6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A French chef swears revenge after a violent attack on his daughter's family in Hong Kong, during which her husband and her two children are murdered. To help him find the killers, he hires three local hit-men working for the mafia.
Starring: Johnny Hallyday (I), Sylvie Testud, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Suet Lam, Simon YamForeign | 100% |
Crime | 19% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B, A (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Or award at last year's Cannes Film Festival, Johnnie To's "Fu chou" a.k.a "Vengeance" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. The only supplemental features on the disc are the film's original theatrical trailer and a standard making of featurette. In Cantonese and French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Anthony Wong as Kwai
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, Johhnie To's Vengeance arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.
This high-definition transfer is better than the one Hong Kong-based distributors MegaStar used for their Blu-ray release of Vengeance. It is still, however, somewhat inconsistent. The softness I observed on the Hong Kong high-definition transfer is still present, but a lot of the noise filtering is noticeably reduced. During the second half of the film, contrast levels are also more consistent; clarity is pleasing. Furthermore, the color-scheme is virtually identical to that of the Hong Kong high-definition transfer. Finally, while viewing Vengeance I did not detect any disturbing scratches, stains, marks, or cuts to report in this review. To sum it all up, if you are yet to add Vengeance to your libraries, I encourage you to opt for Optimum Home Entertainment's release. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in in order to access its content).
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0 (with portions of Cantonese and French). For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. However, when turned on, they only appear when Cantonese or French is spoken. Additionally, the subtitles split the image frame and the black bar below it.
The basics for the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track are solid. The bass is potent and punchy and the high-frequencies not overdone, but the rear channels are not very effective. In fact, there are only a couple of scenes where they come alive. The dialog, however, is clean, stable, crisp, and exceptionally easy to follow. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissing to report in this review.
As expected, the English LPCM 2.0 does not impress. There are no serious technical issues with it, but its dynamic amplitude is indeed very conservative. The dialog, however, is clean, stable and easy to follow.
The Making of Vengeance - a standard featurette in which Johnnie To, cast and crew members discuss their work on the film. In Cantonese and English, with optional English subtitles. (11 min, PAL).
Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for the film. (2 min, 1080p).
If you are yet to add Johnnie To's Vengeance to your libraries, I recommend that you opt for this Blu-ray release, courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment, over the one MegaStar produced awhile ago in Hong Kong. However, please keep in mind that the disc is Region-B "locked". RECOMMENDED.
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