Only 1 Movie That Can Heal
Haven't been feeling too good amigos. What the ailment could be I don't know. I'm not a doctor. Maybe it's the realization of time never stopping even when my existence will have to come to a stop sometime. I can't watch movies after I die unless something worthwhile in technology can achieve this dream but alas, all technology is good for is manufacturing hardcore pornography for the degenerates out there but I digress. Been feeling a bit on the bummer side and after going through a whole day feeling like this, I decided that I needed to watch a movie but the ultimate question came soon after: What movie?
Jess Franco is still off the table but I did see his Film Noir Rififi in the City recently and thought that was great. Peter Strickland was still taunting me with his box-set but I couldn't commit to The Duke of Burgundy.
So I ventured onto the TUBI streaming service in search of a Jean Claude Van Damme movie. I found a couple but what I also found was a movie from the past. Obviously it was from the past as it came out in 1992 but its also a film that was part of my personal past. A film directed by a man that I had to import his other films as no one was releasing this crazy shit on American shores. That man is John Woo and the feature presentation was Hard Boiled.
And So
There was recent news in the movie watching world where Shout Factory had received the rights to certain Hong Kong films that have been existing strictly in limbo. Meaning that movie fanatics can finally fulfill their life's journey of upgrading from the original round of terrible quality DVD's that came out back in the day and reach fulfillment with the promise of a 4k remaster.
20 years or more in the making with Hard Boiled being one of the tougher sons of bitches to get a copy of as the last great physical release of this film was by the Criterion Collection release back in the late 90's. I couldn't get a fucking copy of this movie since I was barely 10 years old and didn't know who the fuck a John Woo was.
It would only be in the high school when I would correct this mistake but even then, I could not get hold of this expensive piece of physical media. I did manage to get copies of The Killer and Bullet in the Head from Fortune Star release though so high school wasn't all that bad but I did have to illegally download a terrible dubbed MP4 of Hard Boiled so high school wasn't all that good either. Enough small talk, lets get into this beautiful film.
The Story
Gun running is problem number #1 in early 90's Hong Kong and Officer Tequila is on the front line in trying to stop it. The movie opening up with him playing some cool jazz then the band heads out for some tea but are actually working a stake out. Gun deal goes bad and the only solution is for the bullets to start flying. Bad guys die. Civilians die. Cops die. Its a bloodbath. One cop in particular, the cool drummer of the band, get lit up by the boss henchmen and Tequila has to live with it for the rest of the movie. He kills the guy that killed him by the end of the scene so he ain't out for revenge but instead is dealing with the melancholy.
Funeral service kicks off but the movie flips to a casual light jazz beat as we now follow Alan, a Triad hit-man, who is introduced by going to the local library and pulling off a hit. Killing a man while he was studying and walking away without a care in the world. Except he does care. Cares enough to make a paper crane for every person he's killed but we find out about that later. He works for a gun runner by the name of Uncle Hoi and everyone celebrates the hit but soon after, Johnny Wong comes calling and wants Alan to work for him. He lost a guy and needs a replacement. A real killer.
Alan has to prove his loyalty by killing his Uncle in this warehouse takeover but then Tequila shows up and starts shooting. A most insane shootout happening and soon enough, the two end up working together for the rest of the film to take down Johnny Wong. Also, Mad Dog is the coolest villain with morals to be seen on the screen.
The Man that is John Woo
There is something special when one mentions the name because no matter the movie, there is always something tremendously enjoyable to take from it. From the Hong Kong movies to the Hollywood years and then maybe the China years and then those 1or 2 American films again.
I can't say that I've kept up with the work of the guy since the last thing I saw was Paycheck when it came out.
Regardless, when looking through the filmography the hits keep coming:
A Better Tomorrow
A Better Tomorrow II
The Killer
Bullet in the Head
Hard Target
Broken Arrow
Face/Off
Mission: Impossible 2
Windtalkers
Paycheck
But what makes Hard Boiled the golden child of the bunch?
There are a few things that come to mind when realizing that this film stands the strongest against the rest of his films. The first is the most subtle but possibly the most important; Music.
He wasn't able to use jazz in his previous film The Killer and that movie is a bit lower on the Francis Booth scale of genius as it has a song that the main female character sings in the beginning and all throughout and it's terrible. Its the kind of song that is trying to force an emotional emotion down your through and in the scene instead of having the music naturally create this emotional tone to set the scene.
In this film, it starts off with a slow build up as the credits silently take up the screen alongside an off screen Officer Tequila mixing his drink and then jamming on a clarinet. Some real smooth shit that sets this opening of the cops jamming in a jazz band while the movie starts showing us the sights of early 90's Hong Kong then some more opening credits and then newspaper articles with screaming headlines setting up the rampant gun running going on. All this flowing together to set up the first scene of the tea house shoot out.
Throughout the rest of film, the jazz switches modes from the melancholic tones to this upbeat good time moment and then we get these far out jazz moments during the shoot out moments with this repeating sound effect going BADA DA DA DA DA DA! throughout that gets you riled up.
What else makes this special? The relationship between Chow Yun Fat and Teresa Mo. In all John Woo films, there are always strong relationships present between the main characters characters that they have actual gravitas compared to the endless action films that teeter and totter with stock characters saying stock lines that ultimately have stock character arcs.
One example are the three buddies in Bullet in the Head or the two brothers and two buddies of A Better Tomorrow, and in The Killer between the killer and the cop. A lot of these relationships are so strong with their masculinity as well as soft as these characters are willing to cry over the death of one another. But this works against any notion of their being a relationship with whatever woman is on the screen but here, there is actually something of merit.
It's not like in the forefront of the film as the tale between the two cops is what the heart of the film is but seeing Chow Yun Fat and Teresa Mo have their little back and forth really makes a mark. There's a sense of history between the two and with the undercover cop sending flowers that makes Tequila jealous. It feels like genuine cute moments of a relationship that you never see in a John Woo film. It was refreshing to say the least.
Now for the the last 30 to 40 minute action sequence. This is one of the first movies I remember watching where everyone in the movie shows up for this. All of the police officers seen so far throughout the film show up for this. The main bad guys and all their henchmen show up for the final sequence. Just absolutely insanity and that's why the action works so goddamn well.
No one is safe in this movie. Sure, the MAIN characters, for the most part, survive but everyone else is fair game. Cops are getting killed in this hospital. Bad guys are lining up the morgue. Even the civilians that are in the hospital needing help get lit up. Its an absolute frenzy as tensions rise and explode and rise then explode. Every bullet that EXPLODES into a wall or a body is keeping you on your toes in anticipation as you wait to see what the fuck is going to happen next! It's a thrill every single time the movie moves locations to that hospital sequence. Ultimately achieving an ending where all the characters reach the end of their arcs, each story line wraps up nicely, and you are left with a film that not only satisfies but leaves you feeling something that few films have achieved; Fulfillment.
You will always hear of people comparing the shootouts in his films to these beautiful bullet ballets and other superfluous phrases such as that but in all honesty, its the absolute restraint in going about creating all these elaborate sequences that sets up the notion that every single bullet matters. Creating a feeling for the viewer to be so engrossed with the action because nothing feels wasted and everything truly matters.
What else is there to say?
A true high watermark to any filmmaker to have made this but to Woo, it seems to have been just another day on the job. Though his films past this aren't as strong, at least in my opinion, there is always something worth watching in them. What truly excites me more in having watched this on what seems to be the new 4k remaster of the film, is that the heart itself cannot do anything but swell in joy.
For now there is a definitive version available for all to enjoy but what this also offers is hope for future releases of other Hong Kong films and with City on Fire seeming to be the first release to test the waters, I have already placed my order, then the future is looking pretty good for this movie watcher.