7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Master Tie Qiao San is an honorable and respected kung fu master, one of the Ten Tigers of Kwantung. He's also developed a bit of a taste for Opium, though, and his habit is getting worse. Meanwhile, a bunch of villains want to get rich by opening an Opium house and getting the population hooked. Master Tie's pupil Gua Si is a bit of a hothead, but at least he can see that the Opium isn't doing his master (or anybody else) any good.
Starring: Lung Ti, Mai Tak-Lo, Kuan Tai Chen, Feng KuanForeign | 100% |
Martial arts | 55% |
Action | 26% |
Drama | 4% |
Period | 3% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: Dolby Digital 2.0
Cantonese: Dolby Digital 2.0
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The Shaw Brothers Studio ushered in the heyday of Hong Kong cinema with their release of over 1000 films between the 1950’s through the 1980’s. Unfortunately, those films rarely received a release on the western shore, and it wasn’t until the popularity of Bruce Lee that martial arts films began to receive the recognition they deserved. I’ve always been fascinated with the grace and brutality of martial arts and there’s no better way to enjoy it than to sit down for a good chopsocky flick.
Thus far, classic Hong Kong cinema has been shamelessly overlooked on the Blu-ray format, but I was pleasantly surprised when the Shaw Brothers Gold Collection was announced, with Opium & The Kung Fu Master slated as the initial offering. My excitement was tempered by the sudden cancellation of all follow-up releases in the collection, but at least we have one classic to enjoy on a level that hasn’t been achieved since it’s original theatrical showing.
The look of extreme introspection...
Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 23Mbps), Opium & The Kung Fu Master is a visual treat on Blu-ray. I expected the source material to be marred with dirt and grime, so I was pleasantly surprised as the film opened to a pleasing level of detail. The finest textures on the fabric of clothing can be detected and you'll marvel at the intricacies of the set pieces that encompass the background. The only downfall of the increased resolution, is the ease in noticing some less-than-stellar sets that look a little fake (check out the dock scene where the fight with the boatman occurs). Those of you with an aversion to grain should be forewarned that many scenes have a heavy dose of grain (mostly in the background), so it's pretty apparent the studio chose not to apply noise reduction in creating this transfer. Whatever your opinion on the matter, it gives the production a dated feel that accurately reflects the original source material. Another positive aspect of the transfer is color saturation, which appears slightly bright at times, but not overly so. The color hues could have been a bit more natural, but they generally fit the feel of the film and fall within a wide spectrum. Lastly, black levels were appropriately deep, contrast is good (but not excellent) and I never noticed any edge enhancement or digital artifacting.
There are two other items worth mentioning about the visuals (that aren't related to the transfer). First off, you'll notice a number of shots where certain parts of the image are blurry and non-distinct, while others are perfectly crisp. This appears to be the result of the camera lens utilized, though I'm not 100% sure. The second visual anomaly is some noticeable stretching at the far sides of the scope ratio. The focal point (center) of the frame exhibits accurate dimensionality, but figures and items to the sides appear squeezed together (giving figures a thin man look). I couldn't find conclusive evidence that this was a product of the Super 35 (Shawscope) film format, but until I find out different, that would be my assumption.
We're given 3 audio offerings to select from, all presented in Dolby Digital 2.0. I primarily listened to the Mandarin track, which has an endearing quality despite the occasionally inaccurate dubbing and pervasive distortion (or clipping) in the louder portions of the track. I'd imagine this is true to the source material, which wasn't apparently recorded very well in the first place, but it won't offer viewers any additional value over the typical DVD release of a Hong Kong film. Sound effects include a humerous variation on pops and pows to reflect punches and kicks, and you'll likely get a kick out of the same metallic sound that's used every time a blade clashes with another blade. If there's one strength worth mentioning in the Mandarin track, it's the volume balance between all elements in the mix. There isn't much praise I can offer, but it is what it is.
In case you have an aversion to subtitles, I should mention the English audio track is pretty awful. The voice actors are cringe-inducing and aren't good representations of the characters they were supposed to portray. The end result is a cheapening of the overall experience, so I'd strongly encourage you to stick with the native language track.
The collection of extras on the disc is a little light, but that's not terribly suprising when you consider the number of films produced during the 1980's by the Shaw Studio. The primary supplement includes 37 minutes of interview footage with Chen Kuan-Tai, Lee Hoi San and Mai Ti-Lo. Each of the actors field similar questions about their kung fu training, acting careers, and opinions on modern martial arts films and actors. The interview footage is presented in 480p with poorly recorded 2 channel audio. Aside from the interviews, we have a photo gallery containing stills from the film and a set of trailers for Opium & The Kung Fu Master as well as three other kung fu classics in the recently-cancelled Shaw Brothers Collection (the trailers are presented in standard definition).
Opium & The Kung Fu Master deserves a place in the collection of any fan of classic martial arts cinema. The intriguing inclusion of drug addiction makes for an interesting backdrop for the complexities of the plot, but it's the incredible fight choreography that will keep you coming back for multiple viewings. From a technical basis, I doubt Hong Kong cinema could look or sound much better than this release and I hope to see additional Shaw Studios titles released to Blu-ray in the near future.
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