Yes, Madam! Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Yes, Madam! Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 29, 2022

Corey Yuen's "Yes, Madam" (1985) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new program with Cynthia Rothrock; exclusive new program with Mang Hoi; new audio commentary by critics Mike Leeder and Arne Venema; archival program with Michelle Yeoh; archival featurette; vintage promotional materials for the film; and more. In Cantonese or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Your appreciation of Corey Yuen’s Yes, Madam!, which years ago was also distributed with the alternative title In the Line of Duty II, will be far greater if you were around when the film was released in 1985. I was, but I did not see it in the theater because it never came to my area. I saw it later, on VHS, in the 1990s, after Cynthia Rothrock had established herself as a female action star. What about Michelle Yeoh? I am sorry, but she was not a big magnet for serious videophiles even in the 1990s. In the West, Yeon began appearing on many people’s radars sometime after she collaborated with Jackie Chan on Supercop, which is when local distributors began bringing her earlier films. At the time Rothrock was already way ahead of Yeoh and her China O'Brien films, for instance, were in every legit video store. I remember that it was so extremely well because I used to frequent a few different video stores and they all had posters of the China O'Brien films not too far away from the mandatory poster for DeepStar Six. (I believe that MCA used to distribute DeepStar Six and they must have sent promotional materials to every major video store in America. This film, which did not have a big cult reputation yet, was a legit monster of the home video business during the VHS era).

Why does it matter whether Yeoh was not as popular as Rothrock? I will explain shortly.

I was listening to the exclusive new audio commentary that Mike Leeder and Arne Venema recorded for this Blu-ray release of Yes, Madam! and they made a couple of points that I think sum up its attractiveness very well. One of these gentlemen was living in Hong Kong at the time when the film was made and mentions what I think is unmissable, which is that Yes, Madam! has a very Miami Vice-esque look. What does this mean exactly? It means that Yes, Madam! unintentionally preserves the 1980s identity of Hong Kong, which covers everything from the way people used to dress there -- mixing plenty of pure white clothing, fancy glasses, watches, and handbags -- to the cars they loved to drive, the places that they hyped, and the creeps they knew they had to avoid. Simply put, the Hong Kong that you see in Yes, Madam! is not the Hong Kong of the present. But all cities have changed since the 1980s, so why should it be surprising that Hong Kong has done the same as well? Because in Yes, Madam! the 1980s identity of Hong Kong is as crucial for its attractiveness as is its action. To be honest, I do not think that Yuen intended Yes, Madam! to be that kind of memorable time capsule, but it is, and it is exactly why the commentators mention it. Just so you know, I thought that this was very obvious and did not listen to the commentary until I was done viewing Yes, Madam!, so as soon as the Miami Vice reference was made, I smiled. Bingo. Yes, Madam! is very, very retro, and if you appreciate the value of retro, you will have a great time with it.

But the main attraction in Yes, Madam! is supposed to be the action, correct? Yes. However, unlike the many successful action films that were made in Hong Kong at the time, Yes, Madam! did not have proper star power. In the present, Yeoh and Rothrock’s names are used to elevate the reputation of Yes, Madam!, but when you view it you will see that Yuen clearly did not think that the two were strong enough leads, which is precisely why they are not treated as such and various male characters spend plenty of time before his camera. Also, this is one of the big reasons the export cut of Yes, Madam! has a drastically different opening and then attempts to acquire a different identity. In the original Hong Kong theatrical version of Yes, Madam!, there is a hilarious sequence in which a creep browsing some dirty magazines in a deli exposes himself to Yeoh and she arrests him. It is a very retro sequence that is replaced with a completely different sequence in the export version. Why? Because someone apparently concluded that outside of Hong Kong Yeoh would not be seen as a strong lead, so while it was undoubtedly a flawed decision, it was not entirely devoid of logic.

Unfortunately, while better, the original Hong Kong theatrical version is not successful in selling Yeoh and Rothrock as reliable leads. Yes, there is some decent action footage with them, but Yuen’s reluctance to have them emerge as its stars is very easy to detect. In the second half, for instance, some of the very best fireworks are without Yeoh and Rothrock.

Leeder and Venema rightfully point out that the plot has many obvious flaws, but they are largely irrelevant. When a British expert specializing in real estate fraud is murdered in a hotel room in downtown Hong Kong, inspector Ng (Yeoh) and visiting inspector Carrie Morris (Rothrock) team up to solve the crime. They begin tracking down a professional hitman (Dick Wei) but instead cross paths with seasoned thieves Aspirin (Hoi Mang) and Strepsil (John Sham) who are working closely with the slightly kooky Panadol (Tsui Hark). Having unintentionally acquired a microfilm with information that could ruin the professional killer’s client, a prominent triad boss, the thieves must figure out how to avoid the female inspectors and the hitman. Some of the events that connect these characters and influence their decisions do not make perfect sense, but Yes, Madam! is not a film that demands to be taken seriously. It is a transparently silly film whose only ambition appears to have been to exist near the big action films that ruled the Hong Kong box office and hopefully benefit from their popularity.

Yes, Madam! 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, Yes, Madam! arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release has two versions of the film -- the original theatrical Hong Kong version and an export cut. I viewed both but will be commenting on the former because the latter is a pretty different film.

A new 2K master was prepared and used to source this release. On my system, the majority of the Hong Kong version looked quite strong, but there are a couple of areas where the quality of the visuals drops a bit. In these areas, delineation and depth struggle in a way that makes me want to speculate that there is footage coming from a second source. But I do not know what has been done and why, so I won't speculate. (I assume that it is some sort of deterioration). What I saw is this: darker areas become flat and grain appears to be overwhelmed by light noise that erodes the organic quality of the visuals. The effect is not distracting, but on my system, the drop in quality was impossible to ignore. Elsewhere density levels are impacted as well, though this was a fluctuation that was easy to ignore. You can see examples of these inconsistencies in screencaptures #15, 16, and 17. Also, there are a couple of areas where the dynamic range of the visuals should be better. This is something that could have been partially offset with superior color saturation, but I thought that color balance was pretty decent. To be clear, it could and should be better, but I do not think that the period identity of the film is respected. Image stability is good. The entire film looks very healthy as well. My score is 3.75/5.00. (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).

Yes, Madam! Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are four standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Cantonese (Theatrical Mix) LPCM Mono 2.0, Cantonese (Home Video Mix) LPCM Mono 2.0, and English (Home Video Dub) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. These three tracks are available for the theatrical version. English LPCM Mono 2.0 track is available for the export version. Optional English subtitles are provided only for the theatrical version.

I viewed the entire film with the Theatrical Mix but also tested the other two tracks. (I also spent some time with the export cut). I cannot tell what the exact value of the Home Video Mix is, but I thought that the Theatrical Mix worked very well. I like the retro music too, which is altered on the export cut. As far as dynamic intensity is concerned, the Theatrical Mix has good potency but even though there is a lot of action, your expectations should be modest. I did not encounter any technical anomalies to report in our review.

Yes, Madam! Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Cynthia Rothrock on Yes, Madam! - in this exclusive new program, Cynthia Rothrock explains how she auditioned for Corey Yuen in Los Angeles and started her career in action films in Hong Kong; and discusses her preparation for her the part in Yes, Madam!; the long shoot (apparently seven and a half months long) and how she transitioned into the Hong Kong lifestyle; working with Michelle Yeoh and different stunt actors; and the film's successful reception. Mrs. Rothrock also explains why she stopped appearing in Hong Kong films. In English, not subtitled. (21 min).

• Cynthia Rothrock Select-Scenes Commentary - Cynthia Rothrock address two key scenes from Yes, Madam! with comments about the locations and the action choreography. Also present is critic Frank Djeng. In English, not subtitled. (13 min).

• A Conversation with Mang Hoi - in this exclusive new program, Mang Hoi, who plays the thief Aspirin, discusses his martial arts background, the progression of his acting career, and involvement with Yes, Madam!. Also, there are some quite interesting comments about the decision to have two female leads in the film and the fact that Cynthia Rothrock was a non-Asian actress. In Cantonese, with English subtitles. (16 min).

• Michelle Yeoh - in this archival program, Michelle Yeoh discusses her early cinematic influences, the work she did while shooting Yes, Madam! and what the film meant to her, what it was like to interact and work with Cynthia Rothrock, working with Jackie Chan on Supercop, how her career evolved after she established herself in Hong Kong, etc. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Battling Babes - this archival program features clips from interviews with a couple of famous martial arts ladies, one of which is Cynthia Rothrock. The ladies address their preparation work and professional ambitions. In English, not subtitled. (11 min).

• Trailer One - presented here is a vintage Hong Kong theatrical trailer for Yes, Madam!. In Cantonese, with English subtitles. (5 min).

• Trailer Two - presented here is a vintage UK home video trailer for Yes, Madam!. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Commentary One - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Mike Leeder and Arne Venema. The two gentlemen have done plenty of commentaries for various classic and popular older action and martial arts Hong Kong films, so if you have sampled any of them, you would know what to expect from this commentary as well. I liked it quite a lot because I thought that virtually all of the descriptions about the retro personality and action of Yes, Madam! were spot on. As usual, there are plenty of outstanding, very informative comments about the careers of all actors with notable parts in the film as well.

• Commentary Two - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and Michael Worth. Again, there is a lot of good information here about the production of Yes, Madam!, the different talented people that worked on it, the various locations in Hong Kong where the film was shot, and its reception and distribution. Apparently, the two gentlemen personally know Cynthia Rothrock, so there are some good comments about her work and career.

• Booklet - a limited edition collector's booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver as well as technical credits.

Yes, Madam! Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Cynthia Rothrock and Michelle Yeoh's acting careers were effectively launched with Yes, Madam!, which seems a lot more important now than I remember it. But, admittedly, I do not remember much about my first experience with it. During the 1980s and 1990s, I saw a lot of Rothrock's films and they were usually pickups from my favorite video stores, which means that I do not have a proper theatrical experience with Yes, Madam!. All these years later, I think that its greatest strength is its retro appearance, which Mike Leeder and Arne Venema correctly describe as Miami Vice-esque. The action is decent too, but the entire film works best as one huge nostalgia fix. Eureka Entertainment's Blu-ray release is sourced from a recent 2K master and has some very good exclusive new and archival bonus features. I particularly enjoyed the new content with Rothrock, who is very enthusiastic about Yes, Madam! and its transition to Blu-ray. RECOMMENDED.