(aka "Geung si sin sang" or"Jiang shi xian sheng" or "Mr. Stiff Corpse" )
directed
by Ricky Lau
Hong Kong 1985
| An Eastern response to Ghostbusters (which spawned many imitations and parodies), Mr. Vampire uses Oriental culture as the springboard for a unique, creepily amusing vampire mythos. Here, the vampires can be controlled by Taoist incantations, administered on an enchanted written parchment affixed to the creature's forehead. Unfortunately, if the spell falls off, the vampire immediately begins to hop and search for blood. In a clever twist reminiscent of the Spanish Blind Dead series, the vampires can also be thwarted from detecting a human's presence if the potential victims hold their breath. Kou (Lam Ching Ying), a priest and expert vampire wrangler with the most memorable case of unibrow in cinema history, tries to teach his two bumbling apprentices, Chou (Chin Siu-Ho) and Man-Chor (Ricky Hui), the ins and outs of vampire control, but several comedic (and horrific) mishaps along the way to derail their education. The bulk of the story concerns an elder, now converted to vampirism, whose son recruits the trio for help; however, the narrative also tosses in a variety of marginally related supernatural hijinks, including a bewitching female ghost whose flying head participates in a memorable acrobatic attack scene. |
Theatrical Release: 1985
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Comparison:
Intercontinental Video Ltd. (Digitally Remastered) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Mega Star - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Fox - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Hong Kong Legends - Region 2,4 - PAL
Big thanks to Ole Kofoed and
Chris Gould for the Screen Caps!(Mega Star - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. Hong Kong Legends - Region 2,4 - PAL - RIGHT)
| DVD Box Covers |
Thinking of buying from YesAsia? CLICK HERE and use THIS UPDATED BEAVER PAGE to source their very best...
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution |
Intercontinental Video Ltd. Region 0 - NTSC |
Mega Star Region 0 - NTSC |
Fox Region 1 - NTSC |
Hong
Kong Legends Region 2,4 - PAL |
|
| Runtime | 1:37:13 | 1:33:37 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:37:18 | 1:33:43 (4% PAL speedup) | |
| Video |
1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1.70:1
Aspect Ratio |
1.78:1 Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1.78:1 Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
|
|
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
|||||
|
Bitrate:
Mega Star Intercontinental Video Ltd.
|
|
||||
|
Bitrate:
Mega Star
|
|
||||
|
Bitrate:
Fox
|
|
||||
|
Bitrate:
Hong Kong Legends
|
|
||||
| Audio | Cantonese Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1, Cantonese DTS 5.1, Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 | Cantonese and Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 |
English Dub Dolby Digital 5.1 + DTS 5.1, Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1 + 2.0 mono + DTS 5.1 |
English Dub Dolby Digital 5.1, Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1 |
|
| Subtitles | English, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified) | Chinese, English, Thai, Vietnamese, Spanish or none. | English or none. | English, Dutch, None | |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: Intercontinental Video Ltd. Aspect Ratio:
Edition
Details: Chapters 17 |
Release Information: Studio: Mega Star Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
Chapters 9 |
Release Information: Studio: Fox Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date: September 7, 2004 Chapters 28 |
Release Information: Studio: Hong Kong Legends Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date: April 22, 2002 Chapters 28 |
|
| Comments |
ADDITION:
IVL July 2005 -
The subtitles on this release appear to be more
accurate than the HKL disc, which occasionally slip into 'dubtitles'.
However, the names of several characters are 'Westernised' (Man Choi
becomes Dan and Sheng becomes Harry). This is possibly because they are
taken from the English dub on the Fox release. Even so, the subtitles are
more accurate/complete than the HKL disc, which fails to translate the
song that plays when Shiu Yu first encounters Sheng in the forest. While
similar to the Fox transfer, this effort seems more naturally balanced and
reveals finer detail. Aspect ratio is actually closer to 1.82:1, but this
is a negligible difference as aspect ratios are approximate.
I am going with the Hong Kong Legends as the best transfer. All three editions have flaws but the HKL seems to have the least. The Fox has manipulated colors (skin tones too red). The Mega Star is out of contention (damage, contrast boosting etc.). There is minor side cropping on the HKL, but it is inconsistent (zooming on Fox I presume). Both Fox and HKL are cropped on top compared to the Mega Star. I like the HKL subtitles the best. Its hard to say positively, but I think the Fox was no encoded progressive scan on individual frames. Bottom line Fox looks saturated and manipulated to me. BTW, Fox is the only release with the original mono track. Extras and menus go to HKL. We say go with the HKL PAL transfer -audio weakness aside. - Gary Tooze |
DVD Menus
(Intercontinental Video Ltd. (Digitally Remastered) - Region 0 - NTSC
LEFT vs. Mega Star - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
(Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT
vs. Hong Kong Legends - Region 2,4 - PAL -
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Subtitle Sample
(Intercontinental Video Ltd. (Digitally Remastered) - Region 0 - NTSC TOP vs. Mega Star - Region 0 - NTSC - 2nd vs. Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Hong Kong Legends - Region 2,4 - PAL - BOTTOM)
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Screen Captures
(Intercontinental Video Ltd. (Digitally Remastered) - Region 0 - NTSC TOP vs. Mega Star - Region 0 - NTSC - 2nd vs. Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Hong Kong Legends - Region 2,4 - PAL - BOTTOM)
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Intercontinental Video Ltd. (Digitally Remastered) - Region 0 - NTSC TOP vs. Mega Star - Region 0 - NTSC - 2nd vs. Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Hong Kong Legends - Region 2,4 - PAL - BOTTOM)
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Intercontinental Video Ltd. (Digitally Remastered) - Region 0 - NTSC TOP vs. Mega Star - Region 0 - NTSC - 2nd vs. Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Hong Kong Legends - Region 2,4 - PAL - BOTTOM)
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Intercontinental Video Ltd. (Digitally Remastered) - Region 0 - NTSC TOP vs. Mega Star - Region 0 - NTSC - 2nd vs. Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Hong Kong Legends - Region 2,4 - PAL - BOTTOM)
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Intercontinental Video Ltd. (Digitally Remastered) - Region 0 - NTSC TOP vs. Mega Star - Region 0 - NTSC - 2nd vs. Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Hong Kong Legends - Region 2,4 - PAL - BOTTOM)
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Intercontinental Video Ltd. (Digitally Remastered) - Region 0 - NTSC TOP vs. Mega Star - Region 0 - NTSC - 2nd vs. Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Hong Kong Legends - Region 2,4 - PAL - BOTTOM)
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Report Card:
|
Image: |
IVL |
|
Sound: |
IVL |
| Extras: | Hong Kong Legends |
|
Menu: |
Hong Kong Legends |
Recommended Reading for Martial Arts/Samurai Genre Fans (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Asian Cult Cinema by Thomas Weisser |
The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film by Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp |
Great Martial Arts Movies:
From Bruce Lee to Jackie Chan and More (Citadel Film) by Richard Meyers, Ric Meyers |
VideoHound's Dragon: Asian
Action & Cult Flicks by Brian Thomas |
Silver Screen Samurai: The Best of Japan's Samurai
Movie Posters by Na |
The Films of Akira Kurosawa by Donald Ritchie |
The Yakuza Movie Book : A Guide
to Japanese Gangster Films by Mark Schilling |
Japanese Movie Posters: Yakuza, Monster, Pink, and
Horror by Chuck Stephens, Tetsuya Masuda, Kairakutei Black |
A Hundred Years of Japanese Film by Donald Richie |
Check out more in "The Library"
| DVD Box Covers |
Thinking of buying from YesAsia? CLICK HERE and use THIS UPDATED BEAVER PAGE to source their very best...
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution |
Intercontinental Video Ltd. Region 0 - NTSC |
Mega Star Region 0 - NTSC |
Fox Region 1 - NTSC |
Hong
Kong Legends Region 2,4 - PAL |
DONATIONS Keep DVDBeaver alive and advertisement free:
Mail cheques, money orders, cash to: or CLICK PayPal logo to donate!
|
Gary Tooze 1775 Rowntree Court Mississauga, Ontario, L4W 4V3 CANADA |
|
Many Thanks...
