Those Were The Days (2000)
Director - Yip Wai Man
DVD Released by : Universe
Player reviewed with : Malata DVD-N996
Receiver reviewed with : Sony 925
 
Features:
Cantonese and Mandarin Soundtracks
English, Chinese, Korean, and Bahasa (Malaysia) Subtitles
Not enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs
Theatrical Trailer
Trailers for 2000 A.D., KILLER, and TEMPTING HEART
Running Time : 104 mins
 

THOSE WERE THE DAYS is another installment in the YOUNG AND DANGEROUS series. Much like PORTLAND STREET BLUES followed Sister 13, TWTD follows Chicken (Jordan Chan). Chicken is offered the girl of his choice when he visits Sister 13's nightclub. He picks one and takes her to his hotel room. When a hotel worker sees the woman, he yells at her. Of course, it's not wise to take a woman away from a Triad. While getting beaten, the worker, tells Chicken that he is Ho. Ho is the brother of Gigi (Gigi Leung), the girl Chicken has loved the most in his life. While growing up, they lived across the hall from each other and Chicken had sworn to always protect her. The movie flashes back in time to a very young Chicken defending Gigi when a kid with a paper stand bothers her. Chicken and his friends light the stand on fire and actually befriend the boy after Brother Bee tells them they should all just get a long. As Chicken gets older, he realizes that he will be living the Triad life while Gigi wants no part of it. Gigi shuns Chicken and only when her mother falls ill does she eventually realize how much Chicken loves her. Chicken proposes to Gigi and she accepts. On the day of the wedding, Brother Bee is attacked and Chicken must help fight. During the fight, Chicken kills somebody and is sent to prison. When Chicken gets out of prison, he loses track of Gigi and her brother. Chicken only sees Gigi again much later when they both attend Sister 13's wedding.

If you are a fan of the Y&D series or Jordan Chan, this is a must see. Knowing the series isn't required to watch this movie but the movie wouldn't be as compelling if you didn't know the characters. It's always great how they get as many of the characters in the movie from the series without taking away from the main story. This movie really gives another side to Chicken in a way that adds to his character without changing what is known about him.
The picture quality is acceptable on the 47 inch TV. The actual films print is very good but the transfer could be better. The print is free of dirt and specks and the colors look good. The transfer does display some artifacts which are most noticeable when Chicken and Gigi are talking on the stairwell. On a smaller TV, the picture looks great. The bigger screen makes mastering flaws apparent so keep that in mind. The PORTLAND STREET BLUES DVD looked a little worse on the big screen but it also looked fine on the smaller TV and computer. The picture is non-anamorphic so I used the Malata's zoom feature. Overall, the image is watchable on the big screen but looks much better on a small one.

The sound 5.1 Dolby Digital. There is little or no use of the rear speakers. The mix is pretty good but sometime the vocals are a little low. There is also a minor hum sometimes during the dialogue. This may just be camera noise when the movie is shot in sync. It's not distracting but it's there. Overall the sound is good and about average when compared to other imports.
The subtitles appear on the image and are easy to read. There are occasional spelling and grammatical errors but they aren't distracting. The character "Chicken" is called "Cock" in this translation. The subtitles are time well with what is being said and they appear long enough to read.

Extras consists of a trailers as well as trailers for 2000 A.D., TEMPTING HEART, and KILLER (2000).

THOSE WERE THE DAYS is a good movie and if recommended for fans of the Y&D series, especially PORTLAND STREET BLUES. The performances are very good by Jordan Chan and Gigi Leung. The story itself doesn't have all that many surprises and it is predictable at times but the characters hold it all together. Watching the other characters wander in and out of the movie is like seeing old friends. Even Ekin Cheng and Anthony Wong make a brief appearance. The appearances never steal the show from the story at hand and it broadens the Y&D universe. Characters are never forgotten just because they aren't a big player in the current story. Another plus is that events that happened in prior movies may be eluded to but they are played out again. If you aren't a Y&D fan, this is worth a watch but it won't have the same impact as it would for somebody who has watched the whole series.

Reviewed - 6/23/02