5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Young master Cao Le chases his pregnant girlfriend away from the family castle. He does it in order to save her from vicious bandits who are going to murder his family.
Starring: Jackie Chan, Feng Hsu, Hui Lou Chen, Wen-Tai Li, Lin TungForeign | 100% |
Martial arts | 47% |
Action | 35% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
Mandarin: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Cantonese: LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Lo Wei's "To Kill with Intrigue" (1977) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critic Frank Djeng; new program with author and critic Rick Baker; vintage promotional materials; and more. In Mandarin, Cantonese, or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Reigon-B "locked".
The one with the scar
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, To Kill with Intrigue arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films.
The release introduces an exclusive new 4K restoration of To Kill with Intrigue. The same restoration is also made available on 4K Blu-ray here.
I viewed the 4K restoration in its entirety in native 4K. After that, I tested various areas of the 1080p presentation on the Blu-ray. I like the 4K restoration and its presentation in native 4K and 1080p a lot. All visuals boast enormously pleasing delineation, clarity, and depth. I feel that in a few spots the blacks could have been managed marginally better to avoid some extremely light crushing, but you should not worry about distracting anomalies. There are none. Color balance is fantastic. In many areas, there are genuinely gorgeous visuals with a terrific organic appearance. There are no traces of problematic digital tinkering. The entire film looks spotless as well. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There are four standard audio tracks on this release: Mandarin LPCM 2.0, English LPCM 2.0, Cantonese LPCM 2.0, and Japanese/Mandarin 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
The following comments were used in our review of the 4K Blu-ray release of To Kill with Intrigue.
I began viewing the film with the Mandarin track, but then tested the remaining tracks. I spent the most time with the English track, hoping that it would make the film a bit more entertaining. However, this English track is pretty good, not one of those it-it-so-bad-it-is-wild tracks that many Hong Kong films have. On the Mandarin track, clarity is very good, but balance varies a lot, which is to be expected. The Cantonese track produces greater dynamic contrasts, but it has a lot of even more uneven spots. The English translation is excellent.
To Kill with Intrigue is a prime example of a mismanaged film that should have been a very good film. Rick Baker is correct to state that the chemistry between Lo Wei and Jackie Chan must have been quite poor because different parts of the film look pretty random. I do not think that its story is problematic, but it is not told properly, which is why it never establishes a proper identity. 88 Films' Blu-ray release introduces a marvelous new 4K restoration of it the film, so Chan completists should not miss it. A separate 4K Blu-ray release is available as well.
劍花煙雨江南 / Jiàn huā yān yǔ jiāng nán | Jackie Chan Collection
1977
劍花煙雨江南 / Jiàn huā yān yǔ jiāng nán
1977
(Still not reliable for this title)
蛇鶴八步 / Shé hè bā bù | Jackie Chan Collection
1978
龙拳 / Lóng quán | Jackie Chan Collection
1979
少林木人巷 / Shao Lin mu ren xiang
1976
Fēng yǔ shuāng liú xīng / 風雨雙流星
1976
龍少爺 | Dragon Strike | Limited Edition
1982
The Big Brawl | Sha shou hao | 殺手壕 | Deluxe Collector's Edition
1980
重案組 / Jackie Chan Collection
1993
城市獵人 / Sing si lip yan | Eureka Classics
1993
新精武門 / Xn jīng wǔ mén
1976
夏日福星 / Ha jat fuk sing | Eureka Classics
1985
醉拳 / Jui kuen / Masters of Cinema
1978
Zhan lang II / 战狼II
2017
皇家戰士 / Huáng jiā zhàn shì / In the Line of Duty | Eureka Classics
1986
奇謀妙計五福星 / Kei mau miu gai: Ng fok sing / 5 Lucky Stars | Eureka Classics
1983
拳精 / Quán Jīng
1978
快餐車 / Kuai can che | Eureka Classics
1984
殭屍先生 / Geung see sin sang / Eureka Classics
1985
合氣道 / He qi dao / Lady Kung Fu | Eureka Classics
1972
福星高照 / Fuk sing go jiu | Eureka Classics
1985
Seong lung wui | Shuāng lóng huì | 雙龍會 | Deluxe Collector's Edition
1992