The Terror of the Tongs Blu-ray

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

directed by Anthony Bushell
UK 1961

Red Dragon tong leader Chung King (Christopher Lee) and his hatchet men capture a British captain (Geoffrey Toone) in Hong Kong.

***

The Terror of the Tongs (1961) - Treading similar territory to Hammer’s The Stranglers of Bombay (1960), Terror of the Tongs is a colourful and rather silly Hong Kong melodrama embellished with ceremonial hatchet murders and 'bone-scraping' tortures. Directed with gusto by Anthony Bushell and scripted by Jimmy Sangster, the film is hampered by some tight production values and a procession of English actors masquerading as Chinese in make-up is far from convincing and not at all respectful. Set around the harbour of Hong Kong in 1910, a ruthless gang called the Red Dragon Tong have thrived off the proceeds of slavery, drugs, vice, corruption and protection rackets. Aboard a Victorian steamer arrives Mr. Ming (Burt Kwouk) with evidence that names members of the Red Dragon organisations, fearing for his own safety and that the letter won’t reach its destination, he hides it in a book intended as a gift for the daughter of the ship’s captain. No sooner does Ming set foot on the dock than he is attacked and killed by one of the Tong wielding a ceremonial hatchet. .

Excerpt from BritMovie located HERE.

Posters

Theatrical Release: March 15th, 1961

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Sony (2-disc) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray

1) Sony - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT

Box Cover
		Presently only available as part of Indicator's Hammer Vol 3 - Blood And Terror - Limited Edition Blu Ray Set: Released individually in June 2021: or buy directly from Indicator:
Distribution	Sony Pictures Region 1 - NTSC	Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:16;12	1:16:22.369
Video	1.82.3 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 4.32 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 32,496,295,361 bytes Feature: 22,527,262,272 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.98 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Bitrate Blu-ray
Audio	English (original) , DUB: French	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English (CC), French, None	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Sony Aspect Ratio: All Original Aspect Ratios - 1.66, 2.35 Edition Details: • Commentaries on all 4 films • Cartoon - The Merry Mutineers • Chapter One of 1953 serial - the Great Adventures of Captain Kidd • Two Reel Comedy - Hot Paprika • trailers DVD Release Date: June 10th, 2008 Keep case Chapters: 12 each X 4 = 48	Release Information: Studio: Indicator 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 32,496,295,361 bytes Feature: 22,527,262,272 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.98 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio commentary for The Terror of the Tongs with writer Jimmy Sangster, assistant editor Chris Barnes and film historian Marcus Hearn • Stephen Laws Introduces ‘The Terror of the Tongs’ (2018): a scene-setting appreciation by the acclaimed horror author (8:00) • Inside The Terror of the Tongs - documentary, written and directed by Hammer expert Marcus Hearn, narrated by Claire Louise Amias and featuring film historians Alan Barnes and Jonathan Rigby (21:27) • Hammer and Tongs (2018): a new appreciation of James Bernard’s The Terror of the Tongs score by David Huckvale (10:17) • Hammer’s Women (2018): new profiles of actors Yvonne Monlaur by Laura Mayne (5:58) • Shear Terror (2018): a new interview with The Terror of the Tongs assistant costume designer Yvonne Blake (2:37) • Original theatrical trailer (2:27) • Image galleries: promotional photography and publicity material • Limited edition exclusive 40-page booklets for each film, with new essays by Kim Newman, Neil Mitchell, James Oliver and Samm Deighan, archival cast and crew interviews, original pressbook extracts, contemporary critical reviews, and film credits • World premieres on Blu-ray • Limited Edition Box Set of 6,000 numbered units Blu-ray Release Date: July 30th, 2018 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 10

Comments

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

ADDITION: (July 2018) Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray: Hammer Studios The Terror of the Tongs arrives on Blu-ray from Indicator in a world premiere on the 1080P format for this Hammer film. The HD has impressive sequences. Although not dynamic, the colors (red, greens) are rich and deep - significantly advancing over the old DVD. This is dual-layered with a max'ed bitrate and in the original 1.66:1 aspect ratio. This Blu-ray offers a consistent and very pleasing presentation.

The audio is transferred via a DTS-HD Master authentically mono (24-bit). There are some traditional Asian-music leanings and some aggression in fights and torture plus another pleasing score by frequent Hammer composer, James Bernard (X the Unknown, The Devil Rides Out, The Plague of the Zombies, Dracula Prince of Darkness, These Are the Damned, Across the Bridge, The Curse of Frankenstein). It augments the film's adventurous elements benefitted by the lossless. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles - see sample - and my Oppo has identified it as being a region FREE Blu-ray - playable world-wide.

Indicator add an audio commentary for The Terror of the Tongs with writer Jimmy Sangster, assistant editor Chris Barnes and film historian Marcus Hearn that is filled with plenty of detail about the production. There are many new featurettes including 8-minutes with Stephen Laws as he introduces ‘The Terror of the Tongs’. It amounts to a new scene-setting appreciation by the acclaimed horror author of Spectre. Inside The Terror of the Tongs is another wonderful 22-minute documentary, written and directed by Hammer expert Marcus Hearn, narrated by Claire Louise Amias and featuring film historians Alan Barnes and Jonathan Rigby discussing elements of The Terror of the Tongs. Hammer and Tongs is another new appreciation - this one of James Bernard’s The Terror of the Tongs score by David Huckvale. It runs over 10-minutes extolling the long-time Hammer Studios composer. There is another segment of Hammer’s Women which features a new profile of actor Yvonne Monlaur by equally attractive Laura Mayne. Shear Terror is a short, new, interview with The Terror of the Tongs assistant costume designer Yvonne Blake and lastly on the disc is an original theatrical trailer and image gallery with promotional photography and publicity material. The Hammer 3 package contains a limited edition exclusive 40-page booklets for each film, with new essays by Kim Newman, Neil Mitchell, James Oliver and Samm Deighan, archival cast and crew interviews, original pressbook extracts, contemporary critical reviews, and film credits. This Blu-ray set is a Limited Edition Box Set of 6,000 numbered units.

The Terror of the Tongs is an exotic divergence from the Studio. It seems more like a pulpy novel put to screen but still retains the Hammer charm with Christopher Lee, sultry women, murder and adventure. It works and seemed primed for sequels. As with the other Hammer films in this set, the film is given a fabulous treatment with extensive extras, including a commentary. More of Indicator's fan-satisfying work. Hammer film fans have our whole-hearted endorsement. Another super Blu-ray set that is certainly recommended!