Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

Saving General Yang Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 12, 2013

Much of the creative crew behind the Ip Man franchise reunited to explore another vaunted figure (or in this case, figures) from Chinese history in Saving General Yang, though in this case the filmmakers reached back into the dim mists of early Chinese folk tales which later matriculated into plays and books. This story has been told many times before in various Chinese media, including as recently as 2011 in the somewhat lackluster 2011 film Legendary Amazons. That film’s conceit was that the family of warriors banding together to rescue a relative were all female. Saving General Yang returns to the original folk tale’s formulation of a group of brothers who face considerable odds to bring their father out of captivity in the midst of a heated battle.

While the story here is not especially innovative, director Ronny Yu’s visual sense heightens the enjoyment factor considerably, lending a suitably epic feel to much of the proceedings, not necessarily limited only to the expected battle elements. Yu’s camera darts and soars, with a series of impressive overhead or crane shots. The production design in sumptuous as well, adding a great deal of visual luster. The characters are by comparison kind of two dimensional, serving as types rather than full blooded humans (especially since many of them have specialized fighting techniques, their only real distinctive characteristics). Saving General Yang isn’t always dramatically compelling, but it’s involving enough and certainly is beautiful to watch.

Saving General Yang Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Saving General Yang is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. This is a very sharp and precise looking digitally shot presentation that only falters slightly when some less than convincing CGI elements enter the mix. Colors are often bold and extremely vividly saturated, and fine detail is excellent, especially in close-ups which reveal the finery of the sets and costumes. Contrast and black levels are very strong and there are no artifacting issues to report.

Saving General Yang Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Saving General Yang's original language DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is the way to go here, though there is also an English dub (also in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1) included. The soundscape here is very well realized, though it may be just a tad less aggressive than some may expect. The big action set pieces provide a wealth of surround activity, but even in quieter moments there is some good attention paid to directional ambient effects. Dialogue is clean and clear and the track has no damage of any kind to report.

Saving General Yang Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making Of (1080i; 8:58)


• Interviews with Director and Cast (1080i; 1:34:12)


• Trailer (1080p; 2:22)

Saving General Yang Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The problem with revisiting ancient folk tales is that it's often difficult to make the characters seems like anything more than ancient archetypes, and that's the case here as well, though truth be told, this film certainly has at least a relatively more emotional undertone than Legendary Amazons, one of the more recent efforts exploring this same basic story. One way or the other, Saving General Yang is visually stunning and lovers of historical epics should certainly find a lot to enjoy here. Recommended.