From: iroderic@alfred.carleton.ca (Ian Roderick)
Subject: Re: HARD BOILED
Organization: Carleton University
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1992 04:41:34 GMT

In <1992Nov3.112226.759@athena.mit.edu> wildman@athena.mit.edu (Timothy Worsley) writes:

>I got this via email from Eric Tend <eric@hp-ptp.ptp.hp.com>, whom I
>hereby nominate for some sort of USENET Video Watchdog award.  He said
>I could post it; I think there may be some general interest, so here
>it is:

>|I did notice that HARD-BOILED has at least two versions out.  The
>|Cantonese version has a lot more contiguous complete action scenes and the
>|Mandarin version is the same length ... but with different filler scenes
>|inserted to replace other scenes.  Subtle differences that I have noticed:
>|
>|Cantonese Version: During the warehouse hit scene, Chow shoots at 2
>|		    motorcycles, shoots at Tony, ducks around and uses a
>|		    car as a shield while the super-bad-guy emptys an uzi
>|		    magazine at him, Chow then tosses the grenade.
>|
>|		    During the hospital showdown, scenes missing from the
>|		    Mandarin version:
>|
>|                   Baddies using hand-held grenade launchers shooting at
>|		    the poilce outside.
>|
>|                   The scene where the SWAT team enters the building shows 
>|		    2 swinging in through an outside window and 2 coming in
>|		    through the air-conditioning duct.
>|
>|		    Chow and Tony blast away after entering a room (where a
>|		    guy gets shot and falls out a window) and Tony does his
>|		    ground roll under a table to get to a baddie, then the
>|		    super-bad-guy comes in with a grenade launcher rifle,
>|		    blows the door sending Tony flying, Chow shoots from
>|		    across the room, super-bad-guy throws a grenade at Chow,
>|		    more shooting, Tony gets blasted out of a door, super-
>|		    bad-guy targets Tony as Chow comes flying through a
>|		    glass window firing at the super-bad-guy, who turns and
>|		    ducks through another glass window ... all done in trade-
>|      		    mark Woo slow motion (one of my favorite scenes!).
>|
>|                   A scene showing the super-bad-guy pursuing Tony down a
>|		    corridor shooting through glass windows along the middle
>|		    (with Tony shooting back over his shoulder), finally ending
>|		    with the super-bad-guy jumping through a dead-end window.
>|
>|		    After Tony splits off looking for the super-bad-guy, he
>|		    enters the room by kicking a medical gerny toward him and
>|		    firing igniting it (or was it the otherway around?).
>|
>|		    Different angle of the eyeball entry shot at the end.
>|
>|Mandarin Version:  During the warehouse hit scene, Chow shoots at 3
>|		    motercycles, shoots at Tony, ducks behind a car, and
>|		    cut to Chow tossing the grenade.
>|
>|		    During the hospital showdown, scenes missing from the
>|		    Cantonese version include:
>|
>|		    More scenes of the police from outside shooting at the
>|		    baddies.
>|
>|                   The scene where the SWAT team enters the build shows only 2
>|		    entering through the air-conditioning duct, approaching
>|		    a room, and finding a cop "saying don't shoot".
>|
>|		    More scenes of the cops inside fighting bad and getting
>|		    shot.
>|
>|                   In the scene leading up to where Tony accidently shoots a
>|		    cop, Chow and Tony go down another corridor junction shoot-
>|		    ing away and Tony gets wounded. Also has another slow-mo
>|		    corridor cross-cross with Chow and Tony trading sides.
>|
>|		    When Chow goes back to help with the babies, he goes
>|		    through some baddies at close range from behind.
>|
>|                   Chow's cutsey baby scene after taking out 4 guys in the
>|		    nursery (this was in one Cantonese version that I saw in
>|		    the theaters).
>|
>|		    Different angle of the eyeball entry shot with more
>|		    flashbacks at the end.
>|
>|There is probably a lot more but these were the standouts.  I was able to
>|catch a Cantonese version at the local Chinatown theater.  It had some of
>|the bullet entry scenes shortened and the eyeball scene cut.
>|
>|The other Cantonese version I picked up at a local collectibles show.  Its
>|quality is about a C to D ... you can barely make out the subtitles, but
>|the sound is very clear.  This version was not letterboxed and had a
>|different logo in the bottom right-hand of the picture than the LS.
>|
>|The Mandarin version I dupped off of an LP 1st generation rental from a
>|local Chinese video store.  It is letterboxed and the quality fades from B
>|to C and the sound is not sharp ... sort-of muddled and not crisp.  This
>|version had the LS (Long Shong?) logo on the top left hand side of the
>|picture.
>|
>|All in all, I think I prefer the Cantonese version over the Mandarin
>|version for its continuity.  The question is where do I find an A quality
>|leterboxed version.  Besides, I think it was originally shot in Cantonese.
>|
>|--Eric--

>I'd love to find a decent copy of this film on video too...  I've seen
>Video Search of Miami's copy, and I believe it's a bad dupe of the Mandarin
>Long Shong tape.  Hey, Pete, which version did East Asia have?

>On the same subject, I've seen both a Cantonese and Mandarin versions of A
>BETTER TOMORROW 2 (both from NYUE) and I think they're identical except for
>the soundtrack.  I prefer the Cantonese one, partly because it has English
>dialogue in the New York scenes, so you get to hear Chow Yun Fat screaming
>"APOLOGIZE TO THE RICE *RIGHT* *NOW*!" and "FUUUUUCK YOOOOOU!!"  in
>English...  :-)

>(You have to understand, I was new to these films at the time, and when I
>first watched ABT2 I was *in* New York City, so it was really exciting when
>Lung said, asked if he knew anyone abroad, "Yes, in New York" and then they
>show NYC with the *theme* *song* blaring, and Chow Yun Fat is there, and
>and and well you know...)

>Ciao,

>-Ed (not Tim), eprice@sybase.com (not wildman@...)

Hi Ed et al.,

This is a really interesting posting.  Marilyn (my partner who is
Chinese-Canadian and has a degree in Asian studies) and I are
threshing this one at now as I type.  We were wondering where the
Mandarin version was to be distributed.  The Cantonese version is
obviously for Hong Kong and foriegn Cantonese speaking audiences.  We
wonder if the Mandarin version is intended for Taiwan and Singapore.
These are far more conservative countries (well we are over
generalising a bit) with their own histories.  We wonder if the studio
or whatever has final editing rights to such films is doing this for
this reason.  Anyway, Marilyn says one should always stay away from
the Mandarin stuff (PRC films exempted from this but for different
reasons).

Ian