Directed by:
John WooScreenplay:
Barry WongCinematography:
Horace WongComposer:
Michael GibbsCast:
Yun-fat Chow, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Anthony Wong, Phillip Kwok, Stephen Tung, John Woo, Pai Wei, Jun Kunimura, Philip Chan, Teresa Mo, Pau-chung Tong, Fa-yuan Li (more)Plots(1)
Hard-Boiled is the last film directed by Hong Kong action auteur John Woo before his arrival in the U.S. This 1992 thriller, along with The Killer, is widely seen as one of his best from his Hong Kong days. Every ingredient of the quintessential Woo thriller is present, including his ever-present anti-hero (Chow Yun-Fat). Yun-Fat portrays a maverick, clarinet-playing cop nicknamed "Tequila" whose partner is killed in the dizzying chaos of a restaurant gunfight with a small army of gangsters. It is soon revealed that one of the mob's high-ranking assassins is Tony (Tony Leung), an undercover cop who, despite his badge, is dangerously close to the edge. Tequila and Tony must team up in a tense partnership, and their common pursuit of a vicious crime lord results in a brilliantly elaborate climax in a hospital, where the heroes must rescue newborn babies from the maternity ward while fighting off dozens of mob soldiers. The characters Tequila and Tony are two sides of the same coin, another trademark theme of Woo's films that would later be most fully realized with Nicolas Cage and John Travolta in the American hit Face/Off. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Yun-fat Chow
Hong Kong
Best movies:
The Killer (1989)
Hard Boiled (1992)
A Better Tomorrow II (1987)
Tony Leung Chiu-wai
Hong Kong
Best movies:
Red Cliff: Part II (2009)
Red Cliff (2008)
Hard Boiled (1992)
Anthony Wong
Hong Kong
Best movies:
Hard Boiled (1992)
Infernal Affairs (2002)
When Fortune Smiles (1990)
Phillip Kwok
Taiwan
Best movies:
Chinatown Kid (1977)
Hard Boiled (1992)
Crippled Avengers (1978)
Stephen Tung
Best movies:
The Incredible Kung Fu Master (1979)
Hard Boiled (1992)
The Valiant Ones (1974)
John Woo
China
Best movies:
Hard Boiled (1992)
A Better Tomorrow (1986)
Bullet in the Head (1990)
Pai Wei
China
Best movies:
Hard Boiled (1992)
Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1979)
The Young Master (1980)
Jun Kunimura
Japan
Best movies:
The Triumphant Return of General Rouge (2009)
Half a Confession (2004)
Hard Boiled (1992)
Philip Chan
Hong Kong
Best movies:
Hard Boiled (1992)
Fight Back to School III (1993)
Supercop (1992)
Teresa Mo
Hong Kong
Best movies:
Hard Boiled (1992)
Tricky Brains (1991)
Touch and Go (1991)
Pau-chung Tong
Best movies:
Hard Boiled (1992)
A Better Tomorrow II (1987)
Project A (1983)
Fa-yuan Li
Best movies:
Hard Boiled (1992)
The Iron Fisted Monk (1977)
Police Story (1985)
Hoi-Shan Kwan
China
Best movies:
Hard Boiled (1992)
Project A (1983)
The Young Vagabond (1985)
Raymond Tsang Chau-ming
Hong Kong
Best movies:
Hard Boiled (1992)
From Beijing with Love (1994)
Victim (1999)
Buffalo Ma
Hong Kong
Best movies:
Fist of Legend (1994)
Hard Boiled (1992)
When Fortune Smiles (1990)
Kei-hei Leung
Best movies:
Love on Delivery (1994)
Hard Boiled (1992)
The Twin Dragons (1992)
Paco Yick
Best movies:
Fist of Legend (1994)
Hard Boiled (1992)
Daisy (2006)
Sui-ting Ng
Hong Kong
Best movies:
Lost in Time (2003)
Hard Boiled (1992)
One Nite in Mongkok (2004)
Seung-lam Wan
Best movies:
The Killer (1989)
Hard Boiled (1992)
Crippled Avengers (1978)
Kwok-ping Choy
Best movies:
Fist of Legend (1994)
Hard Boiled (1992)
Fallen Angels (1995)