NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: 88 Films Blu-ray (July 2023): 88 Films have transferred Wei Tung's Magic Cop to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "NEW 2K Scan Of The Film From The Best Available Film Elements". The 1080P image starts out fairly middling but improves to be consistently dark and thick. There are sequences with heavy speckles. Overall it was imperfect but a darn sight better than the SD Taiwanese cut (also included) that is stretched and has burned-in subtitles - see our comparison captures below.

NOTE: We have added 62 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, 88 Films offer a few DTS-HD Master tracks (all 24-bit.) We get 2.0 channel original Cantonese or restored Cantonese language or a 5.1 surround English DUB or 2.0 channel English DUB. Magic Cop has many aggressive moments that come through modestly. The score is stated in some places as being by "BMG Melody Bank" (Erotic Ghost Story II) - it sounds reasonably generic with traditional vides. I have no information on the Taiwanese cut's alternate score. Dialogue can be scattered but I am forgiving of any indiscretions as the source was not premium. 88 Films offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The 88 Films Blu-ray offers an audio commentary by Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and Marc "the man" Walkow. Frank is always excellent and Marc supports him as the wing-man (he also did the commentary with Chris Poggiali on Sonny Chiba's The Executioner.) They share details and impressive information - making it a worthwhile listen although sound quality is sub-par. Discussed above 88 Films include the Taiwanese Cut of "Magic Cop" in SD with an alternate score. It's in poor condition but could act as a curiosity for some. There is a 36-minute interview with Tung Wei the director of Magic Cop. He is mostly know for Stunt work, also having acted in over 50 films, but Magic Cop was his first directorial effort (of four.) So he's been around the industry a long time and shares some interesting memories. Lastly, there is an image gallery, trailer and the package has a reversible cover with new artwork by Sean Longmore and original HK Poster Art.

Wei Tung's Magic Cop is also known as Mister Vampire 5 - we had compared Mr. Vampire on Blu-ray to DVDs HERE and the more 'official' sequels on Eureka Blu-ray reviewed HERE. There is plenty I liked about this fun, mystical Asian crime-supernatural-comedy-horror. Lam Ching-ying pushes it to be accepted into the Mister Vampire cycle as he was in the original, Mr. Vampire, and sequels; Mr. Vampire II (1986), Mr. Vampire III (1987), Vampire Vs. Vampire (1989), Encounters of the Spooky Kind II (1990) often as the 'One Eyebrow Taoist Priest'. Bruce Lee had hired 19-year old Lam as his personal assistant. He is also listed as a film producer for Magic Cop. We lost him in 1997 (aged 44.) His character's use of supernatural skills and detective techniques is one of the marvels of Magic Cop. I enjoyed the 88 Films Blu-ray; the fun film, commentary, interview and more. For those who feel they might be keen, we encourage indulging.

Gary Tooze