City on Fire Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

City on Fire Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 2, 2026

Arrow is offering Region B enthusiasts a chance to pick up what was a Region A release by Shout! Factory (and/or Studios, as the case may be), porting over all of the supplements that Shout! aggregated for its release, along with some newly released (archival) supplements and Arrow's usual attention to packaging and accoutrements like an insert booklet and slipcover. The only potential downside for some prospective Region B consumers is the fact that whereas Shout! Factory's Region A release contained both a 4K UHD and 1080 disc, Arrow has chosen to separate the two resolutions in standalone releases.

As mentioned above, City on Fire had a prior release in Region A courtesy of Shout! Factory. Stephen Larson's City on Fire 4K Blu-ray review has plot information, and long descriptions of the ported over supplements (which won't be repeated here), as well as Stephen's reaction to the technical presentation. Since this release basically ports over Shout! Factory's Region A release, the screenshots Stephen uploaded to his review may prove to be of additional interest for some.

City on Fire Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

City on Fire is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following fairly generic information on the presentation:

City on Fire / Lung fu fung wan is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with original lossless Cantonese mono audio and lossless mono English audio.

The original negative was sourced from the Hong Kong Film Archive and was scanned by Interface Video Production Ltd. in Hong Kong.

It may be salient to also note that both the 4K and 1080 presentations Arrow offers come with the Shout! Studios masthead, and as such much of what Stephen offers in his review of Shout!'s own release pertains to this presentation as well. Longtime readers of my reviews know I'm not always a fan of grain resolution in 4K (and with HDR), and Stephen's comment about grain in the two formats may be especially relevant, as there are very wide variances in grain structure throughout both presentations, though those variances are probably inevitably more noticeable and less subliminal in the 4K edition, making this 1080 version arguably the preferable one, at least for those who prefer a less "in your face" grain field. You can see how widely variant things can look by comparing screenshots in this review, my 4K review (which includes more screenshots from the 1080 disc), and Stephen's own review, but for just one example, compare screenshot 3 in this review to several others in this review. The palette is relatively healthy looking, but I personally found things to be a bit skewed toward a kind of brownish-green at times, something that's especially evident in flesh tones, but which again may be more obvious in the 4K edition with HDR. As Stephen mentions, the garish neon lit ambience of large swaths of the film is a real plus in both presentations.

City on Fire Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

City on Fire features LPCM Mono tracks in either Cantonese or English. Original language purists will of course want to stick with the Cantonese, which to my ears was fuller bodied and somewhat louder as well, probably making it the better listening experience in any event. The film features a sax drenched score which is noticeably more burnished sounding on the Cantonese track, whereas it can be just a tad brash on the high end in the English track. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

City on Fire Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: As mentioned above, Stephen provides longer descriptions of the ported over supplements in his review of Shout! Factory's Region A release, linked to above.

• Audio Commentary by Hong Kong cinema experts F. J. DeSanto and Frank Djeng


• New Interviews

Burn It Down! (HD; 18:22) is an interview with screenwriter Tommy Sham. Subtitled in English.




Hong Kong Confidential (HD; 11:31) is an appreciation by Grady Hendrix.




Some Like It Hot (HD; 33:30) is an appreciation by Ric Meyers.




Burning Rivalries (HD; 14:04) is an appreciation by Kim Newman.

• Archive Interviews

Interview with Director Ringo Lam (HD; 10:49) is from 2005 and is new to this edition. Subtitled in English.




Portrait of Anger (HD; 21:41) is an archival interview from 2005 with cinematographer Andrew Lau, new to this edition. Subtitled in English.




Long Arm of the Law (HD; 26:10) is an archival interview from 2005 with co-star Roy Cheung, new to this edition. Subtitled in English.

• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 3:31)


• Image Gallery (HD; 3:21)

This Limited Edition features a reversible sleeve and an illustrated collectors' booklet with a good essay by Dylan Cheung. Packaging features a slipcover.

City on Fire Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Chow Yun Fat is in "full swagger" mode in City on Fire, and is just one cog in a well oiled action machine that delivers some nice performances and some really fun set pieces. Arrow's edition basically mimics Shout! Studios' own well regarded release, while mixing in a few extras exclusive to this version. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements very enjoyable. Recommended.