John Woo Collection (HK Version) DELAYED
 

Taken from Koreandvds.com:

"For the customer who ordered John Woo Collection (HK Version)
Due to the printing on the DVD is wrong ( Which The Killer print as Bullet in the head and Bullet in the head as The Killer)
Studio is reprinting it now, it might take two weeks time to deliver the correct version and the release day of the correct version will be 25 June appr."

Mine shipped today from Yesasia. It will be interesting to see if mine is like this.

IVL offer replacement
 

in HK after 6/15 for those already bought the set. Looks like the corrected set won't be available in HK until then. So if your set shipped before that date, it will have incorrect artwork.

I just received this email from Yesasia.
____________________________________________________

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you very much for your support to YesAsia.com.

With reference to your recent ordering "John Woo Collection DVD: The Killer/
Bullet In The Head (DTS Version)" under your order ******* placed on 2-Jun-04,
we would like to inform you that as confirmed by the distributor, there is a
production error on the captioned item. According to the distributor, they
have erroneously switched the dubbing of the 2 movies so that the DVD printed
as "The Killer" is actually containing the movie of "Bullet In The Head" and
vice versa. Under such a situation, the distributor will have to reprint the
DVD for fulfilling your order. Hence, you may consider to keep the captioned
item or return it as a defective item. Please kindly notify us immediately on
your decision so that we can arrange to carry out the most appropriate remedial
action against your order.

Although this is a production error, we would still like to offer a US$5.00
coupon as compensation on the delayed shipment. Please kindly be informed that
the code for the relevant coupon is "*********" which is going to expire on Jul
31, 2004. You may redeem the captioned coupon when your next purchase reaches
US$30.00.

We sincerely apologize for this unexpected delay in shipment. Should you have
any further inquiry or comment on this issue, please do not hesitate to contact
us at [email protected].
____________________________________________________

so I guess the only problem is that they are labeled incorrectly? the movies themselves, the soundtracks, etc. are ok?

umm, mine were just shipped from hivizone. I'll post when I get them if there is something hinky other than label switching.

I saw one in NYC Chinatown today, if anyone is interested. The store on the corner of Bowery and Canal.

Jeremy

Just got my john woo set. The labels are switched on bullet in the head/the killer, but everything else seems the same. No big deal. Maybe I'll make some custom CD labels later. The sound is pretty goddamn good. I'll try and give a more detailed review later. I also got the new Better tomorrow set. the case is really slick. Anyway...

thanks fahmad. do Bullet in the Head and The Killer have the original mono soundtracks along with the DTS and DD?

The dvd says "original Cantonese soundtrack", so I'm assuming it's the mono track. The dts is okay. I got a Denon 5800, and I'm watching it in 6.1 surround. the background effects are good, but most of the gunfights are concentrated in the front speakers, and the sound is kind of hollow (for the gunshots). the dialogue is fine though. The picture is just as good as the criterion release. I'm deifnately satisfied with this purchase. It was like $25 from hivizone.com. I think the new better tomorrow was like $35 or less. there is a big cut though in my better tomorrow dvd cover, more than likely from the custom inspector. Oh well.

How are the subs on the Better Tomorrow set (and the collection, for that matter)? Are there a lot of mistranslations/awkward phrasing and such?

the subs on the Killer are akward. i actually like them better than the criterion, it feels like a more literal translation (since some things sound funny when tranfered literally). The subs on for a Better Tomorrow are also akward. The picture is definately the best I've ever seen on FABT. Again, worth the purchase.

Are there any extras on the ABT set?

I doubt I will go through the hassle of shipping them back to Yeasia if all that is wrong is the labels on the discs.

On the ABT set there is an explanation of the weapons used (part 1 has part 1 of the explanation, part 2 has part 2...). The Killer and Bullet in the Head have part 4 and 5.

Other than that, trailers and picture galleries, I think...

fahmad,can you give us the running times on these two movies?
I assume The Killer has the standard 110 minute running time,but I'm wondering about Bullet in the Head. I'm hoping it's the full length 137 minute cut, but I doubt it.

the running time on Bullet in the Head is listed at 131 minutes.

The running time on the killer is 111 minutes.

Hope this helps.

Is bullet in the head uncut? i.e does it have the piss drinking scene?

Confusing ... confusing ... now we have to consider .. Code of Bullets extras ... are they English-subtitled? The Korean ABT set is not.

I've already had 2 The Killer versions: The ugly Universe and R2 HKL. I don't have Bullet in the Head yet. Shall I take this set or wait for BITH HKL SE? What do you think?

How does the Killer video quality compare to the HKL version? And is it anamorphic? Thanks.

They are on BitH and Killer. Haven't seen the HK ABT set ...yet.

The new IVL/Fortune Star release is indeed anamorphic offline69. To me the picture quality seems very good but as I said in another thread I'm not the most picky when it comes to noticing subtle differences and defects. I think the HKL might be a little better as far as picture goes but the IVL/Fortune Star more than makes up for that IMO with the inclusion of the original mono soundtrack, complete with the hisses and cracks that you get with mono tracks. :thumbsup:

Thanks welb25! I guess it's double-dip time...

I just ordered this. I can't wait to get it!

I am dissapointed with this release. The following comments relate to the Killer only as I haven't watched the other movie yet. The packaging looks nice but the picture quality is below what I was expecting. It is a grainy and soft, but generally passable. My real complaint is regarding the audio. The DTS and Dolby 5.1 tracks are terrible and worthless. The effects background sound good but the voices are muffled to the point of really detracting from viewing. The Dolby Stereo original soundtrack is superior but nothing to write home about. The voices are still slighty muffled and there is a lot of hiss/pops in it. I was really hoping for something better and should have waited to get a good review before jumping in. I was hoping that this would be the definitive version of the Killer to add to my collection but I struck out.

The new Spectrum Green Snake DVD I got last week blows this one away in terms of both audio and video. I was expecting something like that.

I totally agree that the remixes are terrible. After watching some of the other home video versions of The Killer I found the picture on this version to be pretty good, lol. It is not even close to being the definitive edition but I knew it wouldn't be. Maybe if Criterion gets the rights back and they do a restoration we will get the definitive version.

May we all collectively hold our breaths... The Killer in the US is currently in limbo, it was supposed to be released (cut to pieces) by Buena Vista.

yeah, I heard Buena Vista was all set to release The Killer and Hard Boiled cut and dubbed but cancelled them at the last minute. I heard a rumor that Woo himself stopped them or asked them not to release them but I don't see how he could stop them if they have the rights. The fact that Woo worked with Criterion on the Le Cercle Rouge dvd gives me some hope (faint though it may be) that Criterion might get the rights back.

Does this mean i should stay away from the fox lorber versions and hope new versions are released?
Can't figure out which versions of hard boiled and the killer to actually purchase.. besides the CC versions of course..

both of the Fox Lorber dvds of the Killer and Hard Boiled are out of print but if you can find them I would get them. The Fox Lorber disc of the Killer is the same transfer as the Criterion but it has different subtitles. The Fox Lorber Hard Boiled is not cropped like the Criterion. Both have the original mono soundtracks and Commentaries from Woo that are different than on the Criterion discs.

I personally think the Fox Lorber commentaries are better than the Criterion's. Woo's English had improved dramatically since the time he had done the Criterion commentaries.

There's a new version of Hard Boiled coming out in the UK in September.

yes Yocke, I see that Tartan is releasing Hard Boiled for the third time in September.

Anyone have any idea of which version of A Better Tomorrow is better? I was thinking of getting the US release but then I saw the DTS remaster from International Video and was wondering if that would be a better investment.

The "Codes of Bullets" extras seemed a lot more interesting than what was on the US release. Anyone know if the International Video version is a lot better?

Thanks

I've got that version of the A Better Tomorrow trilogy, and it's allright. The video is pretty grainy, but I think this is the best it's ever gonna look. I haven't seen the Anchor Bay versions, but from what I've heard the International Video version is better. The "Code of Bullets" feature is crap though.

So how does the John Woo Collection version of The Killer compare to the Fox Lorber version? Is one better than the other?

Also does anyone happen to know anything about the Once Upon A Time In China sets? I was thinking of getting this but I wasn't sure if the US version would be better.

Sorry for all the questions. I wasn't able to find any answers via "search."

The Fortune Star disc completely blow away the transfers of the Fox Lorber or Criterion Killer disc.
Same with Once Upon A Time In China.
I had the original Columbia Tristar R1,
and the picture was horrible. anamorphic but horrible.
I've heard much better things about the Fortune Star trilogy.