126 minutes, 35mm, in Cantonese with English subtitles
Directed by: John Woo
Starring: Chow Yun-fat, Tony Leung, Anthony Wong, Philip Kwok

Watch [the trailer] on YouTube.

SPECIAL 15th ANNIVERSARY PRESENTATION - ONE NIGHT ONLY!
Showtimes: SAT June 23, 10:30pm at the IFC Center - SOLD OUT!
Note: "Buy Tickets" links will take you to the IFC Center website (for shows at IFC Center) and to Japan Society website (for shows at Japan Society). Tickets for each venue must be purchased separately.

What can be said about HARD BOILED? Possibly the most influential action movie ever made, John Woo's farewell to Hong Kong cinema is a massive, go-for-broke flick about one tough cop named Tequila (Chow Yun-fat) and an undercover cop whose job has destroyed his soul (Tony Leung). From its opening fight in a teahouse (featuring Chow Yun-fat's now-famous slide down the banister, big blazing guns in each fist) to its fiery finale in a hospital, HARD BOILED has served as a crib sheet for action filmmakers ever since its release.

Woo's last movie before going to Hollywood, everything about HARD BOILED is a tribute to Hong Kong and Hong Kong movies, a city and a way of filmmaking that are now gone with the wind. Originally about a sicko played by Tony Leung who was poisoning baby formula, rumor has it that Chow Yun-fat begged Woo to re-write the movie in order for it not to tar Leung with the "psycho" brush so early in his career. Woo agreed and the script was re-written a mere week before shooting began. The famous, unbroken two minute and forty-five second shot of Tony Leung and Chow Yun-fat blowing away their opponents while running through a busy hospital (including a relaxing elevator ride in the middle of their gunfight) was improvised on the set that day because the crew was getting bored. Stunt choreographer and henchman, Mad Dog, is played by Philip Kwok, one of Shaw Brothers' Five Venoms, the legendary martial arts team that starred in dozens of iconic martial arts movies in the 70's. Even the opening teahouse shoot-out took place in a famous local teahouse that was demolished five days after its scenes were wrapped.

To celebrate the release of the video game sequel to HARD BOILED, "John Woo Presents Stranglehold," as well as Dragon Dynasty's DVD release of the original, come on down and watch Woo's now-classic farewell film, a movie that reminds you of the days when Chow Yun-fat was a god and John Woo was putting things onscreen that no one had ever seen before.

HARD BOILED two-disc Ultimate Edition from Dragon Dynasty will be released on July 24th.