matrixgrindhouse
Well-known member
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Well, uncut Drunken Master II on Blu-Ray. It is real. Warner could have announced it on 364 other days and not had anyone doubt it. Certainly one of my most-wanted re-releases finally scratched off the list.
First and foremost: this is indeed the full, uncut version, in its original aspect ratio. The semi-controversial ending scene, often removed, is here in all its well-intentioned tastelessness. The original Cantonese mono track (it's so weird to be talking about a movie from 1994 having an 'original mono track') is correct, with the excellent original musical score intact.
Picture quality is good, but not perfect. Detail is pretty decent, colors are nice, natural, vibrant. The factory finale's color palette looks weird though. On both the VHS and the Thakral DVD, it has a red tint, presumably to embellish the heat of the furnaces. Here, it looks... almost blue by comparison. It could be this is the original intention and the red hue was an issue with the prints used for earlier releases. There's obvious DNR going on. I've seen worse, but there's no sign of grain which is a little disappointing. But until now, my go-to version has been a decrepit VHS, so this is a 1000% improvement.
Audio quality - the Cantonese track sounds no worse than the VHS. Perhaps a little clearer, though there's a tiny bit of distortion here and there. That may be an issue with the source and not due to age. Subtitles - the original HK subs are indeed the same as featured on the VHS and other versions sourced from the Hong Kong theatrical print. Much more legible of course, but the content is unchanged. There's some spelling errors, odd grammar, and certain phrasings that don't really sound natural in English. There's also a few instances of characters speaking English and the subtitles not matching what is being said, which is always funny. It's still a perfectly viable means of watching the movie, there's no plot or character development that cannot be understood in this presentation. The humor comes across just fine, too. It's just embarrassing that a huge company like Warner Brothers didn't shell out for a modern professional translation.
Indeed, the Blu-Ray is as bare-bones as it gets. The sole extra is an export trailer. There's also a Mandarin dub, the English export dub, and SDH subtitles based on the later.
For about 20 years, I've longed for a release that was essentially a higher quality equivalent of the uncut VHS. I got my wish, if just barely. I cannot complain. This is an action classic that deserves much better. But this is as good as it's going to get, and it's good enough for me.
First and foremost: this is indeed the full, uncut version, in its original aspect ratio. The semi-controversial ending scene, often removed, is here in all its well-intentioned tastelessness. The original Cantonese mono track (it's so weird to be talking about a movie from 1994 having an 'original mono track') is correct, with the excellent original musical score intact.
Picture quality is good, but not perfect. Detail is pretty decent, colors are nice, natural, vibrant. The factory finale's color palette looks weird though. On both the VHS and the Thakral DVD, it has a red tint, presumably to embellish the heat of the furnaces. Here, it looks... almost blue by comparison. It could be this is the original intention and the red hue was an issue with the prints used for earlier releases. There's obvious DNR going on. I've seen worse, but there's no sign of grain which is a little disappointing. But until now, my go-to version has been a decrepit VHS, so this is a 1000% improvement.
Audio quality - the Cantonese track sounds no worse than the VHS. Perhaps a little clearer, though there's a tiny bit of distortion here and there. That may be an issue with the source and not due to age. Subtitles - the original HK subs are indeed the same as featured on the VHS and other versions sourced from the Hong Kong theatrical print. Much more legible of course, but the content is unchanged. There's some spelling errors, odd grammar, and certain phrasings that don't really sound natural in English. There's also a few instances of characters speaking English and the subtitles not matching what is being said, which is always funny. It's still a perfectly viable means of watching the movie, there's no plot or character development that cannot be understood in this presentation. The humor comes across just fine, too. It's just embarrassing that a huge company like Warner Brothers didn't shell out for a modern professional translation.
Indeed, the Blu-Ray is as bare-bones as it gets. The sole extra is an export trailer. There's also a Mandarin dub, the English export dub, and SDH subtitles based on the later.
For about 20 years, I've longed for a release that was essentially a higher quality equivalent of the uncut VHS. I got my wish, if just barely. I cannot complain. This is an action classic that deserves much better. But this is as good as it's going to get, and it's good enough for me.