Royal Tramp Collection Blu-ray - Stephen Chow / Sharla Cheung

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Luk ding gei" or "Lu ding ji" or "Royal Tramp" or "Tale of the Deer and the Cauldron")

Directed by Jing Wong
Hong Kong 1992

An epic two-part wuxia-comedy based on the writings of acclaimed Chinese novelist Jin Yong, the Royal Tramp films star Stephen Chow as a cowardly bard who finds himself taking part in a real adventure when he is inducted into a sect of revolutionaries.

Wai Siu-bao (Chow) is known for his exciting tales of adventure and heroism, but his own life is quite dull. After rescuing the leader of a revolutionary movement from a police ambush, Wai is recruited into the Heaven and Earth Society and sent to steal secrets from the royal palace. However, in the palace things get complicated fast and Wai realises he has to play all sides off against each other if he is going to survive.

Featuring incredible choreography by Ching Siu-tung (A Chinese Ghost Story, Duel to the Death), Royal Tramp and Royal Tramp II are a pair of hilarious and exhilarating action-comedies from director Wong Jing and the “King of Comedy” Stephen Chow.

***

The story of Wilson Bond, a pimp who after saving Chan, the leader of the Heaven and Earth society, a revolutionary group, is made a member. After a botched first assignment for the group, he is made a servant to the Prince, the very person the Heaven and Earth society want to overthrow. What follows is plenty of mayhem and laughter.

Posters

Theatrical Release: July 30th, 1992

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Review: Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:50:49.315
Video	1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 40,245,645,815 bytes Feature: 36,710,575,680 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.86 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	LPCM Audio Chinese 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit DUB: DTS-HD Master Audio English 4008 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4008 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentaries: Dolby Digital Audio English 320 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 320 kbps / DN -31dB
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Eureka 1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 40,245,645,815 bytes Feature: 36,710,575,680 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.86 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Brand new audio commentaries by Asian film expert Frank Djeng, and Mike Leeder & Arne Venema • A career spanning interview with veteran Hong Kong actress Helene Law Lan, courtesy of the Frédéric Ambroisine Video Archive • Two archival interviews with Wong Jing about Royal Tramp and the Jin Yong novel the story is based on (9:17) • Trailers (4:40) PLUS: A Limited Edition Collector’s Booklet (First print run of 2000 copies only) featuring new writing on the films Blu-ray Release Date: November 13th, 2023 Transparent Blu-ray Case inside slipcase Chapters 11

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Eureka Blu-ray (November 2023): Eureka Classics have transferred Jing Wong's Royal Tramp and Royal Tramp II to Blu-ray as part of their "The Royal Tramp Collection".

NOTE: Unfortunately, our screener disc for Royal Tramp II was damaged in transit and we will only review the first Blu-ray of the two disc set, for now.

Michael Den Boer reviewed the, now oop, 2008 Dragon Dynasty (2-Disc Special Edition) DVD package of the 'Royal Tramp Collection' for DVDBeaver HERE. In comparing the captures below we can see the 1080P certainly improves on the resolution but looks a tad faded beside the SD transfers. The Blu-ray shows more information in the frame - mostly on the side and bottom edges. The Blu-ray has more pure whites, superior depth and is crisper if looking paler at times - I don't discount that the older DVD may have been slightly boosted. The BD is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate - approaching 6X that of the DVD.

NOTE: We have added 52 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Eureka include the original Cantonese in a linear PCM stereo audio track and an English DUB via a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround (both 24-bit.) Royal Tramp is filled with effects and aggressive conflicts. They are snappy even in the LPCM and the surround has some surprising separations and effective bass. The music is credited to Wai Lap Wu (From Beijing with Love, Once Upon a Time in China III + IV, The Legend of the Drunken Master etc.) and it supports both the film's dramatic grandiose moments and risqué comedy. Eureka offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'B' Blu-rays.

The Eureka Blu-ray offers two separate commentaries on the Royal Tramp Blu-ray by Frank Djeng, and the second with the pairing of Mike Leeder & Arne Venema. We have heard Frank Djeng's (NY Asian Film Festival, Producer on Enter the Clones of Bruce) expertise on commentates for Blu-rays of Beach of the War Gods, Taxi Hunter, The Skyhawk, Magic Cop, Angela Mao: Hapkido & Lady Whirlwind, Knockabout, The Shaolin Plot, Dreadnaught and on Mr. Vampire II and Vampire vs. Vampire in Eureka's Hopping Mad boxset. He is paired with Producer F.J. DeSanto. Frank is the "go-to" guy for martial arts cinema and provides great historical context, discussing the performers and providing a wonderful all-around overview of the film. The second commentary is by 'Action Film' historians Mike Leeder (editor of 100% Jackie Chan: The Essential Companion) and Arne Venema. They have some fun discussing the film's details, sharing their knowledge of the genre, Stephen Chow's comedies, the performers, choreography and behind the scenes crew citing many similar examples. The supplements include "A career spanning interview with veteran Hong Kong actress Helene Law Lan, courtesy of the Frédéric Ambroisine Video Archive" and two archival interviews with Wong Jing about Royal Tramp and the Jin Yong novel the story is based on. There are trailers and the package has a limited edition collector’s booklet (First print run of 2000 copies only) featuring new writing on the films.

Jing Wong's Royal Tramp is based on Louis Cha's novel The Deer and the Cauldron. The initial entry was followed by the Royal Tramp II sequel, later in the same year. It was also directed by Jing Wong and starred much of the same main cast including Stephen Chow, Chingmy Yau, Sandra Ng, Damian Lau, Sharla Cheung as 'Empress Dowager' and Brigitte Lin as 'Divine Lady of Dragon Sect'. There are lots of characters and it can be a bit confusing but is loads of fun with solid action sequences and occasional risqué humor. I was surprised how much I liked Royal Tramp upon revisitation after many years. Eureka do their usual excellent Blu-ray work with a stacked package, commentaries, interviews, booklet. Enjoyable double-feature to have in the digital library.