God of Gamblers (1989) (88 Films) - 20th March 2023

[the13thman]

Originally Posted by chen lung

Also the subtitles, which were pretty dreadful.


At least they remastered them for 'Return'.

I don't recall MIA ever doing optional subtitles; I'm not sure if it was due to costs or technical restraints, but it's a bit of a drag, to say the least.

Return of the God of Gamblers if I recall correctly was non-anamorphic with the subtitles hardcoded within the black bar area, I had to watch it with my TV in 14:9 mode, a bit of a drag indeed...

[grim_tales]

Originally Posted by Jackie Scanlon

I've been saying it for years, but we need a Ringo Lam On Fire set (except Sky On Fire) given the 88 or Eureka treatment.

Tiger On Beat would be awesome as well, maybe with the second one (which has a few moments) as an extra.

Never heard of Sky on Fire before. I know there was City, Prison and School...

[Jackie Scanlon]

Originally Posted by grim_tales

Never heard of Sky on Fire before. I know there was City, Prison and School...

You'd be well advised to keep it that way. It's an absolutely abysmal film.

To be fair, it's not really thematically linked like the others are.

[russweiss1]

Originally Posted by Jackie Scanlon

You'd be well advised to keep it that way. It's an absolutely abysmal film.

To be fair, it's not really thematically linked like the others are.

My guess would be that the producers of Sky on Fire were trying to get a little extra fan/name recognition with the title. This film came nearly 30 years after the "famous" trilogy.

[Jackie Scanlon]

Originally Posted by russweiss1

My guess would be that the producers of Sky on Fire were trying to get a little extra fan/name recognition with the title. This film came nearly 30 years after the "famous" trilogy.

Quartet - City, Prison, School, Prison 2. All classics.

[cooey]

[Mr. Chaverria]

I mean, I was going to get this anyway as a blind buy. But that's a great cover. Is the movie as cool as that cover?

[Pochacco]

Personally, I think the movie is great with the perfect blend of comedy, action and drama.

[russweiss1]

Originally Posted by Mr. Chaverria

I mean, I was going to get this anyway as a blind buy. But that's a great cover. Is the movie as cool as that cover?

The slipcover has better artwork than any of the four posters I have for the film. Also the movie had three sequels (and helped spawn many other gambling films) although Chow Yun Fat was replaced by Chow Sing Chi in two of them.

[Jackie Scanlon]

Originally Posted by Mr. Chaverria

I mean, I was going to get this anyway as a blind buy. But that's a great cover. Is the movie as cool as that cover?

One of Wong Jing's best films, which admittedly isn't saying much, but yeah genuinely good.

[grim_tales]

From what I remember the movie isn't full on Woo-style action, but more a.. comedy? It does have some shootouts and stuff though

[Jackie Scanlon]

Originally Posted by grim_tales

From what I remember the movie isn't full on Woo-style action, but more a.. comedy? It does have some shootouts and stuff though

It's "light" comedy, at least for Wong Jing, and leans more towards the drama and action, especially compared with most of the later films when Stephen Chow enters the scene (I'm one of those people that can't stand Stephen Chow).

Return Of The God Of Gamblers is similar to the original and is arguably the only direct sequel.

[russweiss1]

Originally Posted by Jackie Scanlon

It's "light" comedy, at least for Wong Jing, and leans more towards the drama and action, especially compared with most of the later films when Stephen Chow enters the scene (I'm one of those people that can't stand Stephen Chow).

Return Of The God Of Gamblers is similar to the original and is arguably the only direct sequel.

Stephen Chow definitely has a lot of misses with his comedies but there are also many films that I really enjoy:

Royal Tramp 1 + 2, From Beijing With Love, Kung Fu Hustle, God of Gamblers 3, and All's Well Ends Well come to mind. He definitely deserves the stardom he received in the HK film industry.

[KUNG FU BOB]

I'm so glad 88 is releasing this! I love this movie.

It's one of the first (non-kung fu) Hong Kong films I ever saw (in the theater no less), and it was quite an experience. Without giving any spoilers, Chow Yun-Fat's character is one seriously smooth cat, but also (at times) far from the super cool dude I had just seen in THE KILLER and A BETTER TOMORROW. I'd never seen an American action hero play a role quite like that, and found it surprising and refreshing. He's equal turns laugh-out-loud funny and totally badass. Every VHS and DVD I've owned of this has been disappointing in one way or another. It's been plagued by pitiful subtitles to the point that I declined to show it to my wife and son as I didn't want this to detract from their viewing experience. Well, 88 Films to the rescue!

I'm excited to hear what they come up with for the extras.

[Pochacco]

Chow Yun-Fat once rescued train passenger that had fallen onto the tracks at a station in HK. I can't find the article online, but it was back in the late 90s IIRC and reported in the local papers.

[grim_tales]

Originally Posted by russweiss1

Stephen Chow definitely has a lot of misses with his comedies but there are also many films that I really enjoy:

Royal Tramp 1 + 2, From Beijing With Love, Kung Fu Hustle, God of Gamblers 3, and All's Well Ends Well come to mind. He definitely deserves the stardom he received in the HK film industry.

Suprised how much I enjoyed Forbidden City Cop, I didn't get all the obscure references but fun (very silly in places)
FBWL, KFH and Shaolin Soccer were all funny

[KUNG FU BOB]

Originally Posted by Pochacco

Chow Yun-Fat once rescued train passenger that had fallen onto the tracks at a station in HK. I can't find the article online, but it was back in the late 90s IIRC and reported in the local papers.

When I started reading your post I thought it was going to be like one of those Chuck Norris jokes... Chow Yun-Fat once spit a toothpick through an assassin's torso. Chow Yun-Fat once used his trenchcoat as a paraglider and flew from the top of a skyscraper without losing the ash on his cigarette. Chow Yun-Fat once...

Joking aside, I've always heard that he is a fantastic human being; a real gentleman.

Originally Posted by grim_tales

Suprised how much I enjoyed Forbidden City Cop, I didn't get all the obscure references but fun (very silly in places)
FBWL, KFH and Shaolin Soccer were all funny

Yes, great film! I highly recommend you check out the audio commentary on FORBIDDEN CITY COP by Frank Djeng (who was born in and lived until a young adult in Hong Kong) as a lot of the local customs and pop cultural specific jokes and references are explained and they're fascinating. (There's also another good AC on this release by Mike Leeder and Arne Venema).

[KayJay22]

There are far too few Chow Yun Fat films on blu ray.

I'm very happy this is getting released.


We also need more Jet Li.

[russweiss1]

Originally Posted by KayJay22

There are far too few Chow Yun Fat films on blu ray. We also need more Jet Li.

Yes to both.

[Owenjohnston]

Originally Posted by KayJay22

There are far too few Chow Yun Fat films on blu ray.

I'm very happy this is getting released.


We also need more Jet Li.

I'm hoping a lot of the Jet Li movies previously owned by Miramax are now available to license, similar to Police Story 3.