Hong Kong Legends (HKL) Thread

[BioZombie]

While I have been away from the Labs, doing uni related stuff, I have also been increasing my HKL collection. I now have about 50 HKL titles. When I get back to Preston I'll post a new pic!

[wongfeihung62]

Waiting for these to be delivered.

KNOCKABOUT - HKL
PRODIGAL SON - CA
IRON MONKEY PLAT ED - CA
THE VICTIM - R1 WITH COMMENTARY
INVINCIBLE ARMOUR

[Splatterdragon73]

Originally Posted by wongfeihung62

Waiting for these to be delivered.
THE VICTIM - R1 WITH COMMENTARY
INVINCIBLE ARMOUR

I only own the old U.K. TV DVD which is in non-anamorphic widescreen whereas i believe the relevant U.S. release remains non-letterboxed. Great film though either way with some superb fights.

I've got the British DVD of TIA too and it's a decent uncut edition despite being another widescreen title free of 16x9 enhancement.

It'd be nice to see both the above classics benefit from upgraded treatment sooner or later with improved extras.

[BioZombie]

Did some trading in CEX today and picked up HKL Battle Creek Brawl. Not seen it before, but I haven't heard good things. Still excited to see a new (to me) Jackie Chan flick though.

[springjack]

Originally Posted by Splatterdragon73

I only own the old U.K. TV DVD which is in non-anamorphic widescreen whereas i believe the relevant U.S. release remains non-letterboxed. Great film though either way with some superb fights.

I've got the British DVD of TIA too and it's a decent uncut edition despite being another widescreen title free of 16x9 enhancement.

It'd be nice to see both the above classics benefit from upgraded treatment sooner or later with improved extras.

What is non-letterboxed?

Is it open-matte?

[Splatterdragon73]

Originally Posted by BioZombie

picked up HKL Battle Creek Brawl. Not seen it before, but I haven't heard good things. Still excited to see a new (to me) Jackie Chan flick though.

Imo BCB is pretty underrated and quite enjoyable. Especially the late Mako as Jackie's dirty old man of a Kung Fu Sifu and Jose Ferrer's coarse mobster mother! It's also interesting to see The Chanster showcase some memorable moves he never displayed in his own HK actioners of the time. Worth a watch despite the 2 second ear-clap cut and there's always the complete R1 DVD if you prefer but this offering has less extras than HKL's release.

Originally Posted by springjack

What is non-letterboxed?

Is it open-matte?

I don't believe the open-matte aspect comes into play with the U.S. DVD of The Victim as this edition remains non-widescreen according to DVD Compare and it appears as if the German release rules the roost for now:

R0 America - (Tai Seng Video)
Commentaries:Audio Commentary by Hong Kong film expert Ric Meyers
Extras:Theatrical Trailer
Subtitles:None
Aspect Ratio:1.33:1
Picture Format:Non-Anamorphic
TV System:NTSC
Soundtrack(s):English Dolby Digital 2.0 Dual Mono
Case type:Keep Case

R0 United Kingdom - (Eastern Heroes)
Extras:3 Trailers
Photo Gallery
Interview with Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao (10 min)
Subtitles:English (removable)
Aspect Ratio:1.85:1
Picture Format:Non-Anamorphic
TV System:PAL
Soundtrack(s):Cantonese Dolby Digital Mono 2.0 (original)
English Dolby Digital Mono 2.0 (dub)
Case type:Keep Case
Notes:Packaging wrongly lists TV format as NTSC

R2 Germany - (New Entertainment World)
Extras:Interview with Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao (in English).
Subtitles:English
Aspect Ratio:2.00
Picture Format:Anamorphic
TV System:PAL
Soundtrack(s):Cantonese Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (original)
English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (dub)
German Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (dub)
Case type:Keep Case

OVERALL: R2
R2 for the least cropped transfer (OAR 2.35:1), anamorphic and original Cantonese. Note that R0 America does have an audio commentary, but is deficient of the R2 features.

CUTS:
R0 America- Tai Seng Video - No Cuts
R0 United Kingdom- Eastern Heroes - No Cuts
R2 Germany- New Entertainment World - No cuts.

Hope this helps.

[BioZombie]

[QUOTE=Splatterdragon73;206344]Imo BCB is pretty underrated and quite enjoyable. Especially the late Mako as Jackie's dirty old man of a Kung Fu Sifu and Jose Ferrer's coarse mobster mother! It's also interesting to see The Chanster showcase some memorable moves he never displayed in his own HK actioners of the time. Worth a watch despite the 2 second ear-clap cut and there's always the complete R1 DVD if you prefer but this offering has less extras than HKL's release.


I watched BCB last night and I have to agree with everything you've said Splatterdragon. Mako was a nice surprise and some of the fighting wasn't as clunky as I had been led to believe. The plot was a bit silly, but i guess if you compare it to some of Jackie's HK efforts it seems excellently plotted!

I also liked the period setting and there was a great score by Lalo Schifrin.

[springjack]

Splatterdragon, I think you understood me wrong.

I was mentioning to the expression "non-letterboxed" and not to any edition.

I never heard the expression "non-letterboxed" before and I ask you if what you meant was open-matte (no matte) or full frame (matted).

[bdc]

Just ordered one of these (used) for a couple of Pounds...does this consist of 3 Amarays in a box or something else?

I wanted to check the HKL dvd of New Dragon Gate Inn and this set was about the same price as the dvd of that one (both used)...

[g053584398]

Originally Posted by bdc

Just ordered one of these (used) for a couple of Pounds...does this consist of 3 Amarays in a box or something else?

I wanted to check the HKL dvd of New Dragon Gate Inn and this set was about the same price as the dvd of that one (both used)...

I used to have a copy of that one but replaced it with the individual HKL releases of the DVDs.

It is a sort of gatefold pack within a cardboard case.