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
/ Region 'B'
(as verified by the
Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player)
Runtime: 2:01:25.278
/ 2:01:54.640
Disc Size: 38,416,824,943 bytes
/ 49,518,833,026 bytes
Feature Size: 36,331,493,376 bytes
/ 38,338,156,032 bytes
Video Bitrate: 28.99 Mbps
/ 29.98 Mbps
Chapters: 20
/ 14
Case: Standard Blu-ray case
/ (see above)
Release date: December 12th, 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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Audio:
Dolby TrueHD Audio Chinese 2269 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 2269
kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1-EX / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Dolby TrueHD Audio Chinese 2254 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 2254
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 4080 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4080
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 3965 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3965
kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles:
English, Chinese, Thai, none
/ English, none
Extras:
• Interview with Stuntman Benny Lai – SD (15:42)
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
The Film:
7
Jackie Chan has appeared in numerous noteworthy movies, but
he seems to be in top form when playing policemen. In a
career filled with high points, the Police Story and Project
A series feature most of Chan’s greatest stunts and best
acting. This is true even of the recent New Police Story
(not connected to the other Police Story movies), which was
a return to form for Chan even though he is no longer able
to push his body to extreme limits. Chan is limited to
playing a goof in the Rush Hour series and Shanghai
Noon/Shanghai Knights, but he emotes mightily and credibly
as a dedicated member of the Royal Hong Kong Police.
Police Story was defined by Chan’s stunning leap onto a
light pole in the middle of a department store. That one
stunt is probably his greatest moment. With Police Story 2,
Chan tried to top the first movie’s department-store
showdown with a brawl in an abandoned factory. However,
since Chan has not yet found a way to top the light-pole
stunt, the action is simply on par with what we saw with
Police Story, though to be fair, the scale of destruction is
impressive.
The movie’s strength lies in the further development of Ka-kui
(Chan) and May’s (Maggie Cheung) relationship. Ka-kui is so
dedicated to his job and so daring/reckless that May feels
like an afterthought. Ka-kui and May nearly split, though
when the villains kidnap May, Ka-kui finally learns how much
she cares for him. Chan is at his best when his characters
are forced into impossible situations; the sense of
desperation and love that Chan and Cheung exhibit while
being tortured is what makes the action so exciting. Because
we genuinely care for characters that are simply trying to
make a relationship work--something that we all do on a
daily basis--we share Ka-kui and May’s commitment to each
other and to justice.
Excerpt of David McCoy's review from DVDBeaver located HERE
Image:
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
As noted in my review of the
Blu-ray of
Police Story,
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. As we can see from the
comparative screen captures, the
Blu-ray for Police Story 2
appears to be drawn from the same source as Fortune Star's
2004 remastered DVD, but fares better than its predecessor.
Compared to that DVD differences are not great, but at least
they are consistent and in a positive direction. While
generally soft, sharpness and detail varies with the scene –
some seem shot with a fog filter, others are reasonably
crisp and clear, with less smoothing applied, especially to
faces. The color palette is on the pastel side with contrast
far less aggressive than we saw in the first movie. Gone is
the tendency to overbrighten scenes seen on the
Blu-ray for
Police
Story. Grain is present, but kept from overwhelming
the image without heaps of DNR. As with the original
Police
Story on
Blu-ray, where the DVD was too cyan/yellow, the
Blu-ray is too magenta. The same curious horizontal
compression of the image at the sides on the DVD, where
figures tend to narrow, is corrected to an extent on the
Blu-ray. It's still evident, however, in shots such as in
the locker room (see cap.) The bitrate is quite high, for
all the good it does. A grudgingly acceptable presentation.
Not the same advancement in the image that we saw with
Eureka's 4K-restored
Police Story
Blu-ray. The UK transfer is a thicker,
more consistent image and, again, shows that the Fortune
Star
Blu-ray appears to be stretched. It is
also the extended version. Some scenes look superior to
others but overall seems more heavy and film-like. It's a
new 4K restoration and may be the farthest the film can
advance in this format, with the best elements utilized.
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
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Eureka - Region 'B' -
Blu-ray Captures
Audio & Music:
4/6
There are times when the DTS uncompressed 7.1 comes remotely
close to being worth the trouble, as when a caravan of
trucks lumber down the highway or when rain is drenching the
scene (as contrasted from when it is heard from under the
protection of a pavilion ceiling.) Then there are times
when the foley work is positively laughable, as when Chan
and his superior are walking across a hotel lobby and,
despite the visual presence of others, these guys are the
only ones whose footsteps we hear. The lack of
differentiation among body blows is a hallmark of this
generation of martial arts movies: there is nothing about
the
Blu-ray
that modifies this. Dialogue is clear enough,
though sounding as if under some pressure. The Dolby Digital
EX track, while closer to the original, has the misfortune
of lacking ambiance in some scenes to the point that the
added foley effects feel disconnected from the action.
Original Cantonese Mono audio, along with restored Cantonese
and English 5.1 options - the latter at 24-bit which
advances upon the Fortune Star. Effects have some separation
but more notable is the abundant depth.
Optional English subtitles. The package is Region 'B'-locked
Blu-ray.
Extras:
3
The HK
Blu-ray
for Police Story II includes an interview
with stuntman and actor Benny Lai. Lai talks about his
career as a martial artist, specializing in kicking and his
work with Jackie Chan's stunt team. Police Story II offered
Lai his first opportunity as a "visible" supporting
character, the deaf/mute pyromaniac. The feature is
presented in very good quality SD with alternating aspect
ratios.
Extras include Police Story 2: The Original Hong Kong
Version (1:46:08) which is the original cut of Police
Story 2, presented with it's original Cantonese mono
audio track and optional English subtitles plus an optional
commentary with Miles Wood and Jude Poyer (on this Hong Kong
Version of the film). Also included are Police Story 2:
the original UK Version (1:35:52) which is 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 runs over
41-minutes. Repeated is the archival interview with Benny
Lai for 1/4 hour plus Outtakes and alternate Outtakes,
trailers (original 4:01 - alternate - 1:54) and a collectors
booklet feat new writing on the film & rare archival
material
.
There are also all the extras of the first
Blu-ray
Police Story.
Fortune
Star (HK) Region A -
Blu-ray
Menus / Extras -
Eureka - Region 'B' -
Blu-ray
Bottom line:
Fortune Star’s new
Blu-ray
is a modest step-up from their remastered DVD of 2004. As compared to the original movie on
Blu-ray,
Police Story II has fewer annoying technical
mishaps. If you already have the remastered DVD as part of
the Trilogy, I wouldn’t say the
Blu-ray
is worth the price
of an upgrade, but at least it is an upgrade.
The package is great for Jackie Chan
fans.
The Eureka is easily the one to own -
4K restored, stacked with alternate versions plus a first,
more improved,
Blu-ray of
Police Story.
Great job Eureka!
Leonard Norwitz
January 2nd, 2010
Gary Tooze
September 15th, 2018
Eureka - Region 'B' -
Blu-ray Package
