Where's Officer Tuba? (1986)

[DooK]

Panorama will be releasing this Ricky Lau-directed action comedy starring Sammo Hung. Audio specs looks good so now comes the matter of whether the scan being in genuine HD or will be upscaled.

https://shop.panorama.com.hk/en/fant...-date-jan.html

[Jompa]

This one is fun.I will buy it

[DooK]

Release date is set to January 14 (this Friday)! Let's hope the transfer is genuine HD.

[WaverBoy]

If HK has suspended overseas shipping, it’s gonna be a bitsch to get this

[DooK]

Things should go back to normal within 1-2 weeks, like last time.

[e_d]

Originally Posted by DooK

Things should go back to normal within 1-2 weeks, like last time.

At least in my country it was a lot longer than 1-2 weeks last time! More like 2-3 months!

[DooK]

I finally received my copy. I haven't watched the whole movie yet so I'll be short with the verdict based on what I've seen...

Pros:

- Genuine HD (this is the best the movie has ever looked!)
- Original mono tracks in Cantonese and Mandarin
- Very good subtitles, near-perfect translation and timing. Are these subtitles the same ones as those on the Joy Sales DVD but only improved this time?

Cons:

- The fighting sound is slightly out-of-sync in few places, most obvious being the finale in the marketplace where Sammo and Jackie Cheung take on Hwang Jang Lee and Chang Yi.

[Doomhunter]

Originally Posted by DooK

I finally received my copy. I haven't watched the whole movie yet so I'll be short with the verdict based on what I've seen...

Pros:

- Genuine HD (this is the best the movie has ever looked!)
- Original mono tracks in Cantonese and Mandarin
- Very good subtitles, near-perfect translation and timing. Are these subtitles the same ones as those on the Joy Sales DVD but only improved this time?

Cons:

- The fighting sound is slightly out-of-sync in few places, most obvious being the finale in the marketplace where Sammo and Jackie Cheung take on Hwang Jang Lee and Chang Yi.

How’s the fight itself?

[DooK]

Originally Posted by Doomhunter

How’s the fight itself?

It's good but it could've been longer, especially Sammo fighting Hwang Jang Lee. This movie marks one of two movies (The Millionares' Express being the other) that Sammo and Hwang ever collaborated on in contemporary movies. Hwang looks fabolous, and would've made a bigger mark in modern action movies under Sammo's direction had he stayed in the HK movie industry longer.

[Blahblahblacksheep]

How does the Bluray compare to the Dolby Vision found on apple streaming service that is only available in Asia?

[russweiss1]

I've never seen the film but the poster makes it look really bad. It's got an all star HK cast and I really like Joey Wang so I would give it a view if given the opportunity.

Where's Officer Tuba Chinese.jpg

[Rutger Lundgren]

I'd say that looks magnificent.

[russweiss1]

Originally Posted by Rutger Lundgren

I'd say that looks magnificent.

I like the poster but if you watch HK films you know they typically throw an awful lot of (bad) comedy in the mix. The image appears to me that Jackie Cheung will be a bumbling cop and there will be some kind of ghost/phantom involved.

[Rutger Lundgren]

Originally Posted by russweiss1

I like the poster but if you watch HK films you know they typically throw an awful lot of (bad) comedy in the mix. The image appears to me that Jackie Cheung will be a bumbling cop and there will be some kind of ghost/phantom involved.

And that's precisely why it looks great to me. I think that's a part of the charm of those films. I'm watching The Odd Couple right now, and the silly comedy only elevates the film for me.

[russweiss1]

Originally Posted by Rutger Lundgren

And that's precisely why it looks great to me. I think that's a part of the charm of those films. I'm watching The Odd Couple right now, and the silly comedy only elevates the film for me.

When I was first introduced to HK movies in the early 90's I tended to enjoy the films more than when I watch them decades later. The stunts and choreography generally made sitting through the comedy more palatable. I still really enjoy the action moments but the comedic antics not so much. This isn't true for all the films but for many of them (the poorly done IMO) comedy takes away from the film.

[Shingster]

Originally Posted by russweiss1

I've never seen the film but the poster makes it look really bad. It's got an all star HK cast and I really like Joey Wang so I would give it a view if given the opportunity.

How dare you, it's got Sammo in a kilt playing a Tuba that's emitting a ghostly apparition of David Chiang. What more could you ask for? Honestly some people are never pleased!

But yeah, Officer Tuba is basically your generic 80s Sammo comedy vehicle with the odd sprinkling of action here and there before a kickass action finale. Better than most from the era, but only recommended if you like that sort of thing. Probably most memorable for having (and kinda wasting) Hwang Jang Lee in it to go toe-to-toe with Sammo. At least the poster for this one isn't misleading (outside the promise of extensive Sammo kilt action).

[russweiss1]

Originally Posted by Shingster

But yeah, Officer Tuba is basically your generic 80s Sammo comedy vehicle with the odd sprinkling of action here and there before a kickass action finale. Better than most from the era, but only recommended if you like that sort of thing. Probably most memorable for having (and kinda wasting) Hwang Jang Lee in it to go toe-to-toe with Sammo. At least the poster for this one isn't misleading (outside the promise of extensive Sammo kilt action).

I didn't even recognize that as David Chiang. I'll have to take a look at the actual poster and see if it is easier to tell.

[Blahblahblacksheep]

This is available in 4k Dolby Vision in South Asia countries on the AppleTV+ platform.