Curse of the Golden Flower (Movie Review) + Edko (HK) DVD Review

Curse of the Golden Flower :: Edko (HK)

Originally posted by: Hussain on Jun 16, 2007 - 12:33 AM

Zhang Yimou's latest epic drama. Film and DVD review inside...

Alternative Titles: Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia

Director: Zhang Yimou

Main Stars: Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li, Jay Chou

Production Year: 2006

Studio: Edko

Packaging: Amaray

Extras: Documentary: Secrets Within..., Theatrical Trailers, Cast and Crew Filmographies, Photo Gallery

Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1

Audio Tracks: Mandarin Dolby Digital 6.1, Mandarin DTS, Cantonese Dolby Digital 6.1

Subtitles: English, Simplified Chinese

Regional Coding: Region 3 NTSC

Running Time: 113 minutes

Rating / Certificate: IIB

Release Date: 14.02.2007

The Film

Zhang Yimou has internationally made a name for himself with his two epic dramas Hero and House of Flying Daggers. For his latest epic drama he gathered two old school stars, Chow Yun-fat and Gong Li. Curse of the Golden Flower is the story of Chinese Emperor Ping (Chow Yun-fat) and his Empress Phoenix (Gong Li) who try to eliminate each other through secrets and betrayal. Like in a game of chess one twist follows the other. The audience learns more about the backgrounds of the emperor, the empress and their three sons. One of the three sons comes from a past relationship of the emperor.

If you are expecting unbelievable fight scenes - which the exciting trailer kind of promises - you will be really disappointed. Zhang Yimou hasn't completely abandoned spectacular kung fu-scenes from Curse of the Golden Flower, but he doesn't pay as much attention to them as he did with his two previous martial art epics. To me the most interesting fight scene was hence the relatively short one in the beginning of the film which shows that the emperor's fighting skills are superior to the ones of his enemies.

Zhang Yimou focusses more on the characters. Especially Gong Li is given regular close-ups in which she has the opportunity to show her different affections. However, after a while this becomes rather boring. Even Fulltime Review's favourite, uber-charismatic Chow Yun-fat fails to thrill with his role. Maybe his role is intended to appear so one-dimensional in terms of emotions. Without wanting to spoil the film I can say that only one certain scene in which he had an emotional moment stayed in my mind. The most disappointing actor in this film is Jay Chou, who plays Prince Jai. His acting is so bad in this film that you get the feeling he was cast for commercial reasons. If there is one stand-out actor in this film it is Mainland China actor Ye Liu who plays Crown Prince Wan.

However, I kept the real praise until the end. The detailed set design and costumes left me with my mouth open. The whole film is an absolute eye candy.

Curse of the Golden Flower is an interesting film that gives a bit of insight into the happenings of a Chinese palast 1000 years ago. It is far more of a drama with a tricky storyline and a great ending than a dramatic action film.

Story: 3.5/5

Action: 3/5

Humor: 0.5/5

Romance: 2/5

Eroticism: 1.5/5

Music: 3.5/5

Cinematography: 4/5

 TOTAL

The DVD

The first HK DVD release is this R3 release from Edko. Some might remember their first release of House of Flying Daggers which was just dreadful. However, it is in no way comparable with this very solid release of Curse of the Golden Flower. It presents the film in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Although it might be due to the colourful nature of the film, the image quality is very lively. Fore- and backgrounds are sharp and clear and very well worth the cheap price of this DVD release.

There are three audio tracks on this DVD. 2 Mandarin tracks (DD6.1 & DTS) and a Cantonese dub in 6.1. The audio quality is just awesome. Every speaker is made an exact use of and the sound effects are loud and powerful, but at the same very clear. A real pleasure for your ears. Subtitles are available in English and simplified Chinese.

 

The bonus material on this disc feature a making of documentary, which is narrated in English and also features English subtitles for the interview parts. If needed, there are also simplified Chinese subtitles available. Among the interviewees are Zhang Yimou, Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li, Jay Chou, Yee Chung Man (costume designer) and Ching Siu-tung (action director). The running time of the documentary is 21m 44s.

The two trailers that are on the disc feature no spoken language, so no English subtitles should be needed here. The English writings that appear in these trailers can be chosen to be subtitled in simplified Chinese.

The photo gallery features 15 production stills.

Furthermore you have selected filmographies of

- Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li, Jay Chou, Liu Ye, Ni Dahong, Li Man, Chen Jin, Qin Junjie

- Zhang Yimou (director), Wang Bin (screenplay), Bill Kong (producer), Zhao Xiaoding (director of photography), Ching Siu-tung (action director), Huo Tingxiao (production designer), Tao Jing,(sound supervisor), Shigeru Umebayashi (music composer), Yee Chung Man (costume designer), Cheng Long (editor).

DVD Menus: 3/5

Picture: 4/5

Audio: 5/5

Subtitles: 4/5

Special Features: 2.5/5

City on Fire (Movie Review) + Hong Kong Legends (UK) DVD Review

City on Fire :: Hong Kong Legends

Originally posted by: Hussain on Jan 08, 2006 - 12:27 PM

 

Great film and probably the only review on the internet that does not mention Tarrantino or his Reservoir Dogs.
Alternative Titles: Lung Fu Fung Wan / Long Hu Feng Yun
Director: Ringo Lam
Main Stars: Chow Yun-fat, Danny Lee, Roy Cheung
Production Year: 1987
Studio: Hong Kong Legends (Contender Group)
Packaging: Amaray
Extras: Exclusive feature-length audio commentary with Asian Cinema Expert, Bey Logan, Portrait of Anger: An exclusive interview with acclaimed cinematographer, Andrew Lau, Long Arm of the Law: an exclusive interview with Roy Cheung, Trailer Gallery
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio Tracks: Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1, English dub Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary 2.0
Subtitles: English, SDH English
Regional Coding: Region 2 PAL
Running Time: 102 minutes
Rating / Certificate: 18
Release Date: April 25th 2005
 

The Film

The death of an undercover agent disturbs the police investigation on a jewel robbing syndicate. Ko Chow (Chow Yun-fat) is assigned to continue the undercover job and enters the underworld as a weaponry dealer. He joins the jewelry gangsters and plans the next heist with them. However, his undercover work is being interfered by his own men who don't know about his undercover work. Now he finds himself trapped between the two opposing groups, the gangsters and the cops. Whatever he does, he seems doomed to be uncovered. The question that remains is on what side he will be when his true identity is revealed.
The sub plot involves the woman of Ko Chow's life who wants to get married with him. His undercover work however has made her leave him more than once and she now gives him one last chance. But how should he appear to a wedding, when at the same time he is supposed to sell firearms to a group of dangerous gangsters? Will she leave him for good? I won't reveal too much here, but all I can say is that the sub-plot works perfectly with the main storyline.

An effective cop/action story, but more importantly, it's a sober (perhaps gloomy) look at the reckless, tragic life of an undercover detective. Costars Chow Yun-fat and Danny Lee play the opposite roles that they would (2 years later) portray in The Killer. This time Chow Yun-fat is the cop who gets too emotionally involved with his thief/killer quarry, Fu (Lee).

The DVD

DVD Menus

Clearly laid out DVD menus accompany this film. Overall, they are easy to navigate and visually satisfying, not more or less. HKL have previously proven however, that they are capable of more in terms of DVD menus.

 

Picture Quality

OK... I guess it is best for you to decide for your own. Personally, I did not have a problem with the DVD transfer. Many fans of the film complain about the blue filter HKL seem to have used here. The blue tone of the original film is lost. I took comparison screenshots of the old Universe DVD and this one, so you can have a look of your own.
Apart from the missing blue tone, the film is presented in its original aspect ratio. Although the transfer does not come from a high definition master this time, HKL provide a good re-mastering of the film. Both, day and night scenes are clearly visible. Sometimes we seem to have a bit of blurriness, but mostly, the picture is totally alright. Nothing spectaular, but a usual HKL re-master of an 1980's Hong Kong film.

Audio Quality

Unfortunately, City on Fire does not come with the original Cantonese mono track. What we get again is are the 5.1 remixes in Cantonese and English. As usual, this remix is of quality. No music or sounds have been changed and no sound effects were added. Dialogue is crisp and clear and front-staged. The music and shootouts are the only sound elements (ambient noise) that you will hear from your rear speakers.

Subtitles

English subtitles are available in two forms, the usual English ones and the English ones for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. Free from mistakes, the subtitles translate everything you will hear including the songs during the film.

Special Features

In his commentary, Bey Logan examines the film from start to finish. Apart from the usual actors' and director's background he provides us with, he analyses certain scenes, their message and probable intention behind them. It was yet again an informative and interesting listen.

Apart from the commentary you will find two interviews. One with Roy Cheung (City on Fire, Infernal Affairs 2) and another one with City on Fire's cinematographer Andrew Lau. Lau would later co-direct the Infernal Affairs-trilogy. Both of the interviewees give a good insight into what the production of the film was like and how it was working with director Ringo Lam and leading actor Chow Yun-fat.

As usual, there is the UK Promotional Trailer and the Original Theatrical Trailer.

'Further Attractions' feature UK Promotional Trailers for more HKL and Premier Asia titles.

Conclusion

City on Fire is a classic film. HKL is famous for releasing classic HK films on above average DVDs, in terms of special features. Audio and video-wise however, the quality of their DVDs tend to go up and down. In April, HKL released probably one of their best discs this year, which is Duel to the Death. Every aspect of the DVD rocked. In the case of City on Fire, I'd say that the superior subtitles, the audio commentary and the interesting interviews speak for an HKL purchase. The picture quality is not bad, but people who have seen the screenshot comparisons above and think the blue tone of the film is lost, should wait for a DVD release which satisfies them more. Now that Fortune Star has this deal with HKL, they might even use their subtitles for their future release of this film.




Film 4.5/5
DVD Menus 3/5Picture 3.5/5Audio 3.5/5Subtitles 4/5Special Features 3.5/5