Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Magic Cop Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 8, 2023

Some may have the sneaking suspicion that someone involved with Magic Cop may have seen a little film called Ghostbusters back in the day, and thought "hold my Baijiu" or something similar, with this goofy but kind of culturally aware film resulting. If there's the same kind of gonzo combo platter of horror and comedy that suffused not just Ghosthunters but any number of other films including The Cat and the Canary + The Ghost Breakers, Magic Cop also manages to work in both zombies (or something similar) and a rather interesting array of Chinese folklore to boot.

Uncle Feng (Lam Ching-ying) is a skilled ghost hunter who just so happens to be a cop, and those two skills intersect when some kind of supernatural force seems to be controlling zombiefied puppets into contributing to Hong Kong's drug running cartels. Feng teams with a impetuous younger police sergeant named Lam (Wilson Lam, billed as Chun-yin Lam) to take down a nefarious Sorceress (Michiko Nishiwaki) who seems to be behind all the mayhem. The film is filled with fun action and some kind of slapstick laden humor, but it also has a substratum of frequently interesting (if maybe not exactly "factual") accounts of folkloristic elements.

Magic Cop Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Magic Cop is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. There's not much technical information imparted on the packaging other than the requisite "gorgeously restored" comment. The element utilized has a few issues, including some noticeably variant densities and some minor but still visible signs of age related wear and tear, including small nicks and blemishes. The palette is a bit anemic at times, and some of the nighttime material has a blue cast that tends to overlay things almost like a scrim at times, depriving the image of consistent fine detail. Quite a bit of this presentation tends to look softer than might be expected for a film of this general vintage. All of this said, in more brightly lit moments, fine detail levels materially increase and there are certainly at least passing moments where suffusion also improves and the palette warms considerably. The film is littered with old school opticals, which can understandably lead to a somewhat variant grain field.

Magic Cop Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Magic Cop has a number of audio options, including the original Cantonese mono mix presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono, a later Cantonese home video mix in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, and English dubs in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. I frankly didn't notice a lot of difference between the two Cantonese tracks, even if the second is ostensibly in stereo. The soundstage is probably arguably wider on the home video audio track, but to my ears there wasn't a lot of discrete channelization at play. Both of the Cantonese track offers secure renderings of dialogue, effects and score. For the biggest audio "bang" in terms of some of the over the top action elements at play, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track in English is probably going to be your best bet, but even here surround activity can ebb and flow, and a lot of the presentation still tends to play out in the front channels. Optional English subtitles are available.

Magic Cop Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Hong Kong film expert Frank Djeng and Marc Walkow


• Taiwanese Cut with Alt Score (HD; 1:33:57) is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0.


• Interview with Tung Wei (HD; 36:21) is subtitled in English.


• Image Gallery (HD; 1:57)


• Trailer (HD; 2:51)

Additionally, the keepcase features a reversible sleeve, and it houses a folded mini poster. Packaging features a rather nice slipcover.

Magic Cop Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Magic Cop is often quite a bit of fun, and one way or the other, Lam Ching-ying gives Anthony Davis a run for his "eyebrow" money (yes, that's a joke). Video encounters a few passing obstacles, but is generally solid, and the audio options are commendable. Frank Djeng's commentary is as "mile a minute" as usual, and the other supplements are enjoyable. Recommended.