Mad Mission

[masterofoneinchpunch]

...In Hong Kong, box office success did equal quality. I don't consider IRON MONKEY in the same ballpark as the films I listed.

ahhhem Eighth Happiness made 37,090,776 (I think at the time either the highest grossing or close to it; Correct Raymond Wong states in an interview on the extras that Aces Go Places broke BO a couple of times and this broke that record).

Anyways for people interested in this series, don't pick up the old box set. Get the remastered RO/NTSC Fortune Star/Joy Sales release. While it does have a few interviews and overuse of photo galleries and tons of trailers they could have put more extras on it though. Still it looks pretty good.

[dionbrother]

If you can FIND that box set for a reasonable price! Been out of stock at DDDhouse for two years! I missed my window on acquiring it and regret it. Maybe a decent Blu Ray in the future? The audio on the Universe releases is the pits.

The Anchor Bay set is excellent for the English dub alternate versions (which have additional footage and alternate takes to substitute the trimmed, un-dubbable Cantonese jokes). The dubs are by Larry Dolgin's crew in Rome, same guys who gave us all the awesome Italian horror movie dubs. Also, Sam Hui sang alternate English versions of two of his songs in 2 & 3.

[bratty]

The Anchor Bay set is excellent for the English dub alternate versions (which have additional footage and alternate takes to substitute the trimmed, un-dubbable Cantonese jokes). The dubs are by Larry Dolgin's crew in Rome, same guys who gave us all the awesome Italian horror movie dubs. Also, Sam Hui sang alternate English versions of two of his songs in 2 & 3.

hold the phone Mabel .. are you telling me if I crack open this thing I'll be treated to the voices of Bud Spencer & Co?? I am SO THERE!!!!

[dionbrother]

Indeed. In the first MAD MISSION, Karl Maka is dubbed with the "Bud Spencer" voice(I've wondered if that is Nick Alexander, anybody know?). Sam Hui has Larry Dolgin's voice in ever film, just like Bruce Le in CLONES OF BRUCE LEE.

[tdb]

how do the old Universe Laser (?) DVDs of Aces go Places look / sound? I had the boxset on IVL but I traded it away because I just couldn't stand the remixed soundtracks. I also have the Anchor Bay boxset sitting here, sealed, for sometime when I want to get into the dubs, but what I'd really like is watch the movies with the original sound.

I've got these. Watched the first three and the picture and sound seemed fine (I don't have a fancy set-up). That was on my old tube widescreen, though. My current flat-screen might not be so kind to the picture, but if you sit far enough away, some of those problems will fade. I'll try to plug them in tonight for a quick survey.

Took a quick look at 1, 3 and 5. They're all non-anamorphic letterbox. Picture quality is good, but it's obvious that none of them has been remastered. Sound is Cantonese/Mandarin DD 5.1 Surround. I get my sound from the tv and it sounded fine. When I bought these, these were all there were.

I'd say the Fortune Star/Joysales Remastered box is the

best option right now.

[bratty]

awesome news. Now I'm stoked I bought that Anchor Bay box.

and

I guess the Universal DVDs are truly obsolete if they too use a remixed soundtrack.

maybe I should check them out on VCD

[blue_skies]

In 1980s Hong Kong, A CHINESE GHOST STORY, A BETTER TOMORROW, PROJECT A 1 & 2, POLICE STORY 1&2, PRODIGAL SON, MR. VAMPIRE, LEGEND OF WISELY and the first two LUCKY STARS movies were big hits. There's plenty of other fine 1980s films that were huge hits and are still well worth looking into, I just don't feel like using my google-fu right now.

In Hong Kong, box office success did equal quality. I don't consider IRON MONKEY in the same ballpark as the films I listed.

of course there will always be some good movies that are successful but as a rule of thumb mainstream popularity does not mean quality. Whether you're talking about movies, music or even television mainstream popularity is never usually a good sign. Of course if it was we wouldn't be talking about Hong Kong movies we would be discussing all the latest Hollywood blockbusters.

Twins Effect was supposed to be the highest grossing film of 2003. I rest my case.

[David Rees]

Box office success does not equal quality,,,especially in Hong Kong.... Detective Dee made a lot more money than Reign of Assassins this year but im sure 95% would agree that Assassins is a much better movie.

BRUCE LEE AUTOGRAPH $4000!!

[DiP]

To a degree, I agree that box-office doesn't equal quality, especially compared to the old days. But it doesn't mean it's crap either. Box-office can shift between quality and crap every now and then, depending on which crowds are attracted. There's so many filmmakers and crews of different skill levels that can bring out movies and as well as many different preferences that it's basically up to each and the major crowd of the same preference to decide what's and what's not quality. It's complicated.

Twins Effect was supposed to be the highest grossing film of 2003. I rest my case.

Highest grossing HK film of that year was actually Running On Karma, followed closely by Lost In Time and the Infernal Affairs sequels. Not perfect movies but certainly top-quality productions which I'm sure many would agree with.

Box office success does not equal quality,,,especially in Hong Kong.... Detective Dee made a lot more money than Reign of Assassins this year but im sure 95% would agree that Assassins is a much better movie.

That's only an example which is far-fetched. There's more popular/box-office HK movies that are considered modern classics and top-notch productions than you think. Just look through the award section at LoveHKFilm.

http://www.lovehkfilm.com/features/awards_archive.htm

[dionbrother]

of course there will always be some good movies that are successful but as a rule of thumb mainstream popularity does not mean quality. Whether you're talking about movies, music or even television mainstream popularity is never usually a good sign. Of course if it was we wouldn't be talking about Hong Kong movies we would be discussing all the latest Hollywood blockbusters.

Twins Effect was supposed to be the highest grossing film of 2003. I rest my case.

I said HK box office did equal quality. In the 1980s, HK audiences would rather see a local film than the big American import. It was a significant phenomena noted by Variety's Derek Elley and Mel Tobias. This was no longer the case in the 1990s, and I honestly don't follow nor care what is doing well in the industry these days. Chinese cinema is duller than ever.

The ACES GO PLACES films, especially the first 3, are milestones of 1980s Hong Kong cinema. Whether you choose to watch them is your own decision. I don't care for PEKING OPERA BLUES, but I did watch it, once on video where it bored me, and a second time in a theater where it still didn't do much for me. But I don't regret giving it a shot, since many of the older fans consider it a great movie and it is important in HK cinema history. If you like action comedies, you should give the ACES a try.