6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Law and Chan are gamblers and friends. Forced into a battle with the Yakuza, How far will friendship go? A high stakes card game will settle it all.
Starring: Alan Tam, Andy Lau, Idy Chan, Rosamund Kwan, Charles HeungForeign | 100% |
Action | 11% |
Crime | 8% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Cantonese: LPCM 2.0 Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Wong Jing and Jimmy Heung's "Casino Raiders" (1989) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include new program with action director Billy Chan; new audio commentary by critics Mike Leeder and Arne Venema; new audio commentary by critic Frank Djeng; vintage trailer; and more. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Casino Raiders arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
It is pretty easy to tell that Casino Raiders has been newly restored because it looks sensational in high-definition. In fact, it looks so good it makes me want to speculate that the party that produced the new makeover is a big fan of it. I did not see anything on this presentation that I did not like. Yes, there are a few areas with small but noticeable density fluctuations, but they are introduced by the original cinematography. The rest looks either very, very good, or excellent. Darker indoor footage looks particularly good, which is not easy because there are many areas with restricted lighting and plenty of diverse shadow nuances. There is no black crush or loss of smaller peripheral details. Highlights are very nicely managed as well. Color balance is fantastic, which is why the dynamic range of the visuals is enormously impressive. All primaries look lush and very healthy, while the supporting nuances are wonderfully balanced. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are no distracting cuts, debris, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Cantonese LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
All exchanges are clear and very easy to follow. Dynamic intensity and balance are very good as well. However, there are a couple of areas where the music reveals very light distortion. I am quite certain that either this is how the original mix was finalized and no one noticed, or time has left its mark and only extensive audio restoration can rebalance the music. It is not a distracting issue, but if you have a perfect pitch, you will notice how the music becomes slightly uneven. (Tape recorders used to produce such unevenness if a tape had aged). I did not encounter any audio dropouts to report in our review.
Casino Raiders is the big and influential blueprint for all the other popular contemporary gambling films that have been made in Hong Kong since the end of the 1980s, like God of Gamblers, The Conmen in Vegas, and From Vegas to Macau. It is the best of the entire bunch, too. It merges the glitz and cool of Hong Kong pop culture and the unmistakable exuberance of the 1980s in spectacular fashion but tells a hard-hitting story that is impossible to forget. It is a very old favorite of mine, and I was thrilled when Eureka Entertainment announced its Blu-ray release. I am happy to report that Casino Raiders has been fully restored and looks the best it ever has, so I will be placing this release on my top ten list at the end of the month. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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