The first one is the best one, but INSPECTOR WEARS SKIRTS could’ve easily been a four-film collection. In part because the sequels are fairly decent but unlikely to get individual releases from 88, and in part because I’ve never been able to get my hands on third entry, THE RAID ON ROYAL CASINO MARINE.

Didn’t 88 already release BATTLE CREEK BRAWL? Thought I had that already.

I also thought somebody put out MAGIC CRYSTAL already, but I’m probably thinking of the Panorama HK disc. That’s actually more of a kiddie film, and poorly written (with lazy lifts from E.T., RAIDERS, and ALIEN), but it does have about ten solid fight sequences to make up for that.

BLUE JEAN MONSTER is just nuts, and overdue for some recognition in the west outside of HK fan circles.

I think the third Inspector films wasn't Golden Harvest, so it isn't with Fortune Star. I think it is with Mei Ah now, so maybe something could be worked out if eventually.

Yes, they put out BCB previously. The first 4 Jackie Chan films they released are being re-released in deluxe editions, better transfers, new Kung-Fu Bob artwork, etc. Two down, two to go.

Good point. Considering the number of HK singles that should’ve been sets, I suspect it will be an ongoing issue. Kind of unfortunate that these companies seem to just be sticking to the Fortune Star catalog, rather than holding out and pressing hard for deals to unite disparate series titles, but I guess they gotta go with what they can get. Maybe some day, but for the SKIRTS films, I won’t hold my breath. I’m a little surprised they didn’t at least try to include PART II, since they’ll inevitably capitalize on the Jackie Chan connection to the first half of the series anyway.

I think it's partially a rights situation and partially a question of available transfers. I can't speak to the Inspector films specifically, but Fortune Star has been methodically rescanning large swaths of their catalog over the last number of years. I'm not sure something like Inspector Wears Skirts even had a new 2k transfer available when 88 started in on all of these HK titles 5 or so years back (or whenever it was). It wouldn't surprise if the sequels haven't received new scans yet.
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Just FYI, 88 Films' Supercop 4K Limited Edition (UPC 760137113775 or 0760137113775) appears to be sold out at the distribution level. Amazon, Best Buy, Deep Discount, Walmart, Target, etc. are all out of stock. You can still find it (for now) at some smaller/independent retailers like Hamilton Book, Bull Moose, and Grindhouse Video, but prices on the secondary market (eBay, Amazon Marketplace) have spiked in the past week.

If you don't care about the LE items (poster, cards, booklet), a disc-only Standard Edition is set for release in January, at about the same price point as the LE.

Noticed preorders at some places today for 88 Blu-rays of INSPECTOR WEARS SKIRTS 2 and the Taiwanese costume super-epic HSI HSIH BEAUTY OF BEAUTIES (1965), both for March 2024. The latter is a nice reminder that Taiwanese cinema is a goldmine of films that have never been released, formally, in the west, and even Chinese and HK video versions weren't always ideal as far as I know. I have an old VCD of it that I don't think was a complete version. Not sure if this one will be, but hopefully it will look a lot better.

Also good to see what appear to be new interviews with the director and a supporting player from SKIRTS 2, beyond the usual commentary.

Extras for SKIRTS 2:

January 2024 Announcements
Pre-order Links in our Bio
Mosquito Squadron DVD
Mosquito Squadron Blu-ray
S.W.A.T. Blu-ray
Loch Ness DVD
Loch Ness Blu-ray
Tokyo Decadence DVD
Tokyo Decadence Blu-ray
Night of the Comet DVD
Night of the Comet Blu-ray
Fight Back to School Trilogy [Standard Edition]

February announcements 2024
Amazon, HMV etc Pre-order links in our bio

Evil Dead Trap (Blu-ray)
Evil Dead Trap 2 - Hideki (Blu-ray)
The Amityville Horror (4K UHD)
The Amityville Horror (Blu-ray)
The Amityville Horror (DVD)
Gold (DVD)
Gold (Blu-ray)
Street Law (Blu-ray)
So Close (Blu-ray)

March 2024 Releases
Pre-order links in our bio!

The Inspector Wears Skirts 2 (Blu-ray) UK & USA RELEASE
The Beauty of Beauties (Blu-ray) UK & USA RELEASE
The Beauty of Beauties (DVD) UK & USA RELEASE
Blood on Satan's Claw (4K UHD)
Blood on Satan's Claw (Blu-ray)
Blood on Satan's Claw (DVD)
Witchfinder General (4K UHD)
Witchfinder General (Blu-ray)
Witchfinder General (DVD)
A Blade in the Dark (4K UHD)
A Blade in the Dark (Blu-ray)
COUNT DRACULA (4K UHD)
COUNT DRACULA (Blu-ray)
COUNT DRACULA (DVD)

Are they the ones doing the cheap barebones version of that Count Dracula movie?

Just FYI that the three ‘JapanArchy’ titles are all available from Unearthed Films in the US, and frequently turn up in sales at Diabolik, MVD and probably others. I just upgraded TOKYO DECADENCE from my old DVD in their last sale for $15, and tried the EVIL DEAD TRAP movies for $10 each in an earlier MVD sale, although ended up flipping them as they turned out to be a bit overrated all these years later, albeit still worth seeing for the price).

Some of the titles in those other announcements are (were?) available from Kino, like STREET LAW, GOLD, MOSQUITO SQUADRON. Some others are/were with Shout, so the 88 versions might be cheaper.

Keen on SO CLOSE, but I could see that getting a R1 release at some point, assuming it’s still with Columbia TriStar.

Street Date: 04/23/24


Starring as a swashbuckling turn-of-the-century coastguard, hot on the trail of cut-throat pirates, smugglers and free-wheeling police officers, Jackie Chan treat his audience to a fun-filled, action-packed motion-picture, experience, which shows him at his most reckless and brilliant and has become a benchmark standard for other filmmakers to follow.

Bonus Materials

• LIMITED EDITION - Perfect-bound book
• LIMITED EDITION - Six Replica Lobby Cards
• LIMITED EDITION - Double-sided foldout Poster
• LIMITED EDITION - Slipcase with brand-new artwork from Kung Fu Bob
• 4K (2160p) UHD presentation of the Hong Kong Cut [106 mins] in original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio with Dolby Vision encoding (HDR10 Compatible)
• 4K (2160p) UHD presentation of the Taiwan Cut [115 mins] in original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio with Dolby Vision encoding (HDR10 Compatible)
• Cantonese-language options in Dolby Atmos and Cantonese 1.0 and with newly translated subtitle
• English Dub
• BRAND NEW 2024 Interview with Stuntman Mars
• Interview with Jackie Chan
• Interview with actor Lee Hoi San
• Interview with actor Yuen Biao
• Interview with actor Dick Wei
• Interview with producer Michael Chan Wai-Man
• Interview with composer Michael Lai
• Interview with writer and producer Edward Tang
• Interview with stuntman Mars
• MORE TBC

That's great that Project A is getting a 4K upgrade. I still have the old 2-disc Fortune Star set that I haven't watched in years.

These 88 Films sets aren't cheap, but I sucked it up and got the Super Cop LE 4K set and now it's out of print.

Damn that looks nice, I've enjoyed Jackie Chan films here and there for years but never made an effort to collect any of them on disc until recently and now there's so many awesome options.

I’m in the opposite boat. Every time a Jackie Chan movie(s) gets another physical media release — and let’s face it, they’re endless these days, but without the revenue they generate for the boutiques we probably would get the deeper-dive Hong Kong pictures they release — I have to dig through my stacks to see what special edition Blu-rays I already have, where they’re from, what’s on them, etc. As these are 4K I won’t need them, thankfully, but the Taiwan cut (which isn’t as good) would be nice to have, and the new interview with Mars would be cool to see (although the Eureka set already has a standalone interview with him, so I’m not sure what he could add). The other bonuses so far, I think, are from the Eureka Blu-ray set, and maybe others (?). Unless “more tbc” masks some new surprises.

Incidentally, I thought these were in the Shout boxes as well, but I just rechecked those and that’s not the case. Have they been released on Blu in the US at all yet? Rights issues? Either way, it’s cool that the 4Ks will at least be region-free so more people can see them.

Also, I’ve long found it amusing and annoying in equal measure how the artists behind the new covers and posters can rarely resist putting multiple Jackie Chans into their digital paintings. It’s almost like a drinking game, but I think Kung Fu Bob probably takes the crown with fourteen Jackie’s on that outer box cover!

There were US Blu-rays of the dubbed versions. Nothing anywhere as good as this.

Or as good as the Eureka set. But now that you mention them, I do remember buying a bargain-bin Blu-ray (Echo Bridge? Mill Creek?) that had both PROJECT A films and both ARMOUR OF GOD films in their lousy Miramax edits and in English only, possibly on one disc! I think there was another two-film Blu from the same company that had TWIN DRAGONS paired with another Chan film, likewise both in compromised versions. Glad those days are finally behind us.

Speaking of TWIN DRAGONS their LE box is reduced to £19.99 at their site right now, down from $25.99 (which I already paid, naturally). A few others are reduced as well: MAGIC CRYSTAL down £5 to £14.99 (hosed again!), same for GOD OF GAMBLERS, which I still need. A few others have smaller discounts (SEVENTH CURSE, TAXI HUNTER, GORGEOUS, MAGIC COP).

https://88-films.myshopify.com/colle...lection?page=1

I know you have personal issues with Jackie Chan and that's fine. But, I'm not sure why you need to roll your eyes when older Jackie Chan movies (many which are considered classics) are getting new and improved versions that are getting released and becoming more accessible to fans and collectors of his work.

My thoughts on present day Jackie Chan didn’t inform that post. I am, however, perfectly within my rights to simply be weary of the continuous reissues of his films by the boutique labels. And honestly, folks can rest easy, it’s a criticism that I’ve levelled at lots of boutique labels for plenty of non-Jackie Chan releases over the years. And yet, as I duly noted above, because Chan’s films are basically the highest profile Hong Kong films in the west, those constant reissues and upgrades — which really are a thing — probably net them the easy money with which they can then go after lesser-known titles that old and new fans can truly take a chance on, so I think I was pretty clear about the seeming benefits of the practice even if I get a little tired of it. However, I’d wager that ‘new fans’ who’ve never seen Jackie Chan films, or these two in particular, probably aren’t the primary buyers of them in super-duper 4K collections; it’s people like us, who keep being compelled to upgrade things we (probably) already have in excellent editions. I haven’t completely sworn off buying this one myself, just for the two extras i admitted above that it would be nice to have. New fans who might not be sure if Chan’s work is for them, at least have excellent lower-priced existing options if they can’t justify the higher cost of these fancy 4K sets, but you’re right, whatever works.

Besides that, since my comments were clearly more about them than him, most boutiques can and do withstand a little criticism now and again for picking the low-hanging fruit. I save my thoughts about post-2008 Chan for the Asian cinema thread where it’s usually more fitting even if it still ruffles a few feathers.

We've all been guilty of buying the same stuff over and over and over again (and the studios/boutiques obviously know this), but I have a hard time getting too worked up when the movies, as was already pointed out, have never been released properly in North America. Not everyone is region free. I don't know why they wouldn't be, but they're not.
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I generally agree, but likewise not everyone is 4K-equipped, either, and many may never be, so these editions will still leave a majority of the North American audience high and dry, at least until a US company releases them on region A Blu-ray. Region-free is a cheaper option than 4K, so like you, it’s hard to understand why it wouldn’t hold broader appeal based on the exponentially larger number of titles that instantly become available.

Also agree that it’s not worth getting worked up over, which is why I didn’t. Now, someone assuming my oft-repeated thoughts about predictable, over-indulgent boutique practices and reissues and whatnot (which are often brought up in these forums) were automatically rooted in my dislike of Jackie Chan’s current politics? Well, that might qualify as getting worked up a bit.

It’s a 4 disc set. Two UHD and two Blu.

I stand corrected! The pic you posted earlier definitely looks like a 4K-only set, and I didn’t/don’t see anything in the features mentioning Blu-rays. And when I checked their site after seeing your post last night, this set wasn’t up yet.

That leads to a couple more inevitable questions, though: are the Blu-rays region free or region A? I assume they’d at least be Region A since Eureka’s Region B set still seems to be on the market. And will they be basically be forcing us to buy the more expensive combo pack instead of releasing them separately as well, minus all the extra packaging and whatnot. While I’ve bought a few 4K combos to get Blu-rays unavailable separately (or the Marvel 3D movies from Japan, for example), I don’t love the practice, and I know some people here in Toronto who love it a whole lot less! It’s really true!!

Financially, I can sorta afford to play along with this stuff despite my complaining about it, but not everybody is in that boat, so it would be nice if they did a Blu-only set later on.

The Blus will be Region A locked. Maybe they'll do a Blu only release like Supercop, but no listing for that yet if there is.