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| DVD Released by : Long Shong International |
| Player reviewed with : Malata 520 |
| Features: |
| Mandarin Dolby Digital Soundtrack |
| Menu |
| English and Chinese Subtitles |
| Running Time : 135 min. |
| All Region |
The picture quality is surprisingly good. Although non-anamorphic, the picture though slightly cropped on the left side really holds up well on the 47 inch screen. The film print used has some minor damage but for the most part is no different than many of the early import DVD's. The frame does seem to shift up and down once in a while when scenes changes but this isn't often and it doesn't distract. Knowing that the source materials used are usually in bad condition, I was pleasantly surprised by the picture quality.
The soundtrack is also well done. It was strange getting used to the Mandarin soundtrack after always hearing the Cantonese one on the other versions. It is in Dolby Digital 2.0.
The subtitles are burned into the film print. The translation is slightly different at times that the other versions. This does give a slightly different feel to some scenes. I didn't notice any spelling or grammatical errors.
There are definitely differences in the Taiwanese print from the one we all have seen before. Since I wanted to be thorough, I actually played the Taiwanese cut once all the way through and then along side the Criterion DVD so I could really spot any differences.
During the teahouse scene, there are a couple of extra seconds. Some shots are just a little bit longer. It's edited almost exactly the same as the Criterion version. The two versions match just about identically up until the raid in the garage. Again, a few extra seconds here and there. There is a shot in both versions that features an ambulance from the hospital. The Taiwanese version shows subtitles while the other versions don't. This gives a little foreshadowing that isn't obvious to those who don't read Cantonese in the other versions.
Right after the garage raid, there is color bars and then a black screen for about 5 minutes from 52:41 to 57:48 on the counter. This is due to two different sources being used by the manufacturer. The movie again picks up and is just about identical to the Criterion up until the climax in the hospital. There are some scene in a slightly different order. For the most part,it's the intercutting of the SWAT teams doing there thing with the scenes with the main characters.
One noticeable change is a little added voice over from Johnny when Tequila and Tony are trapped in weapons storage area of the hospital. He refers to the gas that is released and says they will die in ten minutes. It may have been one of the commentaries either on the Criterion or Winstar DVD's where Woo mentions that this was the original idea but it was thought to be a little out of context because there really wouldn't really be a reason why a hospital would be built that would have an area where poison gas is released on queue. I think he said it could be freon or something for refrigeration. Again, a few seconds are picked here and there with some slightly different editing.
All in all, much like the Taiwanese print of THE KILLER, most may not see a difference. This is only recommended for die hard fans.
Reviewed 4/5/04 by Matt
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