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

ADDITION: 88 Films Blu-ray (August 2023): 88 Films have transferred Herman Yau's Taxi Hunter to Blu-ray. It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. The 1080P image quality is probably accurate to the production looking thick, gritty without gloss and there is plenty of rough texture. There is a blue-ish leaning but the overall HD presentation is consistent and presumably authentic. Not dynamic and devoid of depth it is what it is.

NOTE: We have added 60 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, 88 Films use a linear PCM 2.0 channel track (24-bit) in the original Cantonese language. Taxi Hunter is filled with unrestrained aggressive moments from car chases / crashes to egregious gunfire that gets exported with impacting depth. The score is by Bon Wong (Street Angels, Prince of the Sun and Street of Fury), sounding clean with remarkable moments and there is consistent dialogue in the lossless transfer. 88 Films offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The 88 Films Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) who did the commentaries on Mr. Vampire II and Vampire vs. Vampire in Eureka's Hopping Mad boxset. We have heard Djeng's expertise on commentates for Blu-rays of The Skyhawk, Magic Cop, Angela Mao: Hapkido & Lady Whirlwind, Knockabout, The Shaolin Plot and Dreadnaught. He always provides a thorough, insightful, commentary. Hunting For Words is a half-hour interview with scriptwriter and producer Tony Leung Hung-Wah discussing the evolution and development of the project. How to Murder Your Taxi Driver? is a 27-minute interview with action director James Ha and Falling Down in Hong Kong is a 20-minute interview with star Anthony Wong was born to a British father and a Chinese mother. There is a theatrical trailer and stills gallery. The package sports a reversible cover with new artwork by Sean Longmore and original HK Poster Art, a double walled Matt Finish O-Ring featuring new artwork by Longmore and a double-sided foldout poster.

Herman Yau's Taxi Hunter is a "Category III" film produced in Hong Kong. This means that "No persons younger than 18 years of age are permitted to rent, purchase, or watch this film in the cinema." NOTE: Miles in email tells us this is incorrect and Taxi Hunter was actually rated Category II - which advised it was "Not Suitable For Children" (Thanks Miles!) Regardless, it does push a few boundaries of exploitive revenge-based violence. Less-so by today's standards. It's easy to see Schumacher's 1993 Falling Down here - and we, likewise, have empathy for the, initially harmless, protagonist who is pushed over the edge. Subtle themes of corruption and helplessness in the face of overcrowded metropolitan existence are less-demonstratively prevalent. There is quite a bit to like here and the 88 Films Blu-ray is a stacked package with a commentary,  interviews and cool package / poster. Yes, I would recommend this one.

Gary Tooze