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

ADDITION: Eureka Blu-ray (April 2025): Eureka have transferred Ringo Lam's The Adventurers to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from "a brand new 2K restoration". It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. The restoration, likely performed by Celestial Pictures (a common partner for Hong Kong film restorations), brings out the vibrancy of the film’s international settings and Ringo Lam’s kinetic visual style with impressive clarity. The color palette - earthy browns and greens in Cambodia, neon reds and blues in San Francisco, and warm golds in romantic scenes - export vividly in 1080P. The Blu-ray can look a bit smeary and less-crisp but this may be due to the shooting style / production. It's not stellar but consistent. The 2K restoration excels at highlighting Arthur Wong (Bodyguards and Assassins) and Ardy Lam’s (Bullet in the Head) cinematography, making the action sequences - like the helicopter assault - visually spectacular.

NOTE: We have added 70 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Eureka offers restored Cantonese audio tracks in two formats: linear PCM stereo and DTS-HD 5.1 surround, alongside an optional unrestored Cantonese stereo (LPCM) track option. Gunfire, explosions, and ambient sounds - like Cambodia’s jungle noises or San Francisco’s street chatter - are crisp, though limited by the stereo field. The 5.1 remix expands the soundscape, placing ambient sounds (e.g., jungle birds, urban noise) in the surround channels for a more immersive experience. The stereo track is clean and balanced, preserving the original 1995 mono mix’s intent while enhancing fidelity. Dialogue, particularly Andy Lau’s stoic delivery and Jacklyn Wu’s fiery outbursts, is clear, with no distortion or hiss. Teddy Robin Kwan’s score (Black Mask, As Time Goes By, City on Fire, Detective Dee: The Mystery of the Phantom Flame,) though generic, sounds fuller, with strings and percussion given more depth. The Unrestored Cantonese track, likely sourced from an older print, includes more hiss and a flatter dynamic range, reflecting the film’s original theatrical audio. It’s included for purists but feels redundant next to the restored options, as the improvements in the restored stereo track are noticeable. Via the lossless transfer, the remix is tasteful, avoiding overzealous effects that could feel unnatural for a 1995 film. However, the original mono mix wasn’t designed for 5.1, so the surround effects can feel subtle compared to modern blockbusters. Eureka offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Eureka Blu-ray offers a new commentary by film critic David West (Chasing Dragons: An Introduction to the Martial Arts Film,) a journalist and a Hong Kong cinema expert - offering insights into The Adventurers’ production, themes, and place in the genre. West covers Ringo Lam’s career trajectory, from City on Fire to his Hollywood transition with Maximum Risk, and the film’s context within the 1990s heroic bloodshed genre. Expect analysis of the Khmer Rouge backdrop, the international scope, and Andy Lau’s performance, alongside technical notes on the action choreography and cinematography by Arthur Wong and Ardy Lam. West’s commentaries are typically scholarly yet accessible, balancing historical context with engaging anecdotes. This adds significant value, offering a deeper understanding of the film’s strengths and flaws. It's worth the indulgence to fans. Two Adventurers is a new 21-minute interview with Gary Bettinson, editor of Asian Cinema Journal, offering an academic perspective on The Adventurers discussing the film’s themes of revenge and identity, its place in Ringo Lam’s filmography (Wild Search, Full Alert, Replicant,) and its reflection of 1990s Hong Kong cinema’s anxieties pre-handover. Previously Unseen is a 14-minute, archival interview with writer-producer Sandy Shaw, previously unreleased, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the film’s creation. Shaw discusses the script’s development, drawing on her experience in Hong Kong cinema (e.g., A Moment of Romance). There are anecdotes about working with Ringo Lam, casting Andy Lau, and the challenges of the international production - touching on budget issues or location shooting in Cambodia and San Francisco. Included is a theatrical trailer. The package has a limited edition collector’s booklet featuring a new essay by Hong Kong cinema scholar Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park (The Palgrave Handbook of Asian Cinema,) along with stills and archival materials. The extras package is impressive for a mid-tier Hong Kong action film, catering to both casual fans and scholars. The commentary by David West and the booklet with Magnan-Park’s essay are the standouts, providing deep analysis that elevates the film’s historical and thematic understanding.

Ringo Lam's The Adventurers follows a revenge-driven narrative that spans two decades and multiple countries (shot in Hong Kong, the United States, the Philippines, and Cambodia,) blending action spectacle with melodrama. The film opens in Cambodia in 1975, during the Khmer Rouge era, where eight-year-old Wai Lok-yan (Andy Lau in flashbacks) witnesses his parents and sister being killed by Ray Lui (Paul Chun), a rogue CIA operative turned arms dealer. The central theme is revenge and its corrosive impact. Yan’s quest to kill Lui consumes him, but his love for Crystal (Jacklyn Wu) complicates his mission, framing vengeance as a self-destructive force. This aligns with Ringo Lam’s recurring exploration of moral ambiguity - seen in films like City on Fire - where personal vendettas clash with ethical dilemmas. Lui’s mistress, Mona (Rosamund Kwan), is a tragic femme fatale, longing for freedom. Kwan outshines Lau in their scenes, her dignity contrasting his brooding angst. The Eureka Classics Blu-ray release of The Adventurers is a triumph of preservation and presentation, transforming a flawed but ambitious Hong Kong action-drama into a desirable physical media package. Recommended to fans of the genre.

Gary Tooze