| DVD Released by : 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment/Fortune Star | ||
| Player reviewed with : Malata 520 | ||
| Receiver reviewed with : Sony 925 | ||
| Features: | ||
| Cantonese and English Soundtracks | ||
| English and Chinese Subtitles | ||
| Enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs | ||
| Running Time : 97 mins. | ||
| Region 1 | ||
Lam Ching Ying is Master Ko, a priest who with his two assistants oversees the dead and makes sure they don't become vampires. When asked for his assistance in the reburial of a rich man's father, the body is removed from the grave only to find that it hasn't aged in 20 years. Master Ko brings the coffin back to his morgue where magic ink is used to seal the coffin shut. Because the assistants neglected to put ink on the bottom of the coffin, the dead man, who is a vampire, breaks free and causes havoc. Master Ko must stop this evil but it is no easy task, as he must also tend to his one assistant who has been possessed by a beautiful ghost and the other who may become a vampire.
MR. VAMPIRE has spawned several sequels and has set the standard for the horror/vampire genre. MR. VAMPIRE starts off slow but the pace picks up as the movie progresses. While there is some action, it's not the emphasis in this movie. There are some chills but there is also some slapstick comedy to alleviate the tension that is built up.
Vampires in Hong Kong movies are much different than the Hollywood kind. These vampires hop to move around and they dig their long fingernails into their victims. Of course, they bight too! They also can't find you if you hold your breath. To stop them, a paper with a prayer on it slapped on their foreheads do the trick until they can be killed properly by a wooden sword and burning.
This MR. VAMPIRE DVD is probably the best presentation Region 1 will ever have. Fox/Fortune Star has listened to the fans and have included the mono soundtrack. Like the other DVD's in this series, there are very few extras. That doesn't bother me at all. It's great to see these movies getting a decent release in Region 1. I haven't seen the Hong Kong Legends DVD of this title so I can't compare the two. For those in Region 1 without region free players, this Fox DVD will do just fine.
The image quality is very good. While there is some grain, it isn't very noticeable. This print that is used is in very good shape. The print is colorful and is very clean with the exception of on scene where there is some very minor imperfections. The transfer itself is also good. The detail, like the other Fox releases is very good. There is no digital smoothing of the picture. The dark scenes hold up very well on the 47 inch TV and there are very little if any artifacts to be seen.
The sound options include the original mono soundtrack as well as Dolby 5.1 and DTS mixes. I prefer the mono mix although the dialogue is sometimes a little muffled. The DTS and 5.1 mixes are a little clearer as well as louder. They tastefully spread the sound effects through the sound field so if you like the remixes you should be happy with this one.
The subtitles are easy to read and are free of misspellings and grammatical errors. The subtitles are well timed with what is being said. These subtitles do not match the English dub. I watched part of the movie in English with the subtitles on and they rarely matched. You can put any fears to rest that the subtitles would be the same as the English dub.
The extras consist of trailer for this wave of Fox's martial arts releases.
If you are a fan of old school vampire/horror movies, than MR. VAMPIRE is a must have. The presentation on this DVD is great and at the price, you really can't go wrong. Some may be a little underwhelmed by this movie and wonder why it is a classic but you just have to put it in the context of when it was released. This really set a new standard and was groundbreaking in many ways.
Fox has done another great job with this release. It is great to see that they are taking the suggestions of the fans and including the original sound mixes.
Reviewed 09/01/2004
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