Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Casino Raiders Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 7, 2023

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".

In Hong Kong, Casino Raiders is to contemporary gambling films what in America The Godfather is to vintage and contemporary mafia films -- a big and very influential blueprint. Knowledgeable film aficionados will rightfully point out that Casino Raiders was influenced by earlier crime films too, some also featuring gamblers, but while true, this is an irrelevant detail. Why? Because Casino Raiders provided the complete profile of the Hong Kong gambler and then legitimized it as a cool character. All other Hong Kong films about gamblers that came after Casino Raiders are essentially improvisations on the work that was done in it.

Casino Raiders is loosely broken into three acts and follows closely best friends and professional gamblers Crab Chan (Andy Lau) and Sam Law (Alan Tam). Because the two are the best in the business, an old acquaintance (Wai Shum), who has begun running a large casino in Nevada, requests that they help him take down a crew of incredibly skilled Japanese cheaters that have won millions over the course of several days. Chan and Law immediately head to Nevada, deconstruct the secret game of the Japanese cheaters, and save the casino’s reputation. While enjoying themselves among the local gamblers, the visitors then cross paths with the beautiful Tong Ko-yan (Idy Chan), whose father is an internationally known businessman, and Law steals her heart. Not too long after that, the young lovers begin planning a wedding.

The second act reveals the consequences of several developments from the first act. The man who pulls the strings of the humiliated Japanese cheaters, a ruthless clan leader (Hagiwara Kenzo) with massive aspirations in the casino business, dispatches several hitmen to kill Chan and Law. In Hong Kong, the hitmen track down their targets, but before they kill them, their boss offers them a way out via a dangerous challenge. Chan and Law survive, but the latter suffers major and permanent damage on one of his hands.

The third act sends Chan and Law in different directions. Chan promises his future father-in-law to abandon his dangerous lifestyle and then joins the company he runs. After he recovers, Law goes back to the gambling parlors and casinos where he and Chan used to easily make a living, but very quickly realizes that his injury has compromised his game. In a desperate move to reset his life in Brazil with Bo Bo (Rosamund Kwan), a girl who genuinely cares about him, Law then arranges an incredibly risky, winner-takes-all game with the ruthless clan leader and his unhinged son (Lung Fong), which unleashes a string of unexpected dramatic events.

There is a lot more going on and when brought together it becomes impossible not to describe Casino Raiders as a masterpiece of Hong Kong cinema. Also, and this is one of the key reasons Casino Raiders has been so influential, the visual style of the grand story that is told in it is spectacular. Indeed, it flawlessly blends the glitz of Hong Kong pop culture and the unmistakable exuberance of the 1980s, and then, as odd as it may sound, makes them essential elements of the brutal action and drama. In other words, Casino Raiders is a very colorful and attractive yet very, very hard-hitting film.

Wong Jing and Jimmy Heung share the directing credits, but the former is undoubtedly the power engine behind Casino Raiders. In fact, he has been involved in some way with most of the big Hong Kong films about gamblers that were made after Casino Raiders.

Casino Raiders was lensed by cinematographer Henry Lee, who shortly after reunited with Jing and Lau on the Casino Tycoon films.

Casino Raiders Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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).

Casino Raiders Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Martial Cards - this new program examines the history of the gambling crime film in Hong Kong, Wong Jing's contribution to its popularization, and how Hong Kong reality (gambling is essentially illegal there) is represented in it. Also, there are interesting comments about the history and reception of Casino Raiders as well as its influence on other Hong Kong gambling films. In English, not subtitled. (30 min).

• Heroes, Guns, & Gambling - in this new program, action director Billy Chan recalls how he became involved with Casino Raiders, and discusses his interactions with Wong Jing, the production of the English language version of the film, the action choreography, Andy Lau's performance, etc. In Cantonese, with English subtitles. (18 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a fully restored original trailer for Casino Raiders. In Cantonese, with English subtitled. (4 min).

• Commentary One - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Mike Leeder and Arne Venema. The commentators discuss a wide range of topics, including the little known English language version of Casino Raiders, the casting choices that were made, the various period details revealing that the film comes from the 1980s, the action choreography, etc.

• Commentary Two - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Frank Djeng. There is a lot of information about the production of Casino Raiders and its performance at the Hong Kong box office, the period appearance of the film, the blending of action and melodrama, etc.

• Booklet - an illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing by David West as well as technical credits.

Casino Raiders Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.