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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "For lung" or "Huo long")

 

directed by Dante Lam
Hong Kong 2010

 

Haunted cop Manfred (actor/singer Leon Lai, THREE EXTREMES II) - who has been living in his van and has exiled himself into pick pocket gang detail in order to catch his pregnant wife's killer - comes together with slick, ruthless Inspector Kee (Richie Ren, BREAKING NEWS) - who transferred to the crimes unit from narcotics since his fast-track career has been held back by his engagement to a Triad boss' former flame (Vivian Hsu, THE ACCIDENTAL SPY) - in when the former's prostitute murder case intersects with the death of one of Kee's partners, a subway cop shooting, and a South Asian arms deal. As Manfred hunts for the murderer, Kee is always one step ahead of him and manages to intercept and interfere with his investigation to protect his own interests - including framing Manfred's partner Cheung-On (Kai Chi Liu, KILL ZONE) for the prostitute murder - but is he corrupt or working undercover? Several of the film's upcoming action set-pieces are established in the opening via black and white 3D tableaux, and the complex yet contrived interweaved plot is merely a justification for these admittedly exciting sequences. Subplots involving a bomb maker (Baoqiang Wang, ASSEMBLY) and his kidnapped pregnant wife (Yan Tang, STORM WARRIORS) - who, of course, goes into labor during a fiery shootout - Cheung-On's framing, and even the inciting incident of the prostitute's murder - fit into the main plot, but in more of a "plugging the plot holes" way that provokes more of an "Oh, I see" reaction than an "Oh, wow!" Lai and Ren hit the right action flick notes, but the film can't help but feel like a parody of just about every HK action opera cliche. Michelle Ye (DREAM HOME) gets a share of the gunplay, but is mostly relegated to the background research, crying for the various wounded and casualties, and doing Manfred's laundry. Kai Tan's Blade handles much of the "bad guy" business, but is even more of a cardboard character than most of the other supporting cast members. Director Dante Lam (THE STOOL PIGEON) does not shy away from the gore, but the film's most impressive aspect is the cinematography of Charlie Lam (AUGUST STORY) and Chung-to Tse (THE BEAST STALKER).

Eric Cotenas

Posters

Theatrical Release: 1 April 2010 (Hong Kong)

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DVD Review: Indomina Releasing/Vivendi Entertainment - Region 1 - NTSC

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!

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Distribution

Indomina Releasing/Vivendi Entertainment

Region 1 - NTSC

Runtime 1:45:52
Video

2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 7.42 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate

Audio Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1; English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
Subtitles English, none
Features Release Information:
Studio: Indomina Releasing/Vivendi Entertainment

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1

Edition Details:
• The Plague featurette (16:9; 1:26)
• Leon Lai as Captain Manfred featurette (16:9; 3:10)
• Richie Jen as Inspector Kee featurette (16:9; 2:35)
• Challenging the Cast (16:9; 1:49)
• Hong Kong Action (16:9; 4:47)
• International Trailer (16:9; 2:11)
• Start-up trailers for BODYGUARDS AND ASSASSINS, CLASH, OUTCAST, TRUE LEGEND, THE PACK, and DEVIL'S
• PLAYGROUND

DVD Release Date: 25 October 2011
Amaray

Chapters 12

 

Comments

Indomina presents FIRE OF CONSCIENCE in a dual-layer, progressive, anamorphic transfer with bold colors, but some evident edge enhancement. The 5.1 Cantonese track (with some bits of Mandarin from the mainland China characters) is pretty much always active in the surrounds, and the action set pieces exploit every channel. The 2.0 stereo English dub also delivers an active experience in terms of music and effects, but the revoicing is laughable. The extras are standard electronic press kit interview and behind the scenes snippets. Smartphone users can access additional bonus features with the QR code on the disc face artwork (the QR code on the shrink wrap allows smartphone access to the film's trailer).

A single-layer Region A Blu-Ray edition is available in Hong Kong from Megastar with Cantonese 7.1 DTS-MA and Dolby Digital 5.1 (and Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1).

  - Eric Cotenas

 


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DVD Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

 

Distribution

Indomina Releasing/Vivendi Entertainment

Region 1 - NTSC

 




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