Review by Leonard Norwitz
Studio:
Theatrical: Leonard K.C. Ho
Blu-ray: Fortune Star (HK)
Disc:
Region: 'A'-locked
(as verified by the
Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player)
Runtime: 1:39:56.156
Disc Size: 24,520,856,165 bytes
Feature Size: 23,575,308,288 bytes
Video Bitrate: 20.99 Mbps
Chapters: 20
Case: Standard Blu-ray case w/ slipcover
Release date: September 15th, 2009
Video:
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
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
Subtitles:
English, Chinese, Thai, none
Extras:
• Ng Shots – in SD (4:40)
• Stills Gallery
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 ripped 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:
4/6
The first number indicates a relative level of excellence
compared to other Blu-ray video discs on a ten-point scale.
The second number places this image along the full range of
DVD and Blu-ray discs.
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.
CLICK EACH
BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
DVD TOP vs.
Blu-ray BOTTOM
DVD TOP vs.
Blu-ray BOTTOM
DVD TOP vs.
Blu-ray BOTTOM
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.
Operations:
4
We might have hoped for better a revised English translation
for Fortune Star’s Blu-ray edition, but it still suffers
from occasional spelling and usage lapses – not nearly as
bad as the old, old days, but hardly as good as should or
can be.
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.
Bottom line:
4
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.
Leonard Norwitz
December 11th, 2009
