City on Fire 4K UHD (1987)

[DukeTogo84]

I'm sure these will get sub licensed eventually, but it might be a long wait. Since the 4K is region free, shouldn't be too bad for most, unless you're only interested in the Blu-ray.

[Jackie Scanlon]

Originally Posted by AnimalCMan

If you like John Woo, I highly recommend checking out any of Ringo Lam's Hong Kong films. Those two guys pretty much owned the crime genre there in the 80s and early 90s, until they moved to Hollywood and Johnnie To took the top spot in Hong Kong (I also highly recommend his films if you haven't seen any).

City on Fire is not my favorite Ringo Lam movie, but it is widely considered one of his best (and a major inspiration for Reservoir Dogs) and is in my top five from him. The others I'd recommend should also be coming from Shout as I believe these were also Golden Princess titles.

Full Contact
Prison on Fire 1 & 2
School on Fire

Also two great ones available in the UK currently are Wild Search and Full Alert (no idea when they might get a US release).

If you're mostly just familiar with Woo, I will say, Lam's films tend to be more character driven and with less emphasis on action set pieces. I think he feels like a bit of a mix between Michael Mann and Sam Peckinpah.

Full Contact is probably his closest to feeling like Woo movie with some great action and a plot that clearly feels inspired by Richard Stark's The Hunter (adapted into the films Point Blank and Payback).

And if you do venture into Johnnie To territory, his films definitely have more in common with Lam, but he's much more varied in his output, some of his films can feel downright whimsical and inspired by European cinema, despite being crime dramas. Others aren't even crime films, but still great (check out Throw Down!).

Yeah, I would agree with "whimsical" when it comes to Johnnie To. I would also throw in adjacent words like sentimental and melodramatic. I don't gel with his films like a lot of people do for that very reason - I'm all in for the bleakness and nihilism of Woo, Lam and Tsui Hark when he's in that mood, but occasionally I wonder what I'm not seeing in To's films that a lot of others do. I mean some of them are decent and I own quite a few of them, but the only ones I personally would put anywhere near the best of Woo and Lam are Exiled, PTU and Election 1 and 2, and even then with some reservations. All the others are a bit too fluffy around the edges, but mostly still watchable. I think it's telling that Woo, Lam and Hark were always hounded by the Chinese censors, but To rarely upset them and has clearly pretty much always worked within their boundaries (or appeased them, depending on how you look at it).



Thank you for mentioning Prison On Fire 2. I've always rated it almost as high as the first one, but it hardly ever gets a mention. I'm not entirely convinced many people know it even exists.

I think Tiger On (The) Beat is part of this deal as well? One of my action favourites. I have treasured the HK Legends DVD very very closely. The sequel is toss though, but I wouldn't begrudge it being included as an extra or in a double pack. I can't even remember if the sequel was a Golden Princess or related release.


EDIT - also, anyone who has never seen or heard of City On Fire, please don't fall for the "influenced Reservoir Dogs" label. Tarantino outright plagiarised large chunks of the film, including shots and lifting dialogue entirely. It's the same deal as all those idiots who spunked themselves silly over the Django Unchained soundtrack without realising where all that music came from.

[cooey]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

I'm sure these will get sub licensed eventually, but it might be a long wait. Since the 4K is region free, shouldn't be too bad for most, unless you're only interested in the Blu-ray.

Unless Shout decide to region lock the UHDs…. it wouldn’t be the first time…

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by cooey

Unless Shout decide to region lock the UHDs…. it wouldn’t be the first time…

I guess we'll know in a few months.

[AnimalCMan]

Originally Posted by Jackie Scanlon

Yeah, I would agree with "whimsical" when it comes to Johnnie To. I would also throw in adjacent words like sentimental and melodramatic. I don't gel with his films like a lot of people do for that very reason - I'm all in for the bleakness and nihilism of Woo, Lam and Tsui Hark when he's in that mood, but occasionally I wonder what I'm not seeing in To's films that a lot of others do. I mean some of them are decent and I own quite a few of them, but the only ones I personally would put anywhere near the best of Woo and Lam are Exiled, PTU and Election 1 and 2, and even then with some reservations. All the others are a bit too fluffy around the edges, but mostly still watchable. I think it's telling that Woo, Lam and Hark were always hounded by the Chinese censors, but To rarely upset them and has clearly pretty much always worked within their boundaries (or appeased them, depending on how you look at it).

Haha, yeah I also prefer more nihilistic crime thrillers, but To is someone I will always recommend for the diverse types of projects he does, and the complexity of each. Though I actually was first introduced to him through Fulltime Killer (one of his several collaborations with Wai Ka-Fai), which is probably one of his most accessible to western action fans as it has some great shootouts and a lot of pop culture references.

I would agree, though, his strongest that I've seen include Exiled, PTU, and the two Election films, but some of his films are honestly just either an acquired taste or you need to be in the right mood for. I was totally thrown (pun intended) the first time I watched Throw Down and didn't even finish it. I went back to it later and it's now my favorite To film. But stuff like that, Sparrow, Running on Karma, and even Mad Detective feel so different from the stuff Woo and Lam made, it's not even fair to compare them IMO.

I think To's strongest quality is his films actually get better with repeat viewings as there's not a ton of dialogue, but a lot to absorb.

[RiFiFi1955]

August, nice!!!! Can't wait... been a long time coming for good releases of these films!

[OldPangYau]

Originally Posted by singhcr

I've never seen this (how an '80s Chow film escaped my grasp is beyond me, but hey it happens) and this looks like the perfect release to jump into. Really looking forward to these releases. Hopefully they aren't DNRd to death and/or have older scans. If this turns out well, I'll just pre-order the Woo set.

Not an older scan, and not DNR'ed to death, lol. In fact, all older masters were standard def or upscaled from SD sources. That and the Fortune Star SD master was way too contrasty. COF practically looks like a new movie.

[singhcr]

Originally Posted by OldPangYau

Not an older scan, and not DNR'ed to death, lol. In fact, all older masters were standard def or upscaled from SD sources. That and the Fortune Star SD master was way too contrasty. COF practically looks like a new movie.

Thanks for that. That's good to hear! I guess I've been burned so many times on Woo and other HK classics that I just assume the worst.

[Rizor]

Originally Posted by RTGFOREVER716

I have yet to watch that much Hong Kong classic beside the some John Woo films, is this a one of the better (or maybe great) crime thrillers from that era for me to pick up in pre-order beside the obvious ones from John Woo since I don't know much about Ringo Lam or Johnnie To movies that much.

I think it's a solid movie that holds up well. But it's more of a character driven undercover cop drama than a shoot 'em up, heroic bloodshed type of thing. As I recall it, a lot of it deals with the main character trying to keep his girlfriend.

[oneway23]

At the risk of sounding a bit insensitive to our U.K. friends across the pond, as a fan who has been importing these movies here to the U.S. as far back as the Hong Kong Legends series while I was in college, you fine folks can handle importing these releases from here for a change LOL

That aside, lets hope some boutique shops will pick them up for you when it's right for all involved.

[IDidItForTheGold]

Please, for the love of God, include a music-only track on all of these releases, especially the Ringo Lam and John Woo flicks! And especially City on Fire! Those are iconic soundtracks, the master tapes are probably long lost (I assume Shout would know), so this would be as close to an official, complete OST as it's going to get.

[oneway23]

Originally Posted by IDidItForTheGold

Please, for the love of God, include a music-only track on all of these releases, especially the Ringo Lam and John Woo flicks! And especially City on Fire! Those are iconic soundtracks, the master tapes are probably long lost (I assume Shout would know), so this would be as close to an official, complete OST as it's going to get.

This 100%, if possible...pretty please?

[Jackie Scanlon]

Originally Posted by oneway23

At the risk of sounding a bit insensitive to our U.K. friends across the pond, as a fan who has been importing these movies here to the U.S. as far back as the Hong Kong Legends series while I was in college, you fine folks can handle importing these releases from here for a change LOL

I think that's a very fair comment, especially seeing as how us UK collectors haven't had it too bad in recent years, even to the point of being the occasional and previously-unthinkable envy of US collectors. The negative nancies amongst us (myself included) are just having a bit of a knee-jerk reaction based on our experiences in the 80s, 90s and 00s. That sh*t sticks long in the craw and isn't easily forgotten.

[oneway23]

Originally Posted by Jackie Scanlon

I think that's a very fair comment, especially seeing as how us UK collectors haven't had it too bad in recent years, even to the point of being the occasional and previously-unthinkable envy of US collectors. The negative nancies amongst us (myself included) are just having a bit of a knee-jerk reaction based on our experiences in the 80s, 90s and 00s. That sh*t sticks long in the craw and isn't easily forgotten.

Oh, listen...I absolutely empathize 100%, especially in this day and age. My comment was a little gruff, sure, but, also a little tongue-in-cheek, as well.

I'm actually really grateful to the UK market for remaining vibrant enough around these films to ensure that they stayed available, in some form or fashion, pretty continuously over the past three decades.

As I said in the main Shout thread covering this announcement, in the mid-90s, when I was in high school and knew nothing of DVD regions and had absolutely zero awareness that it was possible to import films from another country, I was buying crappy VCDs from a vendor in a stand at a local mall.

Those VCDs sparked my love of these movies, but, it was the UK-based Hong Kong Legends label which really kicked my fandom into high gear while I was in college. I'm eternally thankful for that.

[MrTorso]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I don't think it really matters if they themselves ship worldwide though when there's numerous others that do. It's not even like it's guaranteed Shout would have better shipping rates than another retailer that ships worldwide.

What the UK apparently needs are some boutique shops like the US have with Diabolik DVD, Orbit DVD, Atomic, atc.. that get US releases and sell them there. I wouldn't be surprised if more US folks used those shops for much of their UK/EU/Aus imports rather than buying direct from 88, and others.

I have never needed to order direct from 88 or any of the UK labels with stores like you mentioned above unless there was a reason too. When the Second Sight Dawn of the Dead was released I did order that from Zavi as I didn't want to miss it and when EUREKA had the Future Cops release and the verboten in the US Jet Li set due to Vinegar Syndrome strong arming.

[Resident Evil Labs]

Never seen this, but I love hong Kong action movies, especially from the 80s and 90s. So I'm guessing this is a a safe blind buy?

[Warm Gun]

Makes sense to release this before the John Woos in the sense that any doubts about their handling of the movies will (hopefully) be extinguished. The more popular movies then sell very well right out of the gate.

[meremortal]

This is one of many where I appreciate the 4k and don't need to upgrade this particular movie; still love seeing deep cut uhd releases.

[Reflection]

Originally Posted by Resident Evil Labs

Never seen this, but I love hong Kong action movies, especially from the 80s and 90s. So I'm guessing this is a a safe blind buy?

Don't expect John Woo kind of action, it has some action scenes in it, but it's more of a crime thriller, Tarantino famously or infamously lifted the plot and even some shots from this movie for Reservoir Dogs.

[ManWithNoName95]

Looks like Arrow Films have made a deal for the UK license of the Golden Princess Library.

Targeting a 2026 release for the first batch of titles.