Drunken Master and Snake In The Eagle's Shadow!!!

[apollo828]

Originally Posted by OldPangYau

The quickest way to tell if the Cantonese is complete or not is just watch the opening fight between Hwang Jang Lee and Yuen Shun-yee. If they're speaking English despite the fact that you selected Cantonese, it's incomplete Then again, they could potentially have swapped the English "patches" for Japanese in this case...

The opening fight sequence sounds like Cantonese to me. It's certainly not Japanese or English, and it doesn't have certain tonal qualities I associate with Mandarin. Alas, I can't find my old French DVD which has the complete Cantonese soundtrack, so I can't say for certain, especially since it's possible (but unlikely, IMO) that other sections have patched audio.

Aside from this, are the opening credits in Chinese or English? Reason I ask is because if the master is indeed from Destination Films, their print was based on the international release for the DVD ten or so years ago.

English. Slight bummer, but probably the best that will ever be done unless some deep-pocketed businessman is willing to restore the original negative or whatever.

Just watched a bit more this morning. I'm positive the print is full HD, albeit possibly struck from a dated master. The film's never going to look like a million bucks, but I honestly believe the team did the best they could with what they had. Audio's kinda shrill and harsh, but again, it's par for the course. (Oh, and as reported, no English subs anywhere.)

I also peeked at the bonus disc. If I understood it correctly, here are the contents. Everything looked like true HD to me, although I only glanced briefly.

-Japanese cut of DM (1:33:04)
-Japanese cut of SITES (1:29:34)
-A new 20 minute interview with Jackie Chan, presumably about DM and SITES. Mandarin w/ hard Japanese subs, although he occasionally interjects a bit of English. It'd be nice if somebody could translate or at least tell us interesting tidbits.
-A short (8 min?) featurette of Jackie walking through a museum showcase from last year. I believe it was held in Japan. I think it might have been a showcase of props from some of his films???
-A 4 minute audio-only (PCM) clip. It might be the entire version of the Japanese DM theme song.

There's also a little file with a booklet and whatnot. Kinda neat, but nothing that would cause someone on the fence to spring for the box.

All in all, the set's not perfect but it's yet another step up for these films. Hardcore fans won't be happy about the English credits. C'est la vie. One will have to decide if they're willing to hold out for a cheaper edition of this version (possible, but who knows when it'd come) or for a separate restoration with Chinese credits (don't hold your breath, at least for one that doesn't look horrendous).