Running Out of Time Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Running Out of Time Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 30, 2022

Note: This version of this film is available on Blu-ray as part of Running Out of Time Collection.

Roy Huggins may forever best be remembered as the man who created The Fugitive, but one of his first follow ups to that now legendary series was the decidedly lesser known Run for Your Life, which, despite lasting three seasons, never seemed to quite capture the imagination of the general public the way that the plight of Dr. Richard Kimball did. Run for Your Life starred Ben Gazzara as an attorney named Paul Ryan who is given a dire prognosis due to a mortal illness, and who then decides to go for the gusto with whatever time he may have left. Ryan was most definitely a "good guy" in the mid-sixties television series mold that The Fugitive itself had exploited, a wanderer who would travel from place to place encountering the locals, briefly getting wound up in their personal dramas, resolving some earth shattering situation, and then moving on to the next destination. The first Running Out of Time film takes a somewhat similar foundational premise, at least insofar as the plot centers on a man who knows he's about to die and who is out for a little adventure of his own, though in this particular case, Cheung Wah (Andy Lau) is actually the ostensible villain of the piece, taunting a police inspector named Ho Sheung-sang (Lau Ching- wan) to play a "game" where Ho isn't quite sure what the rules are. Probably because the first film featured a focal character whose demise is a given within the very foundation of the plot, a sequel couldn't offer Cheung again, and so Running for Time 2 opts for the next best thing, bringing Ho back for another confrontational game of cat and mouse.

Both of the Running Out of Time films received international Blu-ray releases from Kam & Ronson Enterprises aimed at the Hong Kong market, and for those wanting a plot recap I refer you to Svet Atanasov's Running Out of Time Blu-ray review of that version. As I have so often mentioned, different reviewers means different opinions, and while I enjoy this first film in particular immensely, I'm not quite as enthusiastic about it as Svet, and my score for the overall film reflects that reaction.

Running Out of Time Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Running Out of Time is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video. Both of the Running Out of Time films are aggregated in this release, and the insert booklet therefore kind of lumps them together in the following minimal and pretty generic information found in the insert booklet:

Running Out of Time and Running Out of Time 2 are presented in their original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with original Cantonese and Mandarin 5.1, English mono (Running Out of Time) and English 5.1 (Running Out of Time 2) audio options. The films were restored by Fortune Star, who supplied the masters for this release.

I never owned the Kam & Ronson Enterprises releases from years ago, but judging solely on the basis of screenshot comparisons, Running Out of Time looks at least a bit brighter in this Arrow version, something that may help to expose a generally tightly resolved grain field, though there are some passing moments that can definitely look more roughhewn (see screenshot 3). This transfer still exhibits some of what I'm assuming is the pretty minor damage Svet mentions in passing in his review, but I noticed no noise reduction of any note and evidently as with the Kam & Ronson Enterprises release, the palette here is nicely saturated, especially in some of the many outdoor scenes. Detail levels are commendable throughout, only tending to falter in some of the most dimly lit material which also tends to be inside.

Running Out of Time Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While it looks like the Kam & Ronson release had a 7.1 mix, this disc offers DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 options in either Cantonese or Mandarin, and I frankly can't imagine many folks being disappointed with these options, both of which sounded virtually interchangeable to my ears in terms of overall mix, amplitude and fidelity, other than the obvious difference of language being spoken. Lip movements quite frequently don't consistently match sounds coming out of them in either version at least at moments, though I have no information on who was speaking what during the shoot. The English mono track is okay, but wouldn't be my first choice, as both surround tracks nicely open up the action elements and especially the low end. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly in both surround tracks. Optional English subtitles are available.

Running Out of Time Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentaries

  Audio Commentary with Asian film expert Frank Djeng

  
  

  Audio Commentary with Screenwriters Julien Carbon & Laurent Courtiaud

• Interviews

  Julien Carbon and Laurent Courtiaud (2003) (HD; 21:57) are presented in a piece originally produced by Spectrum Films for the French DVD release. Subtitled in English.

  
  

  Julien Carbon and Laurent Courtiaud (2005) (HD; 37:09) are presented in a piece originally produced by Tai Seng Films for the UK DVD release. In English.

  
  

  Johnnie To (HD; 11:43) was also produced in 2003 by Spectrum Films for the French DVD release. This comes with a disclaimer that the original burnt in French subtitles could not be removed and that the image has therefore been "carefully blurred" to provide room for new English subtitles.

  
  

  Lau Ching-wan (HD; 25:19) follows in the wake of the other 2003 Spectrum Films productions and again features a "carefully blurred" image to provide space for English subtitles.

  
  

  Raymond Wong (HD; 27:24) closes out the trifecta of 2003 Spectrum Films interviews and again offers a "carefully blurred" image to allow for English subtitles.

• The Director's Overview of Carbon and Cortiaud (HD; 8:24) is another Tai Seng production done for the UK DVD release in 2005, and features Tsui Hark and other collaborators discussing the writing duo. Subtitled in English.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:28)


• Image Gallery (HD)

Running Out of Time Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Running Out of Time was a huge hit when it was originally released, and it's not hard to see why, though the film is rather interesting in that both the perceived villain and hero operate in what might be termed morally ambiguous territory. This Arrow release has generally solid technical merits and some very appealing supplements. Recommended.