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

ADDITION: The Masters of Cinema Blu-ray (June 2021): The Masters of Cinema have transferred Johnnie To's PTU to Blu-ray. It looks brilliant in 1080P. The video transfer is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate and looks exceptional with plenty of depth handling the film's almost exclusive night sequences with impressive detail and layered contrast. There is magnificent shadow play - kudos to the DoP Cheng Siu Keung (To's Mad Detective, Election.) The HD presentation is very high-end appearing uncompromised in-motion. 

NOTE: We have added 70 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, The Masters of Cinema includes the three options of a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track (24-bit) in the original Cantonese (and some minor English) or a linear PCM stereo (16 bit) track in the original language or a similar encoded English DUB. It sounds as crisp as the video with plenty of gunfire effects, and separation in the surround, and a supportive score by Chi Wing Chung (working including To's Turn, Left Turn Right.) Immersive and a large part of the viewing experience. The Masters of Cinema offer English and English (SDH) subtitles options on their Region 'B'-locked Blu-ray.

The The Masters of Cinema Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) who has done some wonderful commentaries - notably in Johnnie To's Throw Down and Tsui Hark's Time and Tide. He covers every facet from locations, performances and  the director and crew to hidden themes while identifying Kurosawa homage shots. There are archival interviews with director Johnnie To for almost 1/4 hour, actor Simon Yam for 22-minutes and both fused into an 18-minute video piece. There is also an interview with actress Maggie Siu for over a dozen minutes plus a trailer for the film. The package includes a LE O-Card Slipcase featuring new artwork by Grégory Sacré (Gokaiju) for the first 2,000 copies.

Johnnie To's PTU is more of the director's classic Hong Kong crime-thriller, and exceptional, pieces of action cinema. Certainly there are Neo-noir elements - the Police Tactical Unit is having a bad and busy night. We run the gamut of illegal activities, intensely tough characters and an over-the-top climax that is both fascinating and riveting. The Masters of Cinema Blu-ray get a very strong recommendation - for the kinetic film, their pristine a/v transfer and supplements including a revealing Frank Djeng commentary and multiple interviews. We rate it very highly, indeed. For fans of director To, or his brand of Hong Kong cinema, we give our highest recommendation!

Gary Tooze