Hard Boiled Anamorphic now available all region (1 Viewer)

[Doug Schiller]

Just got my copy yesterday and watched all the way up to when all hell breaks loose in the hospital.

I queued my Criterion version on my other DVD player and PIP'd them for a few scenes.

First, this looks like the exact same print.
It is a true anamorphic transfer (not a stretched 4x3 like the Ran Masterworks) I saw greater detail and the shimmer on the buildings on the Criterion were gone. I was worried when I saw the Mei Wah Laserdisc credit in the opening!
The color correction looks different. In most scenes, the new version had better colors (to my eyes) than the Criterion, in others the 16x9 version seemed faded.
The soundtrack seems to be the mono version just pumped thru a DTS decoder. I heard no audio, multi channel tricks or looped gunshots (which is a good thing). I flipped to the 2CH track and it sounded the same.

My biggest complaint is the horrible subtitle job. I've watched the Criterion version more times than I can count and felt like they were telling a different movie. When I had them both side by side (PIP) the differences in subs were dramatic. The new version would have 3 words, the Criterion would have a paragraph. Names seemed to be changed and I don't think they ever mentioned the coolest villian in movie history (Fox).

I'm debating whether to combine the 16x9 print with the subtitles from my Criterion version to make the ultimate edition on my DVDR.

For $10, I'm very happy with my purchase. And it was a great excuse to watch one of my favorite movies again.

Doug

 

[Andy Sheets]

My copy came in yesterday and it does look reasonably nice (this isn't one of those movies that I'm ever expecting to see of pristine copy of ). Have to agree that the subtitles are pretty bad, though. Just too many distracting errors in spelling and grammar, to the point that if I wasn't already familiar with the story and characters I might have gotten confused by what was happening. It is interesting, though, that the translation is the closest I've seen to the version I saw in theaters about a decade ago. Still, I'm happy with this version of the dvd and I'll be hanging onto it.

 

[Matthew Brown]

ChrisJefferys -
About those jump frames - I watched this first on my 47 inch RPTV and they weren't very noticeable. I watched it again on my 27 inch standard TV and they seemed to occur once in a while. This is why Hong Kong Legends crops their movies. It makes the jump frames less noticeable.


Matt

 

[Dave F]

For those that have received your copies, did you receive a shipment notification? On 7/2 I received the original email that my order was received, but I haven't received any shipment notification (and obviously, no DVD).

There isn't an order status option at HKFlix, and they discourage order status questions (lame!), so I thought I'd ask you guys first...

-Dave

 

[Damin J Toell]

For those that have received your copies, did you receive a shipment notification? On 7/2 I received the original email that my order was received, but I haven't received any shipment notification (and obviously, no DVD).

I got no shipping notice; the package just showed up. I did, however, get an e-mail afterwards telling me that it had been delivered.

DJ

 

[Andy Sheets]

I didn't get a notice either. I was getting worried that something had gone wrong with the order but then it came in. I haven't received any delivery notice, though.

 

[Dave F]

Thanks guys! I'll wait a few days before I start getting worried then.

-Dave

 

[ChrisJefferys]

ChrisJefferys -About those jump frames - I watched this first on my 47 inch RPTV and they weren't very noticeable. I watched it again on my 27 inch standard TV and they seemed to occur once in a while. This is why Hong Kong Legends crops their movies. It makes the jump frames less noticeable.

Thanks for the update Matt. Unfortunately, a 27 inch standard TV is all I can watch dvds on right now :frowning: but as long as its less noticable compared to the Winstar disc, I'll be happy. And yes, I know that some purists may bitch about it, but I prefer the slight cropping that HKL uses over more noticable jump frames.

And Dave, I didn't get a shipping notice with my last HKFlix order either, so I wouldn't worry. (strange because with my first couple orders with them, they notified me every step of the way. I kinda liked that)

 

[Dave F]

I just received a shipping notice today, so they must've just received a new shipment.

-Dave

 

[Chas_Michael]

I ordered this on July 3rd and have yet to receive anything. I did receive a out of stock email a few weeks ago. Anyone know what's going on? I emailed HK last week but failed to get an answer. Any help will be appreciated!

 

[Matthew Brown]

Chas_Micheal -

I think my contact there might be on vacation but I will e-mail them and see if there are problems. I know these DVD's are flying out as soon as they get them in. They have a good relationship with the distributor so they get them restocked pretty quickly.
I actually ordered a couple as gifts and am waiting for those.
Thanks,
Matt

 

[Matt Czyz]

I'm have pretty much the exact same situation as Chas_Michael. Still waiting for mine, (ordered it on the 4th, got an email about being out-of-stock) and really cannot wait for it to arrive.

 

[Matthew Brown]

I spoke with Jeff from HKFLIX and he said that they are selling them much quicker than they can get them in. He said if you received an out of stock notice,they will get it to you as soon as possible.

Matt

 

[Richard Kim]

The message I got from HKFlix said that it will take 3 weeks to get another shipment.

 

[Chris Xolotl]

Still Waiting Too.... :frowning:

His reply today was:

It will ship next week.

Sorry for the delay. The distributor hasn't been able to ship us as
many
copies as we require.

Regards,
Jeff

 

[Richard Kim]

I just got the remastered DVD from HKFlix. The good news is that the anamorphic video is alot better than the Winstar version. The subs however are inferior. There are alot of spelling errors and awkward phrasing. Also, when the newspaper articles are covering the gangsters' cars, the subs describing them are missing, so the audience doesn't know why they're so pissed.

My biggest complaint is the DTS track: it doesn't work! I have a Sony DVP-NS700P, and all there is is silence with some intermittant garbled noise. The DD 5.1 track is OK, not much use of the surrounds, though.

 

[Matt Czyz]

I got my disc in the mail today, and Matt Brown, thanks for alerting me to the existance of this disc in the first place and your website's discount was just top drawer. Picture looks great and I couldn't be happier. I used to watch this movie alllllllllllll the time on VHS and I'm simply happy just to finally have it on DVD.

 

[Matthew Brown]

Matt Czyz -
Thanks!

Richard -
I wish I had a DTS receiver to check out my DVD with the DTS soundtrack. I just found out that the newly remastered Mei Ah DVD's seem to have a problem with the DTS tracks in the beginning. In the case of Hard Boiled, it lasts about one minute and a half into the movie starting after the DTS promo. I have read that if you chapter back or scan back on the remote, the sound kicks in. I e-mailed Mei Ah and they just told me that the DTS track is OK. I don't think this is setup dependent but it is possible that different players/receivers react differently. I am going to try to get more opinions on this because it is seldom brought up.

Matt