Hard Boiled (1992)

A tough-as-nails cop teams up with an undercover agent to shut down a sinister mobster and his crew.

Director:

John Woo

Writers:

John Woo (story), Barry Wong (screenplay)

Stars:

Yun-Fat Chow, Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Teresa Mo

3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yun-Fat Chow	...	Insp. 'Tequila' Yuen
Tony Chiu-Wai Leung	...	Alan (as Tony Leung)
Teresa Mo	...	Teresa Chang
Philip Chan	...	Supt. Pang
Phillip Chung-Fung Kwok	...	Mad Dog (as Kwok Chun-Feng)
Anthony Chau-Sang Wong	...	Johnny Wong (as Anthony Wong)
Hoi-San Kwan	...	Mr. Hoi (Guest star) (as Kwan Hoi Sang)
Wei Tung	...	Foxy (Guest star) (as Tung Wai)
Bowie Lam	...	Ah Lung / Benny
Meng Lo	...	Lonny (as Johnson Law)
Bobbie Au-Yeung	...	Lionheart (as Bobby Au Yeung)
Shui Ting Ng	...	Ah Chung (as Ng Shui-Tung)
Kong Lau	...	Hospital Director
Wai-Sun Lam	...	Hitman 1
Benny Lam	...	Hitman 2

Storyline

Mobsters are smuggling guns into Hong Kong. The police orchestrate a raid at a teahouse where an ace detective loses his partner. Meanwhile, the two main gun smugglers are having a war over territory, and a young new gun is enlisted to wipe out informants and overcome barriers to growth. The detective, acting from inside sources, gets closer to the ring leaders and eventually must work with the inside man directly.

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Plot Keywords:

gun fu | informant | gunfight | long take | partnership | 

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Taglines:

From the director of "Hard Target" and "The Killer".

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive violence and some language

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the Dragon Dynasty DVD Commentary, Michelle Yeoh was originally slated to play opposite Yun-Fat Chow as one of the heroes, with Tony Chiu-Wai Leung as the villain (when the plot hinged on a madman poisoning babies). However, scheduling conflicts prevented Yeoh from taking the part and the scene was re-written as Tequila's girlfriend with Teresa Mo in the part.

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Goofs

Location and the position of Benny's (Tequila's partner) body in the Teahouse. When he was shot, he was inside the kitchen with the door entering the kitchen to his left. Yet after Tequila comes to his side after the shoot out, Benny is outside the kitchen on the floor in the dining area. That would mean that as he was being shot, his body would have to have had to make a left turn to get back out side the kitchen even though he was seen being shot and falling within the kitchen.

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Quotes

Tequila: You're really full of shit. The toilet's over there.

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Alternate Versions

The Chinese censors requested cuts to the scene where Tequila is graphically shooting thugs in the hospital when he is holding the baby.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Heroes Who Kill More than the Villains Do (2016)

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Soundtracks

Hello
Written by Lionel Richie
Sung by Yun-Fat Chow and Teresa Mo

User Reviews

"Give the guy a gun and he's superman, give him two and he's God."

Chow Yun Fat, toothpick in mouth, a gun in each hand. That's all of the plot you need to know. Hard Boiled was my first John Woo movie and, in my opinion, his best. No other action movie comes close to this. In fact, this is THE best pure action epic ever filmed. Upon viewing it, I immediately fell in love with Woo's style and his star. It's full of the most stylized gunfights ever seen and Chow Yun Fat is the definition of cool. The full blown finale defies description. Someone once called it an action fan's wet dream. There's not much more I can say because actions speak louder than words. So go see the movie.

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese English

Release Date:

16 April 1992 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Hard Boiled

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Princess Film Production Limited, Milestone Pictures, Pioneer LDC

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min 92 min (cut) 149 min (uncut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1