PTU Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

PTU Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 10, 2008

Winner of the Best Director award granted by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society, Johnnie To’s PTU (2003) is a film with little substance and plenty of style. Nostalgic, borderline hilarious and symbolic, the film is a questionable departure from the director’s flashy triad works. Excellent camerawork and an unusual soundtrack are key here. Distributed by Mei Ah.

A sharp-tongued cop (Suet Lam) is harassed by a gang of street thugs in a rundown bistro. He is tricked into a dark alley where his attackers beat him up and steal his gun. A friend (Simon Yam) of the cop and leader of a four-man squad patrolling the streets of Hong Kong, the PTU, offers to help. Shortly after, the two embark on a wild chase hoping to retrieve the lost gun. The closer they get to the thugs, the more heads begin to roll.

Dealt with

A loose remake of Akira Kurosawa’s classic Stray Dog (1949), Johnnie To’s PTU is a film that spurred plenty of heated debates amongst the director’s hardcore followers. Some saw it as a departure from his visually stunning but structurally predictable triad pictures, a step in the right direction. Others insisted that PTU is nothing but a rehashed attempt to sell a familiar story with a well-conditioned contemporary appeal. I think that it is a little bit of both. Here’s why:

PTU relies on the same key features that elevated Stray Dog into a cult classic -- it is stylishly lensed, notably moody, and flirting with comedy while delivering a gravely serious critique on the corrosive effects of violence. It also reveals an array of sub-themes caricaturing a lot of what Hong Kong cinema has been thriving on during recent years. As such, PTU is indeed a departure from To’s fascination with the triads.

And yet PTU does not represent a radical change of direction for To either. (Sparrow actually does). It is still packed with plenty of action, catchy one-liners, and a heavy dose of dark humor which is neither satire-bound nor pure comedy. Depending on how you deconstruct the main protagonists and their actions, it might well be, as argued by some critics, only a surprisingly stylish reimagination of a familiar story.

What muddles the waters even more is the introduction of a highly unusual soundtrack courtesy of Chi Wing Chung. A slow and broody guitar solo reappears in much the same way Ry Cooder’s wailing solos did in Wim Wenders’ classic Paris, Texas (1984). However, while in Paris, Texas the guitar solos complimented the hypnotic vistas from the desert, in PTU the music effectively contradicts most everything we see on the screen. It is intentionally out of sync with the pacing of the story and, strangely enough, reminiscent of something that you would hear in early '50 and '60s Hong Kong films.

Why PTU is structured in the manner I described above remains somewhat of a mystery. Indeed, the lack of a convincing screenplay certainly does not explain everything that happens in front of the camera. The final scene, for instance, is very much indicative of To's style -- there is an impressive shootout, plenty of empty shells, and all sorts of different fancy camera moves. And yet everything that leads to it is far less intriguing and flashy than what we saw, for example, in Fulltime Killer. Oddly enough, I even detected a great deal of nostalgia in this film which adds to the visuals but detracts even more from the narrative.

Naturally, PTU could be a very difficult film to embrace. It is not disappointing, not at all, but it is far less cohesive and easy to understand than To’s latest work. It is also uncannily uneven -- a characteristic which apparently has put off a lot of viewers used to director’s more linear storytelling.

PTU Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Johnnie To's PTU arrives to Blu-ray courtesy of Mei Ah.

Before we go into discussing the technical merits of this release, I would like to point out that PTU hosts a few of the so-called watermarks (the distributor's logo) which appear irregularly in the upper left corner outside of the film frame. They appear only a few times, with a duration of less than 2-3 seconds. I was not bothered by their presence, but I do understand that many collectors dislike them.

The transfer is, as expected, of very good quality. Contrast is strong, detail and clarity very pleasing, and edge-enhancement not an issue of concern. The color-scheme is also impressive, allowing the film's diverse nighttime scenes to shine. I was particularly pleased with the manner in which the overflowing neon lights are captured, as they certainly add a bit of an edge to this already quite exotic film. On the other hand, there are plenty of softer looking scenes as well (just as there were softer looking scenes in To's Mad Detective and Exiled). Finally, I would like to note that I did not detect any disturbing examples of DNR. The visuals are also free of debris, specks, and scratches. (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).

PTU Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three different tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Cantonese PCM 7.1, Cantonese Dolby Digital EX 5.1, and Mandarin Dolby Digital EX 5.1. The PCM 7.1 track is indeed up to Mei Ah's standards – it is potent, with a heavy bass, and plenty of activity in the rear channels. Tthere is a lot of movement which the PCM 7.1 track enhances quite well and especially during some of the shooting scenes (the final scene where all of the gangsters are caught up in an all-out shootout is a prime example) there is a strong punchy quality to the mix which I believe many would be pleased to hear. Chi Wing Chung's soundtrack has a prominent role in PTU and deservedly has been treated with the proper dose of respect. It is well balanced with the dialog and often adding plenty of color to the action. The actual dialog on the other hand is crystal clear, very easy to follow, and without any disturbing pop-ups, hissing, or drop-outs. This Blu-ray release also offers three sub-options: Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and English. I cannot comment on the accuracy of the Chinese subtitles but the English subtitles are well done and without any annoying syntax errors. Finally, I would like to note that the subtitles appear outside of the film frame.

PTU Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Aside from the original theatrical trailer for PTU on this Blu-ray disc you will also find a standard "Making Of" documentary which unfortunately isn't subtitled in English. Part of the documentary contains a large interview with Johnnie To where he apparently comments on the film's construction but as I mentioned above English subtitles aren't provided and I had no way of knowing what is being said.

PTU Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A loose take on Akira Kurosawa's classic Stray Dog, Johnnie To's PTU dazzles with moody camerawork and a nostalgic, retro-flavored soundtrack. Yet, for some the film's uncanny emphasis on style over substance might prove to be too much to swallow. Others will probably argue that this is the reason to see PTU. The truth is, in my opinion, somewhere in between. PTU isn't a great film but it isn't a poor one either. In fact, I plan to revisit it soon and see how it will resonate with me the second time around, since in it I detected a lot of what I thought transformed Sparrow into a fantastic piece of cinema.