6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
It's an all out battle of the Martial Arts Masters when Jackie Chan finds himself locked up in the most dangerous high security prison in Hong Kong. Almost beaten to death his first night, he is rescued at the last minute by fellow inmates Sammo Hung and Tony Leung. Together the three unveil a world of high-class criminals and corrupt prison officials. In a nonstop battle for their lives, they must combine their martial arts skills with hand to hand prison fighting to bring the corruptors to justice.
Starring: Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Tony Ka Fai Leung, Jimmy Wang YuForeign | 100% |
Martial arts | 50% |
Action | 28% |
Crime | 24% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Cantonese: LPCM 2.0 Mono
Mandarin: LPCM 2.0 Mono
Mandarin: LPCM 2.0 Mono
English: LPCM 2.0 Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Kevin Chu's "Island of Fire" (1990) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critics Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto; archival programs with crew members; footage from the Taiwanese version of the film; vintage promotional materials; and more. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Island of Fire arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films.
I was very surprised by the quality of the technical presentation. I expected Island of Fire to look almost as good as An Autumn's Tale, but what I saw on my system seemed a lot like upscaled material. Indeed, in many, many areas of the film there just isn't enough proper delineation, clarity, and depth. A lot of the prison footage where darker nuances should be visible looks particularly week. There is no proper grain and grain exposure. Color balance is problematic, too. Many primaries and entire ranges of supporting nuances look very weak. Saturation levels, stability, and balance should be much, much better. It is probably fair to describe image stability is good, but during the opening credits, for instance, some shakiness can be easy to spot. All in all, Island of Fire must be properly restored in 2K or 4K so that it looks as good as it should on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).
There are four standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Cantonese: LPCM 2.0 Mono, Mandarin: LPCM 2.0 Mono. Alternate Mandarin: LPCM 2.0 Mono, and English: LPCM 2.0 Mono. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I chose to view the film with the Cantonese track, but tested different areas with the English track. On the Cantonese track, clarity and sharpness are quite good. However, there is quite a bit of action material and in several areas of it dynamic intensity is not great. I would not describe it as disappointing, but it feels like more should be happening there. The upper register is healthy. The English track, which is a dub track, is quite weak. It sounds very thin and uneven. It lacks proper dynamic strength, too. Also, from what I could tell, it changes a lot of different exchanges.
In an archival program, director Kevin Chu reveals that Jackie Chan was available for a very short period of time, so he had to rush and make the most of it. I suspect that plenty more was done similarly, and then a lot of work went into creating a coherent and visually impressive film. Unfortunately, the final product is impossible to praise. Island of Fire unites four huge action stars, plus several very good supporting actors, but it never convinces that they are a great team. Yes, there are a few memorable moments here and there, but a lot more just does not work at all. 88 Films' Blu-ray release is sourced from a surprisingly weak master, so if you wish to acquire it for your collection, it would be best if you can test it first.
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