Director - Yau Tak Chi
The Odd One Dies (1997)
DVD Released by : Mei Ah
Player reviewed with : Malata DVD-N996
Receiver reviewed with : Sony 925
 
Features:
Menu
Cantonese and Mandarin Soundtracks
Dolby Digital
English and Chinese Subtitles
The ODD ONE DIES is the story of a "rascal" (Takeshi Kaneshiro) that offers to kill somebody for money. When his ability is questioned, he cuts off the fingers of his would-be employer. This earns him respect so he is given the job. With the money he receives, he gambles and winds up winning. After getting the money he needs, he decides that he no longer wants to do the murder so he arranges for somebody else to do it. That other person is actually a hitwoman (Carman Lee). The two become attached and they leave who will do the hit up to chance.

THE ODD ONE DIES is a pretty slow moving film but there is something about it that stays with you a bit. The movie is very image driven. The dialogue takes a back seat to the actions of the characters. There are a lot of visually interesting camera shots that are reminiscent of Wong Kar Wai's films. The comparison ends there. This movie didn't move me like say FALLEN ANGELS did. Overall, the movie hits more than misses.

When I got this movie I was fearful of it being full frame instead of letterbox but I was pleasantly surprised that it is in its 1.85 to 1 ratio. The film print has the occasional specks but overall is in good condition. The transfer is a little bright and this makes it a little washed out looking. The colors are sometimes a little over-saturated but this may just be the look of the film. Overall, the picture is a little better than average quality.
The sound really takes a back seat to the visuals in this movie. I watched the movie with the Cantonese soundtrack. The audio is mixed well even though I felt the music is a little low at times but overall it's of average quality.

The subtitles have the occasional misspelling and grammar errors but aren't distracting. Sometimes they are a little difficult to read against the backgrounds but most of the time they are fine even though they are a little small.

There are no extras at all on this DVD. There is a menu that lets you chose the language, subtitles, and chapters but that is it.

THE ODD ONE DIES is a decent movie. If you are a fan of the film, this DVD won't disappoint you. After watching it I thought it was okay but as I write this I find that I like the movie a lot more than I thought at first. I think something is lacking with the main character (Takeshi Kaneshiro) that keeps me from liking this movie more. He's a man of few words but sometimes it looks like he just waits there to say something. Carmen Lee, on the other hand, gives a very warm performance.

THE ODD ONE DIES is definitely worth a rental if you haven't seen it.