holy trinity of movie shootouts.

@MarkyMatey

6 жыл бұрын

Mattchester and Spielberg

@teguhsetiawan9579

6 жыл бұрын

Reggie Lovato plus gareth evans

@tylerdordon99

3 жыл бұрын

For me it's a tie between John Woo and Johnnie To.

I believe that John Woo also had a social purpose in this film. His previous films were criticized because they glamourized the criminals and gangsters. In response, Hard Boiled focused on the police as sympathetic protagonists. You see a lot of them die, but they also brought down the bad guys hard.

@MYRD-ew6oi

3 жыл бұрын

Umm. Any sources that this actually happened

@deadrivers2267

3 жыл бұрын

@Mikael Donoso Just search this shit up. It's a trivial fun fact, not some conspiracy theory -_-

@BrandonHilikus

2 жыл бұрын

In better tommrow 2 he tells the kids to grow )dressed as gangsters or chow yuns character in first video

I saw this back in 1995, after working at a Blockbuster Video, came across it, Killer, and A Better Tomorrow. I was like, "Ok, I really liked Hard Target, so let's see what the fuss is about." HOLY SHIT my standards for action films went up about 20 points after seeing what this guy could do on a MUCH equivalently smaller budget than most 80s/90s US action films.

Gotta give some props to Philip Kwok, the action director. He not only choreographed the stunt and action sequences, he also played Mad Dog.

Hard Boiled is amazing (and funnily enough received a computer game sequel called Stranglehold, the story of which was written by Woo himself, which is one of the coolest third person shooters I ever played), but my favourite Woo film is The Killer for its impactful story. But holy crap... the action in Hard Boiled is perfect. Absolutely perfect. Woo is a master of his craft, and this is him at his peak. Personally, I think Woo's American movies pale in comparison to the movies he made in Hong Kong.

@AsianTheDomination

6 жыл бұрын

Have you played max payne? It was inspired by john woo films and was the inspiration for stranglehold

@starwarsroo2448

6 жыл бұрын

His yank stuff is a pale reflection of Hard Boiled and the Hong Kong flicks. This one is my fave and yeah Stranglehold is decent, even getying Chow involved just made the game authentic John Woo movie basically

@Texy88

5 жыл бұрын

@@AsianTheDomination It’s a shame that quite a few people accused _Stranglehold_ of ripping off the _Max Payne_ games, because of the use of Bullet Time in the _Max Payne_ games and the Tequila Time of _Stranglehold_ being similar. This is despite the fact that John Woo was doing that kind of action before _Max Payne_ was even a binary digit of code, and the fact that _Stranglehold_ actually *invites* you to use Tequila Time to try and rack up the most stylish kills (at the more difficult settings just standing there and shooting is unlikely to be beneficial, whereas in _Max Payne_ this is arguably not such an obstacle).

@tylerdordon99

3 жыл бұрын

I remember The first Max Payne had an explicit John Woo reference.

I can't stop watching your videos! This is my favorite action movie ever!!

That chop shop scene is one of my favorite action scenes of all time. Tequila was so bad ass with that shotgun.

Still my favorite action movie of all time. Which is a bit sad when you think about it, but I just watched it again recently, and it's just so damn good and holds up almost 100%.

Let's not forget John Woo is not only an amazing director, but also one hell of a screenwriter( and editor).

Chow Yun Fat is a damn Legend

Probably my favourite action film ever.

More people should see this channel. You're the first KZreadr I've seen to actually have a good idea of what makes good action or indeed film altogether.

Arguably my favorite action movie from the 90s.

@JoelCraike

5 жыл бұрын

Mine too!

@jp3813

4 жыл бұрын

Arguing against yourself?

Will anyone kill me if I said this film is better than Die Hard

@artygunnar

8 жыл бұрын

yes it is

@nintyfan1991

8 жыл бұрын

Some critics actually agree. On the back of the US Dragon Dynasty version on DVD, someone actually says it.

@andyli2046

8 жыл бұрын

+nintendoboy17 In the UK there were DVDs that said "Better than a dozen Die Hards"

@zla3031

7 жыл бұрын

I mean, it's obviously better than die hard in every way so... maybe :D

@TequilaToothpick

7 жыл бұрын

They are #1 and #2 of action movie. Hard Boiled is my favourite and has the best action, but Die Hard has a tighter script, Hans Gruber and John McClane. I love both.

I first saw this back in 94' and it was already 6 years old and was blown away at the action . He paved the way to a new style of action . The hospital scene is done in slo mo every time a good guy would get wounded . He changed the rules but then everyone copied it and got old fast .

@pauldola63

7 жыл бұрын

According to IMDb the film was released in 1992.

@speedracer1945

7 жыл бұрын

Paul Langford yeah it was 92' my bad , I was going off memory and have the film only 3 feet in front of me .Just too lazy to get up LOL . But stand by what else I said about the film . Have you seen it ? The Killer was made in 89' is good too but liked this film slightly better .

@pauldola63

7 жыл бұрын

I have seen it but a very long time ago.Will have to give it a re-watch soon.

@NumaanTahir

6 жыл бұрын

I hope one day to make a film that has action seaquences like hard boiled

When I first watched Hard Boiled, I actually thought that Tequila was going to be killed in the final shootout. Just because John Woo has a thing with killing off Chow Yun Fat off, eg. The Killer and A Better Tomorrow. Am I the only one?

@2sallads

7 жыл бұрын

I watched Hard Boiled first. But i would have probably thought the same thing after seeing those other 2 films. Heck, i thought it was going to happen in A Better Tomorrow 2. I actually refuse to believe he lived through all those shots to the chest.

@beauclaus

7 жыл бұрын

ABT2 is an absolutely outstanding film!

@SuccessforLifester

6 жыл бұрын

Spoilers!!!

@somemysteriousguy7114

5 жыл бұрын

Spoiler alert for movies you may not seen yet chow yun fat dies in like half of his movies and tv shows like The bund, A better tomorrow, The killer, All about ah long, Peace hotel, Pirates of the caribbean and City on Fire

@michaelbandada9887

3 жыл бұрын

@@beauclaus A Better Tomorrow 2 caused conflict between John Woo and Tsui Hark and thus, the two of them made their own Vietnam War-centered film, Tsui Hark made A Better Tomorrow 3 with Chow Yun Fat reprising the role that he played in the first A Better Tomorrow movie and it also featured Anita Mui as his leading lady As for John Woo, he made Bullet in the Head which was the intended third film in the Better Tomorrow series and it features Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Jacky Cheung and Simon Yam

The technical side blew my mind when I saw this. Imagine getting all of those explosions and sparks and squibs and everything just right to make a scene look amazing and chaotic.

Everyone always talks about the hospital shootout but I absolutely love the warehouse scene - old hoi dying is v poignant. They really made these characters sympathetic, just brilliant

Just found this channel. Don't stop making videos cause they're great!

Hard Boiled is undoubtably the pinnacle of all action films it is the best of the best.

WOW! This is an incredible Action Movie, along with Woo's THE KILLER.

@TequilaToothpick

7 жыл бұрын

And Woo's A Better Tomorrow, Bullet in the Head and Red Cliff 1 & 2.

@jasonfenton8250

6 жыл бұрын

It might be because I saw it first, but The Killer is my favorite. Followed by A Better Tomorrow, then Hard Boiled. Hard Boiled just wasn't as emotional for me.

@michaelbandada9887

3 жыл бұрын

@@jasonfenton8250 A Better Tomorrow has a good story too. Ti Lung and Leslie Cheung portrayed brothers who had their relationship broken due to their opposing career choices and they would end up reconciling in the end despite the fact that they have to survive a brutal shootout during the climax

@michaelbandada9887

3 жыл бұрын

@@TequilaToothpick Red Cliff just got the trademark John Woo gimmicks and somehow, it captures the essence of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel of having badass warriors like Guan Yu and Zhao Yun, as well as brilliant men like Zhuge Liang, Cao Cao and Zhou Yu At least some aspects of the story like Liu Bei’s baby throwing antics and the Zhuge Liang-Zhou Yu feud are ommitted

Keep them coming dude, great work again.

I feel like The Killer has a better story, and more emotion, but Hard Boiled has even better action (and The Killer is impressive in the action department too)

Very well said. A better gunplay yet to come. I wish this movie is remade with the same team!

This film arguably cemented Chow Yun Fat as an action superstar. It's funny as he started out in cheap, melodramatic and screwball Hong Kong comedies that I used to watch a lot growing up here in Manila. He still has that comedic flair, though.

@raja-jl9os

9 ай бұрын

But this is over the top action people make fun of Indian action

The fact this inspired the first F.E.A.R game is insane.

This is what inspired the Max Payne games. I don't understand why the filmmakers couldn't take the same film as this, and just add a revenge story around it.

@Texy88

5 жыл бұрын

Probably cost so much to get the licence to use the _Max Payne_ universe that it left comparatively little budget for the actual film itself...

@probablymelgibson2344

5 жыл бұрын

@@Texy88 nah he meant how has nobody ever did an story like this back then

This was my first Woo film, interesting to see that i picked the very best one to start with

Great analysis of a great film.

John Woo Best Action Movie's. Hard Boiled Hereos Shed No Tears Bullet In The Head The Killer A Better Tomorrow A Better Tomorrow 2 Hard Target Face/Off

@gregofcanada4494

6 жыл бұрын

Cool Shabz Fine list!

@TequilaToothpick

5 жыл бұрын

Red Cliff!

@frankkubiak8349

4 жыл бұрын

I'd throw in broken Arrow because I'm a Christian Slater fan

Glad to see such an analysis of one of my favourite action films. I wish Woo would get back to making action films like these. Even his American efforts, while not as good as his HK filmmaking, beat most Hollywood action films in terms of style, choreography and stuntwork.

@TequilaToothpick

7 жыл бұрын

You see Red Cliff? It wasn't a gun movie, but still amazing.

@youn00ber

7 жыл бұрын

It's on the agenda, but when I think of Woo I definitely don't immediately think ''Wuxia!''. Wuxia are plenty available, but good gunplay action films are in short supply.

Do you think you could give your thoughts on Kill Zone 2 by Cheang Pou-soi? Its garned a lot of praise and I quite enjoyed it myself but I'd absolutely love to hear your thoughts on it as its right up your alley.

This has to be the best action movie ever, nothing has ever come close!

Nice analysis!

@Rossatron

7 жыл бұрын

Nice comment!

While there's only the trailer currently out, it'd be interesting to hear your opinion of Hardcore Henry. Either current available footage or when it finally gets released.

nice work, btw --- as usual!!

Absolute fantastic video! I love John Woo and Chow Yun Fat!

Just watched this today it’s a perfect action movie

Yeah more videos!

I was so lucky to have seen this at a Chinatown theater on its original release, I'd seen The Killer in an arthouse theater but this was the first one I saw in Chinatown and the beginning of a good long run of both great and terrible films until they all closed by the end of the decade.

Hola from🇪🇸Spain...HARBOILED , HERBIDERO in Spainsh IS A MASTER PIECE...THE BEST ACTION SHOOTING MOVIE

damn you. now I have to watch it again

Woo is also more than just an "action" film maker. Check out A Better Tomorrow or Bullet In The Head - two fantastic films. I also love his early action films like Hand of Death & Last Hurrah For Chivalry two magnificent period offerings.

@michaelbandada9887

3 жыл бұрын

Bullet in the Head is a story of a group of friends who have been torn apart by greed and they suffered the horrors of the Vietnam War (the whole Russian Roulette scene makes everyone cringe) with Jacky Cheung losing his mind and poor Tony Leung Chiu Wai has to put him out of his misery and kill their former buddy who became a rich jerk

@angelaarmie5789

Жыл бұрын

The og cut of Heroes Shed No Tears thought to be lost is said to be coming out on German blu-ray.

I still can not remember an action movie as intense as Hard Boiled. John Woo himself has never beaten it, only Face/Off came close, but it still just wasn't as crazy as Hard Boiled.

@fakenews6133

6 жыл бұрын

Django unchained was the reboot of a 1966 classic that convinced the world that Django was "that black cowboy." also... where's the coffin?

Absolutely and fantastic movie

Hard Boiled is my favorite movie. There are a lot of good action movies out there, but none have beaten that one.

@lukemclellan2141

7 жыл бұрын

You can'y beat a boiled egg.

I remember buy the vhs of this movie, I loved the old John woo movies.

So what is your interpretation of the ending ? Did Tony die ? I think officially, they said he lives. But the ending can be interpreted differently

@thesoldier4318

3 жыл бұрын

In the end of Hard Boiled Tequila grined while burning Alan's file meaning he survived the ending.

The hospital scene is unmatched

What blu ray or dvd did you use for the video because I was forced to watch this film on KZread. Still this is truely one of the best action films I've ever seen.

I saw a Norinco 9mm like the one Chow Yun Fat used at a gun store and I was so tempted to get it. The only problem is if I buy one I’d need another so I can duel wield it like in the movie, but they only had one model. Maybe in the next life. PS those babies in the hospital are gonna have tinnitus forever😂

What's your opinion on John Woo's later works, eg. Red Cliff and Reign of Assassins?

@user-iy7jo7bq4f

5 жыл бұрын

Red Cliff sucks, but westerners won't understand unless you can speak Chinese well, because the dialogues were painfully crigney. What astonished me was that both movies were better received in the west than in Asia. Reign of Assassins (Should've been called Rain of Swords because this is the correct translation.) was much better, Woo was good when his setting was smaller.

@calebhu6383

3 жыл бұрын

@@user-iy7jo7bq4f I agree that Red Cliff was too corny, especially if you've watched or read the original 3 Kingdoms series. Critics seem to love it though.

The best action that i rent in a video club, ever!

Such a great movie , proper action movie!

I do like the killer more than hard boiled because the story itself is interesting unlike in hard boiled.

@MmaSmarty87

7 жыл бұрын

and the ending is just eye-ronically sad!

@fakenews6133

6 жыл бұрын

Boogie Thug Rose Dont think i'm Blind to what you're doing. Eye See what you did there, and it was quite Cornea.

@michaelbandada9887

3 жыл бұрын

@@MmaSmarty87 an eye for an eye

Best action movie ever made!

Tony Leung. Ahh. CYF kills it but that scene where Leung knows he needs to kill people who are through posing a threat... that one look. So good.

Woo's action style is essentially a mix gritty Peckinpah violence and kung-fu film acrobatics.

Watching this you can really see what inspired the editing style in John Wick.

Can you do A Better Tomorrow?

Haha still an all time classic 2 this day

This movie is full action movie for All John woo our time favorite superb

Where can I watch this movie?

@davidc.8755

Жыл бұрын

It's often and I believe it's still is free on KZread because people download it and put it on here

please make a video about one of Johnnie To's films. he's as equally as brilliant as John Woo imo.

@blinksstayfresh2524

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah the election movies imo are his best

@tylerdordon99

2 жыл бұрын

@@blinksstayfresh2524 for me he it's Exiled, Election 2 and then you got Throw Down, Drug War, A Hero Never Dies...etc. he made too mamy great movies.

so much gun Fu! great movie

hard boiled is insanely engrossing fun. from the tea house all way thro. john woo honh kong films had that magic. once he went hollywood it was all style & violence toned down for western audience. God mode activated. slow mo ever lasting guns & ammo while looking so freaking cool.

I don't want to brag, but I bought this movie for $1 at a pawn shop in Fridley, MN!

@AsianTheDomination

6 жыл бұрын

good steal, and nice meme pic

@mechanoid2k

5 жыл бұрын

was it the critereon collection? That's the only way to watch Hard Boiled.

Watched a cut version of the film and it was unwatchable because they cut out so much you couldn't follow the story anymore.

Great video! Since you are a fan of John Woo? Can you produce an analysis of Bullet In The Head? Its an another John Woo film. I considered it to be his best action film. Unlike this one its much more character driven and impactful. Its a Vietnam War era film. So the kinetic over the top action feels much more at home and ''natural''. There is great inspirations from films like Deer Hunter.

@TequilaToothpick

7 жыл бұрын

I recently read an online topic asking what Woo's best movie is and I think there were eight answers! A Better Tomorrow, A Better Tomorrow II, The Killer, Bullet in the Head, Hard Boiled, Face/Off, Red Cliff and even Hard Target!

it would be interesting to see John who's version of John wick

great Vid always considered hard Boiled to be Raid with guns,the long-take hospital shootout is a masterpiece and John Woo is such a great director of action,well in Chinese Cinema at least,the American ,eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhh not so much,but brilliant analysis anyways,you look at things quite differently and intricately ,sometimes going as far as to impact my viewpoint.

@calebhu6383

5 жыл бұрын

"The Raid with guns" I agree.

Do a Django unchained action film analysis

When are you doing RRR?

Bullet in the head is my favorite John Woo movie

The hospital shoot out is insane. John woo is my all time favourite

@atwunz

3 жыл бұрын

The best third act ever.

Give a guy gun and he's a Superman, give him two and he's a God.

Honest to christ, when tequila has the baby, knocks the door at the guy and shoots him through the door that is perfection.

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

4:03 moral of a story: don’t hit a woman who will shoot you

Ok, maybe someone here will answer it: Why did Alan kill the other man in the warehouse scene after he killed the boss? It was clear that he wasn't supposed to (and didn't want) and there was a good chance for people to walk away alive, even though disgraced.

@SuccessforLifester

6 жыл бұрын

Mad Moovz Yes that scene was a difficult watch. I feel that Tony Leung knew that there was no way the new evil boss will let those men leave. Hence he made the difficult decision to kill them all so that he could get even deeper trust from the evil boss.

@mechanoid2k

5 жыл бұрын

If he didn't kill them he would have been killed himself.

@michaelbandada9887

3 жыл бұрын

Basically, Johnny (the main villain) wants Tony/Alan to join his gang and thus, Tony has to kill his old boss so that he could join Johnny and possibly bust him for his illegal activities

When I first saw hard boiled I was disappointed because you hyped it up so much but then I went back again to watch it and it grew on me. Bot there was still a problem so I edited 1 hour out of the film and just masses it so it had a basic simple story with great action.

Someone should take a DC comics charecter and make an R-rated action flick and make it inspired by John Woo.....Im thinking The Red Hood aka Jason Todd.

Love this film, first watched it on Channel 4 many years ago. Since then I was hooked on Heroic Bloodshed films. I'm not a huge fan of most of Woo's later films, especially paycheck that stunk more than farmyard shite. haha

@Rossatron

7 жыл бұрын

The full Red Cliff is amazing

@TequilaCT

7 жыл бұрын

Totally forgotten about that one, will go and watch as soon as i got time.

@michaelbandada9887

3 жыл бұрын

@@Rossatron Only John Woo would put his trademark gimmicks on a film based on a pivotal battle in Romance of the Three Kingdoms (doves, Mexican standoffs and battle dives). At least, they retained the badassery of the heroes especially Zhao Yun who saved Liu Bei’s son at Changban (no baby throwing!) Ken Watanabe was supposed to play Cao Cao but they didn’t want him to do it so, Zhang Fengyi got the role instead

This film is excellent for an action film. It's, well, it's almost perfect lol.

I don't know why but I always liked Killer more than Hard boiled

@andyli2046

8 жыл бұрын

Perhaps it's because the Killer is a better movie, in my opinion. I do perfer Hard Boiled a bit more just because it was more fun and enjoyable. However, the Killer had more drama and was a much more serious movie, as well as having a more developed character.

@lukeseneca1340

7 жыл бұрын

Jan P. Same, but Hard Boiled is really close to beating it

@TheTonybudd

7 жыл бұрын

~ emotional content . . .

@TequilaToothpick

7 жыл бұрын

I used to. The Killer has more heart and more emotion, but Hard Boiled is more fun. Both are in my top 10.

@Rando1975

5 жыл бұрын

I flip-flop back and forth between the two.

Alan*

this is way better than the killer

If John Woo still remains in Hollywood, he should have directed the following : Bad Boys sequel, Wanted, Hitman & Agent 47, Marvel Black Widow, Assassin (Sylvester Stallone)

@IHateYoutubeHandlesVeryMuch

4 жыл бұрын

Don't forget Max Payne. It's a shame that Woo was probably the only Hong Kong director to do well in Hollywood, while other HK directors either failed or made pretty crappy films. It's probably due to lack of creative control by the executives, but still a damn shame.

@michaelbandada9887

3 жыл бұрын

@@IHateKZreadHandlesVeryMuch John Woo got to make the second Mission Impossible movie as well as Face/Off

3:59

Yeesh.

Hard Boiled is fantastic, Peckinpah/Scorsese filmmaking, even though I prefer the story and characters of The Killer. Shame neither of these films have a decent blu-ray release.

4:02 Lol. What? He thought the slap would just like....disable her forever? Wtf!

Nearly all actions scenes with guns are merely pale copies of Woo's work.

@user-iy7jo7bq4f

5 жыл бұрын

What about Heat?

@felipetartas5434

5 жыл бұрын

@@user-iy7jo7bq4f Heat is different, it is more realistic. I like both styles.

@user-iy7jo7bq4f

5 жыл бұрын

@@felipetartas5434 Actually, Woo's work can be considered as a pale copy of an old American western film called Wild Bunch... Woo even admitted he learned a lot from it.

@user-iy7jo7bq4f

5 жыл бұрын

@@felipetartas5434 Shit, I thought you were the op...

@calebhu6383

3 жыл бұрын

@@user-iy7jo7bq4f No, Woo picked up the editing style from The Wild Bunch and ran with it to a whole new level.

Watching the original version without the dubbing its not as good as the dubbed version also the acting is from certain characters is stilted still a fantastic film though

Being honest in the yacht scene he would've been paralyzed by that shot just saying

full auto calypso fuck me thats the highest ammo smg

Hard Boiled is one fav action movies .And back in the day ,This movie became popular through word of mouth .It is a awesome Hong Kong action movie ,Right up there with Enter the Dragon .And John Woo was a good action director .I remember seeing no trailers for this movie ,In till much later ,Like when I bought on DVD .

I am confused why the police would hire Tony when his family was doing illegal activities. That was the only thing the movie that confused me.

@TequilaToothpick

7 жыл бұрын

I watched this movie a couple of days ago and I must have missed that. What were his family doing?

@JnEricsonx

7 жыл бұрын

"Family" as in his Triad Gang. He went undercover and JOINED THEM. They're not actually blood-related.

@SuccessforLifester

6 жыл бұрын

Tony Leung graduated from the police force and was planted into the Triad family.

@michaelbandada9887

3 жыл бұрын

@@SuccessforLifester Tony Leung ended up playing the role of an undercover cop in the Infernal Affairs movie (the one that became the inspiration for The Departed)

@SuccessforLifester

3 жыл бұрын

@@michaelbandada9887 Yes I did watch that too.

Video began to feel like a circlejerk once you started criticizing the Bourne films, some of the best around - we get it, East good, West bad.