Most recent HK film classics on Blu Ray

[Sheng]

Thought it might be of interest to HK movie buffs to exchange thoughts and first-hand information on the slew of the latest Blu Ray reissues of 80s and 90s classics by the likes of Kam & Ronson / CMS, Universe, etc. Especially about titles that seem to have flown below the radar so far and didn’t get much attention, as opposed to the widely discussed Blu Ray editions of HK cinema staples like THE KILLER or the CHINESE GHOST STORY and A BETTER TOMORROW series.

First off, it would be cool if debates on the topic of Blu’s made in HK do not derail into the customary bitching matches that have been waged on another, recently expired forum (“Baaah, upscale!!!”, “only an idiot could buy this…”, blah-blah…). Sometimes I couldn’t help but feel that some of the fiercest “foul” criers never actually bothered to buy and watch the BD’s in question themselves (and if then probably not on larger screens), but rather rely on scattershot screencaps to buttress their preconceived notions and vent their anger about feeling “cheated”.

I think what’s most interesting for lovers of HK cinema culture is not if a lotta these discs are (or are not) “upconverts”, but rather to compare them with the best existing DVD’s in order to make an informed decision to either buy or bypass them. Furthermore, anybody who is aware of the current market climate must by now have come to the conclusion that its a virtual impossibility that any US or UK company that adheres to “proper” HD quality standards (i.e. those that should apply in an ideal world) would consider issuing these films.

OK, to get into specifics now… yesterday I watched the brand-new CMS Blu of Derek Yee’s ground-breaking debut film THE LUNATICS. It’s a deeply touching and, in the final analysis, profoundly dark and unsettling ensemble drama with an incredible cast, starring Stanley Fung, Deannie Yip, a very young Tony Leung (Chiu Wai) and Chow Yun Fat. But its really David Chiang’s older brother Paul Chun who steals the show here with his blistering acting performance as a relapsing psycho.

This movie was actually out a few years back as part of Joy Sales “Legendary Collection”. I do not have a copy to compare with the BD, but I own a big batch of Joy Sales non-remastered LC titles and the difference between them and this BD is, well, quite striking. Does that mean its looking better than, say, a good HKL DVD from back in the day ? Well, not really. But I’d say THE LUNATICS BD does look better, albeit slightly so, than Mei Ah’s 2007 remastered DVD release of Derek Yee’s second movie, the gripping hostage drama PEOPLE’S HERO. Contrast levels and overall sharpness are somewhat lacking in long shots, in particular the first longer night scene looks pretty terrible, close-ups are really good though, not much to complain here. Overall colors appear a lil’ dull and milky. Then again, if my memory serves me correctly the color scheme did look pretty much like that in the theatrical version back in 1986.

Aspect ratio is 1:85.1, subs are quite decent except for some article omissions and spelling mistakes. Unfortunately they’re a bit hard to read in bright, whiteish daylight scenes and occasionally flash by too fast. There’s just one unsubbed trailer in the “extras” department. Anyhow, admirers of ( Derek) Yee Tung Sing’s body of always wonderfully scripted work will want to pounce on this release. The BD is far from great, but I’ll almost take any bet that this is the best the film will ever look!

Another Blu Ray that popped up recently is Kam & Ronson’s A TRUE MOB STORY, one of the few Wong Jing joints I’d be happy to shell out money for and possibly this director’s best stab at a serious drama. Though I did find the jerky editing a bit grating at times and the choices of some of the characters insufficiently explained and questionable (plus there’s some hokey looking fight action and stuntwork on display here), A TRUE MOB STORY is a real winner because its simply an absolutely riveting Andy Lau showcase! The man’s is large & in charge here and his transition from gullible, sycophantic Triad upstart to retribution seeking hellraiser who desperately tries to come clean is a memorable one, the manic intensity he displays towards the end already foreshadowing his psychotic powerhouse performance in the third instalment of INFERNAL AFFAIRS.

The film is from 1998, so my expectations were a tad higher than with THE LUNATICS, but the whole affair is, if anything, only a moderate improvement from the remastered Mei Ah DVD issued in 2004. The real spoiler here are the subs that are simply poor, zoom by way too fast a lotta times and appear considerably smaller than on the DVD, which makes them extremely hard to read during the brighter lit scenes (especially because this is also a 16:9 presentation). Besides they seem to be ported over without any adjustments from the DVD. Unfortunately this seems to be the case with all these Blu Rays that I checked lately. Its an outright shame that for a BD reissue K & R can’t even fix the most glaring grammar mistakes and slow the subs down to an appropriate reading speed.

Whoever is in possession of the DVD doesn’t have to waste much thought about this seriously flawed “upgrade”, I’d say.

[David Rees]

The problem is the Classic HK Blu rays are not cheap, so if there is very little improvement in picture quality (i.e. Wheels on Meals Blu ray) then i would rather spend my money elsewhere.

Also dont forget the sound issues. Many of these have awful added sound effects to the 7.1 or 5.1 remastered mix and no original mono option which totally spoils the film, this is as important to me as the picture quality.

I dont mind 5.1 remixes as long as they use the original sound elements.

Thanks for the detailed review of the two films mentioned in your post.

[Sheng]

Approaching these BD’s with modest expectations, my key question is simply if any of those discs marks a substantial upgrade compared to the best available DVD version on the market. Not more, not less. If it does, I’m in. As far as WHEELS ON MEALS is concerned… I’ve seen the HK Blu Ray at a friend’s house on his fairly small (less than 40”) TV screen and could hardly detect any difference to the old HKL DVD. If displayed on a large set-up there’d probably be a mild improvement in PQ, granted. But I would still avoid it and strongly recommend to track down the HKL DVD for its fabulous extra content, better subs, etc.

BTW, been re-watching Gordon Chan’s 2000 AD and BEAST COPS recently and found it quite amazing how well a lot of these ten year old HKL DVD’s still hold up… But as I said, when it comes to catalogue re-issues on BD I’m primarily focusing on titles that weren’t already available as comparatively good, remastered DVD editions. And there were quite a number of Blu’s recently that deserve to be picked up by anybody who truly cares about great HK cinema, THE LEGEND OF WISELY, NEEDING YOU and JIANG HU – THE TRIAD ZONE amongst them.

[Guest Markgway]

At BD import prices you have every right to expect more than a mild upscale-level upgrade. Too often the difference between an upscaled DVD and a Fortune Star BD is negligible. That would be bad enough at HK$40 but at $150+ unacceptable. The China Star catalogue isn't brilliant but at least it's proper HD. And then there's the abysmal audio remixes which would be a huge drawback even if the PQ was outstanding. I'd rather pay $85 for the remastered DVD of Tiger Cage 2 (with original mono) than doubel that for a BD that looks virtually the same and has a screwed-up soundtrack. Some may think that's me being an old moan as usual... but I say what I feel.

[Sheng]

Originally Posted by Markgway

Too often the difference between an upscaled DVD and a Fortune Star BD is negligible.

Absolutely! That’s why I said substantial upgrade, Mark.

The China Star catalogue isn't brilliant but at least it's proper HD.

Hmm… think A TRUE MOB STORY was a China Star film. Didn’t look much better than some of the better Fortune Star titles to me though…

I'd rather pay $85 for the remastered DVD of Tiger Cage 2 (with original mono) than doubel that for a BD that looks virtually the same and has a screwed-up soundtrack.

Me too! Would never trade my TIGER CAGE 1 & 2 DVD’s for those BD’s… But again, I opened this thread to stimulate discussion about those BD’s that are worth buying – as well as to point out some of those that should be avoided!

[Sheng]

Thought I continue this thread every once in a while…

Another all-time classic - at least in my books! - that got BD treatment recently is Johnny Mak’s LONG ARM OF THE LAW.

Its been repeatedly called a precursor of the “bullet ballet”/”heroic bloodshed” strain of HK filmmaking, even though the violence here is a lot less “operatic” than in later gangland epics that are lumped together under those umbrella terms. No flashy “gun-fu” kinetics here, but there are a good number of grimy, insanely intense action set-pieces orchestrated by Sammo Hung’s stunt team that even now, a quarter of a century later, can hold up very well. Especially the final chase through the maze of wet, trash-littered and rat infested underground alleys in Kowloon’s then still existing Walled City is executed shockingly brilliant. Before the gang is finally perforated, there’s a těte à těte between one of the gunmen and a live rat, possibly the most memorable image that this wonderful film left on me.

The reason why Mak’s movie just feels so damn’ real is because of those he casted as Mainland mobsters. A bunch of ex-PLA soldiers that, no matter how ruthless they go about their business, are not simply portrayed as inhuman killing machines, but as people with strong loyalties, complex emotions, sentimental dreams, weaknesses and whims. (And talkin’ about whims, there’s a blowjob-at-gunpoint scene here that can prove to be quite jarring for viewers with a sensible political correctness radar, even today!)

Most of the time the gang members just come across as those types of wily small town liumang that anyone who’s been roaming the back alleys, mahjong dens or long-distance bus stations in the South Chinese countryside feel they made acquaintance with already. When watching this for the first time I certainly felt I knew all of these characters by heart…

PQ of this CMS Blu Ray is very uneven. It starts pretty horrible, the opening scenes set in China look washed out and grainy as hell, but the quality improves a lot after the 15 minutes mark. Many of the daylight scenes actually display quite nicely, close-ups as well as long shots. Image detail and overall sharpness comes across somewhat better than on a lot of the other older (80’s that is) Fortune Star BD’s recently dumped on the market. I’d say all in all the image is a lil’ more than a moderate improvement to the Joy Sales remaster that appeared less than two years ago.

Subs are well timed with occasional grammar mistakes and omissions of letters. The opening character descriptions remain unfortunately untranslated though. Bonus material consists out of one trailer and what is seemingly a highly informative interview with director Johnny Mak – unfortunately only for Cantonese speakers since its unsubbed.

All said, you might not feel compelled to order the Blu Ray if you snatched up the remastered DVD already. If not, then this is an absolutely unmissable purchase. I guess its safe to predict that this is another classic that you won’t see presented any better in years to come…