[Pre-Order] Bullet in the Head 4K SteelBook

DISC ONE: 4K ULTRA HD — FEATURE FILM

• NEW Audio Commentary with Film Critic Frank Djeng - this feature-length track discusses Woo's influences for Bullet in the Head. Djeng states that the director was inspired by Cheh Chang's The Blood Brothers (1973) and another film about a big brother. Djeng keeps returning to Woo's Heroes Shed No Tears (1984) and claims that Bullet in the Head is a big-budget version of it. Djeng saw the latter in a Hong Kong movie theater when it opened and shares his memories of the audience's reaction. He points out that Tony Leung was very self-critical of his performance but defends his expressive mode of acting. But he doesn't say whether Leung's performance here is of the same caliber as his turn in Hard Boiled or if it's even superior. Djeng asserts that Bullet in the Head is far and away Woo's best film. He first saw the film with the original ending intact. Djeng talks about a third extended ending that appeared on the Taiwanese version. In English, not subtitled.

DISC TWO: BLU-RAY — FEATURE FILM

• NEW Audio Commentary with Film Critic Frank Djeng - this feature-length track discusses Woo's influences for Bullet in the Head. Djeng states that the director was inspired by Cheh Chang's The Blood Brothers (1973) and another film about a big brother. Djeng keeps returning to Woo's Heroes Shed No Tears (1984) and claims that Bullet in the Head is a big-budget version of it. Djeng saw the latter in a Hong Kong movie theater when it opened and shares his memories of the audience's reaction. He points out that Tony Leung was very self-critical of his performance but defends his expressive mode of acting. But he doesn't say whether Leung's performance here is of the same caliber as his turn in Hard Boiled or if it's even superior. Djeng asserts that Bullet in the Head is far and away Woo's best film. He first saw the film with the original ending intact. Djeng talks about a third extended ending that appeared on the Taiwanese version. In English, not subtitled.

DISC THREE: BLU-RAY — BONUS DISC

• Bullet in the Head Festival Cut (2:16:20, 1080p; Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono) - this extended version, which was screened at film festivals, contains about ten minutes of additional material than the standard HK theatrical cut. (It may have been initially included on the HK Joy Sales DVD. I don't have that disc handy to confirm.) The quality of the extra footage is comparable to the Tai Seng LD. Dual Mandarin and English subtitles appear at the bottom. All the remaining footage is culled from the recent 4K master. The English subs appear like captions with a black band. The file employs the MPEG-4 AVC encode and sports an average video bitrate of 20998 kbps. It is accompanied by a DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono (1578 kbps, 16-bit) in the native Cantonese.
  
• Alternate Boardroom Ending (5:31, upconverted to 1080p) - this alternate ending has appeared on prior DVDs. It mostly incorporates footage from the 4K master along with differing additional footage from a surviving print. It is presented with a DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono mix (1574 kbps, 16-bit). There are compulsory Mandarin and English subtitles.
  
• NEW Brilliance with a Bullet: An Interview with Director John Woo (43:27, 1080p) - Woo explains his real-life friendships that shaped the characters, story events, and semi-autobiographical themes of Bullet in the Head. He also presents the directorial cues he employed for the actors. Woo delivers his admiration for Michael Cimino and The Deer Hunter. He critiques some scenes from the film. The directors talks about directing Simon Yam and Tony Leung in both Bullet in the Head and Hard Boiled. More, Woo recalls filming in Thailand, the film's first cut, and reception of Bullet in the Head by Hong Kong film businessmen at a private screening. Woo speaks entirely in English, not subtitled.
  
• NEW Head Case!: Waise Lee on His Villainous Turn in Bullet in the Head (18:23, 1080p) - in this recent interview, actor Waise Lee reminisces about his early career as a part-time model and civil servant worker. He also recollects his failed audition for a rice commercial, which caught the interest of Tsui Hark's production company, who later cast him in A Better Tomorrow. Lee additionally talks about his first meeting with Woo and the table read he did for Bullet in the Head. Lee describes a shot list containing camera movements that Woo outlined but I wish that the interviewer would have followed up to ask if Woo also had storyboards. Lee remembers filming in Hong Kong and Thailand and offers details on those locales here. He says the reason Bullet in the Head had to be shortened is to accommodate five to six screenings a day in Hong Kong cinemas. Lee gives his opinions about the two endings they filmed, which one he prefers and why. I wish that the interviewer could have asked him to talk more about his character of Paul. In Cantonese or Mandarin, subtitled in English.
  
• NEW Army of One: Producing Bullet in the Head (4:41, 1080p) - in this new interview with Terence Chang, the producer briefly talks about his discussions with foreign buyers for Bullet in the Head. He states here that he helped Woo to finish the film. The best part of the interview is when Chang remembers a letter Scorsese wrote to Woo after seeing the latter's movie. In English, not subtitled.
  
• Apocalypse Woo: Editing Bullet in the Head (7:50, 1080p) - in this recent interview with David Wu, the film's editor discusses footage that Woo has been trying to recover. He also addresses the longer ending that wasn't in the theatrical cut. Wu also spends time on the music by James Wong, spotting his score, and incorporating a popular song over the main titles. He also describes the distributor's reaction to the film. In English, not subtitled.
  
• NEW Tumultuous Times: Catherine Lau on Bullet in the Head (15:10, 1080p) - this new interview is given by production planner and associate producer Catherine Lau. She recalls meeting John Woo at Cinema City. Lau goes over other films she's produced. She lays out the responsibilities she presided over for Bullet in the Head. Lau spends a lot of time discussing how she had to monitor the picture's ballooning budget. She also mentions renting equipment from Salon Films, filming the Vietnamese bar scenes in Hong Kong, and negotiating with the Thai military to lend them helicopters. Lau has several things to say about Jacky Cheung's performance. She compares and contrasts Woo's action films with those of Ringo Lam and explains how they're different. This is one of the best interviews on the Bonus Disc. In Cantonese or Mandarin, subtitled in English.
  
• Hong Kong Confidential: Inside Bullet in the Head with Grady Hendrix (13:08, 1080p) - Hendrix presents on Woo's vision for Bullet in the Head, the filmmaker's childhood experiences, autobiographical elements in the picture, colonial Hong Kong Police in 1967, the events at Tiananmen Square in 1989, and filming in Thailand. He also offers remarks on Tony Leung, Jacky Cheung, and Waise Lee. In English, not subtitled.
  
• NEW Apocalypse How? The Period Provocations of Bullet in the Head (27:08, 1080p) - academic Lars Laamann describes Bullet in the Head's allusions to anti-colonial struggle in Asia, the Cultural Revolution going on in China during the period depicted, the planting of mines and detonators in 1967 Hong Kong, the significance of the film's translated titles, and the timing of when this movie was made. The focus of Laamann's video essay is on the sociohistorical events portrayed in the film. In English, not subtitled.
  
• Trailers (7:38 altogether, 1080p) - two theatrical trailers forBullet in the Head. The first is a HK trailer with the original Cantonese audio and English subtitles. Second is an international trailer dubbed in English. Each is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The first trailer hasn't been restored. The second looks cleaner and is in better condition.
  
• Image Gallery (3:51, 1080p) - a slide show consisting of forty-five distinct images from the promotional campaigns of Bullet in the Head. Lobby cards, production stills, a reprint of a Japanese program booklet, posters, and a VHS cover appear in the gallery.

Contender Entertainment Group R2 DVD Exclusive Supplements

• Audio Commentary by Hong Kong Cinema Expert Bey Logan
• Baptism of Fire: Interview with Jackie Cheung (14:22, 576i)
• Paradise Lost: Interview with Waise Lee (14:00, 576i)
• Biting the Bullet: Interview with Simon Yam (16:56, 576i)
• Tempting Fate: Interview with Patrick Leung (19:31, 576i)
• A Walk on the Wild Side: Interview with Lau Chi-ho (14:28, 576i)
• Natural Selection: Interview with David Wu (32:30, 576i)
• Life Through a Lens: A Retrospective with John Woo (13:00, 576i)
• Reflections on BULLET IN THE HEAD with Bey Logan (4:52, 576i)
• Bullet in the Head Film Notes