Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Crime Story Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 8, 2019

Kirk Wong's "Crime Story" (1993) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British label 88 Films. The supplemental features on the disc include new interviews with assistant director P'ng Kialek and actor/producer and Hong Kong cinema expert Mike Leeder; vintage interviews with director Kirk Wong and crew members; rare scenes from the Singapore version of the film; and more. The release also arrives with a 40-page booklet featuring rare production stills and promotional materials for film. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The cop

The text below was initially used for our review of the North American release of Crime Story, which Shout Factory produced in 2013.

Eddie Chan (Jackie Chan, The Shinjuku Incident), an honest Hong Kong cop, is ordered to protect a local businessman (Law Kar-Ying, Viva Erotica, Tricky Business) who fears that he could be the target of a kidnapping plot. He immediately performs a quick background check on the man and determines that his concerns are justified, but before he can react he is kidnapped by a powerful gang with connections in Taiwan. Chan follows a lead and ends up in Taipei, where a portion of the ransom the kidnappers have demanded and received is wired.

Chan is accompanied by Hung (Kent Cheng, The Sensational Pair, The Bodyguard from Beijing), a seasoned cop whose opinion is well respected within the Police Department. With the assistance of the local authorities, the two quickly track down a man who has been communicating with one of the kidnappers in Hong Kong. The man leads Chan and Hung to a building on the outskirts of Taipei where the ransom money are delivered. After an intense shootout, during which Chan is seriously injured, the gang’s local leader and his top men are eliminated, and the ransom money recovered.

Before heading back to Hong Kong, Chan sees Hung talking to one of the gangsters and then killing him, and realizes that he is secretly assisting his bosses. In Hong Kong, he immediately requests that Hung is monitored. Much to his surprise, however, he is told to focus on what matters -- the kidnappers -- and stop worrying about Hung. Shortly after, however, Hung, who is already aware that Chan suspects him of being a dirty cop, attempts to kill his partner on a ship that has been used by the kidnappers.

Inspired by a true story, Crime Story is a film that allowed Chan to prove that he could portray serious traits. In it the comedy elements that appear in many of his previous films are replaced by a stronger dramatic material, and the focus of attention is primarily on the events surrounding the kidnapping of the businessman.

The secondary characters are also not entirely overshadowed by Chan. There are important relationships between them that get as much attention as the action scenes where Chan does his usual tricks. Naturally, the dynamic progression of the film is a lot better than that of many of Chan’s classic films.

Quite predictably, the action is sizzling. There are a number of wonderfully choreographed scenes from Taipei, and later on from Hong Kong, where Chan shines in familiar fashion. Only a few, however, have the marquee comedic overtones that helped Chan become a superstar. The special effects in these scenes are also fairly modest.

Kirk Wong’s direction is confident and motivated. There is a good balance between the action sequences and the dramatic material that ultimately gives the film a very solid stylish look. Cinematographer Arthur Wong (Iron Monkey) and editor Peter Cheung (Police Story, Police Story 2) are also to be commended for the film’s consistent tempo.

*In 1993, Crime Story won Golden Horse Award for Best Actor (Jackie Chan) at the Golden Horse Film Festival. A year later, the film won Best Film Editing Award (Peter Cheung) at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

Crime Story 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, Crime Story arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films.

The release is sourced from a brand new 2K remaster, which probably comes from the same people that produced the 2K remaster of City Hunter. It is very, very nice.

Direct comparisons between Shout Factory's release and this new release are meaningless because the former was sourced from a standard definition master. Quite predictably, all of the key areas of the new presentation of the film are vastly superior. In fact, I am going to mention first the two areas where I think there is still a tiny bit of room for improvement. Density levels can be slightly better, but this would be a cosmetic improvement at best because even when projected the current presentation looks very solid. Then a few of the darker areas have some small nuances that ideally should be exposed better if the black levels are managed better -- and I think that a proper 4K remaster will deliver exactly this particular improvement -- but once again the current presentation is very convincing. The rest looks great. Colors are stable, healthy, and promoting the type of filmic nuances that should always be part of strong organic remasters. There are no traces of compromising digital adjustments, which means that grain is nicely exposed and and resolved. Image stability is excellent. Well done. My score is 4.75/5.00. (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).

Crime Story Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are four standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Cantonese: LPCM 2.0 (Mono), English: LPCM 2.0 (Mono), Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English (for the Cantonese tracks) and English SDH (for the English tracks) subtitles are provided.

I viewed the film with the original Cantonese Mono track because the previous release from Shout Factory that we reviewed did not have a lossless Mono track. I thought that it was excellent. The shootout in the beginning around the 00:04:00 mark actually highlights all of its strengths, so if you test it you will know exactly what to expect from it throughout the rest of the film. Balance, in particular, is very good, so you don't have to worry about abrupt spikes in dynamic activity. The English translation is excellent.

Crime Story Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage Hong Kong trailer for Crime Story. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles. (4 min).

• Police Story on Crack! - in this new video interview, actor/producer and Hong Kong cinema expert Mike Leeder discusses the era in which Crime Story emerged and explains what makes it different from the rest of Jackie Chan's action films. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Looking for a New Direction - in this new video interview, Assistant Director P'ng Kialek remembers discusses the conception of Crime Story and its production history as well as some of the film's special qualities and Jackie Chan's involvement with it. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

• Scenes From the Singapore Version - presented here are a few rare scenes from the Singapore version of Crime Story. Sourced from a standard definition master. With optional English subtitles. (7 min).

• Interview with Stunt Specialist Bruce Law - in this archival interview, stunt specialist Bruce Law remembers how he became involved with Crime Story and discusses his work Jackie Chan and other cast and crew members during the shooting of the film. In Cantonese, with imposed English subtitles. (25 min).

• Interview with Screenwriter Teddy Chan - in this archival interview, screenwriter Teddy Chan discusses director Kirk Wong's original idea for Crime Story, the failure to get Jet Li on board, how some of the key characters were altered in the final version of the script for the film, the tone of film, etc. In Cantonese, with imposed English subtitles. (7 min).

• Interview with Director Kirk Wong - in this archival interview, director Kirk Wong remembers what attracted him to the original idea for Crime Story and how he decided to bring it to the big screen, and discusses the production process as well as the stylistic identity of his film. In Cantonese, with imposed English subtitles. (11 min).

• Audio Commentary - this audio commentary features filmmaker Arne Venema and actor/producer and Hong Kong cinema expert Mike Leeder. It was recorded exclusively for 88 Films.

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage Hong Kong poster art.

• Booklet - 40-page booklet featuring rare production stills and promotional materials for Crime Story.

Crime Story Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

When Eureka Entertainment released City Hunter on Blu-ray I wrote that in an ideal world the people that restored it in 2K should have been in charge with the high-definition makeovers of all early Jackie Chan films. This new 2K restoration of Crime Story confirms what just about all Jackie Chan fans already know, which is that L'immagine Ritrovata should have never been tasked to 'restore' Police Story & Police Story 2. (King Hu's big films also should not have been sent there). My point is this: Every single 2K restoration of a Jackie Chan film that I have seen to date has been vastly superior to the 4K 'restorations' that L'immagine Ritrovata produced for the Police Story films. An argument can be made that some of the restored in 2K films could look slightly better -- though I believe that City Hunter looks so impressive that the bar is way too high already -- but I think that the folks that did the work on them know exactly what they are doing and are basically giving them back the native theatrical qualities that they always had as best as they can. This is all that their fans wanted to get on Blu-ray. If you have been waiting for a high-quality release of Crime Story to emerge, place your order now. 88 Films' new release is it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.