Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.0

Prison on Fire Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 28, 2011

Nominated for eight Hong Kong Film Awards, Lam Ling Tung's "Prison on Fire" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors Kam & Ronson Enterprises. The supplemental features on the disc include two theatrical trailers and a short interview with the director of the film. In Cantonese, with optional English and Traditional Chinese subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Chow Yun-Fat as Ching

Graphic designer Lo Ka Yui (Tony Leung Ka Fai, Love Will Tear Us Apart) is sent to jail after he accidentally kills a man who attempts to rob his father. There he quickly befriends Chung Tin Ching (Chow Yun-Fat, A Better Tomorrow, Hard Boiled), a charismatic criminal who warns him to stay away from the triads if he wishes to get out on time.

However, Micky (Ho Ka-Kui, The Chinese Feast), a triad 'head', places Yui right in the middle of a serious dispute that could cost him his life. While Ching attempts to buy his way out, Yui confronts Micky and then also approaches the head of security, 'Scarface' Hung (Roy Cheung, Jiang Hu). What Yui does not know is that 'Scarface' Hung regularly strikes various deals with the triads.

The rest of the 'heads' conclude that they have a snitch amongst them who must be taught a lesson. They send a few of their men to deal with Yui, who goes berserk and cuts himself with a large piece of broken glass in the prison’s basement. Ching manages to calm him down, but the news about the incident quickly reaches the desk of the superintendent, who demands a detailed report from 'Scarface' Hung.

Things get out of control when 'Scarface' Hung encourages Micky to deal with Yui in exchange for various privileges. Ching defends his friend, which prompts the rest of the 'heads' to choose sides in the conflict.

Charming yet very intense, Lam Ling Tung’s (a.k.a Ringo Lam) Prison on Fire reminds about Alan Parker’s Midnight Express. The film offers a fascinating look at a large Hong Kong prison run by corrupt cops and powerful triad gangs. Life there is cheap and death always around the corner.

The first half of the film has a lighter tone. There is a string of scenes where Ching teaches Yui how to behave so that he does not get in trouble with the triad members or anger the prison guards. Because Yui is totally clueless, he often makes childish mistakes, most of which are absolutely hilarious.

The second half of the film is darker and notably violent. Once all of the important players are identified, director Tung quickly switches gears - the focus of attention here is on the ineffective prison system and how the triads regulate it with the blessing of the prison authorities.

The finale is rather surreal, almost psychedelic. This is not to say that it is completely unexpected, but considering what takes place during the rest of the film it is indeed somewhat unusual. It works well, however, and it really is one of the key reasons why the film earned its cult status.

The acting is fantastic. Both Leung and Yun-Fat undergo incredible character transformations after they become friends. And despite the script’s blending of humor and extreme violence, the large supporting cast is never overly dramatic; on the contrary, the mass scenes are amongst the best in the film.

Prison on Fire was one of the last truly unique and good films to come out of Hong Kong during the late 80s. By the mid 90s, the local film industry had already moved in a different direction and by large lost its ability to excite as it used to.

Note: In 1998, Prison on Fire was nominated for eight Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Director, Best Actor (Chow Yun-Fat), and Best Screenplay (Nam Yin).

Prison on Fire Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Lam Ling Tung's Prison on Fire arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors Kam & Ronson Enterprises.

I think that I am ready to begin speculating that Kam & Ronson Enterprises may not actually have high-definition masters for quite a few of their older films. If this is indeed the case, then it is certainly very bad news because they have a tremendous catalog, and I really want to see as many of their 80s and 90s films arrive on Blu-ray as possible. What really worries me is that many of their classic films are no longer even available on SDVD - I recently looked up approximately 40 films they produced before 1990, and quite a few are actually available only on VCD (!) - so unless they decide to bring them to Blu-ray, the only way they could resurface again on the market is if a foreign distributor (perhaps in the UK or North America) picks them up, which I think is highly unlikely. If Kam & Ronson Enterprises have high-definition masters for their older films but are not using them, then someone in the company needs to be fired immediately. I am speculating because some Hong Kong distributors have a history of not taking good care of their older films, which really is extremely sad.

Prison on Fire does not impress. It looks marginally better than Police Story II, and this really isn't good news at all. Fine object detail ranges from average to poor, clarity fluctuates a lot, and macroblocking patterns routinely pop up. Early into the film there is plenty of edge-enhancement as well (see screencapture #8). The color-scheme also consistently breaks up - the blacks, browns, blues, and yellows are particularly weak. Lastly, various tiny flecks and scratches plague the film from start to finish. To sum it all up, Prison on Fire really does look like an average upscale job. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Prison on Fire Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Cantonese Dolby TrueHD 7.1, Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1, and Thai Dolby Digital 5.1. For the record, Kam & Ronson Enterprises have provided optional English and Traditional Chinese subtitles for the main feature.

The Cantonese Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track also isn't overly impressive - there is very limited amount of activity in the surround channels and the bass is rather weak. The good news is that the dialog is actually surprisingly clean and stable, and there is practically no heavy background hiss. For the record, I did not detect any pops or audio dropouts to report in this review either. Despite a few minor errors, the English translation is rather good.

Prison on Fire Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer 1 - theatrical trailer for Prison on Fire. In Cantonese, not subtitled. (6 min, 1080p)

• Trailer 2 - a second theatrical trailer for Prison on Fire. In Cantonese, not subtitled. (3 min, 480/60i)

• Lam Ling Tung Interview - a short interview with the director of Prison on Fire. In Cantonese, not subtitled. (8 min, 480/60i)

Prison on Fire Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

These are exactly the type of films I would like to see arrive on Blu-ray - the very best Hong Kong produced during the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Many of them are no longer available even on SDVD, so this is a great time to reintroduce them to younger audiences outside of Hong Kong. But I am starting to wonder if some of the local distributors there actually have suitable masters to work with. In any event, I am not impressed with how Prison on Fire looks on Blu-ray.