Holy Sh*t Play have killed off HKL's website! ;-)

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 16 Aug 2005, 18:09

What films are in it?

I know what you mean Mark, what about releasing A Chinese Ghost Story II and stuff they were meant to release in 2003 (!) instead of chuffing Jet Li boxsets

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 16 Aug 2005, 18:10

Once a Thief, The Killer, Bullet in the head.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 16 Aug 2005, 19:44

Tom2681 wrote:Once a Thief, The Killer, Bullet in the head.

This is just getting pathetic... How many times can HKL fill up their schedules with recycled product?? I see from PLAY that Hand of Death has been shunted back to December. What else is going walkabouts to make room for lame ass releases??

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 17 Aug 2005, 08:48

If people havent bought any of those yet though that set is good value, especially as BITH was a PE.

I do see your point though, we need more new stuffs!

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 17 Aug 2005, 09:07

If people havent bought any of those yet though that set is good value

Bullet in the Head HKL = Picture way too dark.
Once a Thief HKL = Too grainy.
The Killer HKL = Downright blurry.

I wouldn't buy that boxset even if it was free.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 17 Aug 2005, 09:29

I thought The Killer was fine.

Didnt you buy any of them?
We dont all have 99" screens Mr Moneybags

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 17 Aug 2005, 09:41

BITH: IVL.
OAT: IVL.
TK: HK Vidéo (for the absence of grain removal filters).

We dont all have 99" screens Mr Moneybags

99" is worth every penny, mate.

You just need to stop buying clothes, food and furniture for 2 years or so (that's what I did).

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 17 Aug 2005, 09:48

I'll look at The Killer HK Vidéo shortly (I have the SE with the Taiwanese cut). I havent watched the TC though as I probably dont speak French well enough

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 17 Aug 2005, 17:45

I remember a cap comparison between the HKL and IVL editions of Bullet in the Head posted at the old Bullets and there was no clear cut winner. Yes, the HKL was too dark, BUT, it had better colours and a smoother image than the IVL. Some of the caps made the HKL look superior and vice-versa, but by and large I would go with the HKL. The extras, though not great, are merely icing on the cake.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 18 Aug 2005, 12:00

£14.99 for three HKL DVDs? That's good in my opinion. I think all these DVDs have their good and bad sides. The grainy picture of the "Once a Thief"-DVD is really disturbing at times, but the DVD also features an exclusive John Woo interview which is really cool.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 18 Aug 2005, 12:38

From the 18 August 2005 update:

Welcome to the latest HKL News Update

Heart of the Dragon and Dragon Lord; both starring action-icon Jackie Chan are yours to own for only £10.00.

This special offer is only valid for one week and the offer expires 25th August. Make sure you don't miss out!!

For more details on these and many more offers, please check out our website at www.hongkonglegends.co.uk

As ever, if you have any feedback simply e-mail us at feedback@hongkonglegends.co.uk; it is great hearing from you.

Brian White
Club Editor

LATEST NEWS
Coming Soon From HKL and Premier Asia

Check out our fantastic line-up of releases on DVD and in cinemas during the next few months. Make sure you visit the news section of the HKL website for regular updates!

On DVD

Knockabout: Special Collector’s Edition
Fist of Fury: Platinum Edition
Wheels on Meals: Platinum Edition
Seoul Raiders: Special Collector’s Edition
Hand of Death: Special Collector’s Edition
King of Beggars: Special Collector’s Edition

In Cinemas

Crying Fist
Seven Swords
Tom Yum Goong
New Police Story

Jackie Chan and Jet Li to work together at last?

In an interview with the Mainland Chinese newspaper Nanfang Daily, producer Zhang Weiping (Zhang Yimou’s partner) revealed that they were still working on the script for their much-anticipated movie project with action-icon, Jackie Chan. Weiping further fuelled the excitement by suggesting that they were also developing the concept to include ‘Hero’ star, Jet Li. Fans have been eagerly awaiting a project of this kind for many years, and both Chan and Li have declared their interest in working together.

Should the project move ahead, it will be the fourth in a series of martial arts adventures from iconic director, Zhang Yimou. His third, starring Chow Yun-fat and Gong Li, is scheduled to begin shooting during February next year.

When is New Police Story on DVD?

I never knew HKL had King of Beggars

What about their releases of A Chinese Ghost Story 2 etc...?
I loved the first one, how is the sequel?

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 18 Aug 2005, 13:35

Nice to see KING OF BEGGARS added to their schedule. Especially since IVL have doubled it up with the less good LEGEND OF THE DRAGON.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 20 Aug 2005, 07:00

Jeez this thread really is a HKL banter, chin wag, gossip thread.

It gets more updates than all the other threads put together with people gossiping mostly

Markgway wrote:How about some info on - WAIT FOIR IT!!! - upcoming HKL releases.

Do you read the newsletters? As that's what they contain. Maybe I get a different one to you.

grim_tales wrote:I agree Mark, though its nice they give us background info about movies they *may* get the rights to (you never know).

So far it's been news of films they do have the rights to.

grim_tales wrote: The problem was I already knew that 7 Swords info from when Tom posted it the other day.

LOL yep blame HKL for that

gasteropod wrote:There you go dude, sorry about the size - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/ ... assins.jpg

That's much nicer than the original cover art which was really messy.

Is Yes Madam any good? I hear not. I have Fox's Royal Warriors, lovely DVD.

gasteropod wrote:Well I watched Police Assassins and it seems to be that not only does mine have a new cover, but the encoding has been sorted out too! They first released this at the time when all their DVDs had poor encoding, with loads of artefacts especially visible on night time shots (think the ship scene on Purple Storm), but my DVD of it has no encoding problems at all!

I find that very hard to believe (HKL re-releasing the DVD). You may want to rent the old version to double check.

I remember reading at the time PA getting woeful reviews for PQ. One of their worst.

Markgway wrote:This is just getting pathetic... How many times can HKL fill up their schedules with recycled product?? I see from PLAY that Hand of Death has been shunted back to December. What else is going walkabouts to make room for lame ass releases??

I don't see your point. You'd think re-releasing box sets is an uncommon practice.

It costs virtually nothing to make these and lets face it people like box sets. It's not holding up new titles coming out. Why do they bother you so much?

grim_tales wrote:I thought The Killer was fine. Didnt you buy any of them?

Shush Tom is a bit like Romero, TO DAMN FUSSY

The Killer has very good subs and BITH is fantastic, much better than the IVL from all the screen shots I've seen. Way to dark my ass, check your TV

. It's a gorgeous DVD, one of HKLs best.

Tom2681 wrote:BITH: IVL.

You must own TK IVL then, right?

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 20 Aug 2005, 11:16

bradavon wrote:Do you read the newsletters? As that's what they contain. Maybe I get a different one to you.

You must do then... because all I get is stuff about HK cinema releases. I want to know about Wheels on Meals not Initial D, thanks! When it comes time for HKL to announce an Intial D DVD then fine, go for it. Until then, I don't care...

Is Yes Madam any good? I hear not. I have Fox's Royal Warriors, lovely DVD.

It's OK, not as good as Royal Warriors.

I don't see your point. You'd think re-releasing box sets is an uncommon practice.

Not "uncommon" but HKL take it too far for a small company. What's not to see about my point???

It costs virtually nothing to make these and lets face it people like box sets.

Not people who have the films already. Which, let's face it, is most of us.

It's not holding up new titles coming out.

Yes it is. Wheels on Meals, Fist of Fury, Hand of Death have all been put back by MONTHS!!!

Why do they bother you so much?

See above.

BITH is fantastic, much better than the IVL from all the screen shots I've seen. Way to dark my ass, check your TV

It's dark COMPARED to the IVL, but looks fine on TV, I agree.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 20 Aug 2005, 16:28

Markgway wrote:Not people who have the films already. Which, let's face it, is most of us.

Of a population of around 110 million sorry you must be right

, that being the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand where they're officially sold.

It's dark COMPARED to the IVL, but looks fine on TV, I agree.

Surely which is all that matters. I've lost count of the amounts I've seen a bad screen capture comparison only to find a real world test shows something very different.

I still look at them but now also double dip knowing I may end up keeping only one version. It's only £1.50 to send DVDs back to CD WOW (cheaper than renting).

gasteropod · Post by **gasteropod** » 20 Aug 2005, 19:13

bradavon wrote: I find that very hard to believe (HKL re-releasing the DVD). You may want to rent the old version to double check.

But think about it - DVDs are released in batches. HKL have clearly now got a better encoder than they used to have, because on all their early releases - they had great remastered picture quality, but pretty awful encoding really. So now, when it's time for a new batch of one of their early releases, maybe they just make the DVD with the new encoder.

One thing I can tell you is: My DVD of Police Assassins has great encoding, and I am well aware of the artefacts on all their other early DVDs, like I mentioned with Purple Storm, and City Hunter is another one I remember annoying me for it. The worst offender was possibly Encounters of the Spooky Kind on the first scene. I watch my films in the dark, on a 28 inch widescreen, with a decent Pioneer player - so I'd easily see if there were encoding problems, trust me!

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 20 Aug 2005, 19:51

That would cost money instead of just copying the from the master DVD.

Sure I see your point it's just I find it hard to believe the same version of a DVD can be wildly different but then again I've not seen it so who knows.

Fair enough anyway. I'm not really equipped with the right knowledge to say.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 20 Aug 2005, 21:01

bradavon wrote:Of a population of around 110 million sorry you must be right , that being the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand where they're officially sold.

And of those 110 million I'm sure most of the people who want the films - a tiny, tiny fraction - would have bought them already.

Killer Meteor · Post by **Killer Meteor** » 20 Aug 2005, 21:50

I recently bought Armour Of God, Tai Chi Boxer and City Hunter and they are now Contendor disc with fortune Star logos - still same old Menus, Media Asia prints etc - but now with new distributor logos and lousy new boxes

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 20 Aug 2005, 22:19

Markgway wrote:
It's not holding up new titles coming out.
Yes it is. Wheels on Meals, Fist of Fury, Hand of Death have all been put back by MONTHS!!!

They have been pushed back, that's true. But that's not due to the box sets they are releasing. It's just they couldn't finish the DVDs in time, so they sometimes have to fill the gaps with other stuff. Like "Outlaw Brothers" which came out of nowhere.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 20 Aug 2005, 22:23

What the cover art is different? Oh wait you mean they no longer use amarays, what do they use now?

I wonder why the Fortune Star logo is being used when the prints are from Media Asia, weird.

Yes it is. Wheels on Meals, Fist of Fury, Hand of Death have all been put back by MONTHS!!!

Actually it's titles like Initial D and New Police Story NOT this box set holding them up

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 21 Aug 2005, 00:50

Regarding the soon to be releaed Brotherhood

I know Grim has already posted this in either this or the Eastern Eye thread but it's nice to have it confirmed (well 90% confirmed):

IMDB list the the film:

Director's Cut: 148
Theatrical Cut: 140

Going by what the BBFC says:

Film (AKA - Cinema) - 147m 54s
Video (AKA - DVD with PAL speedup) - 142m 8s

Seeing as the cinema print looks to have been the DC then considering PAL speedup it looks likely to be the same version.

In fact I can confirm it is if you take 4% (PAL speedup) from 148 you're left with 142.

Yipeey!

p.s - Remember Madman are also releasing this version but there's has no commentary and the gorgeous presentation of Premier Asia DVDs! 8)

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 21 Aug 2005, 02:44

bradavon wrote:Regarding the soon to be releaed Brotherhood

Seeing as the cinema print looks to have been the DC then considering PAL speedup it looks likely to be the same version.

p.s - Remember Madman are also releasing this version but there's has no commentary and the gorgeous presentation of Premier Asia DVDs! 8)

Just realised you're talking about Tae-gu-ki, that's cool news

Ivan Drago wrote:but now with new distributor logos and lousy new boxes

My recent buy of City on Fire HKL was in a black opaque amaray, while all the older HKLs I have were in clear transparent amarays. Is that what you mean by "lousy new boxes"?

memetic · Post by **memetic** » 21 Aug 2005, 04:54

bradavon wrote:...and the gorgeous presentation of Premier Asia DVDs! 8)

From the PA DVDs I've seen... their cover art is usually good, but with standard packaging and menus which are pretty average really. They seem good but not great.

Killer Meteor · Post by **Killer Meteor** » 21 Aug 2005, 12:53

The type of boxes I'm referring to are not Amaray. They have an awkward centre and the discs often look a tad frayed on the underside. Bring back Amaray, I say!