Four Legendary John Woo Action Movies Release On 4K Blu-Ray This Fall

When it comes to action, the golden age of Hong Kong cinema is hard to beat. During the ’80s and ’90s, some of the best movies in the genre were made here, and at long last, all three movies in the A Better Tomorrow saga are headed to 4K Blu-ray as a box set with tons of new special features. Restored by Shout Factory, A Better Tomorrow Trilogy is available to preorder for $100 ahead of its November 18 release. Shout Factory is also releasing a 4K Blu-ray edition of Hard Boiled on November 4. This Deluxe Edition looks promising as well, but it’s worth noting the price has jumped from $40 to $65 at Amazon and Walmart. It’s unlikely to launch at this price, and you won’t be charged for preorder until it ships.

$100 | Releases November 18

Directed by renowned filmmakers John Woo and Tsui Hark, all three A Better Tomorrow movies have been remastered in 4K from the original camera negatives. Each one is presented in Dolby Vision–and are HDR-10 compatible and viewers can choose between the original Cantonese language track or the English dub, in DTS-HD Master Audio mono and English DTS-HD Master Audio mono. If you choose to go with the original Cantonese audio, each film features newly translated English subtitles. You’ll also get an exclusive poster in this box set, based on the newly commissioned art.

Each film is accompanied by dozens of brand-new extras, which are mostly audio commentary tracks and interviews with established film critics, members of the cast and crew, and even notable directors like Gareth Evans (The Raid). The real jewel of this collection is the sought-after workprint of A Better Tomorrow 2, which was thought to be lost for years. This version of Woo’s sequel was originally re-edited producer Tsui Hark, and it features an extra 30 minutes of footage. While Woo considers it to be the black sheep of the trilogy–the third film was in turn directed by Hark–he has still spoken fondly about its climatic gunfight as some of his best work in cinema.

You’ll also find the Taiwanese cut of A Better Tomorrow 3 here, which adds around 10 extra minutes of content, resulting in several extended scenes. The seven-disc collection includes 4K UHD and 1080p Blu-ray editions of each film.

You can check out the full list of features on each disc below.

Disc 1: A Better Tomorrow (4K)

Audio commentary with James Mudge, Hong Kong film critic at EasternKicks (New)

Disc 2: A Better Tomorrow (Blu-ray)

Optional English subtitles newly translated for this release (New)
Audio commentary with James Mudge, Hong Kong film critic at EasternKicks (New)
Better Than the Best – an interview with director John Woo (New)
Between Friends – an interview with producer Terence Chang (New)
When Tomorrow Comes – an interview with screenwriter Chan Hing-ka (New)
Thoughts on the Future – an interview with filmmaker Gordon Chan (New)
Better and Bombastic – an interview with filmmaker Gareth Evans (New)
Trailers
Image gallery

Disc 3: A Better Tomorrow 2 (4K)

Optional English subtitles newly translated for this release (New)
Audio commentary with James Mudge, Hong Kong film critic at EasternKicks (New)

Disc 4: A Better Tomorrow 2 (Blu-ray)

Optional English subtitles newly translated for this release (New)
Audio commentary with James Mudge, Hong Kong film critic at EasternKicks (New)
A Tumultuous Tomorrow – an interview with director John Woo (New)
Better Than Ever – an interview with film historian Frank Djeng (New)
Trailers
Image gallery

Disc 5: A Better Tomorrow 3 (4K)

Optional English subtitles newly translated for this release (New)
Audio commentary with critic and author David West (New)

Disc 6: A Better Tomorrow 3 (Blu-ray)

Optional English subtitles newly translated for this release (New)
Audio commentary with critic and author David West (New)
Third Time Lucky – an interview with screenwriters Yiu-Ming Leung and Foo Ho Tai (New)
All Our Tomorrows – an interview with Hong Kong filmmaker and academic Gilbert Po (New)
Nam Flashbacks – an interview with Vietnam War researcher Dr. Aurélie Basha i Novosejt (New)
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery

Disc 7 A Better Tomorrow 2 and 3 (Blu-ray)

Long-lost A Better Tomorrow 2 workprint featuring over 30 minutes of never-before-seen footage
A Better Tomorrow 3 – Taiwanese cut

A Better Tomorrow starred Chow Yun-fat as conflicted police officer Mark Lee, trapped between duty and honor when senior Triad gangster Sung Tse-Ho–who Lee has close ties to–asks him to help avenge the murder of a family member. Released in 1986, the film was a big critical hit and it set the stage for director John Woo and Chow Yun-fat’s eventual journey to Hollywood.

In 1987, A Better Tomorrow 2 was released, and it featured a wild plot twist to justify its existence–for reasons we won’t spoil here in case you never saw the first movie. Like its predecessor, the film featured over-the-top action, explosions, and a ludicrous bodycount once characters finally ran out of bullets.

A Better Tomorrow 3: Love and Death in Saigon brought the series to a close in 1989 and it’s a prequel to the first movie. Set during the final days of the Vietnam War, the story isn’t the best, but it does boast incredible action sequences throughout. Interestingly, Woo’s original vision for the film was different and led to him exiting the director’s chair after he and Hark experienced creative differences. Woo’s script would eventually evolve into 1990’s Bullet in the Head.

As mentioned, the other big new release in the Hong Kong Cinema Classics collection is Hard Boiled. Released in 1992, Hard Boiled is one of the best action movies of all time–and the best collaboration between John Woo and Chow Yun-fat. Over-the-top and incredibly fun, Hard Boiled as a straightforward plot centered around a cop seeking revenge against a gang of criminals. Mayhem ensues, the action is extreme, and Chow Yun-fat is effortlessly cool in every scene, including that iconic shootout in a hospital.

$65 | Releases November 4

Shout Factory’s Deluxe Edition resurrects the cult-classic with a brand-new 4K scan from the original camera negatives, adding in Dolby Vision and HDR 10 support along with the Cantonese and English dub in DTS-HD Master Audio Mono. Like the A Better Tomorrow trilogy, there are also new English subtitles in this release as well and the box set includes an exclusive 52-page collectible booklet.

The three-disc set also includes a standard Blu-ray copy of the film and it contains plenty of bonus materials, like several newly filmed interviews with Woo and other key members of the crew. Topping it all off is a collection of new audio commentary tracks with film critics and historians–as well as the audio commentary from John Woo and several more people that the Criterion Collection recorded–deleted scenes, trailers, and an image gallery.

We included a list of features on each disc below.

Disc 1 (4K)

Optional English subtitles newly translated for this release (new)
Audio commentary with director John Woo and film journalist Drew Tayler (new)
Audio commentary with film historian Frank Djeng (new)
Audio commentary with director John Woo, producer Terence Chang, filmmaker Roger Avary, and critic Dave Kehr (recorded by the Criterion Collection)

Disc 2 (Blu-ray)

Audio commentary with director John Woo and film journalist Drew Tayler (new)
Audio commentary with film historian Frank Djeng (new)
Audio commentary with director John Woo, producer Terence Chang, filmmaker Roger Avary, and critic Dave Kehr (recorded by the Criterion Collection)

Disc 3 (Bonus Blu-ray)

Violent Night – an interview with director John Woo (new)
Boiling Over – an interview with actor Anthony Wong (new)
No Time for Failure – an interview with producer Terence Chang (new)
Hard to Resist – an interview with screenwriter Gordon Chan (new)
Boiled to Perfection – an interview with screenwriter Chung Hang Ku (new)
Body Count Blues – an interview with composer Michael Gibbs (new)
Hong Kong Confidential – inside Hard Boiled with author Grady Hendrix (new)
Gun-Fu Fever – an interview with author Leon Hunt (new)
Chewing the Fat – an interview with academic Lin Feng (new)
Deleted and extended scenes
Trailers
Image gallery

While you’ll have to wait a few months for these Blu-rays, you can grab some classic action movies starring Jet Li. The Jet Li Collection was released in July, and it offers five of his best movies–Fist of Legend, Tai Chi Master, The Legend 1 + 2, and The Bodyguard from Beijing–in 4K and 1080p. Each movie also comes with a selection of bonus features, and the price has dropped to $107 (was $130). In August, Ringo Lam’s acclaimed 1987 action movie City on Fire joined Shout Factory’s collection on 4K Blu-ray, and you can snag a copy for $29 (was $40).

Looking ahead, Shout Factory will be releasing a lot more movies over the next couple of years, as the film distributor recently secured the worldwide rights to the Golden Princess film library, a collection of 156 movies in total. Here’s a list of a few other movies and box sets in the Hong Kong Cinema Classics collection that you can buy or preorder now: