7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.1 |
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: 2.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Mandarin: LPCM 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Top martial-arts star Jet Li teams up with Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro in Peter Chan’s epic extravaganza “Tau ming chong" 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.
Jet Li as Pang Qingyun
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Peter Chan's The Warlords arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of UK-based distributors Metrodome Video.
There are quite a few differences between the UK and HK releases of The Warlords. First, the color-scheme on the UK disc looks a bit more natural (take a look at capture #12 and then compare it with capture #4 from the HK review). The grays, greens and yellows are also notably richer, while the blacks are better saturated. However, there seems to be some mild contrast boosting on the UK release that isn't plaguing the HK disc. Second, a lot of the panoramic vistas from the first half of the film are also far more detailed on the UK disc. When I first viewed the HK disc, I assumed that some of the haziness its transfer revealed was intentional, but now, having tested the UK disc, I am unsure what to make of it. Finally, the two releases look equally healthy – there are no scratches, debris, or specks to report. (Note: Even though the UK disc is marketed as Region-B "locked", it is in fact Region-Free. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).
The HK release of The Warlords contains the following audio tracks: Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Mandarin Dolby TrueHD 7.1, Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 EX and Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1 EX. The UK release contains only a Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Mandarin PCM 2.0 tracks. As you could see, the UK disc lacks the Mandarin Dolby True HD 7.1 track, the Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 EX track and the Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1 EX dub. The original Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track has been downgraded slightly to a Mandarin Dolby Digital Master Audio 5.1 track (the UK disc also get s a basic Mandarin PCM 2.0 track).
To make a long story short, I am perfectly content with the Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track as I could hardly notice a difference between the Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 and Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks -- the bass on the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is equally potent, the rear channels very active and the high-frequencies not unnecessarily sharpened. Also, balance has been handled quite well, and you certainly won't have to reach for your remote control every fifteen or so minutes in order to adjust the volume. This being said, the dialog is crystal clear and very easy to follow. For the record, while the HK disc contains optional English, Chinese Traditional and Chinese Simplified subtitles, the UK disc has only optional English subtitles. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
The UK release of the The Warlords contains the following supplemental features (please note that all of them are in standard-def PAL. Therefore, unless your TV sets can support native PAL, or you have a player that automatically converts PAL to NTSC, you won't be able to view them on your US TV set):
117 Days: A Production Journal - an informative featurette following the production history of the film, from the moment it is announced (there's a bit of raw footage here from the initial press-conference where Peter Chan and his cast answer questions for the Chinese press) to its premiere. Also, there are a number of comments that address the technical difficulties the crew had to overcome.
Reflections on The Warlords - a second featurette where cast and crew members talk about the film's message, their commitment to the project as well as the terrible weather conditions they were forced to endure.
Deleted Scenes – as far as I could tell, all of the extended and deleted scenes that are available on the HK disc have been ported to the UK disc. They are presented with LPCM sound and imposed English subtitles.
The History Behind the Warlords - a text-format essay exploring the key events the film recreates.
UK theatrical trailer-
If you have not yet seen Peter Chan's The Warlords, you should try to do so as soon as possible. I personally liked this film a lot more than John Woo's Red Cliff. The UK disc herein reviewed, courtesy of Metrodome Video, presents a few very interesting dilemmas. I liked its color-scheme better, especially the rich blacks, but I noticed a bit of mild contrast boosting, which may or may not bother some of you. As far as the audio treatment is concerned, I really could not hear much of a difference between the two Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio tracks, but I am sure that some of you would prefer to have the HK disc precisely because of its DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track.
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