7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Ka-Kui, a Hong Kong police inspector, goes rogue to bring down a drug kingpin and protect the case's star witness from retribution.
Starring: Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Kwok-Hung Lam, Bill TungForeign | 100% |
Martial arts | 34% |
Crime | 20% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Cantonese: LPCM Mono
Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: LPCM Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
4K Ultra HD
Region B (A, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 0.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Jackie Chan's "Police Story" (1985) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critics Mike Leeder and Arne Venema; exclusive new audio commentary by critics Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto; export cut of the film; alternate and deleted scenes; vintage video interview with Jackie Chan; and more. In Cantonese or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and encoded with HEVC / H.265, Police Story arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
Please note that all of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and are downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.
This release is sourced from the same 4K master that was used to produce this Blu-ray release in 2018. For the purpose of this article, I viewed the entire film with HDR.
If you have seen our previous reviews of Eureka Entertainment and Criterion's releases of Police Story, you already know that I don't like how the 4K master was graded. The native color temperature of the film is clearly altered -- virtually all visuals tend to be quite warm and display obvious balance issues that affect their dynamic range. It is true that in some areas of the film these balance issues are easier to tolerate, but they are always present. Now that I have seen the 4K makeover in native 4K, I dislike what was done even more. Here's why:
When viewed with HDR -- and for what it's worth, the HDR grade is actually quite restrained -- a lot of the visuals begin to look almost as if they are dimmed in some very unusual ways. For example, the big chase at the very beginning of the film is supposed to take place during a bright and sunny day, but as it is graded it looks like it takes place during a cloudy autumn afternoon. Furthermore, in darker indoor footage where 4K content usually reveals expanded ranges of nuances and superior shadow definition, here quite often it looks like the visuals can barely maintain proper depth. Why? Because their dynamic range is compromised. This is even noticeable during brighter indoor footage where select highlights suffer as well. In fact, the effect can be so pronounced that it can create the impression that the visuals are filtered (see a good example in screencapture #30). Of course, the newly introduced color temperature alters entire ranges of primaries and supporting nuances. For example, red and red nuances often lean toward brown. Some blacks move toward light gray as well, which of course is what creates the impression that select visuals are flattened by filtering adjustments. Needless to say, all of this is quite unfortunate because the density levels and overall health of the visuals are outstanding.
(Note: This is a Region-Free 4K Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).
Police Story can be viewed in native 4K with three standard audio tracks: Cantonese: LPCM Mono, Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and English: LPCM Mono. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
These audio tracks were included on the previous Blu-ray release of Police Story as well, so I don't have any new comments to add. However, I would say that I spent quite a bit of time with the English audio track. It has some pretty entertaining lines, so if you enjoy classic Hong Kong dubbing I would recommend experimenting with it as well. In some areas this track is quite colorful.
If the current restored 4K master remains the final makeover of Police Story, it will have to be considered a very unfortunate compromise. Police Story can look absolutely magnificent in native 4K because the bulk of the lab work was done right. I refer to the scanning work, the cleanup and repair work, and of course the transfer of the restored files. But the 4K master isn't graded right, and now that it is possible to see the entire makeover in native 4K, it is painfully obvious that it is so. If the new color temperature of this 4K master does not bother you, then perhaps you should consider upgrading your Blu-ray release, but the original theatrical appearance of Police Story was different. The 4K Blu-ray release is included in this three-disc set, which will be out in a couple of weeks.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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