Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Wild Search Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 1, 2021

Ringo Lam's "Wild Search" (1989) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new audio commentary by Asian cinema expert Frank Djeng; exclusive new audio interview with voice-over artist Simon Broad; and archival interview with actor Roy Cheung. In Cantonese or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Detective Lau

Chow Yun-Fat made a number of ‘softer’ films during the ‘80s whose main goal was to expand fan base, which was overwhelmingly male. Ringo Lam’s Wild Search was part of the effort, though it is neither easy nor fair to describe it as a ‘softer’ film.

During a rushed raid somewhere on the outskirts of Hong Kong, Detective Lau (Chow Yun-Fat) and his partners kill a couple of drug dealers, one of which turns out to be a young mother whose little girl (Cheuk Yan Chan) has been repeatedly used as a decoy. After the crime scene is cleared up, Detective Lau brings the girl to the local precinct and begins searching for relatives that can take care of her. Soon after, he tracks down the dead mother’s sister, Cher (Cherie Chung), who agrees to look after the girl but has an awful time convincing her grandfather, an extremely conservative elderly man, to recognize her existence. While the family drama rages on, the girl becomes attached to Detective Lau and he discovers that her father is a very shady businessman who does not want her either and might be directly responsible for her mother’s tragic death. Slowly but surely, Cher becomes attracted to Detective Lau as well, but their brittle romantic relationship is put to the test when an exceptionally vile assassin (Roy Cheung) is ordered to take them out.

Ringo Lam developed a solid reputation for his very particular style of shooting high-octane entertainment which is why it isn’t surprising that the best material in Wild Search is the one where bullets begin to fly before his camera. The big shootout in which the girl loses her mother, for instance, oozes pure cinematic intensity of the kind that Hong Kong action films became synonymous with in the late ‘70s and early ’80s. While not long enough, it somehow manages to highlight Chow Yun-Fat’s star qualities as well.

But in Wild Search this unique and quite impressive cinematic intensity is almost completely overshadowed by conventional melodrama that essentially struggles to redefine Chow Yun-Fat’s popular image. (A reminder: Wild Search was part of a trend, so Ringo Lam was not the first director see and shoot Chow Yun-Fat from a different angle). Here his character is an ordinary guy who does his best to separate himself from the type of violent trouble that made him an action icon, not a raging annihilator that is on a mission to clean up Hong Kong of its most despicable residents. While in the company of Cherie Chung’s character, he looks vulnerable, even oddly naïve, which is why later on as a moving target he isn’t terribly convincing. This really is the biggest issue with Wild Search. It is not that its story isn’t good, but once Chow Yun-Fat and Cherie Chung’s characters connect the action and the romance begin competing and as a result erode its integrity.

It is difficult to tell, however, whether Ringo Lam could have delivered a more convincing, more realistic film. For example, the screenplay demands that Chow Yun-Fat has an elaborate relationship with the motherless girl as well, which breeds the worst kind of sentimentality. Simply put, this sentimentality cannot coexist with the type of action Ringo Lam likes to shoot. The current tempo of the film seems wildly inconsistent as well, but only because the screenplay again demands that some very particular things are done to make its story attractive to sentimental viewers.

Wild Search was lensed by veteran cinematographer/director Andrew Law, whose credits include such blockbusters as Infernal Affairs, Crime Story, Chungking Express, and The Legend of Speed.

Wild Search Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Wild Search arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release is sourced from an old and quite unconvincing master. Its biggest weakness is a very odd framing that routinely eliminates vital visual information. Usually, the missing information is in the upper part of the frame, but there are likely some other balance issues as well. You can see examples of improper framing in screencaptures #3, 24, 25, and 26. Delineation and depth are not too convincing either, with darker footage typically revealing most of the big fluctuations. Grain tends to be noisy and loose, so on a larger screen you will easily notice that density isn't optimal. Colors are stable, but saturation and balance can be improved. There are minor stability issues. I noticed shakiness and a few loose frame transitions. There are no distracting large debris, damage marks, cuts, warped or torn frames to report. (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).

Wild Search Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Cantonese: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit) and English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit). Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the original Cantonese track. Clarity and sharpness were very good. During the action footage dynamic intensity was quite nice as well, though I would not be surprised if eventually the audio is remastered and dynamic balance becomes slightly better. The dialog was very easy to follow and the English translation was excellent.

Wild Search Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - exclusive new audio commentary by Asian cinema expert Frank Djeng. The bulk of the information that is provided in the commentary addresses the film's production and the era in which it emerged from as well as the evolution of the careers of its stars.

• Roy Cheung on Fire - in this archival interview, actor Roy Cheung discusses his background and work with director Ringo Lam, his preparation work for the characters he is asked to play, his working relationship with Chow Yun-Fat, and contribution to Wild Search. The interview was conducted in 2003. In Cantonese, with English subtitles. (18 min).

• The Doyen of Dubbers - in this new video interview, voice-over artist Simon Broad discusses his journey from New Zealand to Hong Kong and prolific career as an English-language dubber in the local film industry. The interview is moderate by Frank Djeng. (70 min).

• Booklet - a collector's booklet featuring new writing by David West (NEO Magazine) as well as technical credits.

Wild Search Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I much prefer the pure action films that Ringo Lam and Chow Yun-Fat made together because they have tremendous energy and look great. Wild Search has some quality material as well, but there is too much sentimentality in it for my taste. This recent release from Eureka Entertainment is sourced from an old and shaky master, so if you decide that you want to have it in your collection, find a way to rent and test it first.