Jet Li, John Woo, Tsui Hark, Chow Yun-Fat And More: Hong Kong Classics Finally In 4K From Shout! Studios
by David Lewis
Fans of classic Hong Kong cinema should start saving their money for the coming summer. They’re in for a long-awaited, 4K treat. Shout! Studios has acquired the rights to a handful of legendary films that will make their 4K digital debut this summer — including long unavailable titles from filmmaking masters John Woo and Tsui Hark. All the below titles will be available for digital download and on-demand across major platforms in the US, with a few getting a physical release (with more sure to follow). It’s such a treasure trove of new content, that Shout! is creating a new label for it all, known simply as Hong Kong Cinema Classics. We’ll begin after Chow Yun-Fat smokes a cigarette — in dazzling 4K!
June 24th sees the 4K digital release of Woo’s 1991 influential bullet ballet Hard Boiled, starring Chow, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, and Woo himself. This is the action fiesta that finally convinced Hollywood to bring Woo to the States, although his career was never quite the same.
Also being unleashed that day on 4K digital is Ringo Lam’s lesser-known City on Fire (1987), which pairs Chow with Danny Lee, and is a clear precursor to Quentin Tarantino‘s Reservoir Dogs (1992). 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs of the film follow on August 26th.
Next up, the A Better Tomorrow trilogy arrives on digital July 8th. The 1986 original and its 1987 sequel, both directed by Woo, helped bring HK action cinema to worldwide acclaim and both star Chow and Leslie Cheung. The Hark-directed prequel A Better Tomorrow III (1989) pairs Chow with Anita Mui and Tony Leung Ka-fai.
Hark’s delightfully manic period epic Peking Opera Blues has never gotten a proper release on any format in the US, so it’s a big deal that the 1986 action-comedy is getting the 4K digital treatment on July 22nd, with 4K UHD and Blu-ray following on September 23rd. It stars Brigitte Lin, Sally Yeh, and Cherie Chung.
Also dropping on digital July 22nd is Woo’s 1989 masterpiece The Killer, starring Chow, Lee, Yeh, and Leung Ka-fai. Endlessly imitated — including Woo’s own 2024 remake — nothing comes close to the heightened melodrama and inventive gunplay found in the original. 4K resolution for each of the 4K bullets used in the film.
HKCC’s first physical media boxset dropkicks in on July 29th and it’s a knockout. The Jet Li Collection compiles five of Li’s best HK films on 4K UHD and Blu-ray, including Fist of Legend, Tai Chi Master, Fong Sai Yuk, Fong Sai Yuk II, and The Bodyguard From Beijing. Bonus features are TBD, but fans will be happy just to finally get HD upgrades of these martial arts classics.
The A Chinese Ghost Story trilogy follows on digital August 5th. Directed by Tony Ching, the first two installments of the cult horror series star Leslie Cheung and Joey Wang, while Leung Chiu-wai pops up in A Chinese Ghost Story III.
Another film that has never received an official US home release is Woo’s Vietnam war epic Bullet in the Head (1990), starring Leung Chiu-wai and Jacky Cheung. Bringing Woo’s trademark Heroic Bloodshed visual style to a war film influenced by The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now, Bullet arrives on 4K digital on August 19th.
All of the titles have been newly scanned in 4K from the original camera negatives, and the subtitles have been newly translated. Shout! Studios has promised there will be more announcements to come, so stay alert.
