So which one would you get? They both come with different gravy, so presumably price would be the only factor (or perhaps region compatibility?).

I rarely revisit supplements, ever, but I just get tired of different regions having different stuff that contributes more or less equally to the appreciation of lesser-known films like this one (despite its exalted status in HK cinema circles, it’s probably unknown to the majority of people who shop at Vinegar Syndrome, for example). This is a great HK movie, but it doesn’t need two limited editions that only partially overlap, except maybe to provide income to ubiquitous supplement producers on both sides of the pond.

I'll wait for the 88 to get released for the inevitable comparison. I'll get whichever one has the better presentation. If they're the same, I'll probably go 88 just because I've purchased every other HK film they've released (except 1 or 2).

As for competing limited editions, I'm not going to complain about that given the fact that we're finally seeing these movies presented properly on disc for, in many cases, the first time ever.

And I certainly don't begrudge the boutique labels making a little coin off me. I'm fairly certain no one in that business is getting rich. One of the guys from Eureka even posted on the other forum that they might not have survived the last couple of years without the HK stuff. I'm happy to help keep the train rolling.

It looks like Tiger Cage is selling really well. Per their newsletter this morning: OUT NOW - Only 570 / 4000 left in our warehouse!

Plus, it seems like the limited edition of The Seventh Curse is pretty scarce now too.

Definitely looks like it is good to be in the HK business right now!

I couldn't believe how fast Seventh Curse sold out. Maybe because it has some horror appeal and crosses over with that audience?

Either way, I was glad to get shipping confirmation this morning from Terracotta for my order which included both Tiger Cage and Seventh Curse (among a few others).

That. But I think the artwork really sold people. Plus Ni Kuang's death last month.

Especially the premium-priced "fancy packaging" side of it! As much as I deride it sometimes, these sets are virtually all replacing old HK discs in my collection, and too often I can't resist these deluxe versions even though I should know better and just get the standard editions when they come out.

Forced to choose again!

Hopefully they're able to re-use at least some of the archival stuff and outtakes from Eureka's edition. That would help.

Philip Chan is someone who should be interviewed about a lot of Hong Kong movies. He's fluent in English (whether he uses it in the PS3 interview or not) and has a unique history: pop singer turned high-profile police inspector turned screenwriter, actor, director and ultimately industry executive at multiple levels. Don't like his politics – he's another mainland sellout (against Hong Kong on certain aspects) – but he's undoubtedly got lots of stories. He's also fairly conversant with regular folks on Facebook.

I just watched my copy of Monkey Kung Fu. I know I've complained about the over literal subtitles on some of these releases before, but this one in particular jumped out at me.

Not only were there a handful of passages that flat out didn't make much sense to my ear, but the "drunken monkey" style of Kung Fu is constantly referred to as "drunken ape". I don't speak a word of Cantonese, so for all I know that is exactly what they're saying. But I have never heard that style referred to as anything other than drunken monkey. The title of the movie is Monkey Kung Fu, for goodness sakes. Now the caveat is that I've never seen this specific movie before. Maybe some other version has called it drunken ape, but somehow I doubt it.

Did it affect my enjoyment of the movie? Probably not. At least not enough to ruin it for me. I just needed to vent. I appreciate all the work that goes into these releases, but sometimes the people working on them overthink things a bit too much for my tastes.

Kung Fu Bob hint below. It looks like one of the teased re-releases might be Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin?

Also, this just leaked via MVD.

Not a great movie my any means, but decent enough. I'd say it's probably not worth upgrading my HK Blu-ray, but who am I kidding. Of course I'll buy it.

And I'm totally up for an upgraded Snake and Crane. Hopefully they re-release all four of the early Jackie titles they did before they really upped their HK game. I never bought any of them due to underwhelming reviews.

Frank Djeng posted on Instagram that The Iceman Cometh will be out by the end of the year too.

I still have not watched Gorgeous so I will be interested in that. I have mixed feelings about Iceman Cometh. It’s nice that it’s getting an HD release but I wasn’t too crazy about it even with Maggie.

I've only seen Iceman Cometh once who knows how many years ago. I remember liking it, but I also don't remember a single thing about it.

Gorgeous has one spectacular fight sequence, but is otherwise a fairly forgettable romantic dramedy. Jackie was obviously ready for something different at this point and Gorgeous (as well as his move to Hollywood) kind of marks the end of his golden period.

It's crazy to think that we're *this close* to having a mostly complete, high quality golden era Jackie Chan filmography on Blu-ray. For as many years as his catalog was abused, to have come this far in just the last few years is a minor miracle.

By my count the only important golden era titles that still need a release are Island of Fire, Twin Dragons, Thunderbolt, First Strike and Who Am I. I'd take the HK cut of Rumble in the Bronx as well, but it's really not that different from the US version.

I still have the old Sony DVD of Gorgeous with Jackie’s commentary. Yeah it’s a fairly forgettable movie. Shu Qi is very nice to look at after she gets all glammed up. But Jackie is old enough to be her Dad.

The Sony DVD cuts 20 mins out.

I’ll be selling off my Hong Kong disc. It’s worth a rebuy to me. Really dig the artwork. The fight with Brad Allen is awesome and it’s a nice tribute that they are giving him a credit on the cover.

I should probably finally crack open by Di Leo Collection sets from Raro.

^ Nice to see someone tracked down Pat Ha (at some point) for an interview about ON THE RUN. Just wish it was something that could've been included on the disc instead of in the booklet, which means subsequent buyers of the standard edition won't be able to read it. She's literally the primary reason the film is so good (Yuen Biao's no slouch, but still)

- - -

This was already a trend in several of his movies by the time GORGEOUS came out, and he continued it for a long time afterward. I mean, the guy looked young-ish enough in some of this 90's movies (when he was in his 40's) to pass for being in, say, his 30's, but I recall a number of reviewers of the era (pros and amateurs) pointing out the age discrepancies between him and his leading ladies. I actually enjoyed GORGEOUS as a romantic comedy, and was already a fan of its director when it came out as he'd written a number of already-classic 90's pictures (and directed a couple as well). I think it works perfectly well on the 'HK romantic comedy' level overall (cute theme song, too) but it's hard not to cringe a bit at the real-life 22 year age difference between the leads (I wonder if that's his biggest age gap?), and the Brad Allan fight is spectacular but seriously out of place. It feels like it's only there because it's expected in a Jackie movie. Upgrading from the HK Blu-ray would purely depend on the supplements in this case, as well as a decent sale price down the road. I can't imagine they'd be including the US cut and Chan's commentary, but both are no great loss. I do agree that it's good they released it anyway. Who knows, maybe it'll flip a switch in some newer fans (who've been hoovering up the constant stream of action classics these companies have been reissuing) and send them off in search of more HK dramas. Nah, scratch that.


I think this one's pretty solid. Yuen Biao was in another movie that year with similar themes called PEACOCK KING that people sometimes assume is a sequel/prequel based on the artwork. It the lesser of the two pictures by a wide margin, though. Both are available from Panorama in Hong Kong, but both are just re-issues of previous upscales with phoney 5.1 soundtracks, so it would be nice if 88 eventually gave both of them a proper polish, even if the PEACOCK KING isn't much of a keeper (it's not like people won't buy it if it's packaged up real fancy!).


​​​​​Likewise! I think those have been in my stacks for about 40 years now . . .

I've only seen a couple of the Di Leo films from those Raro sets, so I can't speak to their overall quality, but Milano Calibro 9 is worth the price of admission on its own. I highly recommend diving in.

I'm intrigued by Blood and Diamonds, but I don't think it's considered top tier Di Leo. I'll probably try to watch some of the others before I jump on that one.

A bunch of titles leaked on Amazon UK. Iceman Cometh is a Deluxe Edition:

I’m glad that 88 Films pick these up for US release here. It will be nice to upgrade from my Fox/Fortune Star DVD.