Taegukgi HK dvd review

ReconFive · Post by **ReconFive** » 29 Dec 2004, 08:42

Well, i just got my HK Taegukgi DVD and since there does not seem to be a single review for it out there right now, i thought i would write a brief one for whoever was wondering about it. First and formost, the image quality is inferior to the Korean release in my opinion. There is far more grain preasent, and it lacks the crisp clear look of a 2004 big budget film (although its not terrible by any means). The sound however, is fantastic. It is just as powerful and high quality as you would expect from a DTS-ES 6.1 track, but in all honesty the Korean dvd's DD 5.1 is just a small notch behind it. Another negitive thing about this dvd is the subtitles, which have been mildly tampered with in some scenes. I realize most people probably would not be bothered by this as much as i, seeing as how i saw the film a few times on the Korean dvd before seeing this one, but i found some of the minor changes to be unessasary and annoying.
One more thing is that the dvd states that this is the "directors cut" and it is not. It is the same theatrical version as the Korean release, however the entire film is on a single disk, which is a big plus.

Overall, i don't think the DTS track is a worthy reason to upgrade if you already own the Korean version or are waiting for the region 1 release in
February.

[img]http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-12/ ... aq7154.jpg[/img]

[Edited on 29/12/2004 by ReconFive]

[Edited on 29/12/2004 by ReconFive]

SpiDER · Post by **SpiDER** » 29 Dec 2004, 08:48

Good review and thanks for making up my mind about upgrading!:D

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 29 Dec 2004, 13:25

No way I will upgrade until the real Directors cut comes out with all the extra footage, and that wont be for a while and that version is sure to have DTS when it comes in Korea (well you would think).

So I will just wait as DTS isnt exactly a worthwhile upgrade, guess we will have to see what the future brings, and its nice to see the HK dd isnt crappy.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 29 Dec 2004, 14:05

Putting it on 1 DVD with DTS is probably why it has a lesser quality.

Are the extras really English subtitled?

p.s - Welcome to the forum.

ReconFive · Post by **ReconFive** » 29 Dec 2004, 16:20

Well unfortunetly, the extras disc will not even play in my crappy new region free dvd player (JVC-N410B) which has given me lots of problems since i got it. However, the back of the box does say that it does infact have english subtitles on the extras. Who knows if it really does, as the HK dvd places tend to sometimes put anything they feel like on their dvd cases.

Hey spiDER, I notice that you have that Korean Better Tomorrow trilogy in your collection. Could you do me a favor and let me know how that is AV quality wise, because that set looks really cool and i've been thinking about picking it up. Thanks:)

PS-Thank you Bradavon, glad to be here.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 29 Dec 2004, 16:33

Korean Better Tomorrow is very nice on the whole for most people, I am picky and found a prob with the 1st films picture it doesnt flow well between shots for me and repeats frames, but 99% of others say its great stuff

sound is great too and the packaging is amazing and hey all 3 films are great I never regreted buying the amazing set.

and welcome to the site too

I think I have seen you post on other sites, well I remember the avatar anyway so it must be you?

(what films the pic from?)

ReconFive · Post by **ReconFive** » 29 Dec 2004, 16:55

lol, actually i stole that from a collage of images that someone had in their signature on some German forum. I made it into an avater myself though:D
I honestly have no idea what film its from, i just like it;)

Thanks for the feedback on the ABT set, i think i'll go ahead and pick that up over IVL's set.
*sighs* I've been spending way to much on other editions of movies i already own lately. But hey, DTS plus awesome Korean packaging.... what could possibly be wrong with that;)

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 29 Dec 2004, 17:07

The packagings is amazing, beyond anything you have seen before

and your Avatar I am gonna have to find out now, asian woman, 2 guns, mmm will have to find out, she doesnt look farmiliar thats for sure.

what did you mean by=

Another negitive thing about this dvd is the subtitles, which have been mildly tampered with in some scenes.

I am not sure I would notice unless it was a big difference, are names changed or something?

ReconFive · Post by **ReconFive** » 29 Dec 2004, 17:25

oh no, the subtitle changes are very minor. I probably should not have even included that in the review because its the kind of thing that only would bother me. For example, at the end of the scene where Jin-seok is talking to his brother's remains (one of my favorite scenes), insted of crying out his brothers name, Jin-Tae, he crys out "bro". There are many minor changes like that throughout the film. As i said this is not nessasaraly bad, i just think its annoying especially in a movie like this.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 29 Dec 2004, 18:06

Ahh thats not too bad then

at least it isnt full of mistakes and improper grammar mistakes.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 29 Dec 2004, 19:45

Thanks ReconFive.

I'm waiting for the Premier Asia release I'm in no rush. Assuming they use the DC (or even the TC) it's bound to wipe the floor with the HK and Korean DVDs IMO.

[Edited on 29-12-2004 by bradavon]

ReconFive · Post by **ReconFive** » 30 Dec 2004, 03:16

Anyone heard any feedback on the Japanese release of Teagukgi?

There seems to be a standard 2-disc special edition and a huge mega-ultra 5-disc edition in a big collectors box. Both are available on yesasia, but are outrageously expensive.

[img]http://members.lycos.co.uk/donttellanyo ... rhood1.jpg[/img]

[img]http://members.lycos.co.uk/donttellanyo ... rhood2.jpg[/img]

SpiDER · Post by **SpiDER** » 30 Dec 2004, 07:15

ABT DVD Korean set is absolutely awsome - it made me want to buy the Bruce Lee collection just for the packaging ... picture and sound wise no complaints!:D

ReconFive · Post by **ReconFive** » 31 Dec 2004, 06:22

Thanks romerojpg and spiDEr.
I will deffinetly be ordering that

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 03 Jan 2005, 01:28

[url=http://www.dvddebate.com/modules.php?na ... =0&thold=0]HK R3 vs JPN R2[/url] <--- Link!

[quote]
Taegukgi is a thoroughly enjoyable blockbuster created by the South Korean equivalent of Michael Bay, Je-gyu Kang, who has applied familiar techniques from Hollywood war dramas into his own production. The film is filled with violent combat scenes, gruesome specifiable effects, plenty of explosions and over the top melodrama – all the essential ingredients for a big budget extravaganza. Ideally, Taegukgi should be viewed on a large cinema screen, utilising the latest in surround sound technology. However taking home the DVD is just as good if you have the right set up – both discs contain outstanding DTS tracks, which I feel have raised the benchmark on audio quality.

As to which disc to go for, all signs point to the Hong Kong disc. It is cheaper, has a better range of English subtitled extras (although neither set has a wonderful array) and contains the superior audio track for those who can take advantage of 6.1 technology. Granted the subtitles are weaker (during certain scenes) but the errors are minor and will not have any effect on the enjoyment of the film.
[/quote]

[Edited on 3-1-2005 by BiscLimpkit]

ReconFive · Post by **ReconFive** » 03 Jan 2005, 02:13

Thanks for that link BiscLimpkit!

But the subtitles on the HK dvd DO effect the enjoyment of the film! (IMO)
But again that's probably just because i saw the Korean version the first time and loved it so much that i'm attached to the subtitle track down to the letter.

Another thing to note is that i think the picture is much better looking on my all-region bootleg of the Korean dvd then the HK disc.

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 03 Jan 2005, 10:52

[quote][i]Originally posted by ReconFive[/i]
Thanks for that link BiscLimpkit!

But the subtitles on the HK dvd DO effect the enjoyment of the film! (IMO)
But again that's probably just because i saw the Korean version the first time and loved it so much that i'm attached to the subtitle track down to the letter.

Another thing to note is that i think the picture is much better looking on my all-region bootleg of the Korean dvd then the HK disc. [/quote]

Thanks for your comments.

Aye the HK transfer does suffer (so does the J-DVD)... namely with grain. I'd like to see the Korean DVD. I'm hoping to analyise the R1 disc once it's released.

The HK subs are quite strange at times (as illustrated by my screen grab). I watched the HK disc first so I wasn't aware of any 'changes.' However if I watched the Japanese disc first, I'm sure like you, the subs on the HK disc would've been kinda irritating.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 03 Jan 2005, 11:10

I'll wait for the PA DVD Bisc, it may have the best transfer, plus a DTS track at least, and English subtitled extras (more extensive than the ones on the Korean or JP discs), and be cheaper

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 03 Jan 2005, 12:02

Oh yeah, totally forgot about the PA release.

Should be a good one hopefully.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 03 Jan 2005, 12:40

and the R1 release in a few weeks

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 03 Jan 2005, 14:39

I've read the R1 is cut by about 10 minutes though, can anyone confirm this? I think I read it on DVD Debate somewhere.
Bisc did you hear this?

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 03 Jan 2005, 15:30

I don't know anything about that, sorry.

The R1 is missing DTS... if the PA release has DTS and a good range of extras, then I'll get that.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 03 Jan 2005, 17:36

The R1 looks like a corker:

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=55675

2 Disc SE lovely. Decisions decisions do I get this or wait for the Premier Asia release which is bound to have DTS, a Bey Logan commentary on top of the extras listed above.

I think I'll wait to see what Premier Asia have up their sleeves. It's bound to beat this when it comes sometime this year.

ReconFive · Post by **ReconFive** » 03 Jan 2005, 17:36

Yeah i probably will end up getting the PA as well... although i wish it was NTSC

I'm alittle confused on why it seems that the transfer can't be really good on this film unless its divided onto two discs like the korean dvd. The movie is no longer then any other film of its type on average, and i just don't really understand why having it on a nice duel layer disc with DTS and a crisp transfer seems to be so difficult right now.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 03 Jan 2005, 17:49

It's 150 mins long right? That and DTS is a bit of a push. Gangs of New York did this and I hear the picture suffered (I have no issue with it).

Besides what do you mean inferior transfer? the HK and Japanese DVDs look sweet to me.

p.s- Recon get the R1 then.