Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 3, 2011

Screened at the Venice Film Festival, Tsui Hark's "Di Renjie" a.k.a "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Showbox Media. The supplemental features on the disc include original theatrical trailers; teaser;cast and crew interviews; artwork gallery; behind the scenes featurette; exclusive new audio commentary by Hong Kong Cinema Expert Bey Logan; and more. In Mandarin, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Soon to be challenged

Note: The film review below was initially published for the Hong Kong Blu-ray release of Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, courtesy of Vicol Entertainment.

Earlier this year various reports from the Venice Film Festival insisted that Tsui Hark might have directed his best film yet, but I was skeptical. I remained skeptical even after his film was nominated for the prestigious Lion d’Or Award. But not anymore. Having just finished watching it, I wholeheartedly agree - Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame is a triumphant return to top form for the director, and arguably his best film.

The story takes place shortly before the inauguration of Empress Wu Zetian (Carina Lau, Days of Being Wild). A series of very strange murders – various court officials burst into flames and turn into ashes for no apparent reason - fuel rumors that a supernatural force might be opposing the shift of powers the kingdom. To prove that the rumors are unfounded, Empress Wu Zetian summons the only man who could solve the mystery, Detective Dee (Andy Lau, Infernal Affairs Trilogy), who has spent the last eight years of his life in prison for questioning her right to the throne.

Detective Dee gets two partners - Empress Wu Zetian’s sexy protégé, Shangguan Jinge (Li Bingbing, A World Without Thieves, The Message), and a cocky albino officer, Pei Donglai (Deng Chao, Assembly), who has no problem killing anyone who disagrees with him - and immediately heads to Phantom Bazaar, a massive underground city populated with all sorts of shady characters. One of them points Detective Dee in the right direction.

Infused with subtle moral, political and philosophical overtones, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame has enough substance to balance its outrageous style. It is a bold film by a bold director whose wild imagination has come alive in it.

To try and understand everything that takes place in the film (which would mean everything that took place in Hark’s head while he was shooting it), however, would be an exercise in futility. Everything moves at such an incredible pace that even well seasoned and familiar with Hark’s tricks viewers will have a difficult time figuring out the various characters and their motives.

On the surface the film may look outlandish, but underneath the flashy visuals there are more than a few interesting observations about modern China’s ongoing economic and political transformation, as well as its leaders and their moral authority.

Choreographed by Hong Kong legend Sammo Hung, the action sequences are fast and stylish, most also defying the laws of gravity. The final third of the film in particular has some stunning wire fu pieces.

The cast, comprised mostly of veteran Hong Kong actors, is solid. Lau is brilliant as the knowledgeable Detective Dee who has to succeed where others before him have failed. Chao and especially Bingbing deliver nuanced performances that are very effective in gluing together the various subplots in the film. Lau is also striking as the unwavering Empress Wu Zetian.

Lastly, the film features a strong music score courtesy of award-winning composer Peter Kam (Perhaps Love, Reign Of Assassins).

Note: Last year, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Sitges Film Festival.

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Tsui Hark's Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Showbox Media (CineAsia).

The high-definition transfer is excellent, clearly a step above the one Hong Kong-based distributors Vicol Entertainment used for their Blu-ray release of Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame. Detail, clarity and contrast levels are exceptional. In fact, many of the outdoor scenes with the massive statue look like digital photos - the depth and clarity are outstanding. Color reproduction is also marginally better here, with the variety of reds, blues, greens and browns looking a tad richer and fresher (compare screencapture #9 from the UK release to screencapture #5 from the Hong Kong release). Edge-enhancement is never an issue of concern. The high-definition transfer isn't plagued by artifacting, banding and halo effects either. Lastly, there are absolutely no stability issues whatsoever. All in all, this is indeed a mighty impressive presentation of a hugely entertaining film. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Mandarin Dolby Digital 2.0. For the record, Showbox Media have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is excellent. It has a wide range of nuanced dynamics that enhance the wild action sequences in the film very well (the finale in particular will likely test the muscles of your audio system, so keep your remote control close to you). Award-winning composer Peter Kam's music score also gets a strong boost. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. Also, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, hissings, or audio dropouts to report in this review. For the record, the English subtitles are clearly better than the ones used on Vicol Entertainment's Blu-ray release of Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame.

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: Some of the supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc are encoded in PAL. Therefore, you must have a Region-Free player capable of converting PAL to NTSC in order to view them in North America.

• Commentary - Hong Kong Cinema Expert Bey Logan discusses in detail the film's production history, the original story that inspired the film, director Tsui Hark's career and legacy, the director's unique style, the cast, etc. A fascinating commentary indeed, which is a good enough reason to strongly recommend this Blu-ray release of the film over any other English-friendly release. In English, not subtitled.

• Interview Gallery - a massive collection of interviews with various cast and crew members discussing their work on Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame. In Cantonese and Mandarin, with optional English subtitles.
  
  -- Wang Zhonglei (4 min, PAL).
  -- Sammo Hung (6 min, PAL).
  -- Chen Kuo-fu (5 min, PAL).
  -- Carina Lau (4 min, PAL).
  -- Zhang Jialu (5 min, PAL).
  -- Andy Lau (3 min, PAL).
  -- Tsui Hark (4 min, PAL).
  -- Deng Chao (5 min, PAL).
  -- James Chiu, Art Director (2 min, PAL).
  -- Li Bingbing (3 min, PAL).
  -- Chan Chor Keung HKSC, Photography Director (3 min, PAL).
  -- Chan Chi Ying, Photography Director (2 min, PAL).

• Artwork Gallery - a collection of original poster art. (1080p).

• Behind the Scenes - a standard featurette with an abundance of raw footage from the shooting of the film. In Mandarin, with optional English subtitles. (10 min, PAL).

• Intro to CineAsia - a very good promo piece with great highlights from CineAsia's catalog and various short comments from notable critics and Asian cinema fans. In English, not subtitled. (PAL, 23 min).

• Trailer Gallery -
  
  -- UK Trailer. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).
  -- Original Trailer. In Mandarin, with optional English subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).
  -- Teaser Trailer. In Mandarin, with optional English subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• Trailer Gallery - a collection of trailers for other CineAsia Blu-ray releases.

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Clearly, this is the definitive English-friendly Blu-ray release of Tsui Hark's hugely entertaining Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame - the film looks and sounds incredible. The Blu-ray disc also contains a number of interesting supplemental features, including yet another fantastic audio commentary by Bey Logan. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.