HK BD upscale list?

[totentanz]

Originally Posted by Sky_Captain

You should have bought the US release, it's gorgeous.

Is it better than the HK release?

[wesslan]

Many UK/US discs is better than their HK counterpart (SPL, Banquet, Flashpoint, Invisible Target) Often less DNR so picture quality is better. Sound is often the same.

[here]

Originally Posted by wesslan

Many UK/US discs is better than their HK counterpart (SPL, Banquet, Flashpoint, Invisible Target) Often less DNR so picture quality is better. Sound is often the same.

depends on the quality of negative prints, if it's good, then it's not necessary to do any dnr, otherwise, the dirt on negative prints would make video quality worse.

[wesslan]

Originally Posted by here

depends on the quality of negative prints, if it's good, then it's not necessary to do any dnr, otherwise, the dirt on negative prints would make video quality worse.

I think they use the same master from HK so the souce quality should be the same and yet the UK/US discs looks better in many cases. Just a fact. Latest UK disc of Detective Dee is the same, overall better picture, subs and extras

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Detect.../20485/#Review

[Sky_Captain]

Originally Posted by totentanz

Is it better than the HK release?

It's a gorgeous transfer, can't say a bad thing about it.

[Torrente]

Do you know where I could find some screens from the Blu Rays of:

City on Fire
Once Upon a Time in China and America
Sex and Zen

Thanks a lot to any of you who could help!

[death valley]

a lot of the above mentioned titles are on sale at DDDhouse for $14.11

I'am very reluctant to buy any of them because of the dissapointing PQ, any suggestions ?

[Brown]

With no disrespect intended (really) . . .

Hold your breath and wait for the inevitable "Platinum Criterion 4K Negative Restoration 30th Anniversary" editions of these movies. Sure to be included are: subtitled audio commentaries; behind-the-scenes documentaries with insights from the cast, crew, and even triad bosses who helped finance the movies; gag reels (with audio re-created since most of these classic HK films were shot without sound); newly edited trailers that don't give away the entire film (along with original versions for those who don't want to bother watching the entire film); and, at last, BD Live features, among them: a look at the recent filming of Cougars and Zen 3D: The Return of Amy Yip and a teaser of HK remake of On Golden Pond (unfortunately mis-titled as On Golden Pong) with Andy Lau removing his makeup and taking on the Academy Award-winning role that made Henry Fonda famous.

Each blu-ray will be accompanied by a personalized letter from the home video entertainment division's head of operations who will thank the buyer for shelling out the $1,000 price for the disc that was required to offset the expense of the production of the special edition considering that fewer than 5,000 copies could be sold to such a niche market. All for a film than cost less than 700,000 HK dollars and was seen briefly at the On Gui Gwai Lo theatre for two weeks in 1988. Fortunately, a pristine negative of the movie was found last week by a homeless individual picking through Quentin Taratino's trash.

[xradman]

Originally Posted by Brown

With no disrespect intended (really) . . .

Hold your breath and wait for the inevitable "Platinum Criterion 4K Negative Restoration 30th Anniversary" editions of these movies. Sure to be included are: subtitled audio commentaries; behind-the-scenes documentaries with insights from the cast, crew, and even triad bosses who helped finance the movies; gag reels (with audio re-created since most of these classic HK films were shot without sound); newly edited trailers that don't give away the entire film (along with original versions for those who don't want to bother watching the entire film); and, at last, BD Live features, among them: a look at the recent filming of Cougars and Zen 3D: The Return of Amy Yip and a teaser of HK remake of On Golden Pond (unfortunately mis-titled as On Golden Pong) with Andy Lau removing his makeup and taking on the Academy Award-winning role that made Henry Fonda famous.

Each blu-ray will be accompanied by a personalized letter from the home video entertainment division's head of operations who will thank the buyer for shelling out the $1,000 price for the disc that was required to offset the expense of the production of the special addition considering that fewer than 5,000 copies could be sold to such a niche market. All for a film than cost less than 700,000 HK dollars and was seen briefly at the On Gui Gwai Lo theatre for two weeks in 1988. Fortunately, a pristine negative of the movie was found last week by a homeless individual picking through Quentin Taratino's trash.

To each his/her own. You may be happy to have these upscaled films on Blu-ray, but to some of us who already own most of these films on DVD, list such as this can be helpful in figuring out whether we should upgrade or not to Blu-ray. If all I have is old non-anamorphic DVD, then it may be worth upgrading to Blu-ray even if it's only SD quality, whereas if I have a remastered good quality anamorphic DVD, then it may not be worthwhile.

[Brown]

There is no doubt about the questionable picture quality of many catalog HK blu-rays. If one reads the reviews and a low PQ rating stops them from purchasing, fine. Don't buy them. My only concern is that throwing a bunch of titles on some list does an incredible disservice to some excellent movies, and my light-hearted post only was meant to comment on the unrealistic expectations of many considering the age of these titles and the established track record of HK cinema on video.

Can Royal Warriors and other Fortune Star titles look better on blu-ray? Maybe. Will there be a double-dip of many titles? Probably. We've been down this road before with DVD.

But . . . and dare I say it (I've had a rough day so I just can't stop myself), I get tired of the sense of entitlement expressed by some just because they bought a 50" HD television set, a blu-ray player, and some overpriced $200 HDMI gold-plated cables. Be happy with your DVDs or watch Avatar again.

Sorry. Rough day. And I don't mean to slight everyone. However, holding back on these titles won't bring about change. It just means other titles will never see the light of day on blu-ray. But you have your copy of Avatar. Be happy. It's pretty. Lots of colors and neat CGI. And it's easy to figure out which characters are good and which are bad.

Sorry. Rough day.

[drees5761]

Originally Posted by xradman

To each his/her own. You may be happy to have these upscaled films on Blu-ray, but to some of us who already own most of these films on DVD, list such as this can be helpful in figuring out whether we should upgrade or not to Blu-ray. If all I have is old non-anamorphic DVD, then it may be worth upgrading to Blu-ray even if it's only SD quality, whereas if I have a remastered good quality anamorphic DVD, then it may not be worthwhile.

Exactly. I have most of these on dvd and want to know if they are upconverted / poor transfers or not.
Just because a HK Film is great and should be seen, it is no excuse to put out a sub par product and if it is a poor release it should be reported as such.

[Brown]

That is what the reviews are for (though I would like to think those that provide their input are more like "critical appreciative fans" rather than "the picture quality secret police").

As I have said many times, I think a "crap" list is entirely something else. In addition, not every "poor" transfer or "upconvert" is the same. City On Fire should not be put on the same list as Bullet In The Head unless it is titled something like "Best 100 Hong Kong Movies Of All Time," but I hate lists and this isn't another certain blu-ray web site that has gone to pot since falling in love with inane lists.

And, no, a DVD is not a blu-ray. Despite one's care, the protective surface of a DVD is not as good as a blu-ray, and despite all the criticism every HK blu-ray I own is a step-up (albeit at times minor) from the DVD. And in the end, I don't want a newcomer to HK cinema to be scared off by all this nonsense.

And once again, mediocre-looking DVD = good, mediocre-looking blu-ray = bad. Makes no sense.

[shoyuramen1112]

First of all, thank you all for this thread. I'm pretty sure that list compiled by xradman will be beneficial to many of us here... Much appreciated there.

I'm wondering if anyone has owned Stephen Chow's King of Beggars HK BD & could comment on the disc PQ.

Thanks...

[Liersi]

The thread provides good information that several readers have already confirmed as useful. That's more purpose right there than 90% of what goes on in forums all day.

People are not disregarding the factors you rightfully mention Brown. It's just a thread about a subset of quality aspects that factor into people's buying decisions. And this particular one isn't that well documented even in reviews. Particularly in reviews.

Thanks for the useful thread!

[Brown]

Originally Posted by Eidolon

I noticed somebody mention on another thread a while back that a lot of the HK BDs are upscaled DVDs.
Could we get a thread to list all the ones that are upscaled, and as such to be avoided? THanks.

Please, note how this list originated (". . . as such to be avoided"). Nonsense. So much for considering the merit of the films in question.

In addition, in response only one company has received the honor of being included in this list. There are other mediocre HK blu-rays, but they are not mentioned. No, this is a gripe list. And arbitrary and subjective. If one looks through the history of this thread, there is no reliable agreement about what is "upscale" or HD or whatever.

[xradman]

Originally Posted by Brown

Please, note how this list originated (". . . as such to be avoided"). Nonsense. In addition, in response only one company has received the honor of being included in this list. There are other mediocre HK blu-rays, but they are not mentioned. No, this is a gripe list.

Which ones? I have ~80% of all HK HK Blu-rays released thus far and would like to know what other ones you think are SD upconverts.

[Brown]

Offhand, The Storm Riders does not sport a good image. However, granted: Fortune Star properties make up about 90% of the released titles so they are going to release the majority "crap." At least someone is putting out catalog titles.

But back to the esteemed list. For example, Hitman is put on the "good" list. Well, as my review states, the image itself is marred by some serious problems. And it's cropped. I guess that doesn't matter to the list maker. It doesn't matter that the sides are cut off as long as it looks "pretty." There are plenty of titles that have been shaved to 1.78, and I am also pretty certain that Running Out Of Time, another one of the "good" discs, is also cropped, but I am not certain.

It's a superficial, arbitrary list. It's crap.

[toddly6666]

Brown,
I was going off a slight high of reading a 4-star review of Captain America today and then realizing that the film is playing at my local theater at midnight which I'm psyched to see later, but I just read your posts in this thread and it has made my week. I haven't read anything that funny and well written in a long time. I wish you could post some type of Fortune Star blu-ray disclaimer at asiandvdguide.com to enlighten those folks over there!

Originally Posted by Brown

Offhand, The Storm Riders does not sport a good image.

This is the only comment you said that confused me. What do you mean? The Storm Riders HK blu-ray is one of the best looking Hong Kong blu-rays!


In regards to Fortune Star blu-ray lists and in regards to whether the Fortune Star blu-ray is upconverted or HD or not, I would just prefer to see a list saying whether the Fortune Star blu-ray:

1. looks the same as the best English-subtitled DVD version. (Zu Warriors)

2. looks slightly better than the best English-subtitled DVD version. (Peking Opera Blues, 60 Million Dollar Man, Police Story 2 & 3, Chinese Ghost Story, Once Upon a Time in China 1 & 2, Forbidden City Cop)

3. looks a lot better than the best English-subtitled DVD version. (Army of God 2, The Legend of Wisely)

[Brown]

Sorry, I didn't think The Storm Riders HK blu-ray looked very good (and that considering some allowance to the earlier-generation CGI). The pulsing backgrounds reminded me to the flawed Sleepy Hollow transfer. However, I have read good reviews of the PQ as I have for Hitman which I have scored lower than anyone on this site.

And perhaps that in itself is my point. While "we" may all agree that Avatar looks great (despite being a CRAP film) and 28 Days Later is a low-point for HD (the latter dependent on its source), "we" may equally disagree on almost everything else, and this list should not be held as some be-all, end-all summation.

Indeed, as I have pointed out, the list ignores film merit, cropping issues (where are the purists when you need them?), and audio considerations. We might as well just watch silent films. And, forgive me, I have been following this Asia forum for quite some time, and the origins and motivations for this list do not rest with helpful altruism. It started with a gripe and might as well be an ax. Worse still, the list has no sense of history, ignoring the established history of HK film "preservation" as evidenced by every stage of home video evolution.

FYI, there are too few hours in the day to keep up with the threads on this site without going into battle on another. I dislike these text confrontations. I love HK cinema and only wish more people were exposed to it. I regret that this thread does it no justice.

[Liersi]

The subject of this thread is not HK cinema, as such it can do it no disservice. No one will be positively or negatively exposed to anything in here without specific prior interest. It's a useful list of upscales directed at buyers of Blu-ray discs who wish to know whether a disc is true high-def. The only disservice here would be not spreading that information, a disservice to everyone using this forum.