I saw a full pan and scan verson, but wondering if there's a better version in widescreen.

The Fox Lorber version is pretty good IMO...sometimes called Winstar version. It is widescreen, but no anamorphic transfer.
Here's Fox's page for it.
http://www.foxlorber.com/ShowTitle.asp?stknbr=FLV5224

Here's a couple favorable reviews:
Review 1
Review 2

If you don't already own The Killer, I would recommend getting the 2 pk. (Fox Lorber) with The Killer/Hard Boiled. A few bucks cheaper than each separately.

cheers,
Gabe

The Fox Lorber "HARD BOILED" DVD is one of two DVD's from that crap company I can say go for. THE KILLER is the other. Both are encoded expertly and even better looking than the Criterion versions (which are OOP).

The HK imports are crap.

thanks for info, much appreciated.

It says in 2nd review, WINSTAR will do a anamorphic transfer in a future release, too tempting, I'll wait, this film needs all the tools before I revisit and watch it again.

When Winstar says "future" it could mean a long time away. I tried to get a response from them recently and they never returned my e-mails.
Over a year ago they mentioned in a Honetheaterforum chat that Hard Boiled and the Killer would be revisited someday. From the response I got several months ago, this wasn't even on their schedule.
I should reword that review a little. I apologize for that. Unless another company releases Hard Boiled, it may be a long time before Winstar does.
The current Winstar release is the best of the bunch right now.
Thanks,
Matt

Winstar's parent company is bankrupt and all future plans for a 16x9 THE KILLER and HARD BOILED and cancelled.

That sucks I take it that means the two box set is OOP now too?

I thought the Fox Lorber set was crappy - I had seen better transfers on VHS. My opinion wasn't the popular one at the time, but I still stick to it. The menus were great, but I thought the transfer was awful - especially for a US release. I don't know the quality of any HK releases for this film, but check out www.asiandvdguide.com and search for that film and there will be informative reviews of the various DVD editions based almost solely on DVD quality.

Can anybody deny or confirm that the box set is OOP?

Thanks

The Fox Lorber and Criterion transfers (which are the same) are the best NTSC transfers in the world. That's because the studios in HK do not take care of their films. Period.

The new French DVD from Chris Gans' company is better, but only because it is 16x9. The same print damage and scratches are there and unless there is a multi-million dollar restoration of the negative, this is the best we will ever get.

I don't believe that it is yet OOP, even if it was, there must be stock remaining as Amazon still has it for $45.

cheers,
Gabe