Smeg

Well to any fan of the Hong Kong genre of films, the first 3 films of the Once Upon a Time in China series are a must see! Directed by Tsui Hark and starring Jet Li (from Lethal Weapon 4), the first three films have spectacular krazy kung fu action and a riveting story-line. (though I wish Jet Li's character was challenged a bit more).

The first 3 discs from Media Asia have great transfers. The english subs are do-able, though I've been told they aren't very true to the cantonese dub. Cantonese and Mandaring 5.1 soundtracks are present, but directional effects rarely used. I prefer to watch these in ProLogic THX mode.

The fourth movie is mildy entertaining, but doesn't compare to the first 3. A poor plot, mediocre fighting, and the worst lighting/filming I've ever seen from Tsui Hark (including his american films).

IMHO,

Smeg

foxdvd

Thanks, I have been wanting to buy these dvd's but the prices are to high...If Value Ameirca carried them, or if another company would run a 50% off sale I would buy them.

[This message has been edited by foxdvd (edited May 01, 2000).]

foxdvd

also I would like to add that every movie I have seen from Media Asisa...Every one has had bad subtiles...I can't spell, but even I can see tremendous gramatical errors, and some of the lines do not even make sense. I wish Criterion would do some of these movies...

nemein

foxdvd, I always thought that was part of the appeal of HK imports myself When they try to do a literal translation because some of the cultural specific concepts and language don't exist in english, usually what they do come up with is quite amusing at times. The thing I typically dislike in these films, and I know it is one of the things that appeals to others, is all the wire work some of them have. I like kung-fu movies and when they embellish a bit on the abilities of people that's fine. However, when it becomes "wire-fu" I usually just FF or turn it off.

WRT where to purchase them, TaiSeng (another good company for imports) is starting to reduce some of their prices (or just re-releasing things domestically). So far Amazon seems to be the best location for these. Other places to try are www.asianexpress.com and www.bluelaser.com. I tried the latter, but the former has an ongoing buy 3 get 1 free sale. While it is not set in stone, like Reel or DVD Express, these places typically carry most of the titles ~30% off too. Sometimes they also run sales or specials. For instance I believe Blue Laser has A Better Tomorrow II on sale now...

FYI

[This message has been edited by nemein (edited 10-27-1999).]

foxdvd

So have you found these companies reliable? What about shipping cost, and how long do they take to get to your home? Thanks for the info..and yes, some of the cheesy HOng Kong movies are fun, but for movies like A better Tomorrow, I would rather have good subtitles...

nemein

So far I've only used Blue Laser. Shipping was reasonable ($4 UPS, ordered Thur arrived Mon). I haven't received the CC bill yet so I don't know if there are any problems there yet.

I keep "saving" up for the asianexpress 3+1 deal, but find I've spent all my "DVD money" before I get around to ordering

FYI

hung lo

smeg - you forgot to mention Once Upon a Time in China & America - the sixth installment of this saga: directed by Sammo Hung aka Martial Law. I have all five and can't seem to locate the fifth movie on DVD.
Also my 2 pence synapsis, enjoyed all six movies 1-4 was great, 5-6 was OK

fox - try tower online they have em and other Hk dvd for $42 - $20 Flooz - free shipping and you can get it for $22 shipped
or pickup something like Heroic Trio or Executioners for like a $1.