7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.2 |
During the Taiping Rebellion of the 1860s, General Pang barely survives a brutal massacre of his fellow soldiers by playing dead, and then joins a band of bandits led by Er Hu and Wu Yang. After fighting back attackers from a helpless village, the three men take an oath to become “blood brothers,” but things quickly turn sour and the three men become embroiled in a web of political deceit, and a love triangle between Pang, Er Hu and a beautiful courtesan.
Starring: Jet Li, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Jinglei Xu, Xiaodong GuoAction | 100% |
Foreign | 76% |
Martial arts | 66% |
History | 41% |
War | 37% |
Period | 16% |
Melodrama | 12% |
Drama | 3% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Mandarin: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Cantonese: Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
Mandarin (Traditional), Mandarin (Simplified), English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Top martial-arts star Jet Li teams up with Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro in Peter Ho-Sun Chan’s epic extravaganza “Tau ming chon”g a.k.a “The Warlords” (2007). Winner of four Hong Kong Film awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Peter Chan), Best Actor (Jet Li) and Best Cinematography (Arthur Wong), the film delivers on promises of spectacular battle scenes and impressive period decors. Courtesy of UK-based distributors Metrodome Video. Region-Free.
Bloody times
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Warlords looks stunning; detail and clarity are incredibly strong and contrast simply terrific. In fact, even the more subdued scenes from the film reveal tremendous depth. Frankly, the more one stares at this transfer, the better it gets. The color-scheme, a major component of the film's highly stylized look, is also spectacular. During the opening scenes, where general Pang is seen wandering the battlefield, the prevalent sepia-yellow colors, mixed with rich gray hues and light green, grant The Warlords with a very unique look that matches perfectly its gritty aura. I am also very happy to confirm that DNR has not been applied to this transfer and the fine film grain is appears to be intact. As far as the quality of the actual print is concerned, one word describes it best – spotless. To sum it all up, this Hong-Kong produced BD is an absolute gem. (Note: Please note that this is a Region-A "locked" disc. Therefore, unless you have a native Region-A or Region-Free player, you won't be able to access its content).
The following tracks are available on this BD Mandarin: DTS-HD Master 7.1, Mandarin: Dolby Digital 5.1, and Cantonese: Dolby Digital 5.1. I opted for the DTS-HD Master 7.1 mix and was impressed enormously. The audio producers have provided an HD sound extravaganza that will surely test most every home theater set-up, believe me. The action-ridden scenes in The Warlords are so many that you will certainly get plenty of opportunities to check the muscles of your audio system. The deep bass in particular is so powerful that I actually thought that during the second battle scene where Jet Li's character is wounded was approaching overkill. Furthermore, the surround effects are just as impressive (the best scene to experiment would be where the archers unleash the counter-attack). Finally, the actual dialog is crystal clear and very easy to follow. I also did not detect any hissing, pop-ups, or cracks. Traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, and English subtitles are provided (well done without any syntax errors).
Aside from three trailers for the main feature, this disc also offers a total of 20 deleted scenes with optional English and Chinese subtitles. Quite a few of these are actually presented as extended scenes, so you shall notice footage that is already in the film. This being said, I thought that many of of them were quite good (specifically the palace bits), so I recommend that you find the time to check them out. The disc also offers an interesting "Making of" titled 117 Days: Production Journal where director Peter Chan, Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro share their thoughts on the film, the technical difficulties they faced while shooting it, etc. Finally, there is a very descriptive audio commentary, subtitled in English, by Peter Chan and production designer and partner Yee-Chung Man.
A visually stunning production with a great dose of substance, The Warlords reconfirms my conviction that Peter Chan is one of the most creative directors currently working in Asia. Fans of martial-arts guru Jet-Li will certainly want to add this terrifically produced disc to their collections as it delivers on all fronts. Indeed, this is a fantastic package that we Highly Recommend.
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2006
三國之見龍卸甲
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夜宴 / The Banquet / Ye Yan
2006
墨攻 / Muk Gong
2006
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2008
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2009
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2012
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2010
十月围城 | Standard Edition
2009
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2005
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2007
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2015
红海行动 / Hóng Hǎi Xíng Dòng
2018
마이웨이 / 登陸之日
2011
战狼II / Wolf Warriors 2 / Zhan lang II
2017
金陵十三釵
2011
葉問
2008
辛亥革命
2011
新少林寺
2011