Twin Dragons Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.0

Twin Dragons Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 30, 2023

Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark's "Twin Dragons" (1992) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films. The supplemental features on the release include archival programs with Jackie Chan; archival program with actors Tung Wei and James Ha; new audio commentary by critics Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto; deleted scenes; vintage promotional materials; and more. In Cantonese or English, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

If you were a very young film collector during the DVD era who did not explore what foreign regions had to offer, and never really grasped how badly a lot of international films were cut by Miramax before they were distributed in the U.S., you will find this Blu-ray release of Twin Dragons quite educational. (In case you are wondering, Miramax did not cut only Asian films. A lot of very big European films, some huge festival winners, were butchered, too. For example, The Horseman on the Roof lost nearly twenty minutes of footage after it reached U.S. shores. The lavish Reine Margot also lost a little over fifteen minutes of footage, some of which was from its most important sequences. The list of such travesties is humongous). It has two cuts of Twin Dragons, the original Hong Kong version and the Miramax/Dimension version, and they are completely different films.

This is not exactly news to you because various other films with Jackie Chan exist in multiple versions?

The reason the Blu-ray release of Twin Dragons can be educational is this: Not only did Miramax cut quite a bit of footage from the film’s original Hong Kong version, but when it dubbed it in English it gave its characters completely random new names and rescored it with ‘superior’ music. In other words, Twin Dragons was effectively remade for local consumption. Also, even by Miramax standards, this fresh remake ranks at the very bottom of the long list of Miramax hack jobs, so it can really help you grasp how little the people who made decisions there cared about the films they acquired.

The original Twin Dragons film that Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark made with Jackie Chan is quite the firecracker. No, it is not one of Chan’s best, but if you compare it to the films Chan made during the last twenty years, it almost feels like a masterpiece. (For what it's worth, I pretty much lost interest in Chan’s work after Rush Hour. There are a few somewhat decent films that came after it, but as far as I am concerned, Chan effectively ran out of gas as the 1990s ended). Indeed, in Twin Dragons Chan is still full of energy and the people around him enthusiastically match it. Also, and this is much, much more important, Twin Dragons was the last film Chan made in which he did comedy the old-fashioned way -- without any filters. This is why despite being quite silly, the comedy effectively complements the predictably outrageous action and transforms Twin Dragons into a very charming film as well.

Chan plays thirty-something twins John Ma and Boomer, both unaware of each other’s existence, who accidentally meet in Hong Kong. The magical moment happens after the former, a renowned pianist and conductor, lands in Hong Kong for a special event, and the latter, a car mechanic-turned-bodyguard living there, agrees to protect a client (Teddy Robin Kwan) who has angered some very shady characters with very big ambitions. In an upscale hotel in the heart of the city, John is mistaken for Boomer while Boomer for John by all kinds of different characters, including two young and very attractive ladies (Maggie Cheung and Nina Li Chi) willing to fall in love with the right guy. As John and Boomer’s lives quickly begin to overlap and everyone around them becomes utterly confused, all hell breaks loose.

Do not waste your time with the Miramax/Dimension version of Twin Dragons. It is a strange film that does not work. The original Twin Dragons film works very well, and the only way it could have been even better is if it had a very prominent villain. There is one character that shows the right potential, but Chan promptly puts him in a testing vehicle that hits a concrete wall. The rest of the bad characters are instantly forgettable.

The action is of the highest quality. The playground where Chan goes to work to impress is not as intriguing as it could have been, but virtually everything that you will see in Twin Dragons comes from the same extensive action repertoire that provided the unforgettable fireworks in the likes of Police Story and Armour of God. The only genuinely unexpected twist here is Chan doing some quite wild improvisations while conducting an entire orchestra without having a clue what to do with the baton.

Twin Dragons Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Twin Dragons arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films.

There are two different versions of Twin Dragons on this release, original Hong Kong version and Miramax/Dimension version, and they look quite different. I viewed the Hong Kong version because it is the one that needs to be seen, and then tested various sections of the Miaramx/Dimenson version (which is included on this double-feature release that I have in my library).

Please note that the screencaptures in this article appear in the following order:

Screencaptures #1-23: Original Hong Kong Version.
Screencaptures #25-38: Miramax/Dimension Version.

Regrettably, the Hong Kong version looks quite rough. Clearly, it is sourced from an old master that has a wide range of limitations, some of which have been introduced while someone attempted to repolish it. For example, delineation and depth range from average to mediocre, and a few times drop even further below. On top of this, the old master produces quite a bit of the halo-like effects that you can observe on Indicator/Powerhouse Films' release of A Dandy in Aspic. Some of these halo-like effects also come with light smearing, so during fast-moving action, the visuals can become quite distracting. But different variations of the collapse of native detail and depth can be seen all over the film, including during still shots (see examples here and here). Quite predictably, fluidity is never even remotely as good as it needs to be. The partially good news is that the visuals are always stable. Even though there is room for improvement, particularly in terms of saturation, color balance is pleasing, too. There are a few tiny blemishes, but the entire film looks surprisingly clean as well. All in all, Twin Dragons desperately needs a proper 2K/4K master so that it has a proper organic appearance and look right on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Twin Dragons Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are four standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Original Cantonese Mono DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, Alternate Cantonese Mono Mix DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, Cantonese Stereo Home Video Mix DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, and English Dub Mono DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English and English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

I viewed the entire film with the original Cantonese Mono track. I do not know how different the other Cantonese tracks are. However, the English track is incredibly different.

The overall quality of the Cantonese audio track is very good. However, I feel that there is some room for minor balancing improvements because from time to time the dynamic fluctuations become quite big. On the other hand, everyone knows that Hong Kong genre films were often intentionally mixed to produce exaggerated dynamic contrasts. I did not encounter any annoying age-related imperfections, like prominent hiss, crackle, pops, distortions, etc.

Twin Dragons Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Dimension Films Version - presented here is the heavily edited Miramax/Dimension version of Twin Dragons. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. English Dolby Digital 5.1. (89 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto.

• Interview with Actors Tung Wei and James Ha - in this archival program, actors Tung Wei and James recall how they became involved with Twin Dragons and what it was like to work with Jackie Chan, Ringo Lam, and Tsui Hark. In Cantonese, with English subtitles. (14 min).

• Scene From the Japanese Version - presented here is a bonus scene from the Japanese Version of Twin Dragons. In Cantonese, with printed Japanese and English subtitles. (1 min).

• Taiwanese Deleted Scenes - presented here are two deleted scenes from the Taiwanese version of Twin Dragons. Sourced from a VHS. With English subtitles. (1 min).

• Archival EPK Q&A - in this archival program, Jackie Chan highlights the key differences between John Ma and Boomer and explains why viewers should see Twin Dragons. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Archival Jackie Chan Interview - in this archival program, Jackie Chan discusses the unique qualities of his craft, what makes his films special, and how demanding and dangerous his work often is. Also, there are some quite interesting comments about the secondary actors that Chan likes to work with. In English, not subtitled. (21 min).

• Archival Behind the Scenes Footage - presented here is archival footage from the shooting of Twin Dragons in Hong Kong. Without English subtitles. (26 min).

• Hong Kong Trailer - presented here is a vintage Hong Kong trailer for Twin Dragons. With music and English subtitles. (3 min).

• English Trailer - presented here is a vintage international trailer for Twin Dragons. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Japanese Trailer - presented here is a vintage Japanese trailer for Twin Dragons. In Japanese, with English subtitles. (2 min).

• Japanese TV Spot - presented here is a vintage Japanese TV spot for Twin Dragons. In Japanese, with English subtitles. (1 min).

• UK VHS Trailer - presented here is a vintage UK VHS trailer for Twin Dragons. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Book - 80-page book with new writing on the film by Paul Bramhall and Thorsten Boose, as well as technical credits.

• Art Cards - four collectible art cards.

• Poster - double-sided foldout poster with new artwork and original poster art.

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage poster art.

Twin Dragons Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Twin Dragons is a lot like The Hard Way. It is silly, fast, and very, very loose in that most special way only films that emerged during the 1980s can be. Of course, Twin Dragons and The Hard Way emerged during the early 1990s. This recent release from 88 Films has two versions of Twin Dragons, but I was interested only in one of them, which was the original Hong Kong version of the film. Unfortunately, I have to report that it looks quite rough. If you really want to have the release in your collection, I suggest that you try to get it when it goes on sale.