Hi there,
I'm new to the forum, so please excuse me if I'm asking a question that's already been beaten to death. I did do a quick search and didn't come up with anything, and I poked around on AsianDVDGuide. It's a bit bewildering....
Anyway. Which version of "Once Upon a Time in China" (and the sequels )is the best to get? How does Columbia's domestic release fair? I believe it's got both an uncut/subtitled version as well as an edited/dub version. Are any of the imports better? I'm more interested in having the film in it's original language, uncut, in the original aspect ratio than bells and whistles. A good video transfer is a definate plus, however.
Could somebody give me some pointers? I'll also say that the newbie-intro thread has proven VERY useful already. I'm making a list of films I intend to get my grubby mits on eventually.
thanks in advance,
zipflint

If you can play PAL signal and can play region 2, head over to the following reviews...
http://www.bulletsnbabesdvds.com/article.php?sid=97 and
http://www.bulletsnbabesdvds.com/article.php?sid=317
http://www.under18.org.uk and http://www.bensonsworld.co.uk sell them the cheapest.
Whilst you're at it, get Iron Monkey from them aswell review
http://www.bulletsnbabesdvds.com/article.php?sid=153
reason for inclusion. Because it's a spin off OUATIC, and a great film at that.

Just go ahead and pick up the new US boxset of the first 3 films. They include the original language and the tranfsers are great. They also include the english versions and one includes a commentary that turns out to be very interesting. I have the US disc for the first film and the HK discs of the second and third - I prefer the US disc.

Just wanted to say,
Thanks to both of ya'll for the quick responses! Since I'm limited to NTSC/Region1, I'll go with the domestic releases. Just wanted to make sure that was a wise decision before I plunked down my dough.

thanks again!
zipflint
also.....
Iron Monkey is
*definately* also on my list.
I've heard great things about it.
That, and Ritek's "Fist of Legend" disc
are next. Then it's
on to Fong Sai Yuk I and II....
I can hear my bank account
cursing me as I type!

Try checking out DDDHouse and selecting about 700HK$s worth of DVDs (that'll come out to about 100 US bucks after shipping is added) by going into the Steven Chow section and the Jet Li section. You'll be able to pick up 13 or 14 DVDs... try doing that with domestic releases. Ask us for advice on what to get.

Yeah, I've been looking at dddhouse.com and it does seem to have everyone beat as far as prices. My brain went twitchy though, the first time I looked at the pricing. Silly me didn't notice they were HK$s.
Anyway. Here's the list I've got so far, in no particular order:
--Dragon Inn
--Once Upon a Time in China I, II, and III
--Miracles
--Armor of God I and II
--Wheels on Meals (what's the diff between the MegaStar and Universe versions? I'm kinda fuzzy regarding the outtakes at the end...or perhaps I've misread some things...)
--Fong Sai Yuk I and II
--Fist of Legend
--Iron Monkey
--Swordsman I and II (I hear the first one isn't that great, but I'm a completist)
--the Emperor and the Assasin
--the Bride with White Hair (heard the second isn't that great, but see above)
--Shiri (still kinda fuzzy on the two-disc version(s?) out there. I realize the extras are in Korean with no subtitles, but I still think I'd get *something* out of just watching the stuff)
--Storm Riders (mainly just because I've heard so much about it. Looks like crazy fun.)
--various undecided John Woo films. I've got the Criterion versions of the Killer and Hard Boiled (love'em both) and I've rented Bullet in the Head (really good!) and a Better Tomorrow.
I guess you could say that I'm interested in *all* of this stuff. But I'm focusing on Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and various fantasy/action-type films. I'm pretty sure I'll come around to the comedies and "straight" dramas later on.
Again, thanks heaps for taking the time to set a newbie straight!
zipflint

Hey, just wanted to answer your question about "Wheels On Meals" uncut... The "normal" and "uncut" versions are very very similar. The "uncut" version (distributed by Mega Star) includes a small scene that really adds nothing much to the film. In the scene--which is no more than a couple minutes--Jackie and Yuen are washing their catering van and get into some zany highjinx and someone ends up getting wet... The "uncut" version is something I'd only recommend to people who are fans of the film or just want to see the absolute entire thing. I don't know if this extra footage was included in the film's original theatrical release or not, however...anyone else know?

Ah....okay. That kinda clears things up. I'm still kinda confused about the outtakes at the end. (I'm working under the assumption that these are similar to the outtakes we normally see at the end of Chan's movies). According to this (http://www.asiandvdguide.com/reviews...ealsmsrem.html) review at AsianDVDGuide, none of the currently available versions have the outtakes, aside from the Japanese laserdisc. Not a big deal, in the long haul, just a curiousity.
And while I'm here, I've got another question for you knowledgeable folks. How do you determine whether to watch a film in Mandarin or Cantonese? I remember flipping between both while watching Bullet in the Head, and they sounded very similar to my untrained-ears. I realize that the vast majority of these films are looped after filming anyway, but I'd like to hear the film the way the director originally intended for it to be heard. If that makes sense.....oy, I need some shut-eye!
zipflint

Cantonese is the dialect most commonly spoken in Hong Kong, and so HK films most often feature actors whose first language is Cantonese. So, the "original" language of most HK films is most often Cantonese.

However, there are also many actors whose primary language is Mandarin (Jet Li is a good example). In this case, the films are sometimes filmed with the actors speaking different dialects (some speak Cantonese and some speak Mandarin), and then looped in post for complete Cantonese tracks and complete Mandarin tracks. For example, for the original Fist Of Legend track in Cantonese, I believe Jet Li's voice was dubbed into Cantonese by someone other than himself.

It all boils down to which dialects the actors can speak, and where the film is released and targeted. You'll frequently end up with one or more characters dubbed no matter which language track you listen to. So, your best bet is just to become familiar with which actors usually speak which dialects, and go from there.

Just for the record, I love the vibrance and color of Cantonese and don't like the way Mandarin sounds...too smooth and "sh"y...

Based on your selections - here's what I'd suggest...

--Dragon Inn - Get the US Tai Seng version
--Once Upon a Time in China I, II, and III - Get the US Boxset
--the Bride with White Hair - US Tai Seng - second one sux
--Storm Riders - Universe Laser HK (Gone at DDDHouse)
--Story of Ricky - Media Asia HK (Gone at DDDHouse)

for a DDDHouse order -
--Armor of God I and II - I own the HK disc of pt. 1 and the US of pt. 2... pt 1 - $16.67 ... pt 2 - $10.00
--Wheels on Meals - Get the Media Asia version (Megastar) $15.65
--Fong Sai Yuk I and II - HK (pt. 2 was cancelled in the US) $8.05 ea
--Iron Monkey - HK - $16.67
--Swordsman I and II - HK - first one is good too. The third one is crap (pt. 2 is $18.72 USD, first one is gone at DDDHouse.)
--God of Cookery - HK - Steven Chow... you'll love it. $8.05
--King of Comedy - HK - Also Steven Chow $8.05
--Kung Fu Cult Master - Jet Li HK $13.46
--Tai Chi Master - Jet Li HK $8.05
--Gen X Cops - Action - $8.05
--Purple Storm - Action - $8.05
--A.D.2000 - Action - $8.72
--Tokyo Raiders - Action - DTS - $10.65
Total = $166.89 plus shipping for 15 DVDs - not bad.

--Fist of Legend - Rytek
--Shiri - HK 1 disc version is great, but it's Region 3/ The 2 disc might be the only one you'll be able to play since it's region free

--Miracles - I don't own it
--the Emperor and the Assasin - haven't seen

Thanks for the run-down! I'm saving this to a separate .txt file to keep for future reference.
You guys have been loads of help! I sure do appreciate it!

zipflint

Miracles rocks...

'nuff said.

With The Emperor And The Assasin I think you should go with the US version since I believe the HK one is double sided. I can't comment on the quality of the HK disc, but the US one looks pretty good. I really like this film alot. I think it's one of the best epics I've seen. If your looking for just action you might not be intrested in it.

Hi there,
Yeah, I've read good things about the US version of the Emperor and the Assasin. I'm definately interested in this one. I'm a sucker for period-films in general, action, drama, or otherwise.
zipflint
p.s.
picked up the OUATIC set today.
Gonna dig in tonite....
Thanks again for all the input folks!

Well, I would put in a vote for the Media Asia/Megastar release of OUATIC. I thought the picture was fine, but I'm a big kungfu movie buff of ALL eras, and I just loved the extras section on this disk that had clips from Wong Fei Hung movies of the 50's, 60's and 70's. Also, nice long trailers for OUATIC 1, 2 and 3. It also inclues a very nice color booklet written by HK film writer Bey Logan, which includes historical info on the real Wong Fei Hung and his students, the various film portrayals, and a glossary of kung fu/cultural references and terms.