Asian Movies in HD!

[Markgway]

Except for The Big Boss and Fist of Fury (possibly), are any of the HK Blu-rays worthy upgrades?

The China Star catalogue is genuine HD so any of those titles would likely be a worthy upgrade.

[gasteropod]

A Bittersweet Life (BD):

Maybe I should wait for a UK disc of this..?

http://www.asianblurayguide.com/detail/ ... ife_korea/

Korean Blu-rays are so expensive, I find.

[grim_tales]

I'll wait for a UK one then.
I've only seen the TC of A Bittersweet Life.

[bradavon]

A Bittersweet Life (BD): Maybe I should wait for a UK disc of this..?

I don't even look at Korean Blu-rays. They're all far too expensive.

http://www.asianblurayguide.com/

Thanks. I'd completely forgot about that site.

The China Star catalogue is genuine HD so any of those titles would likely be a worthy upgrade.

Can you give me a few examples please?

p.s - How does Police Story 3 fair? Is it DNRed to hell like Parts 1 and 2? Given how unpopular it is, I can find very little on it.

[bradavon]

This is worth a look at:

http://forum.blu-ray.com/asia/176086-hk ... ost4900777

It's good to see My Father is a Hero is a decent disc, as is City on Fire. Both are £13 delivered to The UK from DDDHouse, not a bad price for HK BDs.

[Markgway]

It's good to see My Father is a Hero is a decent disc, as is City on Fire.

MFISAH is China Star so should be alright.

COF isn't, so purchase with caution. There's still some argument over some of these titles. Take that list with a pinch of salt... Why COF would be proper HD when none of the other previously remastered (by Fortune Star) titles are is unclear.

Also the non-CS titles all have shitty 7.1 remixes.

[bradavon]

MFISAH is China Star so should be alright.

Which other ones are? Googling China Star comes up with everything except blu-rays. Both City on Fire and My Father is a Hero are listed as Kam & Ronson here:

http://www.asianblurayguide.com/studio/ ... %3B+Ronson

COF isn't, so purchase with caution. There's still some argument over some of these titles. Take that list with a pinch of salt... Why COF would be proper HD when none of the other previously remastered (by Fortune Star) titles are is unclear.

There seems to me more praise than not for it. Are you sure there? I mean, plenty of people seem to get "rough/grain heavy" blu-ray mixed up with upscale. Admittedly given the price, neither are acceptable but at least the former is more so.

e.g. I'm sure I read Fist of Fury was an upscale whereas Salty has it and says it's definitely HD, rough HD.

Also the non-CS titles all have shitty 7.1 remixes.

HKL style remix or in-your-face style remix?

The former I find acceptable, the later not. Thanks

[Markgway]

Which other ones are? Googling China Star comes up with everything except blu-rays. Both City on Fire and My Father is a Hero are listed as Kam & Ronson here:

I can't find a complete list for you... but if you post which titles you're interested in I'll try to ID them for you.

There seems to me more praise than not for it. Are you sure there? I mean, plenty of people seem to get "rough/grain heavy" blu-ray mixed up with upscale. Admittedly given the price, neither are acceptable but at least the former is more so.

I'm not saying COF definitely isn't HD, I haven't seen it myself, just that it seems odd that the majority aren't, so why would COF alone be? But if the review says it's proper HD, then maybe that's the truth. All I'm saying is that evidence reveals that most aren't... so be careful with that distributor.

I'm sure I read Fist of Fury was an upscale whereas Salty has it and says it's definitely HD, rough HD.

The Bruce Lee titles are genuine HD (of varying quality). You can see the HD detail in the caps. Upscales don't reveal any additional detail.

The former I find acceptable, the later not. Thanks

Shitty, in-your-face type. HKL remixes are much easier on the ears than these hack jobs.

[bradavon]

I can't find a complete list for you... but if you post which titles you're interested in I'll try to ID them for you.

Thanks. Are the Bruce Lee titles China Star? It seems you could count in 1-2 hands the Hong Kong BDs worth getting, this is especially annoying as they're pricey.

I'm not saying COF definitely isn't HD, I haven't seen it myself, just that it seems odd that the majority aren't, so why would COF alone be? But if the review says it's proper HD, then maybe that's the truth.

I cannot find reviews for COF or MFIAH just forum chatter saying they're good or at least not upscales.

Shitty, in-your-face type. HKL remixes are much easier on the ears than these hack jobs.

Thanks. That is indeed concerning. Decent HD is pointless if the audio is so fucking in your face your ears bleed.

[Markgway]

Thanks. Are the Bruce Lee titles China Star?

No, but those are proper HD. Only The Big Boss looks great, the rest average.

It seems you could count in 1-2 hands the Hong Kong BDs worth getting, this is especially annoying as they're pricey.

Black Mask is worth getting.

I cannot find reviews for COF or MFIAH just forum chatter saying they're good or at least not upscales.

Like I said they may well be real HD. Just seems odd that only certain FS titles are. I've heard good things too about Tiger on the Beat.

Thanks. That is indeed concerning. Decent HD is pointless if the audio is so fucking in your face your ears bleed.

True. The best hope is that someone outside of Asia does these films justice.

[HungFist]

I hope there'll be A Better Tomorrow box set at some point.

Here you you, A Better Tomorow Box Crap
http://www.dddhouse.com/v3/product_deta ... ctID=12211

[grim_tales]

Why is it crap? I was thinking it may be worth upgrading the IVL DVD set.

[HungFist]

Why is it crap?

Why wouldn't it be?

[grim_tales]

How do you know if you havent seen it?

[HungFist]

I don't, and I won't, seeing it's remix only. Just a few posts above Mark described their remixes as total crap in case you didn't notice.

As for transfers we have the never ending argument whether most of them are upscales or genuine HD transfer that look like upscales

And my god, is that artwork horrible or what? Even my dog would lose his hope in humanity if he saw that cover...

[Markgway]

Assume the worst, hope for the best.

[grim_tales]

I agree that cover is bad, at least the IVL DVD art approached something cool.
Can't remember if the IVL had original soundtracks or not? I still remember the infamous Anchor Bay 5.1 DVD with the horribly altered music.
I hope they fix the subtitles too.
Maybe Cine Asia could pick these up, who has the UK rights?

[Markgway]

Can't remember if the IVL had original soundtracks or not?

They did.

Maybe Cine Asia could pick these up, who has the UK rights?

TTBOMK....

Part 1 - Optimum
Part 2 - HKL (Cine Asia)
Part 3 - HKL (Cine Asia)

[grim_tales]

Thanks Mark
A UK box set looks out of the question then I would say.
Did HKL ever release A Better Tomorrow III? The version in the IVL set was a curio as it was a longer version (but not the Taiwanese version) and in Cantonese.

[Markgway]

Did HKL ever release A Better Tomorrow III?

I don't think so, though the extended version was passed by the BBFC for Medusa (HKL) in 2005.

The version in the IVL set was a curio as it was a longer version (but not the Taiwanese version) and in Cantonese.

Longest Cantonese version available it would seem.

[grim_tales]

Perhaps that was some kind of DC

[Markgway]

Perhaps that was some kind of DC

I've no idea really. Funnily enough I've seen the film 2 or 3 times and the version I enjoyed the most was the theatrical cut - but then that was also the first time I saw the film so that's a likely factor too. I'd need to rewatch the added scenes to see what difference they make - good or bad. Always a shame not to get the 'original' option. I mean, you get used to watching a film over many years, then some bright spark decides to make it obsolete, and force upon us a new version. Warners... Enter the Dragon... I'm looking at you!

[grim_tales]

The first version of ABT III I saw was the MIHK VHS (theatrical version I guess) with Anita Mui's song over the credits.
As for the TC of Enter The Dragon, I've never seen it (not sure)

[Markgway]

The first version of ABT III I saw was the MIHK VHS (theatrical version I guess) with Anita Mui's song over the credits.

Every version I've seen has that terrific Anita Mui theme song.

As for the TC of Enter The Dragon, I've never seen it (not sure)

If you saw the film before 1998 you have.

[bradavon]

Part 1 - Optimum
Part 2 - HKL (Cine Asia)
Part 3 - HKL (Cine Asia)

Were ABT2 and ABT3 ever released though? If not, don't expect Cine-asia to release them. Remember all Cine-asia is doing is re-releasing discs HKL have already made.

Is Black Mask any good? It looks rather silly, hence I've never bothered with it.