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

[OldPangYau]

Originally Posted by almo89

In comparison, Sammo and Yuen Biao has done a lot more interviews in detail about their experiences in their older films.

That's true, especially Sammo, it seems. Yuen Biao did some decent interviews, including for Righting Wrongs.

Btw, for those who haven't seen it, this is the opening to the Japanese theatrical cut of Drunken Master:

ジャッã‚*ー・ãƒ�ェンã�®æ˜*ç”»"酔拳" 日本版オープニング　Jackie Chan Drunken Master Opening Japanese version - YouTube

Still intrigued to see if it's really in HD. As for the opening of the main cut, as the disc has the Destination Films logo, I wonder if it's the English language opening credits or if they got the proper HK credits

[Magic Monkey]

Holy crap, I was SO EXCITED when my custom RSS fetcher for YesAsia showed today this item. Fast browsing to the site and BAM, once again, Japanese release with no Eng subs! F.

I don't understand why they don't put Eng subs in these! I mean, the items cost a truckload of cash, so it should be very easy to justify spending some money on Eng subs, which in turn would open up a big market for new buyers. So disappointed now.

[madridista8700]

Originally Posted by Magic Monkey

I don't understand why they don't put Eng subs in these! I mean, the items cost a truckload of cash, so it should be very easy to justify spending some money on Eng subs, which in turn would open up a big market for new buyers. So disappointed now.

Japanese releases are aimed at - and only intended at - the Japanse public in Japan. Chinese releases are aimed at the Chinese public in China, but a lot of Chinese people speak English.

Same reason goes for US releases - when you look at the bottom of most covers, it says 'FOR SALE IN THE US ONLY' or something in that likeness. It's nothing new really, the companies are only allowed to market and sell it to their own consumers and not audiences abroad because of the rights to the movies.

[Magic Monkey]

But they don't have to "market" the items outside their "region" (which is crap anyways), if there's a need, the customers will come.

[madridista8700]

I know, but it all has to do with the rights and what they're given.

[reason108]

No one speaks English in Japan? I thought that English was a popular thing to learn there. My opinion is that it would help them to learn English better if there were English subtitles on their releases; especially on their kung fu releases. (nudge nudge wink wink say no more)

[madridista8700]

Never said that no Japanese people speak English. Read my post again.

The percentage of Chinese people speaking English is higher than the Japanese people.

[r32]

That is normal in Japan, it' s hard to find any English friendly handbook of any
home appliances there.

[Monroville]

You have to also understand that the Japanese overall can be VERY bigoted when it comes to Westerners. They teach English as a second language (ie a business language), but rarely use it.

Think of Mr Takagi in DIE HARD: "We couldn't beat you at Pearl Harbor so we got you with tape decks." They probably COULD have included the english dubs and subs, but why placate the gaijin?

[Clark Kent]

Originally Posted by Monroville

You have to also understand that the Japanese overall can be VERY bigoted when it comes to Westerners. They teach English as a second language (ie a business language), but rarely use it.

Think of Mr Takagi in DIE HARD: "We couldn't beat you at Pearl Harbor so we got you with tape decks." They probably COULD have included the english dubs and subs, but why placate the gaijin?

Though strangely, some English words seem to have slipped into casual Japanese usage.

[Travis-techheads-67]

must have watched it over 100 times and I just love it

[tigerstyles]

http://blog.goo.ne.jp/mazin-box/e/63...2d20414729f54f



found this and DM seems to be a mashup ... not looking good

[reason108]

Originally Posted by tigerstyles

http://blog.goo.ne.jp/mazin-box/e/63...2d20414729f54f



found this and DM seems to be a mashup ... not looking good

What does it say?

[apollo828]

Hi. I got my set Saturday but have only recently been able to look at it. I've spot checked DM. What I saw is probably about as good as it'll ever look. It's a surprisingly strong transfer! Certain shots are soft or look a bit wonky, but I'm sure that's just the way the film has always been.

Regarding the audio, I don't have the Columbia DVD, so I don't know which sections are damaged. Can anybody give some timecodes to look at? (FWIW, the disc is 1:51:11 with all logos.)

Thanks. I'll have more details on the goods later.

[OldPangYau]

Originally Posted by flashback8

Hi. I got my set Saturday but have only recently been able to look at it. I've spot checked DM. What I saw is probably about as good as it'll ever look. It's a surprisingly strong transfer! Certain shots are soft or look a bit wonky, but I'm sure that's just the way the film has always been.

Regarding the audio, I don't have the Columbia DVD, so I don't know which sections are damaged. Can anybody give some timecodes to look at? (FWIW, the disc is 1:51:11 with all logos.)

Thanks. I'll have more details on the goods later.

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...

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.

[reason108]

Most of the JC blu ray releases have been very disappointing due to the upscaling by FS. The quality of the Columbia dvd release was pretty good and I would say that it is almost equal in pq to some of the current FS blu rays of these classic films. I have hope for decent, true HD, for the release of this and DM. I want to get this on blu but without the English subs makes me hesitant. But, its hard to resist. Any further details about pq, subs/dubs, extras, etc would be most welcome.

[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).

[reason108]

Originally Posted by flashback8

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.



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 (~94 min?)
-Japanese cut of SITES (~90 min?)
-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).

Cool, thanks for that info.

[OldPangYau]

I had a feeling the English credits would be the case after seeing the Destination Films logo on the disc art... I'm sure SITES will be the same.

[apollo828]

Originally Posted by OldPangYau

I had a feeling the English credits would be the case after seeing the Destination Films logo on the disc art... I'm sure SITES will be the same.

Correct. SITES has English credits too.

One more quick update: I'm convinced the Japanese cuts are real HD. They're "as-is" transfers that have good levels of detail but haven't been given a thorough scrubbing (i.e., lots of dust and such). Interestingly enough, they also have English credits! Very strange. Audio for both is Japanese PCM.