Originally released in 1992, Hard Boiled had a lukewarm reception in Hong Kong. It wasn’t until later that year at the Toronto Int’l Film Festival did it have an audience jumping and shouting during the screening. Hard Boiled is the greatest action film of all time.
Here is a photo of the very first Hard Boiled tee made in 2017. It was made just as a personal project because at that time, everything popular was mainstream American culture. No one was bootlegging (in t-shirt form 😅) any Asian films at this time and just what could the promotional merch look like for this cinema that we should be celebrating? This tee as is, has been retired but the concept of Hard Boiled remains. Throughout this year, Hard Boiled will be revisited to celebrate this masterpiece’s 30th anniversary.
Really massive thank you to Errolson Hugh of Acronym for featuring this tee in SS18.
Digging around for real vintage promo tees around Hard Boiled there was one that appeared to be actually from the 90s or early 2000s.
The design itself on a white screen stars t-shirt blank, features a two color print. Hard-Boiled in Helvetica and the classic Tequila, shotgun in one hand, baby in the other as seen frequently on various movie posters. Also it wouldn’t be the same without the master director John Woo.
To kick off the first thewww.xyz Hard Boiled tee of the year in 2022, the design updates the title from a variant on the original movie poster. There are many title designs but this one is a little more dynamic than the others. Also, switching out the classic Tequila poster pose is one from the warehouse scene. These slight updates make for the final composition of the “alternate promo” tee. Available now on thewww.xyz
Keep it locked for more Hard Boiled!