Member John Posted January 9, 2011 Member Share Posted January 9, 2011 I've just sat down to my first time with Vengeance! (1970). Choreography was mostly by the numbers, with some interesting takes here and there. But the real attraction of this entry was the stylish cinematography; several rich compositions come to mind, such as the opening opera sequence. It's a clever bit of foreshadowing that really lingers and I completely didn't expect it from Chang Cheh. David Chiang is also a delight and it's good to just soak in his David Chiang-y-ness, yet the middle of the film still felt considerably less engaging. The soap opera antics of Chiang and his female interest get old really fast; her character doesn't really have a lot to offer besides eye candy. I'm beginning to suspect Chang Cheh's interactions with the fairer sex were not quite as informed as his brotherhood. In terms of the DVD, I have overall better things to say about it than The Boxer from Shantung released by the same label; namely, I didn't find any of those weird ringing artifacts in the picture. This being a PAL disc, I am also happy to report there are no stereotypical ghosting issues here. On the other hand, I noticed the compression during darker scenes. Additionally, black levels and shadow detail were lacking; the end result is a very two dimensional presentation lacking in fine details. Sound-wise, I only listened to the Mandarin audio with subtitles. It was pretty weak, but genuinely mono-sounding. The subtitles were white and borderless; I find these harder on the eyes than bordered yellow font, my personal favourite. In terms of extras, there are the usual but welcome trailers and galleries in addition to bios (in German). I got my hands on Vengeance! because I'd heard tell of its bloody combat and I've liked Chang Cheh classics such as The One-Armed Swordsman films and The Duel. Vengeance! does not approach the quality of these films, but it is an interesting aside that may or may not have a Chinese knockoff of Golgo 13 cast as a villain. MiB's disc does not descend to the depths of what I saw in The Boxer from Shantung. It is a world apart from the celluloid jewelry that's come to us from some of Dragon Dynasty and BCI/FUNimation's releases, but it's watchable and thankfully unmolested. Recommended for the Chang Cheh die-hards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Kung Foolery Posted January 10, 2011 Member Share Posted January 10, 2011 This movie rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member John Posted January 12, 2011 Author Member Share Posted January 12, 2011 You know, the combination of me being incredibly spoilt by the 80s choreography and middled by the transfer probably puts me in a bias. I think I'll give it another watch sometime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Nakadai Posted March 9, 2011 Member Share Posted March 9, 2011 Anyone know where I can buy the german release of Vengeance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member John Posted March 10, 2011 Author Member Share Posted March 10, 2011 http://www.amazon.de/Kuan-unerbitterliche-R%C3%A4cher-David-Chiang/dp/B00095MRBG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1299717752&sr=8-2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Nakadai Posted March 10, 2011 Member Share Posted March 10, 2011 Thanks for the link. Purchased. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Nakadai Posted March 22, 2011 Member Share Posted March 22, 2011 Any other good places to order from that ship to the US? Amazon doesn't seem like it's going to have it in stock anytime soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member John Posted March 23, 2011 Author Member Share Posted March 23, 2011 Here's one: http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220737644253 I don't know if they'll ship your way, though. I have done business requesting an MiB title from a seller on eBay.co.uk called gs-mediacom2010. He comes recommended, but if you can't find him I'd try searching for a title like Eastern Condors or something that has a German release and you'll probably find someone who imports them that'll be able to find it for you. Alternately, google for some online German merchants; it's bound to be somewhere... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Nakadai Posted March 23, 2011 Member Share Posted March 23, 2011 Thanks a lot! I contacted gs-mediacom2010 and hopefully they'll be able to help me. Wasn't having much luck on my own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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