7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Police inspector and excellent hostage negotiator Ho Sheung-Sang finds himself in over his head when he is pulled into a 72 hour game by a cancer suffering criminal out for vengeance on Hong Kong's organised crime Syndicates
Starring: Andy Lau, Ching Wan Lau, Suet Lam, Waise Lee, Ruby WongForeign | 100% |
Drama | 23% |
Crime | 9% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Cantonese: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Mandarin: Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
Mandarin (Traditional), English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Winner of Best Actor Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards and Film of Merit Award at the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards, Johnnie To's "Am zin" a.k.a. "Running Out of Time" (1999) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors Kam & Ronson Enterprises. Unfortunately, there are no supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc. In Cantonese, with optional English and Traditional Chinese subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
The handsome villain
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Johnnie To's Running Out of Time arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors Kam & Ronson Enterprises.
The high-definition transfer is surprisingly good. Though it has been struck from a dated source, it is a notable step in quality. For example, detail is dramatically improved during close-ups -- I've tried to get a good number of various close-ups to illustrate the upgrade -- while clarity levels are pleasingly consistent even during the darker sequences from inside the business building. Color reproduction is also convincing. The variety of blues, greens, browns, and blacks do not break up as they do on the R1 SDVD release (Tai Seng Entertainment). Also, the prominent macroblocking from the R1 SDVD release has practically been eliminated as well. This being said, the high-definition transfer is not without flaws. Quite obviously, it is a dated one, and traces of light filtering could be easily seen. The good news, however, is that the image has plenty of depth, and film grain, though mixed with a small dose of noise, is also present. Additionally, there are no traces of post-production sharpening similar to the ones seen in Full Throttle, or strong halo effects and/or aliasing. Some small scratches and flecks occasionally pop up here and there, but large cuts or damage marks are nowhere to be seen. All in all, this is one of the better catalog releases I've seen this year from Kam & Ronson Enterprises. (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).
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc Cantonese Dolby TrueHD 7.1 and Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1. For the record, Kam & Ronson Enterprises have provided optional English and Traditional Chinese subtitles for the main feature.
Like the video treatment, the audio treatment is surprisingly good. The Cantonese Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track has a decent range of dynamics that enhance the various action scenes in the film quite well. Admittedly, balance could have been improved, but none of the sudden dynamic collapses that I've heard on other HK catalog releases are present here. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and easy to follow.
Though far from disappointing, the English translation isn't overly convincing either. I noticed a few spelling and syntax errors that should have been avoided.
Most unfortunately, there are no supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc.
Johnnie To's Running Out of Time is a fast, original, hugely entertaining film, one of the very best produced by Milkyway Image. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors Kam & Ronson Enterprises, represents a strong upgrade in terms of video and audio quality. Do not hesitate to upgrade your SDVD releases, folks. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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