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

[bradavon]

That is a real shame. It could be a glitch:

A: You can still buy HKL DVDs, none except for WOTD: PE are OOP AFAIK.
B: They're still releasing new Premier Asia titles. Shutter is coming from soon: http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/shutter3.html

C: The PA website is still up: http://www.premierasia.co.uk/

Hopefully it will be back up soon and new HKL releases will come. They were up until recently releasing HKL titles, even if they were very lacklustre.

but they never listened to peoples' complaints about the quality of the discs, so ultimately I think they have shut down because they're not selling enough...

That isn't the reason. The complaints were always in the minority, they did listen (Mono) and back in the day they were huge (despite the complaints).

Before anyone lists a massive of list HKL DVD faults I don't mean all complaints were listen to.

[Markgway]

Contender just weren't interested in Hong Kong Legends.

It came with the Medusa deal and they let it die a slow death.

[Killer Meteor]

Since Brian White and Bey Logan left, the label was on borrowed time. Which is a shame. They could at least had let it continue as the distributor of the FS back catalogue in a bare bones form. All the flawed HKLs, Joy Sales and so on has taught us how a Platinium Edition is worthless when they can't get the audio of the film right

[bradavon]

Aren't all the HKL releases with Mono fine? Except for TBB which has the wrong language on the Mono track.

Since Brian White and Bey Logan left, the label was on borrowed time.

True

Contender just weren't interested in Hong Kong Legends. It came with the Medusa deal and they let it die a slow death.

True.

They do seem to be still interested in Premier Asia, even though that one will probably die soon too. Premier Asia was never a big label but now it's barely existing. Obviously HKL was always more important. Tartan, Artificial Eye and the like are already releasing many titles Premier Asia may pick up.

I hope Dragon Dynasty do ironically start releasing in the UK. There is no a gaping hole in the market.

[Killer Meteor]

Aren't all the HKL releases with Mono fine? Except for TBB which has the wrong language on the Mono track.


I hope Dragon Dynasty do ironically start releasing in the UK. There is no a gaping hole in the market.

Well in a sense yes, but some of the supposed mono tracks were actually the horrid remixes downmixed to 2.0. And Shaolin Wooden Men was another Mandarin film HKL released in Cantonese only

Real mess really

DD has started releasing titles in Australia - except those HKL have - so I assume UK releases may becoming shortly. Not heard anything definitive

[bradavon]

Thanks. I'm not so interested in Aussie DD's due to the high Aussie price but UK DVDs with sale prices would be good.

The trouble is a lot of the DD titles are already owned by UK and Aussie companies.

[Killer Meteor]

Last time I was in HMV, the martial arts section was one small shelf. I remember in 2003 an entire wall was taken up with martial arts titles. Sad

Given the prescence of HKL and Premier Asia, it's really only the Shaws that DD could hold onto for UK distribution, plus some modern flicks

[bradavon]

I wonder if DD could buy up all the titles Contendor still own the rights to but aren't now going to release. That would really be strange.

Last time I was in HMV, the martial arts section was one small shelf. I remember in 2003 an entire wall was taken up with martial arts titles. Sad.

Me too. They're now chucked in with the rest of the non-English language films.

[chenlung]

Site's now back up.

Playing tricks on us :mrgreen: !

[bradavon]

Pity it still has naff all new on there.

Bar their crazy Sales they're all but dead to me, and then each time their sales become less important when they've not got any new titles to get crazy about in the first place.

Even 3 of their 5 latest releases on the left are Premier Asia releases. That New Police Story bit has been there for months!

What's the link for their forum? I cannot find it on the site.

[bradavon]

Sony are releasing Drunken Master in January:

http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/ ... aster.html

I'm pleased Contender have lost the rights or sold them on as it's clear they're never going to release their Platinum Edition now.

Fingers crossed Sony have sourced a corrected Cantonese soundtrack but I suspect it will be the same as the R1, which is still much better than the whole film being in the wrong language.

[chenlung]

Wonder about SITES too.

Sony should have gotten better extras and stuff, cheap asses, but no, they stuck with a commentary from these 'experts'. Such a waste of plastic and paper (think of the environment). Not a fan of the artwork either - especially the type made by someone handed the keyword 'Shaolin'.

[Markgway]

The BBFC have reduced this to a '12' and rightly so.

No Sony submission for SNAKE.

[chenlung]

The BBFC have reduced this to a '12' and rightly so.

I've always wondered about that (today namely), but low-and-behold! I reckon it could have received a tightly-earned PG (with good ways of going about it). What do you think?

I don't think SITES could get a 15, because cruel kill methods such as strangling and bloody strikes (not to mention animal cruelty - even if censored) hold it back. It's not a comedy (people getting thrashed around) either.

[Killer Meteor]

SITES is so mild, I showed it to my five year old cousin and nobody raised an eyebrow. Dragon Lord too is not worth an 18

Always felt weird when the BBFC reduced The Wicker Man and The Terminator to 15 for their dvd releases

[grim_tales]

The BBFC say the main spoken language for the film is Mandarin?
I hope the MIHK dub is included.
A 12 for DM is about right IMO

[Markgway]

Can't see the BBFC giving a film in which a guy gets drunk to produce great Kung Fu a 'PG'. No strong violence, but moderate enough for a '12'. I'd say SITES is marginally more brutal and worthy of a '15' (with additional cruelty cuts). Dragon Lord is worth no more than a '12'. I don't know what film the censors were watching??

[thelostdragon]

SITES is so mild, I showed it to my five year old cousin and nobody raised an eyebrow. Dragon Lord too is not worth an 18.

Yeah, the ratings for these films are rudiculous. I watched them as a young kid and so do my siblings and cousins as well. Jackie even targets these films at young childs.

[chenlung]

Yeah, the ratings for these films are rudiculous. I watched them as a young kid and so do my siblings and cousins as well. Jackie even targets these films at young childs.

Me too. Twin Dragons in the early 90s got a fair PG (considering some of the mild violence/sex and swearing), but a rather toned down Dimension version in the late 90s, got a 12...

The 'Armour Of God' shoot-out, including where the photographer gets shot in the eye is Jackie's candy for the kids .

Can't see the BBFC giving a film in which a guy gets drunk to produce great Kung Fu a 'PG'.

Good point, I forgot to consider that . I could never see it as a PG either, but I raised it none-the-less. 12A is a bit of an odd rating, and I don't think it should have ever been introduced.

Dragon Lord is worth no more than a '12'.

Surprised it didn't get an E (excempt), thought it was all over the place and stupid. I reckon it got an 18 because of the beating Chan Wai Man took, and some of Hwang's attacks on JC. But that was too extreme. I'd give it a 12 too, I'd understand a 15, but certainly not an 18.

The BBFC say the main spoken language for the film is Mandarin?

I don't imagine it'll be any different from the PAL DVD, in Australia. It had boosted video levels compared to the US disc, seemingly.

[bradavon]

Sony should have gotten better extras and stuff, cheap asses, but no, they stuck with a commentary from these 'experts'.

To be fair the RRP is low meaning it will be cheap from the offset. Sony probably didn't want to spend any more money on it other than converting it to PAL. It won't sell millions of copies.

It's not a comedy (people getting thrashed around) either.

Drunken Master is "supposed" to be a comedy? You're joking right? They failed dismally.

Always felt weird when the BBFC reduced The Wicker Man and The Terminator to 15 for their dvd releases

There's nothing in those to warrant an 18, especially The Wicker Man.

The BBFC say the main spoken language for the film is Mandarin?

They've got Chinese languages mixed up before I wouldn't pay too much attention to it.

I hope the MIHK dub is included.

Is there any point saying that? Do you honestly expect Sony are "suddenly" going to include it now? . Especially when the R1 already has a dub of it's own.

This is a copy of the R1 bar being converted to PAL, the end. I'd even be surprised if they've fixed the Cantonese track.

I don't imagine it'll be any different from the PAL DVD, in Australia. It had boosted video levels compared to the US disc, seemingly.

Good point. I bet that Aussie DVD is also Region 2.

[chenlung]

To be fair the RRP is low meaning it will be cheap from the offset.

It's barebones effectively - the price it should be. Not securing a complete Cantonese soundtrack (despite sources existing - possibly a different deal, unless quietly 'borrowed') I could maybe excuse, but the fact that a company worth a fortune couldn't spare a few $100 to commission a new set of subtitles, is unforgivable.

Sony probably didn't want to spend any more money on it other than converting it to PAL.

It was telecined in HD, actually.

Drunken Master is "supposed" to be a comedy?

I said SITES isn't a comedy .

You're joking right? They failed dismally.

Since you've brought it up, DM is loved by everyone (comedy is pretty good compared to other trash around - one of the few Yuen Woo Ping 'comedies' I like). So OK, maybe it didn't appeal to you.

There's nothing in those to warrant an 18, especially The Wicker Man.

I believe there is enough to warrant an 18 'Terminator'. Ripping out someone's heart, lots of other violence. I was surprised at the downgrade too, but I believe it was after the older 'scared of everything' BBFC guy left , things changed (nunchaku restored etc). Some things like downgrading this violent feature, still remain odd to me.

[bradavon]

It was telecined in HD, actually.

Over the USA and Aussie DVDs?

Some things like downgrading this violent feature, still remain odd to me.

I'm sure we'd all prefer it this way than how the BBFC used to be. On the whole they're very good IMO nowadays.

[chenlung]

Over the USA and Aussie DVDs?

US release states it was derived from an HD master. Korean Disc would be included too, I'm sure.

I'm sure we'd all prefer it this way than how the BBFC used to be. On the whole they're very good IMO nowadays.

Agreed.

[grim_tales]

I didnt realise Sony had it (DM) in the UK as well.

[bradavon]

Neither did anyone else until I posted it