Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.0

Accident Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 11, 2012

Nominated for Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival and winner of Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actress, Cheang Pou-Soi's "Yi ngoi" a.k.a "Accident" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original theatrical trailer and a standard making of featurette. In Cantonese, with imposed English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

I can feel it...

There are four of them – the Brain (Louis Koo, Election I & II), Fatty (Suet Lam, Exiled), Uncle (Fung Shui-Fan, The Gang Don't Shoot Straight) and Woman (Michelle Ye, Sparrow) - and each is an expert in the art of killing. They have been staging "accidents" for years, and trying to save enough to retire.

The Brain is the Master Choreographer - he is the one who studies the target and designs the "accident". He is a perfectionist, and that is why everyone trusts him. The Brain, however, does not trust anyone.

Fatty is the "assistant". When the time is right, he makes sure that the target stays on course until the "accident" happens. If there are complications, he would intervene. Then, he would disappear as quickly as possible.

Woman is the "decoy". She would trick the target to the location where the "accident" must happen. Occasionally, she would assist the Brain in his research. Woman has beautiful eyes and a body to die for.

Uncle is the "watchman". He would inform the rest of the crew about the target’s movement, whether the "accident" scene is safe, and prevent surprises from happening. Uncle has been a heavy smoker for many years.

An easy "accident" - eliminating the son (Richie Ren, The Sniper) of a paralyzed old man - however, goes terribly wrong, and Fatty is killed. The Brain immediately concludes that someone - or something - staged an "accident" for his crew. Determined to uncover who ordered the "accident" and why he never saw it coming, the Brain embarks on a treacherous journey that would cost him his sanity.

There are three different ways of deconstructing the story of Accident, and all three of them are equally fascinating. The first one takes into consideration the scattered bits of information that one is offered about the Brain’s past throughout the entire film. Aligning them properly supposedly allows one to solve its giant puzzle...or so one is tricked to believe.

The second one takes into consideration the Brain's reaction immediately after Fatty dies. Did someone really trick his crew into the perfect "accident"? There are a few interesting possibilities here, so pay close attention to what is said throughout the film, and even closer attention to what isn't - the faces of the main protagonists are like open books.

The third and final one excludes the Brain's words and actions after Fatty's death and instead focuses on everything that surrounds him – people, objects, nature. This specific read of Accident ignores the limitations of the genre the film supposedly belongs to, but I find it to be the most rewarding one. There is something deliciously dark and unsettling about it; something that David Lynch fans should fall in love with.

Accident is directed by Hong Kong-based helmer Cheang Pou-Soi (Dog Bite Dog; Shamo), and produced by Johnnie To and John Chong. The film’s terrific lensing is courtesy of Fung Yuen Man (The Last Supper).

The cast of Accident is comprised mostly of Milkyway Image, To's production company, regulars. The film’s fantastic music score is courtesy of another regular To collaborator, French composer Xavier Jamaux (Mad Detective; Sparrow).

Earlier this year, Accident was screened at the Venice International Film Festival, where it was nominated for the prestigious Golden Lion Award.

Accident Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Cheang Pou-Soi's Accident arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory.

Shout Factory's presentation of this very entertaining thriller is both disappointing and puzzling. The film has been cropped from its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 to 1.78:1 and, needless to say, now it is practically unwatchable. The framing is so problematic that at times it is quite difficult to tell what is happening on the screen (see the tram accident during the second half of the film). Additionally, the high-definition transfer is also disappointingly weak. There are signs of heavy filtering, contrast issues, color reproduction issues, and compression issues practically everywhere. Some close-ups look remarkably flat (see sceencaptures #4 and 5), while during selected wider shots colors basically collapse. Indeed, this is a disappointing and very puzzling Blu-ray release from Shout Factory. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Accident Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1, and Cantonese Dolby Digital 2.0 track. For the record, Shout Factory have provided imposed English subtitles for the main feature (the subtitles cannot be turned off).

The audio treatment is a lot more convincing that the video treatment. The Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track actually opens up the film quite nicely during the "accidents" and Xavier Jamaux's atmospheric score gets a decent boost. The dialog is also clean and easy to follow. However, I did run a few tests with my Hong Kong disc and must say that I prefer its Cantonese Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track - during the final event, the surrounds and overall sound intensity are definitely a notch better. The English translation is good.

Accident Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Accident. In Cantonese, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min, 1080p).

• Making of - in this short featurette, cast and crew discuss the plot of Accident as well its key characters. Raw footage from the shooting of the film is also included. In Cantonese, with imposed English subtitles (13 min, 1080p).

Accident Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I am unsure what to make of this Blu-ray release. Coming from Shout Factory, a distributor with a solid record, it is puzzling to say the least. The film has been cropped from its original aspect ratio and I thought that at times it was virtually unwatchable. On the other hand, Accident is very atmospheric and quite unpredictable, definitely worth owning. Unfortunately, once again I must urge fans of Asian cinema residing in the U.S. to seek the Hong Kong Blu-ray release, which MegaStar produced in 2009. AVOID.