This is the most fire action film I've never heard of..DAMN. Want to vote on what I should watch next? Click here! www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema Have a great weekend!
Here is a little trivia from the movie - that 2 minute long-shot - Woo filmed it himself. Also there was only 1 floor, while they where in the elevator, the crew had to clean and change the set so that it could be used as stand-in for the second floor. The whole Hospital was in reality a closed Coca Cola factory and 3 different film crews used it as set (and partially blowing it up) that's why they could go wild with the destruction. Same applies to the tea-house which was also an old building soon to be demolished. In regards to cinematography, all of his famous HK movies of the early 80s and 90s are done by Wong Wing Hang (inclusive Face/Off). His work reminds me strongly of that of Michael Ballhaus. The camera is always moving and sweeping, an "actor" with extensive choreography in itself. What I found the most impressive is the fact that despite all the fast edits and the overwhelming chaos on screen, never ever does the audience lose track of the orientation in space, everything is fluid and seamless.
@@cineeggs630 The game Sleeping Dogs it also had a shootout in a Hospital, i think is a homage to this movie; also that game is set in Hong Kong too so...
Tony Leung was a cop in Chungking Express, Hardboiled, and Infernal Affairs. Chow Yun-Fat was a cop in Hardboiled, a gangster in A Better Tomorrow, and a retired killer in The Killer, all by John Woo. John Woo’s Hong Kong films are a league of their own, the ballet of bullets, pigeons, and guns pointing at each others.
This movie exists because John Woo was visiting this tea house with a friend and learned that it was scheduled to be torn down. He bought the building so he could film this opening shootout and not worry about damage form the bullet impact squibs. There was no film or story at this point he just thought it would be a cool place for a shootout. Once he was finished filming he realized that he should make a movie and so then wrote the rest of the film and this classic is what resulted. Really enjoy your work Love and Respect
This was my introduction to ACTUAL John Woo films, and I was not disappointed. The whole hospital sequence had me sitting with my mouth open in awe at what I was seeing.
The actor for police Superintendent Pang, Philip Chan, actually was a cop before he got into film. His rank upon retirement in 1976 was in fact: Superintendent.
Since nobody else is mentioning this, John Woo did a movie called "Bullet in the Head," which was a love letter to the '78 vietnam film "The Deer Hunter." I was able to see a complete version of the film in a tiny independent theater and it blew me away (I'd already seen his other movies), and was definitely a magnum opus. Unfortunately, the movie was heavily censored and edited over the years, resulting in a crazy number of versions of the film - including the official video release which is absolutely terrible. There was a website in the mid 90's put up by a guy who'd had the same experience, and decided to hunt down all the different edits he could find so that he could recreate the theatrical version of the movie and he chronicled the whole process.
I wanna see that website and the reconstructed edition. Bullet in the head is one of my favorites, probably 3rd of all time. I wanna know which version I saw and what the most complete version is like.
@@spicymcspice9122 The preferred version (IMO, without too many spoilers) has (1) 'The piss scene' and (2) 'The Boardroom' ending not 'The Joust' ending.
I wrote it several times but I strongly recommend "Time and Tide" (2000) by Tsui Hark which also contains for me one of the best action scene of all time, Tsui Hark is another great Hong Kong director. Otherwise there is also "The Killer" (1989) by John Woo, in the same style as Hard Boiled with Chow Yun Fat also in it (I personaly prefer this one even more than Hard Boiled :)) !
Wow, great someone else remembers "Time and Tide". One of the best of the Heroic Bloodshed/Bullet Ballet genre, that at that time (beginning of the 2000s) seems to fade away for the more thriller style stuff like Infernal Affair (a great movie in its own right) . Besides "The Killer" being a great movie, my absolute favorite of John Woo has always been "A Better Tomorrow". Somehow the story get's me the most.
@@mrtveye6682 "A better tomorrow" is amazing too (its sequel too), haha me it's the tragic love story of "the killer" that touched me the most. Few people know "Time and Tide" and it's a shame !!! The scene in the housing estate is just mind blowing !!!
@@lookatzett7861 True. There are a lot of hidden gems in HK cinema that got little to no attention in the Western world. Even classics like "Hard Boiled" are more of a niche thing, and they are only the tip of the iceberg. I was a sucker for HK movies since I first saw "A Better Tomorrow" in a local student underground film club. So much that I later visited HK not only but for one of the main reasons because I wanted to experience the "feeling of the city" where so much great movies came from. And I just raided the video-stores over there, buying DVDs/VCDs in dozens just by the cover. Fortunately since HK was British to the late 90s, they all had English subtitles. OFC not all of them are in the same league as "Hard Boiled", TIme & Tide", "City On Fire" etc., but at least if you are a fan of the genre, there where surprisingly few that did really disappoint.
@@mrtveye6682 Damn I would love to go to HK one day ! Fortunately for us French, there is a director named Christophe Gans (who directed "Crying Freeman" and the first "Silent Hill" movie) who helped import Hong Kong cinema in the 90s ("the blade" and "a chinese ghost story" are movies that I also love so much), but it's still a niche cinema for sure... Even if Hong Kong cinema is dead now, there are still some Chinese movies worth watching, I would love to see James react to "Young Detective Dee : rise of the sea dragon" (still by Tsui Hark) for example ^^
@@lookatzett7861 Oh, you're from France, so we are neighbours, I'm from Germany. There was a film distributer (can't remember the name atm) in Germany that started releasing some good Asian movies during the 90s, so we got a few good ones over here too. Coming from France, did you saw "Vengeance" form Johnnie To? It was a HK/French co-production, starring Johnny Hallyday. Not To's best, but still a pretty good one. I liked "Crying Freeman", but tbh didn't even know it was by Christopher Gans, I only know him from "Brotherhood of the Wolf". But in general, France had some great directors, Godard, Chabrol ..., and I esp. love those 60-70 crime movies from Melville. Regarding HK: Don't know how it is right now. I've been there in the late 2000s, when it was still kinda independent form the central Chinese influence, at least more than it's now. But I would love to go back there. The city is just so unique with it's mixture of Asian and British/European influences. And don't get me started about how great the food was over there... 😋
Dooope choice! Can’t wait to watch this reaction. Hong Kong ‘80s action cinema was a huge influence on later American action films. Hong Kong was so creative with their set pieces and John Woo was at the forefront of it. Now we’re seeing the influence of Korean cinema on modern action films of Hollywood
It's a shame that John Woo's career fizzled in America; this, The Killer, and A Better Tomorrow are some of my favorite action flicks. And until 1997, HK was a British colony, so it was different from mainland China. But movies like this gave us every single slow motion dive with two pistols in media.
@@SSD_Penumbra Yes, but tbh, none of his Western made movies even come close to his HK work (not talking about commercial success, just about the level of awesomeness ). For me that is. It's ofc all a matter of taste in the end.
Fun fact one of the shootouts in hospital Chow Yun Fat had to dive off explosion triggered by John Wu, the explosion was way to close to Chow after which he start screaming "JOHN IS TRYING TO KILL ME, JOHN IS TRYING TO KILL ME" some minutes of Chow and John heated conversation later Chow asked "Did it look good?"
My favorite John Woo action movie. The story is weak but the action is stunning. As a kid I couldn't believe all those shots could be done without anyone being hurt. I'm glad it was you who reacted to this film.
Yeah, there's some kind of filter on that gave many '80s and '90s movies a very dreamy look. Also, fun fact: This movie had a video game sequel with Chow Yun Fat back as Inspector Tequila and John Woo involved and making a cameo as well. It was called Stranglehold.
Hell yeah Stranglehold !!! It's funny to see that the Max Payne games have been greatly influenced by John Woo's movies and Stranglehold is a Max Payne like !
The look could also be because of the actual movie film. Hollywood movies mostly used film made by Kodak, whereas in Asian markets the film is made by Fuji. There's also several other companies that produce the film, but Kodak and Fuji were the two biggest.
Ever since I saw this movie it instantly became my all time favorite action film. There is nothing like it. Another thing I should mention is Phillip Kwok who plays Mad Dog starred in a lot of Shaw Brothers martial arts films in the 70s. Tony Leung also starred in Shang-Chi.
Yes! Now you are getting into some serious action James! John Woo is a master of action and weaving it into the story. 'Hard boiled' refers to someone (cop or criminal) who has been in 'hot water' too long, and won't break under pressure. The 'hard boiled detective' would become a trope based around this, as the less cerebral, more action oriented detective. I love the subplot with Alan and his paper cranes. Tony Leung has always been fantastic. Oh, and in case no one else points it out, the explosion before Chow jumps out the window with the baby was early (at John Woo's direction) to get that reaction out of him 😬
Pretty much my favourite action flick. It gave Chow Yun Fat and John Woo their tickets to Hollywood (Woo has since made films like Face/Off & Mission Impossible 2 but has never bettered this). For some reason Tony Leung stayed in Hong Kong (probably partly due to his ongoing work with Wong Kar-wai) where he remains pretty much the number one movie star. His only real Hollywood outing has been Shang-Chi, 30yrs later.
This movie was highly influential. I can not even count how many action movies and video games have at least a scene inspired by something in this movie.
2 Cops 2 Hundred Gangsters 2 Million Bullets That's how it was advertised on cable back in the day, and holy crap, they weren't kidding. Tarantino call it out as one of his favorite movies. ('It's like 'The Wild Bunch' on cocaine!") This movie's influence can't be overstated. The stunt choreography, the camera work, the music, the unbridled carnage. Honestly, 'The Raid' felt like one big homage to it. That one take sequence really made action directors up their game. Also, the gun Mad Dog uses is a Contender single shot hunting pistol (made by Thompson, I think). John Woo thought it was cool, too. He's used it in a few of his movies.
John Woo and Chow Yun Fat did a sequel to this movie but it was a videogame called Stranglehold. It was a cool game but the ps3 version came with a free copy of Hard Boiled.
I was scared this wasn't going to be picked in the poll, but i'm so glad it did! This was my immediate recommendation when you announced 'action month'. I'm happy you had the same reaction most of us did seeing it for the first time.
Top ten John Woo 1) Hard Boiled 2) The Killer 3) A Better Tomorrow 4) Bullet in the Head 5) Red Cliff 6) Red Cliff 2 7) Face/Off 8) Last Hurrah for Chivalry 9) A Better Tomorrow II 10) Hard Target
The weapon Eye patch guy is using at the hospital basement secret entrance is a Thompson Contender, a single shot gun meant for hunting. When John Woo made the U.S. movie "Hard Target" starring Jean Claude Van Damme years later, he also had the main villain played by Lance Henriksen use the Thompson contender as his gun.
The scene at around 13:26 during the transition in the bar where Tequila was talking to someone, thats John Woo himself right there (the director of the film)
This was the film that catapulted me into a lifelong love of Hong Kong action films. I had seen a few Jackie Chan films, but this one blew me out of the water. Also started my deep love of Leung Chui Wai/Tony Leung. One of the best actors in the world.
That bit where Tony Leung is walking away from killing Uncle Hoi is one of my favourite bits of acting in anything. Tony Leung is an incredible actor. 80's and 90's Hong Kong cinema was incredible, 80's 90's Hong Kong itself seemed like such a vibe.
oh no way did you react to this! this is one of my top 3 action films ever! you're a legend. You need to watch Kill Zone SPL with Donnie Yen and Samo Hung next.
another thing came to mind: people already recommended many movies with chow yun-fat and also movies by john woo. another movie that thoroughly impressed me starring chow yun-fat is "cover hard" (aka "full contact") directed by ringo lam in 1992 and starring chow yun-fat, simon yam, ann bridgewater and anthony chau-sang wong (coincidentally he was the antagonist in this movie). it is a super gritty gangster movie and i literally have not seen any other movie that has such a unique style. it is hard and the grittiness is super stylish. i wish this movie was a musical style, i would love it.
The level of energy in Woo's Hong Kong movies is just insane, glad you got to see it. The one thing in particular that sets movies apart from other media is movement and Johnny Woo certainly got that note. In that sense it is a very pure way of filmmaking.
Eye patch will forever and ever be one of my favorite villains because of his humanity in that one moment. I love villains with a heart. And with such a cold hearted villain as a co player? Worked so well together in one amazing movie ❤
I am so stoked to see you react to this move! It's a contender for the best action film ever IMO. Love your channel and keep up the great content. If you want to do another John Woo film, I would suggest A Better Tomorrow 1 & 2. Thanks for the great videos!
Aw man thank you so much for doing a video on this film! I use to watch this one on a cable movie channel but forget the name of it. I also forget how much action was in this along with what you mention with the storytelling done through the action sequences. A very unique take for a movie. Definitely a great movie for those who never seen it and love action movies. Check it out for those who have never had the chance. Thanks again as always for what you do James VS Cinema .
is it me or Chow Yun Fat's shotgun is loaded with FRAG Explosive Shells from AA-12 bec everytime he shoots with it those goons are turn into paste i know its a movie's effects but those normal shotguns he used are OP and i like it
Tony Leung Chiu Wai , yes you've seen him play a cop in a few films. You have also seen him play a rebel assassin, in Hero - he was Broken Sword. He's made a number of really good films - check him in Chungking Express, the Infernal Affairs series. So many more. A great actor. As for action, you can't really get better than John Woo - the Jazz Club owner in this film. A great director!
Fun fact there is a sequel to this movie in Video Game format called stranglehold its available on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 not sure we're else John Woo also directed it it's just as bananas and bat shit insane hardcore over the top as the movie
it would be interesting to hear your impression of "hard target" in reference to this movie. it was john woo's next and at the same time first US movie... there are some interestring parallels that made me think that he wanted to realize some of his ideas from this movie with a bigger budget. i really looooved john woo's hongkong filmography when i was a teen. i collected all uncuts movies and even tried to learn chinese, since they were only available in original audio.
also... the gun the second antagonist uses in the basement scene, apparantly you can use pretty much any caliber with it, but i am not sure, if you have to change the barrel or how it specifically works. they have probably been mentioned already, but there are also movies like "the killer" and "a better tomorrow" (aka "city wolf" and it also has a sequel), "bullet in the head" (war drama), "once a thief" (aka "killer target"; movie about three professional thiefs; has been turned into a short-lived show during woo's time in the us), "just heroes" (aka "hard-boiled 2", which came out before the actual "hard-boiled") and then woo's US movies: "hard target" with jean-claude van damme (it was heavily cut in many countries and apparantly sam raimi was hired as a second director to keep an eye on john woo, who wasn't fluent in english), "operation: broken arrow" with christian slater and john travolta and "face/off" with nicolas cage and john travolta. his US movies increasingly lost appeal and the violence was toned down ALOT... after "mission: impossible 2" and "paycheck" i kinda lost touch and didn't watch many of hist movies anymore.
We watched loads of John Woo and jet Li films back in the day, this, The Killer, A better tommorow, Bullet in the head, Once a thief, Hard target, Broken arrow and Face/off are all great and show Woos move into Hollywood
I'm so glad you reacted to this man. One of the best action movies ever. I think you would definitely get a kick out of "Hard Target", it has great action, quotable lines, Van Damme in his prime (with mullet). Also did you know there is a John Woo/Chow Yun Fat video game "Stranglehold" on the PS3?? Worth digging out!
I first saw this in the mid 90s and had to pick my jaw up off the floor, I'm still amazed by it after all these years. There aren't many action films of this same caliber (pun intended) and it is truly the gold standard to which I compare action sequences in other films. It's something you just can't unsee.
I was privileged to be exposed to Hong Kong cinema in the early 90s. Jet Li, Jackie Chan, and the man himself Chow Yun Fat! So many people don’t know about these actions gems. A Better Tomorrow, Once a Thief, Police Story, The East is Red etc. So glad you are reviewing this classic. 👍
John Woo is a heavy jazz fan which is shown throughout his films. Two films that pay homage to Woo's heroic bloodshed and Jazz are Time and Tide and No Tears for the Dead...which has a classic shootout scene in apartment complex
Ah, dude awesome stuff man this is hands down one of John Woo's action movie masterpieces tequila one of the most badass cops on the planet I love how his boss describes him Give a guy a gun, he thinks he's Superman. Give him two and he thinks he's God. That's Tequila in a nutshell Lol but yea great reaction man glad to see this one in particular on your channel 👌 and yea Tony Leung was in this movie as well as another john woo film you have to watch man Bullet in the head that's another John Woo masterpiece great story about friendship betrayal and warfare powerful and emotional film highly recommend
Not sure if this has been commented on or not. But that long shot in the hallway took 3 or 4 times to shoot. And all the changes to "Bullet Time" was done on the cameras as they shot it manually. They had to stop doing that as one of the actors got injured when debris got hit in his face (you can see it at the end of the shot).
17:45 Thompson/Center Contender, a handgun built specifically to handle a rifle round. Obviously more cool than practical. Also appears in Hard Target by John Woo, and From Beijing With Love.
yes!! Hard Boiled was a "Hollywood (made to appeal to American audience)" response to THE EVEN BETTER movie The Killer (1989) directed by John Woo. staring Chow Yun-fat, its definitely a must see, if you like this one.'
yeah Hard Boiled never disappoints. my favorite gun action movie of all time. The Way of the Gun is the second. definitely check it out if you haven't.
22:55 *Now* you have to watch 'Shoot Em Up' with Clive Owen. The writer said he got the idea for that script specifically from the scene where Chow Yun Fat is gun battling while carrying a baby...
He recreated some of these shootouts in Hard Target (including the single fire gun). A great unsung action film with Yung Fat is Full Contact. Also check out The Killer...
You have to love that early era John Woo such as this film were the reason the game series Max Payne exists. Or any game or movie with slow-mo bullet time. Shit, even The Matrix films. John Woo needs his flowers. He's far more influential than people seem to recognize. He made the one crappy Mission Impossible 2 film in 2000 and got written off in Hollywood. :p
Please please please do the other John Woo and Chow Yun Fat film The Killer. The other best action film of all time. These two flicks changed everything.
John Woos Masterpiece imo. Raw, heavy, characters with depth, awesome choreography and a splendid script. In the action genre definitely on another level!
You should watch _El Mariachi_ one of these days. It's Robert Rodriguez's feature film debut. And he did the whole film himself with just a $7,000 budget.
One of my favourite films of all time. The story and writing is just as brilliant as the action which is hard a lot of the time for these types of films especially Hollywood ones
This is the most fire action film I've never heard of..DAMN.
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Have a great weekend!
I love this movie so much, I had to watch this reaction twice 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
Here is a little trivia from the movie - that 2 minute long-shot - Woo filmed it himself.
Also there was only 1 floor, while they where in the elevator, the crew had to clean and change the set so that it could be used as stand-in for the second floor.
The whole Hospital was in reality a closed Coca Cola factory and 3 different film crews used it as set (and partially blowing it up) that's why they could go wild with the destruction.
Same applies to the tea-house which was also an old building soon to be demolished.
In regards to cinematography, all of his famous HK movies of the early 80s and 90s are done by Wong Wing Hang (inclusive Face/Off).
His work reminds me strongly of that of Michael Ballhaus.
The camera is always moving and sweeping, an "actor" with extensive choreography in itself.
What I found the most impressive is the fact that despite all the fast edits and the overwhelming chaos on screen, never ever does the audience lose track of the orientation in space, everything is fluid and seamless.
When you asked what weapon is that, it's a Thomson Contender.
Please react toThe Killer, Bullet In The Head, A Better Tomorrow.
Now watch A Better Tomorrow 1 an 2, and The Killer. Same director. :) Also, this movie is what inspired Shoot Em Up. Which is still a great movie!
This film has just some of the most breathtaking action sequences ever. What this film did with gunplay inspired generations. Truly amazing
Truly next level. This had style, story, and SAUCE
I think Matrix was next step from this
Hospital Shootout is one the of the best action scenes in film history!
It is kind of funny that the shootout is in a hospital.
@@cineeggs630 The game Sleeping Dogs it also had a shootout in a Hospital, i think is a homage to this movie; also that game is set in Hong Kong too so...
Could you imagine sitting in a Hong Kong theatre in 1992 and watching this? Must’ve been THE summer vibe 😢
The restaurant scene at the beginning was 🔥 as well ...
Tony Leung was a cop in Chungking Express, Hardboiled, and Infernal Affairs.
Chow Yun-Fat was a cop in Hardboiled, a gangster in A Better Tomorrow, and a retired killer in The Killer, all by John Woo.
John Woo’s Hong Kong films are a league of their own, the ballet of bullets, pigeons, and guns pointing at each others.
Incidentally, I strongly recommend all of those movies.
This movie exists because John Woo was visiting this tea house with a friend and learned that it was scheduled to be torn down. He bought the building so he could film this opening shootout and not worry about damage form the bullet impact squibs. There was no film or story at this point he just thought it would be a cool place for a shootout. Once he was finished filming he realized that he should make a movie and so then wrote the rest of the film and this classic is what resulted. Really enjoy your work Love and Respect
That's absolutely mad I didn't know that
I knew that they didn't have a script yet but I didn't know that part.
This was my introduction to ACTUAL John Woo films, and I was not disappointed. The whole hospital sequence had me sitting with my mouth open in awe at what I was seeing.
yeah, his American stuff was a big let down. I wish he had kept his Hong Kong style when he started making stuff here.
@@kevinmcfarland6724 Well, Hard Target had some of his Hong Kong style, especially in the last part.
@@darkmarv8045 Gonna see that in a theater this week.
Yes Yes Yes. Finally someone reacts to this absolutely classic, THE epiphany of modern action cinema. Thanks James.
Anytime homie!
Epitome*
You have NO idea how happy I am you reacted to this. Almost no one does
One of the best action movies ever made
Trust me. I know.
The actor for police Superintendent Pang, Philip Chan, actually was a cop before he got into film. His rank upon retirement in 1976 was in fact: Superintendent.
That's so cool, I never knew that!
Since nobody else is mentioning this, John Woo did a movie called "Bullet in the Head," which was a love letter to the '78 vietnam film "The Deer Hunter." I was able to see a complete version of the film in a tiny independent theater and it blew me away (I'd already seen his other movies), and was definitely a magnum opus. Unfortunately, the movie was heavily censored and edited over the years, resulting in a crazy number of versions of the film - including the official video release which is absolutely terrible. There was a website in the mid 90's put up by a guy who'd had the same experience, and decided to hunt down all the different edits he could find so that he could recreate the theatrical version of the movie and he chronicled the whole process.
I saw ‘Bullet in the Head’ but we may be very few out there.
Great movie 99% of America has never heard of.
I wanna see that website and the reconstructed edition. Bullet in the head is one of my favorites, probably 3rd of all time. I wanna know which version I saw and what the most complete version is like.
@@spicymcspice9122 The preferred version (IMO, without too many spoilers) has (1) 'The piss scene' and (2) 'The Boardroom' ending not 'The Joust' ending.
Bullet in thevhead is my favorite movie ❤️
This hospital scene is hands down, one of the best shoot out.
So soooo good!
It's the single best shootout.
Yup! It’s a very long time duration for a shoutout scene. I couldn’t leave my eyes from the TV!
Hard Boiled is the daddy. It's still the best 'gun' movie ever made. I don't see it ever being topped. Excellent choice again James, top tier.
I wrote it several times but I strongly recommend "Time and Tide" (2000) by Tsui Hark which also contains for me one of the best action scene of all time, Tsui Hark is another great Hong Kong director. Otherwise there is also "The Killer" (1989) by John Woo, in the same style as Hard Boiled with Chow Yun Fat also in it (I personaly prefer this one even more than Hard Boiled :)) !
Wow, great someone else remembers "Time and Tide". One of the best of the Heroic Bloodshed/Bullet Ballet genre, that at that time (beginning of the 2000s) seems to fade away for the more thriller style stuff like Infernal Affair (a great movie in its own right) .
Besides "The Killer" being a great movie, my absolute favorite of John Woo has always been "A Better Tomorrow". Somehow the story get's me the most.
@@mrtveye6682 "A better tomorrow" is amazing too (its sequel too), haha me it's the tragic love story of "the killer" that touched me the most. Few people know "Time and Tide" and it's a shame !!! The scene in the housing estate is just mind blowing !!!
@@lookatzett7861 True. There are a lot of hidden gems in HK cinema that got little to no attention in the Western world. Even classics like "Hard Boiled" are more of a niche thing, and they are only the tip of the iceberg.
I was a sucker for HK movies since I first saw "A Better Tomorrow" in a local student underground film club. So much that I later visited HK not only but for one of the main reasons because I wanted to experience the "feeling of the city" where so much great movies came from. And I just raided the video-stores over there, buying DVDs/VCDs in dozens just by the cover. Fortunately since HK was British to the late 90s, they all had English subtitles.
OFC not all of them are in the same league as "Hard Boiled", TIme & Tide", "City On Fire" etc., but at least if you are a fan of the genre, there where surprisingly few that did really disappoint.
@@mrtveye6682 Damn I would love to go to HK one day ! Fortunately for us French, there is a director named Christophe Gans (who directed "Crying Freeman" and the first "Silent Hill" movie) who helped import Hong Kong cinema in the 90s ("the blade" and "a chinese ghost story" are movies that I also love so much), but it's still a niche cinema for sure... Even if Hong Kong cinema is dead now, there are still some Chinese movies worth watching, I would love to see James react to "Young Detective Dee : rise of the sea dragon" (still by Tsui Hark) for example ^^
@@lookatzett7861 Oh, you're from France, so we are neighbours, I'm from Germany. There was a film distributer (can't remember the name atm) in Germany that started releasing some good Asian movies during the 90s, so we got a few good ones over here too.
Coming from France, did you saw "Vengeance" form Johnnie To? It was a HK/French co-production, starring Johnny Hallyday. Not To's best, but still a pretty good one.
I liked "Crying Freeman", but tbh didn't even know it was by Christopher Gans, I only know him from "Brotherhood of the Wolf". But in general, France had some great directors, Godard, Chabrol ..., and I esp. love those 60-70 crime movies from Melville.
Regarding HK: Don't know how it is right now. I've been there in the late 2000s, when it was still kinda independent form the central Chinese influence, at least more than it's now. But I would love to go back there. The city is just so unique with it's mixture of Asian and British/European influences. And don't get me started about how great the food was over there... 😋
Dooope choice! Can’t wait to watch this reaction. Hong Kong ‘80s action cinema was a huge influence on later American action films. Hong Kong was so creative with their set pieces and John Woo was at the forefront of it. Now we’re seeing the influence of Korean cinema on modern action films of Hollywood
It's a shame that John Woo's career fizzled in America; this, The Killer, and A Better Tomorrow are some of my favorite action flicks.
And until 1997, HK was a British colony, so it was different from mainland China.
But movies like this gave us every single slow motion dive with two pistols in media.
Hahaha the akimbo gunplay never loses haha
"Fizzled out"? John Woo made arguably 2 of the best western action movies of the 90s; Face/Off and Broken Arrow.
@@SSD_Penumbra Yes, but tbh, none of his Western made movies even come close to his HK work (not talking about commercial success, just about the level of awesomeness ). For me that is. It's ofc all a matter of taste in the end.
But then he went back to Honk Kong and made Red Cliff, which is extraordinary. Especially if you see the extended cut.
@@SSD_Penumbra Don't forget about Hard Target, starring Jean Claude Van-Damme.
Fun fact one of the shootouts in hospital Chow Yun Fat had to dive off explosion triggered by John Wu, the explosion was way to close to Chow after which he start screaming "JOHN IS TRYING TO KILL ME, JOHN IS TRYING TO KILL ME" some minutes of Chow and John heated conversation later Chow asked "Did it look good?"
My favorite John Woo action movie. The story is weak but the action is stunning. As a kid I couldn't believe all those shots could be done without anyone being hurt. I'm glad it was you who reacted to this film.
I highly doubt no one got hurt 😅
Seeing this in the theater in 1993 was just amazing. The action scenes are kinetic -- they make you move!
Yeah, there's some kind of filter on that gave many '80s and '90s movies a very dreamy look. Also, fun fact: This movie had a video game sequel with Chow Yun Fat back as Inspector Tequila and John Woo involved and making a cameo as well. It was called Stranglehold.
Hell yeah Stranglehold !!! It's funny to see that the Max Payne games have been greatly influenced by John Woo's movies and Stranglehold is a Max Payne like !
The look could also be because of the actual movie film. Hollywood movies mostly used film made by Kodak, whereas in Asian markets the film is made by Fuji. There's also several other companies that produce the film, but Kodak and Fuji were the two biggest.
The actor who plays the police chief is a cop in everything and was in real life as well. Philip Chan is even a cop in Van Damme's Bloodsport.
I saw this in the 90s at a film festival in DC. The audience went berserk for this movie. On the big screen is how this movie needs to be experienced.
Ever since I saw this movie it instantly became my all time favorite action film. There is nothing like it. Another thing I should mention is Phillip Kwok who plays Mad Dog starred in a lot of Shaw Brothers martial arts films in the 70s. Tony Leung also starred in Shang-Chi.
This is one hell of an action movie. It has one of the biggest body counts in cinema with 230 people killed
"What weapon is that?"
The dope break-action handgun returns in John Woo's Hard Target 😉
Yes! Now you are getting into some serious action James! John Woo is a master of action and weaving it into the story.
'Hard boiled' refers to someone (cop or criminal) who has been in 'hot water' too long, and won't break under pressure. The 'hard boiled detective' would become a trope based around this, as the less cerebral, more action oriented detective.
I love the subplot with Alan and his paper cranes. Tony Leung has always been fantastic.
Oh, and in case no one else points it out, the explosion before Chow jumps out the window with the baby was early (at John Woo's direction) to get that reaction out of him 😬
I already know this will be a reaction 100% worth watching.
Pretty much my favourite action flick. It gave Chow Yun Fat and John Woo their tickets to Hollywood (Woo has since made films like Face/Off & Mission Impossible 2 but has never bettered this). For some reason Tony Leung stayed in Hong Kong (probably partly due to his ongoing work with Wong Kar-wai) where he remains pretty much the number one movie star. His only real Hollywood outing has been Shang-Chi, 30yrs later.
CYF got used very hit or miss. I think the last American thing he did was a small role in Pirates 3.
So glad that this film is finally getting some recognition, it's a masterpiece for sure.
This movie was highly influential. I can not even count how many action movies and video games have at least a scene inspired by something in this movie.
"Where do I know him, was he in 'In the Mood for Love?"'
Not only that he was Wengwu in Shang Chi
2 Cops
2 Hundred Gangsters
2 Million Bullets
That's how it was advertised on cable back in the day, and holy crap, they weren't kidding. Tarantino call it out as one of his favorite movies. ('It's like 'The Wild Bunch' on cocaine!") This movie's influence can't be overstated. The stunt choreography, the camera work, the music, the unbridled carnage. Honestly, 'The Raid' felt like one big homage to it. That one take sequence really made action directors up their game.
Also, the gun Mad Dog uses is a Contender single shot hunting pistol (made by Thompson, I think). John Woo thought it was cool, too. He's used it in a few of his movies.
John Woo and Chow Yun Fat did a sequel to this movie but it was a videogame called Stranglehold. It was a cool game but the ps3 version came with a free copy of Hard Boiled.
I was scared this wasn't going to be picked in the poll, but i'm so glad it did! This was my immediate recommendation when you announced 'action month'. I'm happy you had the same reaction most of us did seeing it for the first time.
James vs. Cinema is one of the Best channels ever! Facts. Love your movie choices.
💯📽
Ayyyy cheers fam!!!
My fav John Woo film and an action classic that not enough people have seen. The environmental effects are next level all the way through.
I've seen this film many times, but jesus I cannot get over how YOUNG Tony Leung is in it.
30 years ago. ANd now he's the Mandarin.
Top ten John Woo
1) Hard Boiled
2) The Killer
3) A Better Tomorrow
4) Bullet in the Head
5) Red Cliff
6) Red Cliff 2
7) Face/Off
8) Last Hurrah for Chivalry
9) A Better Tomorrow II
10) Hard Target
The weapon Eye patch guy is using at the hospital basement secret entrance is a Thompson Contender, a single shot gun meant for hunting. When John Woo made the U.S. movie "Hard Target" starring Jean Claude Van Damme years later, he also had the main villain played by Lance Henriksen use the Thompson contender as his gun.
Re used a lot of his same stunts.
The scene at around 13:26 during the transition in the bar where Tequila was talking to someone, thats John Woo himself right there (the director of the film)
Criminally Underrated Masterpiece. I’m so glad you finally reacted. I’ve been suggesting since I first started watching your channel 😂
What a masterpiece of an action film. Excellent choice can’t wait to watch this!
This was the film that catapulted me into a lifelong love of Hong Kong action films. I had seen a few Jackie Chan films, but this one blew me out of the water. Also started my deep love of Leung Chui Wai/Tony Leung. One of the best actors in the world.
That bit where Tony Leung is walking away from killing Uncle Hoi is one of my favourite bits of acting in anything. Tony Leung is an incredible actor. 80's and 90's Hong Kong cinema was incredible, 80's 90's Hong Kong itself seemed like such a vibe.
One of the best shoot em up movies ever where no one ever reloads.
"Give Tequila one gun, He's Superman, give him two guns, He's God."
oh no way did you react to this! this is one of my top 3 action films ever! you're a legend. You need to watch Kill Zone SPL with Donnie Yen and Samo Hung next.
Donnie Yen!!! Heck yeah!
The Replacement Killers is a fun Chow Yun-fat movie as well directed by Antoine Fuqua. Worth a watch too if you enjoyed this.
another thing came to mind:
people already recommended many movies with chow yun-fat and also movies by john woo.
another movie that thoroughly impressed me starring chow yun-fat is "cover hard" (aka "full contact") directed by ringo lam in 1992 and starring chow yun-fat, simon yam, ann bridgewater and anthony chau-sang wong (coincidentally he was the antagonist in this movie). it is a super gritty gangster movie and i literally have not seen any other movie that has such a unique style. it is hard and the grittiness is super stylish. i wish this movie was a musical style, i would love it.
The level of energy in Woo's Hong Kong movies is just insane, glad you got to see it. The one thing in particular that sets movies apart from other media is movement and Johnny Woo certainly got that note. In that sense it is a very pure way of filmmaking.
9
Eye patch will forever and ever be one of my favorite villains because of his humanity in that one moment. I love villains with a heart. And with such a cold hearted villain as a co player? Worked so well together in one amazing movie ❤
I am so stoked to see you react to this move! It's a contender for the best action film ever IMO. Love your channel and keep up the great content. If you want to do another John Woo film, I would suggest A Better Tomorrow 1 & 2. Thanks for the great videos!
YES!!!! Suggested this a few times! So glad you have finally watched one of the best action movies(personally one of my favourites)
A minute forty seven seconds into this and I am thinking he is going to have to redo his intro after he watches this.
Aw man thank you so much for doing a video on this film!
I use to watch this one on a cable movie channel but forget the name of it.
I also forget how much action was in this along with what you mention with the storytelling done through the action sequences.
A very unique take for a movie.
Definitely a great movie for those who never seen it and love action movies. Check it out for those who have never had the chance.
Thanks again as always for what you do James VS Cinema .
Bartender: Director John Woo
is it me or Chow Yun Fat's shotgun is loaded with FRAG Explosive Shells from AA-12 bec everytime he shoots with it those goons are turn into paste
i know its a movie's effects but those normal shotguns he used are OP and i like it
I loved your reaction to an action masterpiece. It got me to subscribe. I can't wait for your reaction to John Woo's other masterpiece. The Killer.
Tony Leung Chiu Wai , yes you've seen him play a cop in a few films. You have also seen him play a rebel assassin, in Hero - he was Broken Sword.
He's made a number of really good films - check him in Chungking Express, the Infernal Affairs series. So many more. A great actor.
As for action, you can't really get better than John Woo - the Jazz Club owner in this film. A great director!
YEAHHHH, J!! This is film is the template of Action, crankin of slow mo photography.
The 2 guns from around the back comes from this movie
Cinema has a term for this sort of action awesomeness with style... it's called "Woo-ism"
This is the ultimate action movie!
Fun fact there is a sequel to this movie in Video Game format called stranglehold its available on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 not sure we're else John Woo also directed it it's just as bananas and bat shit insane hardcore over the top as the movie
Omfg, I'm so excited to watch "Hardboiled" with you James! One of my gun fu faves.
The best uninterrupted action sequence ever! Thanks to John who? John Woo!
:::shows photos with Sam Lake and James McAffrey::: Max fucking Payne.
One of John Woo's greatest works next to Face-Off.
That long one-take hospital shot is just legendary.
it would be interesting to hear your impression of "hard target" in reference to this movie. it was john woo's next and at the same time first US movie... there are some interestring parallels that made me think that he wanted to realize some of his ideas from this movie with a bigger budget.
i really looooved john woo's hongkong filmography when i was a teen. i collected all uncuts movies and even tried to learn chinese, since they were only available in original audio.
also... the gun the second antagonist uses in the basement scene, apparantly you can use pretty much any caliber with it, but i am not sure, if you have to change the barrel or how it specifically works.
they have probably been mentioned already, but there are also movies like "the killer" and "a better tomorrow" (aka "city wolf" and it also has a sequel), "bullet in the head" (war drama), "once a thief" (aka "killer target"; movie about three professional thiefs; has been turned into a short-lived show during woo's time in the us), "just heroes" (aka "hard-boiled 2", which came out before the actual "hard-boiled") and then woo's US movies: "hard target" with jean-claude van damme (it was heavily cut in many countries and apparantly sam raimi was hired as a second director to keep an eye on john woo, who wasn't fluent in english), "operation: broken arrow" with christian slater and john travolta and "face/off" with nicolas cage and john travolta.
his US movies increasingly lost appeal and the violence was toned down ALOT... after "mission: impossible 2" and "paycheck" i kinda lost touch and didn't watch many of hist movies anymore.
We watched loads of John Woo and jet Li films back in the day, this, The Killer, A better tommorow, Bullet in the head, Once a thief, Hard target, Broken arrow and Face/off are all great and show Woos move into Hollywood
Hard Target is the most Woo of his American films.
I also recommend John Woo's fllm The Killer, if you haven't seen it. Another gold standard HK action/gun fu film.
I'm so glad you reacted to this man. One of the best action movies ever. I think you would definitely get a kick out of "Hard Target", it has great action, quotable lines, Van Damme in his prime (with mullet). Also did you know there is a John Woo/Chow Yun Fat video game "Stranglehold" on the PS3?? Worth digging out!
Fun damn game. I cheered when I first played it.
I miss John Woo, I hope you dig in his filmography, hard target is a fun one, the killer a classic
I first saw this in the mid 90s and had to pick my jaw up off the floor, I'm still amazed by it after all these years. There aren't many action films of this same caliber (pun intended) and it is truly the gold standard to which I compare action sequences in other films. It's something you just can't unsee.
This movie is so much fun you are killing it with these picks!!!
I was privileged to be exposed to Hong Kong cinema in the early 90s. Jet Li, Jackie Chan, and the man himself Chow Yun Fat! So many people don’t know about these actions gems. A Better Tomorrow, Once a Thief, Police Story, The East is Red etc. So glad you are reviewing this classic. 👍
John Woo is a heavy jazz fan which is shown throughout his films. Two films that pay homage to Woo's heroic bloodshed and Jazz are Time and Tide and No Tears for the Dead...which has a classic shootout scene in apartment complex
Plus he snuck in this movie as the jazz bar owner.
I saw this in 92 in a little theater in China Town NYC. Still my all time favorite action movie.
Ah, dude awesome stuff man this is hands down one of John Woo's action movie masterpieces tequila one of the most badass cops on the planet I love how his boss describes him Give a guy a gun, he thinks he's Superman. Give him two and he thinks he's God. That's Tequila in a nutshell Lol but yea great reaction man glad to see this one in particular on your channel 👌 and yea Tony Leung was in this movie as well as another john woo film you have to watch man Bullet in the head that's another John Woo masterpiece great story about friendship betrayal and warfare powerful and emotional film highly recommend
If you want an extraordinary foreign film try brotherhood of the wolf. Such a phenomenal film. One of those sleeper gems.
Not sure if this has been commented on or not. But that long shot in the hallway took 3 or 4 times to shoot. And all the changes to "Bullet Time" was done on the cameras as they shot it manually. They had to stop doing that as one of the actors got injured when debris got hit in his face (you can see it at the end of the shot).
Great stuff as always, hope you are well and having a good weekend, as always, stay awesome and stay genuine.. much love
I saw this movie as a teenager and basically skipped about twenty years of classic American action cinema.
17:45 Thompson/Center Contender, a handgun built specifically to handle a rifle round. Obviously more cool than practical. Also appears in Hard Target by John Woo, and From Beijing With Love.
yes!!
Hard Boiled was a "Hollywood (made to appeal to American audience)" response to THE EVEN BETTER movie The Killer (1989) directed by John Woo. staring Chow Yun-fat, its definitely a must see, if you like this one.'
I just rewatched this last week. It’s such an amazing action film even to this day
HK Mega star Chow Yun Fat with a young Tony Heung from Marvel's 10 Rings. John Woo in his creative element. Now do City on Fire and The Killer!!!
yeah Hard Boiled never disappoints. my favorite gun action movie of all time. The Way of the Gun is the second. definitely check it out if you haven't.
Great movie, way of the gun.
If you liked hard boiled you will love the killer by the same director
22:55 *Now* you have to watch 'Shoot Em Up' with Clive Owen. The writer said he got the idea for that script specifically from the scene where Chow Yun Fat is gun battling while carrying a baby...
Hard Boiled is almost impossible to top honestly.
This is a legendary Hong Kong movie! The hospital shooting is probably one of the best action scenes in all of the action movies.
He recreated some of these shootouts in Hard Target (including the single fire gun). A great unsung action film with Yung Fat is Full Contact. Also check out The Killer...
In the opening scene...He stops a weapons sale by getting everyone in the restaurant killed...Spectacular!!!
You have to love that early era John Woo such as this film were the reason the game series Max Payne exists. Or any game or movie with slow-mo bullet time. Shit, even The Matrix films. John Woo needs his flowers. He's far more influential than people seem to recognize. He made the one crappy Mission Impossible 2 film in 2000 and got written off in Hollywood. :p
Please please please do the other John Woo and Chow Yun Fat film The Killer. The other best action film of all time. These two flicks changed everything.
Don't forget A Better Tomorrow 1 and 2
John Woos Masterpiece imo.
Raw, heavy, characters with depth, awesome choreography and a splendid script.
In the action genre definitely on another level!
You should watch _El Mariachi_ one of these days. It's Robert Rodriguez's feature film debut. And he did the whole film himself with just a $7,000 budget.
The hospital 1 take was done on the same floor they never went to a different floor.
One of the best action movies of all time by far!!
One of my favourite films of all time. The story and writing is just as brilliant as the action which is hard a lot of the time for these types of films especially Hollywood ones