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Police
Story (Jackie Chan Legendary Collection) aka Ging chat goo si [Blu-ray]
(Jackie Chan, 1985)
Eureka - Region 'B' -
Blu-ray
Package
Review by Leonard Norwitz
/ Gary Tooze
Studio:
Theatrical: Leonard K.C. Ho
Blu-ray: Fortune Star (HK)
/ Eureka (UK)
Disc:
Region: 'A'-locked
/ Region 'B'
(as verified by the
Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player)
Runtime: 1:39:56.156
/ 1:40:31.859
Disc Size: 24,520,856,165 bytes
/ 49,054,839,291 bytes
Feature Size: 23,575,308,288 bytes
/ 33,017,994,624 bytes
Video Bitrate: 20.99 Mbps
/ 29.90 Mbps
Chapters: 20
/ 18
Case: Standard Blu-ray case w/ slipcover
/ (see above)
Release date: September 15th, 2009
/ August 20th, 2018
Video
(both):
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
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1) Fortune Star - Region 'A' -
Blu-ray
TOP
2) Eureka - Region 'B' -
Blu-ray
BOTTOM
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Audio:
Dolby TrueHD Audio Chinese 2141 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 2141
kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Core:
5.1-EX / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Dolby TrueHD Audio Chinese 2183 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 2183
kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Core:
5.1-EX / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Dolby Digital EX Audio Thai 640 kbps 5.1-EX / 48 kHz / 640
kbps
DTS-HD Master Audio Chinese 4188 kbps
5.1 / 48 kHz / 4188 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz /
768 kbps / 24-bit)
LPCM Audio Chinese 768 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit
DTS-HD Master Audio English 3947 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3947
kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit)
LPCM Audio English 768 kbps 1.0 / 48
kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit
Subtitles:
English, Chinese, Thai, none
/ English, none
Extras:
• Ng Shots – in SD (4:40)
• Stills Gallery
Blu-ray 1
Police Story (100 mins) 1080p presentation sourced from the
incredible new 4K restoration
Four unique Audio options: Original Cantonese Mono audio
track; Restored Cantonese 5.1; Restored English 5.1 dub
track AND an additional audio track featuring an alternate
English dub sourced from a rare Dutch VHS release of Police
Story that has never been officially released on any other
version of the film
Newly translated English subtitles
Police Story: The Japanese Cut (1:45:13 - HD) Originally
released exclusively to Japanese home video, this extended
cut of the film was transferred to HD from a film print in
2012 and makes its UK debut here with it s original
Cantonese audio and English subtitles for the first time
ever
Police Story: The Police Force Cut (1:28:01- SD) A unique
version of the film edited exclusively for the American home
video market, featuring a unique dub track and electronic
score
Police Story Alternate and Deleted Scenes, including
alternate opening and ending sequences
Archival Interview with Jackie Chan (19:34)
"Jackie Chan Stunts" Promotional trailer (4:45)
Trailers (2:47, 4K-restored 3:13)
Collectors Booklet feat new writing on the film & rare
archival material
Blu-ray 2
Police Story 2 1080p presentation of the extended version of
the film, sourced from the incredible new 4K restoration
Original Cantonese Mono audio, along with restored Cantonese
and English 5.1 options
Newly translated English subtitles
Police Story 2: The Original Hong Kong Version (1:46:08) The
original cut of Police Story 2, presented with it s original
Cantonese mono audio track and optional English subtitles
Optional Audio Commentary with Miles Wood and Jude Poyer
(Hong Kong Version of the film)
Police Story 2: Original UK Version (1:35:52) An alternate
cut of the film created for the film s UK VHS release,
featuring a unique English dub track
"Jackie Chan" - Son of the Incredibly Strange Film Show
(41:08)
Archival Interview with Benny Lai (15:41)
Outtakes (2:06) Alternate Outtakes (3:09)
Trailers (original 4:01 - Alternate - 1:54)
Collectors Booklet feat new writing on the film & rare
archival material
Synopsis:
It all begins here! Director-star Jackie Chan's celebrated
Police Story series began with this classic action comedy,
which features the inimitable Jackie Chan charm and some of
the most spectacular action sequences ever put to film.
Jackie Chan is cop Chan Ka Kui, who's assigned to guard
beautiful witness Selina (Brigitte Lin), the girlfriend of
evil drug kingpin Chor Yuen. Selina's presence causes some
friction between Chan and his petulant girlfriend May
(international star Maggie Cheung), but when the bad guys
come-a-calling, all that gets left behind. Glass breaks,
bones crunch, and anything and everything becomes a weapon
in Police Story!
A seminal film even in Jackie Chan's incredibly
action-packed filmography, Police Story redefined action
films with its undeniably creative and exquisitely
choreographed mayhem. Unbelievable stunts and breathtaking
set-pieces set the tone in this award-winning film, which
earned a Best Picture award at the 5th Annual Hong Kong Film
Awards. Action to watch for includes an amazing car chase
through a hillside shantytown, a stunt-filled chase with
Jackie Chan hanging onto a bus with only an umbrella, and a
simply mind-blowing finale in a shopping center, which could
qualify as a world record for collateral damage via punches,
kicks, or people simply falling through glass. All the
above, plus Jackie Chan's generous comic persona, are
present and accounted for in Police Story!
Hong Kong Film Awards: Best Picture, Best Action
Choreography 1985
Excerpt of review from YesAsia.com located HERE
The Film:
7
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were obtained directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
Jackie Chan’s Police Story must have really taken its
audience by surprise. It mixes low comedy with suspense and
thrilling action scenes. There’s even an attempt to give
characters some dimension – some. But it’s Jackie Chan’s
bonecrunching stuntwork that boggles the mind. For a nice
guy who isn’t obviously psychotic he certainly places
himself in astonishing amounts of harm’s way – and these are
just the shots that made it to film – what about all the
stuff that required a second take! Determination, combined
with skill, talent and a carefully crafted sweet persona –
an unbeatable combination. Seen from a perspective twenty
years later, Police Story does not rise to the level
of effort that Jackie Chan put into it. In other words, the
whole is actually less than the sum of its parts – but, oh,
what parts!
Image:
Fortune Star released a freshly remastered Police Story
Trilogy for DVD in 2004. It arrived in a smartly crafted
box, with each movie housed in its own sleeve plus a nice
photo album – the sort of care and expense we see precious
little of on Blu-ray from any studio. Compared to what
preceded it, the remastered version was a knockout. It still
had contrast issues and its share of source element
deterioration and edge enhancement, but aside from these, it
looked and sounded about as good as I thought we were going
to get. Enter Fortune Star’s
Blu-ray
and – whoops. Even a
casual examination of the comparative caps indicates that
the usual improvement in sharpness is not there. Far from
it. And if the DVD was too yellow, the Blu-ray is too red.
Yes, the tendency for the DVD to appear polished, smoothed
out and a little brightened is clear (we probably didn't
used to think so, but the
Blu-ray
does make this evident),
but grain, bordering on noise, begins to dominate – very
likely because the Blu-ray is a more accurate reflection of
the source elements. But, then, what about the loss of
sharpness, suggesting the source is severely compromised,
whatever it is? There is also a curious horizontal
compression of the image at the sides, where figures tend to
narrow, reminiscent of the earliest days of CinemaScope and
later video renderings. Worse still is that the dizzying
effect this produces when the camera pans in either
direction. Dramamine is advised.
I'll be brief. This new Eureka 4K-restoration is what fans
of these first two Police Story films have been
waiting for. It leaves no stone unturned with every
conceivable audio and DUB option, plus alternate versions
(Japanese and US cuts) of the films and other extras.
Everything is more technically robust and although the
presentation is imperfect with some inconsistency - it's a
gigantic leap beyond the original, warped and overly bright,
Blu-ray transfer.
NOTE :
This review was delayed as it is for the corrected version -
the original Eureka release had drop-outs throughout for
Police Story - the first one occurring at the 10-minute
mark. Eureka is offering a replacement program for affected
discs - email
customer@eurekavideo.co.uk.
CLICK EACH
BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Subtitle Sample - Eureka - Region 'B' -
Blu-ray
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1)
Fortune Star - Region 3 - NTSC -
TOP
2) Fortune Star - Region 'A' -
Blu-ray
MIDDLE
3) Eureka - Region 'B' -
Blu-ray
BOTTOM
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|
1)
Fortune Star - Region 3 - NTSC -
TOP
2) Fortune Star - Region 'A' -
Blu-ray
MIDDLE
3) Eureka - Region 'B' -
Blu-ray
BOTTOM
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|
1)
Fortune Star - Region 3 - NTSC -
TOP
2) Fortune Star - Region 'A' -
Blu-ray
MIDDLE
3) Eureka - Region 'B' -
Blu-ray
BOTTOM
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More
Eureka - Region 'B' -
Blu-ray Captures
Audio & Music:
3/6
There's just so much massaging you can do with a mono or
simple stereo track in order to create a surround field of
convincing proportions. MGM/Fox was hit and miss with the
early Bond films on Blu-ray, but Disney seems to have gotten
it right for Pinocchio. Fortune Star has been messing around
with the audio for Police Story for some while, but had the
good sense to offer the original Cantonese 2.0 along with a
DTS and a 5.1 Dolby on their remastered DVD, but on their
Blu-ray, we must suffer with a Dolby TrueHD 7.1, as if this
settles the matter. The Mandarin uncompressed mix and Thai
Dolby EX 6.1 are even less good (as expected since they are
dubs.) But, alas, there is no original track at all. Not
that the original was any great shakes, but neither did it
have pretensions. So what we are left with on the
Blu-ray
is
the Hong Kong old school sock 'em chock 'em effects where no
sound is believable, save perhaps the dialogue, and even
that, though clear, is pressured. Effects sound as if they
have been squeezed through a tunnel, and then given a treble
boost after the horse has left the barn.
Four options - the o riginal
Cantonese Mono audio track; Restored Cantonese 5.1 (24-bit -
twice as robust as the Fortune Star; Restored English 5.1
dub track (also 24-bit) AND an additional audio track
featuring an alternate English dub sourced from a rare Dutch
VHS release of Police Story that has never been
officially released on any other version of the film. All
superior and optional English subtitles. The package is
Region 'B'-locked
Blu-ray.
Extras:
1
In addition to a stills gallery the
Blu-ray
includes "NG
shots" – a collection of production footage of stunts and
outtakes. Even the DVD had trailers.
Extras include The Japanese Cut
(1:45:13 - HD) originally released exclusively to Japanese
home video, this extended cut of the film was transferred to
HD from a film print in 2012 and makes its UK debut here
with it's original Cantonese audio and English subtitles for
the first time ever plus Police Story: The Police Force
Cut (1:28:01- SD) - a unique version of the film edited
exclusively for the American home video market, featuring a
unique dub track and electronic score. There are Police
Story Alternate and Deleted Scenes, including alternate
opening and ending sequences, an archival, 20-minute,
interview with Jackie Chan, a "Jackie Chan Stunts"
Promotional trailer plus film trailers (2:47, 4K-restored
3:13) and the package has a collector's booklet feat new
writing on the film & rare archival material plus a second
Blu-ray of
Police Story 2
with its own extras. Wow.
Menus / Extras -
Eureka - Region 'B' -
Blu-ray
Bottom line:
While the
Blu-ray
may be more filmic in presentation, it's
not much fun to look at. But unless someone starts from a
different source, this is about as good as we're likely to
get. BTW, YesAsia indicates it still offers Fortune Star's
region-free remastered Trilogy
HERE.
The Eureka is easily the one to own -
4K restored, stacked with alternate versions
plus a second
Blu-ray of
Police Story 2.
Super action and fun... sold!
Leonard Norwitz
December 11th, 2009
Gary Tooze
September 15th, 2018
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