Member Lionclaw Posted February 6, 2011 Member Share Posted February 6, 2011 For years I've been hearing about how great Hard Boiled was, but I never looked into because when I was younger I didn't like gun play movies plus I was never too found of Chow Yun Fat. Now after my tastes have been opened to much more of a variety of action I've been thinking of getting it. My Question: Is the cropping and streching of the DD DVD version really that bad as I've heard. Will it matter to a guy whos never seen the movie in the first place? Opinions welcome. EDIT: I think I put this in the wrong section. Could someone help me move this to the general one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted February 6, 2011 Member Share Posted February 6, 2011 It's one of my favourite HK films, and im not really bothered by it. I like my DD version. Also have the old 1996 UK VHS, but I have never compared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member blue_skies Posted February 6, 2011 Member Share Posted February 6, 2011 I've never seen the dragon dynasty DVD of Hard Boiled but I can say that it would bother me a great deal & ruin the movie. Luckily I read about this issue and bought the UK version! Personally I would recommend getting the UK DVD if you can play them. However I suppose it depends on how you like watching TV? Personally I can't stand an image being stretched to fit a widescreen television and will watch 4: 3 images with black bars down either side, otherwise it just looks wrong and is distracting. Other people are happy to watch these images to fit a widescreen TV even though with the wrong screen format, making everyone look like they have put on a few pounds... And then some. If you're one of those people I don't imagine this DVD will bother you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member mark187 Posted February 6, 2011 Member Share Posted February 6, 2011 yeah, I never would have noticed the cropping/stretching if it weren't for the reviews posted online. I think it looks significantly better than the fox lorber release, but that one is still worth hanging onto for the John Woo commentary! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Markgway Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 I'm sticking with my Tartan DVD for now. This classic deserves much much better than Dragon Dynasty are capable of delivering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TrickyNicky Posted February 6, 2011 Member Share Posted February 6, 2011 I first saw the Winstar version, and the DD looks far better. I don't think it will matter too much if it is your first time seeing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Amazing Psycho Per Posted February 7, 2011 Member Share Posted February 7, 2011 I stated this in previous in a previous thread, but I really don't see what the big fuss is all about. I compared my old VHS with the DD dvd and I all I could see is that maybe the image is slightly zoomed in but nothing to write home about. I'm happy with the DD release and whatever the complaints are, being cropping or dubtitles, it didn't affect my appreciation of the movie. I'm not saying the complaints aren't founded, just that I don't think it's as bad as some make it sound. You neet to see this classic ASAP. It is the pinacle of gunfights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Macho King Posted February 7, 2011 Member Share Posted February 7, 2011 The Dragon Dynasty version looks fine. The stretching/cropping 4:3 image into 16:9 is a gross exaggeration. To date, its the best looking version Ive seen, and Ive owned this film on multiple formats--2 VHS, 4 DVDs, 1 blu-ray. Ooooooooooh yeeeeaaaah!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member blue_skies Posted February 8, 2011 Member Share Posted February 8, 2011 The Dragon Dynasty version looks fine. The stretching/cropping 4:3 image into 16:9 is a gross exaggeration. To date, its the best looking version Ive seen, and Ive owned this film on multiple formats--2 VHS, 4 DVDs, 1 blu-ray. Ooooooooooh yeeeeaaaah!!! looked better than Blu ray? have you seen the UK Tartan, I think mine is...the most recent UK anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator KUNG FU BOB Posted February 8, 2011 Administrator Share Posted February 8, 2011 Other than the UK Tartan version and the BD, I've owned them all- from VHS, laser disc, on through it's several DVD incarnations. And I thought the Dragon Dynasty version looked fine. Lionclaw, trust me- the movie is so damned entertaining that you won't be looking for image imperfections! LOL I don't normally hear this from others, but I thought Tony Leung kind of stole the film from Chow Yun-Fat. Tony is fantastic in this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Lionclaw Posted February 8, 2011 Member Share Posted February 8, 2011 Other than the UK Tartan version and the BD, I've owned them all- from VHS, laser disc, on through it's several DVD incarnations. And I thought the Dragon Dynasty version looked fine. Lionclaw, trust me- the movie is so damned entertaining that you won't be looking for image imperfections! LOL I don't normally hear this from others, but I thought Tony Leung kind of stole the film from Chow Yun-Fat. Tony is fantastic in this. Thats good to know. I never saw the point of multiple versions of a movie. There will always be one that makes the others obsolete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator KUNG FU BOB Posted February 8, 2011 Administrator Share Posted February 8, 2011 Thats good to know. I never saw the point of multiple versions of a movie. There will always be one that makes the others obsolete. I love the film so much that as it was released on each new medium I kept updating my copy. Now I only have the Fox/Lorber DVD, a DVD-R of the Criterion version, and the Dragon Dynasty release. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Lionclaw Posted February 9, 2011 Member Share Posted February 9, 2011 I love the film so much that as it was released on each new medium I kept updating my copy. Now I only have the Fox/Lorber DVD, a DVD-R of the Criterion version, and the Dragon Dynasty release. Is it really that good? After watching that long take hospital shootout, I was drawn to check this one out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member masterofoneinchpunch Posted February 9, 2011 Member Share Posted February 9, 2011 I love the film so much that as it was released on each new medium I kept updating my copy. Now I only have the Fox/Lorber DVD, a DVD-R of the Criterion version, and the Dragon Dynasty release. I'm such a fan that I also have the Criterion legit copy and a Criterion bootleg. (trying to tell which is which is a bit of a chore) I do like the commentary on the Criterion release, I've been meaning to compare it with the Fox/Lorber copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator KUNG FU BOB Posted February 9, 2011 Administrator Share Posted February 9, 2011 Is it really that good? After watching that long take hospital shootout, I was drawn to check this one out. On a 1-10 scale I'd give it a 9. Within it's genre, it's pretty much everything you could want. Wow! I can't believe you saw that scene out of context before seeing the film. Youtube sure ruins a lot of films. When I saw this in the theater, the buildup to that scene is such a phenomenal journey, and you just didn't think it could go any further. Then BAM! Well, more like a whole shitload of "bam"s! Woo took us all to a level of action filmmaking that we'd never seen before. Knowing the characters and really caring whether or not they were going to make it or not truly elevated the scene. You got the feeling that this director wasn't f**king around, and wouldn't hesitate to kill the "heroes" if he saw fit. Anyway, the "classic" test for me is this: when I re-watch a film that I know I love and think is a classic, and it still surprises me how damn good it is again! This just happened recently when I watched the BD of SEVEN SAMURAI (Thank you Wuxiafan!!! ). I've seen it many times before, but it still blew me away... again! I'm such a fan that I also have the Criterion legit copy and a Criterion bootleg. (trying to tell which is which is a bit of a chore) I do like the commentary on the Criterion release, I've been meaning to compare it with the Fox/Lorber copy. Both commentaries are similar, but they're both worth listening to. For those that don't know- John Woo recorded an audio commentary for the Criterion release of HARDBOILED. Down the road, Fox/Lorber re-released the film on DVD, and used the Criterion owned audio commentary. They did not have permission to do so, Criterion took legal action, and all copies were quickly recalled. Mr. Woo was cool enough to re-record a new audio commentary for the F/L version (and the company was cool enough to care to get it!). That's why there are two different AC's by John Woo for HARDBOILED. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member masterofoneinchpunch Posted February 9, 2011 Member Share Posted February 9, 2011 ...Both commentaries are similar, but they're both worth listening to. For those that don't know- John Woo recorded an audio commentary for the Criterion release of HARDBOILED. Down the road, Fox/Lorber re-released the film on DVD, and used the Criterion owned audio commentary. They did not have permission to do so, Criterion took legal action, and all copies were quickly recalled. Mr. Woo was cool enough to re-record a new audio commentary for the F/L version (and the company was cool enough to care to get it!). That's why there are two different AC's by John Woo for HARDBOILED. For those that don't know the Criterion commentary also has (besides Terence Chang) Roger Avary, and film critic Dave Kehr spliced in. While I liked hearing Dave Kehr (always follow his blog still), I do wonder what Avary was getting at sometimes (this is when I wish I kept legible notes on this commentary, I plan on going over it again) and he did not overly help the commentary out. I'm pretty close to a ten on this film being a huge fan of this. SEVEN SAMURAI is a great film to test the "classic test" . I do this with STALAG 17 . Wait I forgot I have a VHS of this as well. Now Criterion does not seem to care as much for HK films (sans Wong kar-wai of course) . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Lionclaw Posted February 9, 2011 Member Share Posted February 9, 2011 On a 1-10 scale I'd give it a 9. Within it's genre, it's pretty much everything you could want. Wow! I can't believe you saw that scene out of context before seeing the film. Youtube sure ruins a lot of films. When I saw this in the theater, the buildup to that scene is such a phenomenal journey, and you just didn't think it could go any further. Then BAM! Well, more like a whole shitload of "bam"s! Woo took us all to a level of action filmmaking that we'd never seen before. Knowing the characters and really caring whether or not they were going to make it or not truly elevated the scene. You got the feeling that this director wasn't f**king around, and wouldn't hesitate to kill the "heroes" if he saw fit. Anyway, the "classic" test for me is this: when I re-watch a film that I know I love and think is a classic, and it still surprises me how damn good it is again! This just happened recently when I watched the BD of SEVEN SAMURAI (Thank you Wuxiafan!!! ). I've seen it many times before, but it still blew me away... again! Both commentaries are similar, but they're both worth listening to. For those that don't know- John Woo recorded an audio commentary for the Criterion release of HARDBOILED. Down the road, Fox/Lorber re-released the film on DVD, and used the Criterion owned audio commentary. They did not have permission to do so, Criterion took legal action, and all copies were quickly recalled. Mr. Woo was cool enough to re-record a new audio commentary for the F/L version (and the company was cool enough to care to get it!). That's why there are two different AC's by John Woo for HARDBOILED. Well, I didn't see the whole scene. I skipped around a bit. And its always intresting to see everything that leads up to an awesome scene like that. Now a days I have to see a good enough portion or scene to get a movie. I just don't have the time or patience to blind buy anymore. Before I bought SPL, I probably watched the final battle and allyway fight at least 50 times each. When I got the movie I've problably watched those scenes mabye 20+ more. It took nothing away from the movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member inframan Posted January 4, 2012 Member Share Posted January 4, 2012 I was just looking into the DD version, I still have the old letterboxed Fox edition. Looks like there are plenty of versions out there: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare5/hardboiled.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member David Rees Posted January 6, 2012 Member Share Posted January 6, 2012 Well, I didn't see the whole scene. I skipped around a bit. And its always intresting to see everything that leads up to an awesome scene like that. Now a days I have to see a good enough portion or scene to get a movie. I just don't have the time or patience to blind buy anymore. Before I bought SPL, I probably watched the final battle and allyway fight at least 50 times each. When I got the movie I've problably watched those scenes mabye 20+ more. It took nothing away from the movie. I cant think of a worse way to spoil a film than to see the best bits before the actual film, you need a build up, character development to really make a good scene work well. People just have a very short attention span these days. I lent Drive (2011) to a friend to watch, saying its one of the best films of the year and when i saw him again he said he watched 20 minutes and turned it off as it was "boring and " nothing happened"..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member masterofoneinchpunch Posted January 6, 2012 Member Share Posted January 6, 2012 I cant think of a worse way to spoil a film than to see the best bits before the actual film, you need a build up, character development to really make a good scene work well. People just have a very short attention span these days. I lent Drive (2011) to a friend to watch, saying its one of the best films of the year and when i saw him again he said he watched 20 minutes and turned it off as it was "boring and " nothing happened"..... That just drives me nuts when you want to share a film (I lend a lot) and it get billed as "boring." That's happened with me so many times (including fast paced films such as Police Story, Master of the Flying Guillotine ...) that I wonder how many people have ADD. Of course it makes me then want to lend them Bresson, Ozu and Tarkovsky. I would question his sanity about being bored with that beginning car chase scene in Drive. What was weird when I saw that film in the cinema, it seemed that several people had come in just in time to view the gore toward the end (and yes they cheered loudly). I'm not sure seeing the best bits of a film hurts my watching of cinema, I think many of us here can re-contextualize what we see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Lionclaw Posted January 6, 2012 Member Share Posted January 6, 2012 I cant think of a worse way to spoil a film than to see the best bits before the actual film, you need a build up, character development to really make a good scene work well. People just have a very short attention span these days. I lent Drive (2011) to a friend to watch, saying its one of the best films of the year and when i saw him again he said he watched 20 minutes and turned it off as it was "boring and " nothing happened"..... I didn't spoil the movie. I just needed motivation to watch it. I saw a gun fight in a movie filled filled with gun fights. Don't see the problem because it got me to buy the movie on that alone. And I enjoyed Drive when I saw it in theaters. I give it a 8 out of 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member shaolin swords Posted January 7, 2012 Member Share Posted January 7, 2012 what was the movie that he has a big gun fight in the end of the movie in a church that movie is crazy not really in to gun play but that movie is good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member shaolin swords Posted January 7, 2012 Member Share Posted January 7, 2012 its hard bolied right:neutral: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Markgway Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 what was the movie that he has a big gun fight in the end of the movie in a church that movie is crazy not really in to gun play but that movie is good The Killer (1989) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member David Rees Posted January 7, 2012 Member Share Posted January 7, 2012 I didn't spoil the movie. I just needed motivation to watch it. I saw a gun fight in a movie filled filled with gun fights. Don't see the problem because it got me to buy the movie on that alone. And I enjoyed Drive when I saw it in theaters. I give it a 8 out of 10. My comments were not directed at you personally.. Just a general comment on peoples viewing habits these days, attention span is very short for some people ..Glad you enjoyed Hard Boiled. This, The Killer and Bullet in the Head are his best gunplay movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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