Come Drink with Me Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Come Drink with Me Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 20, 2022

The Shaw Brothers produced literally hundreds of films over the course of several decades, but considering the rate at which their outings are making it to domestic Blu-ray lately, their entire catalog may be represented in high definition before the end of the year. That's probably a joking overstatement, but fans of the Shaw Brothers have had a lot to celebrate recently, with a whole host of releases from both Arrow Films and 88 Films bringing a glut of often fun and at times funny martial arts films to home theater aficionados. That "tradition" continues with Arrow's release of Come Drink With Me, another crazy quilt of competing alliances and intrigue built around the conceit of a supposed "prisoner exchange". This is another Shaw Brothers production which can careen pretty wildly from a tonal perspective, at one moment offering near tragic drama and the next moving on to slapstick laden comedy shtick. Those variances can be spotted in the film's opening vignette, which documents an attack orchestrated by villain Jade Faced Tiger (Chan Hung-lit) against Zhang (Wong Chung), the son of the local governor. The "battle" is almost weirdly like a series of tableaux until one combatant stabs violently downward toward an unseen victim and is sprayed by blood as a result of his efforts. It's a gruesome moment, one then followed by another combatant slicing and dicing his way through his enemy and ending up with a severed hand in the process. That may have been intended to be gruesome, but due to the presentational aspects and a kind of goofy face the actor makes, it comes off as decidedly comic. Later unabashedly gruesome moments can intrude, as when a young child who is an acolyte at a monastery first gets an arrow through his eye and then is killed by the bad guys (a really rather shocking moment), and there is undeniable comedy, both physical and verbal, sprinkled throughout the film as well, often courtesy of a supposedly buffoonish character named Drunken Cat (Yueh Hua).

It turns out that Jade Faced Tiger's bandit clan has had two prisoners taken by the governor, and so Zhang is kidnapped and held prisoner in the hopes that the governor will engage in some sort of trade. The bandits still fear a supposedly invincible warrior known as Golden Swallow, and it may not be all that surprising when it is revealed that Golden Swallow is a female (played by Cheng Pei-pei), though in true martial arts film fashion, she's mistaken for being a male for at least a little while. She also turns out to be Zhang's sister, and so has a personal stake in the outcome of the situation. Her introduction takes place courtesy of a knock down drag out fight in a cafe of sorts, where of course Golden Swallow is able to easily take care of multiple attackers. During this big action sequence, Drunken Cat makes an appropriately (supposedly (inebriated) entrance, and he later ends up saving Golden Swallow's life — more than once.

Come Drink With Me is a rather interesting film from a number of perspectives, and while some of its storyline may seem positively rote, especially to modern day eyes, it provides a great example of a focal female character having to deal with not just a host of bad guys, but a kind of sticky wicket she has to navigate in order to find her captive brother, let alone free him. The film can be oddly talky at times, though some of the hyperkinetic action sequences probably seem all the more energetic as a result. It's interesting in a way that the Cinema Hong Kong documentary listed below begins with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, suggesting audiences had never seen anything like it before, which may in turn suggest that audiences may not have seen Come Drink With Me. As commentator Tony Rayns kind of bemusedly mentions, this film doesn't feature just amazing wire work, but trampoline work to help give the jump on (sorry) some sequences.

Note: Our database is showing a Limited Edition being released by Arrow, but I think this may be an error. I have a message in to Arrow's PR folks and will update information as it's received. Update: Arrow has confirmed this edition is the only edition being released, the other entry is a mistake and will be deleted from our database.

Come Drink with Me Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Come Drink With Me is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.26:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains only the following fairly generic verbiage about the transfer:

Come Drink With Me is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio [sic] with its original Mandarin and English monaural soundtracks. The High Definition master was supplied to Arrow Films by Celestial Pictures.

The relatively odd aspect ratio may be a clue that this is not sourced from the same master as the UK Blu-ray Svet reviewed back in 2020. Judging solely by screenshots, framings obviously don't align perfectly, and it looks like the Arrow release may be marginally brighter, but the overall color temperature looks very similar to my eyes. This particular source element definitely has ebbs and flows to the palette, and some sequences have a somewhat orange-brown look to them, which may indicate some fading or other damage. But in the bulk of the outdoor material in particular, things pop really beautifully and some of the reds and blues in particular are kind of jaw droppingly suffused. Detail levels are generally quite good in those same more brightly lit moments. Svet mentioned some passing crush in his assessment of the UK release, and I saw some of the same deficits here in the dimmest material. There are some passing signs of age related wear and tear, including some of the same frame instability that Svet mentioned in his review. As with many Shaw Brothers productions that I've personally reviewed, ShawScope can introduce some kind of odd anamorphic anomalies including squeezing and stretching in various parts of the frame. Grain resolves naturally throughout and there were no overt signs of aggressive digital tweaking of any kind.

Come Drink with Me Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Come Drink With Me features DTS-HD Master Audio Mono tracks in Mandarin and English. I followed my standard operating procedure and toggled between the tracks as I watched. There are some slight mix differences, with the Mandarin track sounding just a bit hotter to my ears. The Mandarin track is also brighter, and the high end can actually sound a bit brash at times, though it's probably more full bodied overall than the English language track. Both tracks offer a slightly boxy sound with regard to effects in particular. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Come Drink with Me Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary by Tony Rayns


• Interview with Cheng Pei-Pei (HD; 51:55) was filmed by Frédéric Ambroisine in 2003. In English.


• Interview with Yueh Hua (HD; 30:15) was filmed by Frédéric Ambroisine in 2007. In English.


• Interview with Chen Hung-lieh (HD; 43:33) was filmed by Frédéric Ambroisine in 2003. Subtitled in English.


• Talk Story with Cheng Pei-Pei (HD; 10:47) is a 2016 Q & A with Cheng Pei-pei recorded at the University of Hawaii, moderated by George Chun Han Wang. In English.


• Cinema Hong Kong: Swordfighting (HD; 50:21) is the second in a three part documentary on the Shaw Brothers. This was produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003 and features a ton of interviews with a host of folks including Jackie Chan, Jet Li, John Woo, Sammo Hung, Gordon Liu and others.


• Trailer Gallery

  Theatrical Trailer (HD; 3:49)

  
  

  'Golden Swallow' Trailer (HD; 3:39)

  
  

  Digital Reissue Trailer (HD; 1:09)

• Image Gallery (HD)

Additionally, Arrow provides its typically well appointed insert booklet with essays and technical data. Packaging features a slipcover.

Come Drink with Me Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Come Drink With Me has some great action sequences, but its widely variant tone can take a bit of getting used to. Arrow continues to provide some great cult martial arts films culled from the Shaw Brothers catalog, and this effort should be appreciated by fans of the genre. Technical merits are generally solid, though both video and audio can encounter minor passing issues. The supplements are very well done. Recommended.