An Eye for an Eye – Vinegar Syndrome Archive (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1990
Director: O Sing Pui
Writer: Chan Kiu-Ying
Cast: Joey Wang, Mok Siu-chung, Wilson Lam, John Ching, Ricky Wong Chun-Tong, Lung Fong, Melvin Wong

Release Date: September 24th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 93 Minutes 25 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $44.98

"Fung is the daughter of an aging Triad boss attempting to turn his criminal enterprise into a more legitimate business. After her father is arrested by her cop boyfriend, Fung is left in charge and continues her father's mission of ridding the organization of its criminal dealings. Meanwhile, some of the other members of the gang are not happy with Fung's leadership and plan a hostile takeover. Cheong, the second in command, wants to maintain the group's violent reign and sets out to strip Fung of her power by viciously assaulting and blackmailing her. Fung's boyfriend vows to take revenge on Cheong and the organization while simultaneously dealing with his jealous partner, who also has eyes for Fung. Tensions soon boil over, and violence erupts in the streets as warring factions attempt to maintain their power." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Newly restored by VS from a studio-supplied master".

An Eye for an Eye comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 32.8 GB

Feature: 25.6 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones look correct, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese with removable English subtitles. Though this audio track sounds clean and balanced, range-wise it lacks depth.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a video essay by film historian and author Samm Deighan titled Hong Kong Cinema in the Late ‘80s: Between Heroic Bloodshed and CAT-III Thrillers (14 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with action director Benz Kong (6 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with director O Sing Pui (19 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with Kenneth Brorsson and Phil Gillon of the Podcast on Fire Network, reversible cover art, a bottom loading VHS inspired slipcase, and a double-sided poster.

Summary:

O Sing Pui directed An Eye for an Eye. Besides directing, he’s also worked as a cinematographer; his notable credits are Made in Hong Kong, You Shoot, I Shoot, and Ip Man.

A man who betrayed a crime boss forces a relationship on his daughter and takes over his organization.

When you watch enough films from any region of the world, it's not surprising that you will encounter some overlooked plot devices and even types of characters. An Eye for an Eye is part of a group of films referred to as Heroic Bloodshed. And though this genre peaked as the 1980s came to a close, it continues to this day in Hong Kong cinema. That said, besides the aforementioned similarities, another thing that occurs often in Hong Kong cinema is actors and actresses being typecast. The daughter of a former crime boss forces herself into degrading relationships to protect her father in An Eye for an Eye and My Heart Is That Eternal Rose. In both films, Joey Wang portrays this character (City Hunter).

There is another way in which An Eye for an Eye and My Heart Is That Eternal Rose connect; both of these films feature a love triangle: two men who are both in love with the crime boss’s daughter. This time around both men are police officers, where they were both criminals in My Heart Is That Eternal Rose. Both of these films have a third man who lusts after the crime boss’s daughter. In the case of An Eye for an Eye, it's the man who betrayed her father, and once he possesses her, his mistreatment of her increases as the narrative progresses.

The heart and soul of An Eye for an Eye is Joey Wang’s portrayal of the crime boss’s daughter. She cannot escape her father's nefarious past, despite his efforts to become a legitimate businessman. When her father is sent to prison, she is forced to change who she is in order to maintain control of his business. Her character suffers the most gut wrenching moments at the hands of her father's betrayer, who rapes her, films it, and then blackmails her. She delivers an exceptional performance that is among her best.

The other performance of note is Lung Fong’s portrayal of the man who betrays the crime boss and goes on a power trip. He’s an actor who’s made a character out of portraying villains, and in An Eye for an Eye, he delivers a deliciously over-the-top caricature of a man out of control. His most memorable moment is when his character has finally met his match and his true cowardice shines through. That said, the rest of the performances are very good.

The level of onscreen violence is very high, which is to be expected from a Heroic Bloodshed film. Two of the most violent moments include a scene where the traitor sends in his minions to knock off the remaining few who stand in his way. This sequence is expertly executed, and the tension before the violence erupts is perfectly built up. In this lengthy sequence the weapons of choice are machetes and hand-to-hand combat, and when the dust settles the streets are covered with corpses. The other notable moment is a scene where a cop goes rogue, tracks down the man who raped the crime boss’s daughter, tries to kill him, and narrowly escapes his own death.

From a production standpoint, An Eye for an Eye is a film that rarely misses its mark. The well-executed narrative does a superb job building momentum towards an exceptional cathartic finale. When it comes to fight choreography and stunt work, this is one area in particular where An Eye for an Eye excels. Ultimately, An Eye for an Eye is a solid example of a Heroic Bloodshed film that fans of this genre are sure to enjoy.

An Eye for an Eye gets a solid release from Vinegar Syndrome Archive that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and informative extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Alphaville – Kino Lorber (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: France/Italy, 1965
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Writer: Jean-Luc Godard
Cast: Eddie Constantine, Anna Karina, Akim Tamiroff, Valérie Boisgel, Jean-Louis Comolli, Michel Delahaye, Jean-André Fieschi, Christa Lang, Jean-Pierre Léaud, László Szabó, Howard Vernon

Release Date: Aug 27th 2024
Approximate Running Time: 99 Minutes 39 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono French (4K UHD, Blu-ray), DTS-HD Mono English (Blu-ray Only)
Subtitles: English (4K UHD, Blu-ray)
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $39.95

"American secret agent Lemmy Caution (Eddie Constantine, Attack of the Robots) is sent to the distant space city of Alphaville where he must find a missing person and kill the inventor of fascist computer Alpha 60." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (4K UHD), 4/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "2023 HDR/Dolby Vision Master by StudioCanal – From 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative."

Alphaville comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 71.2 GB

Feature: 70 GB

Though the source is a marked improvement over Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray release, this new transfer does have some shortcomings, notably the appearance of grain. Flesh tones look healthy, image clarity is solid, and compression is very good. That said, black levels are strong, and yet during some of the darker moments, image clarity looks softer than the brighter moments.

Alphaville comes on a 50 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 32.6 GB

Feature: 28.1 GB

It should be noted that the 4K UHD opens with information about this new transfer, where the Blu-ray does not. That said, it appears that the included Blu-ray replicates the disc that Kino Lorber released in 2019.

Audio: 4.5/5 (DTS-HD Mono French), 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono English)

The 4K UHD only comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in French with removable English subtitles. The Blu-ray comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in French and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Included are removable English subtitles for the French language track. The French language track sounds excellent; dialog always comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced; and ambient sounds are well-represented. The English language track is in great shape; it sounds clean, clear, and balanced.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an audio commentary with novelist and film critic Tim Lucas.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer (1 minute 20 seconds, DTS-HD mono French text with non-removable English subtitles), an archival introduction by Colin McCabe (5 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actress Anna Karina (4 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with Tim Lucas.

Other extras on the Blu-ray disc are trailers for Le Doulos, Bob le flambeur, Touchez pas au grisbi, and Razzia sur la chnouf.

Other extras include reversible cover art, and a slipcover (limited to the first pressing).

Summary:

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard, a filmmaker who was part of the French new wave. Though his career spanned the longest of any of his French new wave contemporaries, he directed his first film in 1960 and his last film in 2018. He is most remembered for the films that he directed between 1960 and 1967. Notable films he directed are Breathless, Le mépris (Contempt), Band of Outsiders, and Weekend.

In the distant space city of Alphaville lives the fascist inventor of the Alpha 60 computer, which has outlawed free thought. Lemmy Caution, a secret agent, is sent to Alphaville to destroy Alpha 60 and its inventor. Will he be able to complete his mission, or is Alpha 60 too powerful to stop?

When one thinks of Sci-Fi cinema, special effects and sights of a future that contain things that are unimaginable now are the two things that immediately spring to mind. Throughout cinema’s history, there have been films that go against the grain with their stripped-down vision of a future that uses elements from the present. Case in point: Jean-Luc Godard’s Alphaville is a film set in the future, and yet everything in it is from the present. That said, he achieved his vision of the future by using the most modern architecture he could find at that time.

In Alphaville, Jean-Luc Godard is less concerned with fancy gadgets; then he is exploring themes like totalitarianism, mind control, and the general lack of free will. Language is something that is front and center in Alphaville; those in control alter language, meaning of words, and in some instances outlaw other words. Despite its lack of futuristic elements, it is astounding how many of the themes explored in Alphaville are now more than ever relevant.

Jean-Luc Godard controls the performances, shaping the actors into mere tools to realize his vision. This is more evident with Eddie Constantine’s portrayal of Lemmy Caution; he’s not an actor known for his range, and Jean-Luc Godard uses him perfectly. Anna Karina, a frequent collaborator and wife of Jean-Luc Godard at that time, was the real star of Alphaville. She always looked stunning in every one of their collaborations, and she delivers another exemplary performance that outshines the rest of the cast. Despite a small cast, there are several other notable cast members: Akim Tamiroff (Touch of Evil), László Szabó (Made in U.S.A.), Howard Vernon (The Diabolical Dr. Z), and Jean-Pierre Léaud (The 400 Blows).

When Jean-Luc Godard worked within cinema's established genres, he produced films that were uniquely his own. With Alphaville, Jean-Luc Godard takes two genres—Sci-Fi and Film noir—whose aesthetics are nothing alike and perfectly fuses them into one. When it comes to the visuals, this is one area where Alphaville is greatly indebted to the Film noir genre. Ultimately, genre cinema fans can thoroughly enjoy Alphaville, despite its avant-garde leanings.

Though this new 4K UHD from Kino Lorber improves upon their previous release, there is still room for improvement.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs. 

Written by Michael Den Boer

Ferocious Fukasaku: Two Films By Kinji Fukasaku – Film Movement Classics (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Japan, 1964 (Wolves, Pigs & Men), Japan, 1976 (Violent Panic: The Big Crash)
Director: Kinji Fukasaku (Both Films)
Cast: Ken Takakura, Kin'ya Kitaôji, Jirô Okazaki, Renji Ishibashi, Rentarô Mikuni, Shôken Sawa, Hideo Murota (Wolves, Pigs & Men), Tsunehiko Watase, Miki Sugimoto, Yayoi Watanabe, Hideo Murota, Takuzô Kawatani, Ryô Nishida, Yûsuke Kazato (Violent Panic: The Big Crash)

Release Date: September 24th, 2024
Approximate Running Times: 95 Minutes 12 Seconds (Wolves, Pigs & Men), 84 Minutes 36 Seconds (Violent Panic: The Big Crash)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Films)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Japanese (Both Films)
Subtitles: English (Both Films)
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $49.98

"Fukasaku's 1964 breakthrough Wolves, Pigs and Men finds three brothers pitted against each other as rivals in the Yakuza underworld. Jiro, alongside his girlfriend Mizuhara, devises a scheme to rob his younger brother Sabu's gang. However, when the eldest brother Kuroki learns of this, he seeks to conspire against them to take it all for himself in a treacherous nightmare of unbridled violence.

While lesser known, 1976’s Violent Panic: The Big Crash wreaks havoc across the streets of Japan with stylishly nihilistic aplomb. After expert bank-robber Takashi's big job is foiled, he goes on the lam. Trailed by the police, his lover, his partner-in-crime’s brother, and countless others, Takashi becomes the target of a manhunt filled with twists, double-crosses, and explosive action that gives the 70’s car chase genre a run for its money." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5 (Wolves, Pigs & Men), 4.5/5 (Violent Panic: The Big Crash)

Wolves, Pigs & Men comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40.7 GB

Feature: 27.6 GB

This disc is identical to Eureka Video's 2024 Blu-ray.

Violent Panic: The Big Crash comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 25.7 GB

Feature: 22.8 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, black levels are strong, image clarity and compression are solid, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4.5/5 (Both Films)

Both films come with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Japanese with removable English subtitles. Both audio tracks sound clean, clear, balanced, and surprisingly robust.

Extras:

Extras for this release Wolves, Pigs & Men a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 53 seconds, LPCM mono Japanese with non-removable English subtitles), an archival interview with Kinji Fukasaku’s biographer, Sadao Yamane (12 minutes 28 seconds, LPCM stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an interview with producer Tatsu Yoshida titled Slums, Stars & Studios (20 minutes 36 seconds, LPCM stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an interview with screenwriter Junya Sato titled Socially Aware Violence (20 minutes 14 seconds, LPCM stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp.

Extras for this release Violent Panic: The Big Crash a theatrical trailer (1 minute, LPCM mono Japanese with non-removable English subtitles), a video essay by Tokyoscope author Patrick Macias titled Fast, Furious, Fukasaku (9 minutes 55 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with Jasper Sharp.

Other extras include a spot glass slipcover (limited to 2,000 units), and a 16-page booklet with cast & crew information for both films, and an essay titled Chaotic Morality written by Kenji Fujishima.

Summary:

Wolves, Pigs & Men: Organized crime is something that Kinji Fukasaku would return to throughout his career. And though he began his career with four crime films that starred Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba, there is little in these initial offerings that resemble his crime films from his peak period in the 1970s. In his early forays into crime cinema, Kinji Fukasaku created films similar to Nikkatsu's productions. By the time he made Wolves, Pigs & Men, he was ready to venture outside of the already established formula, resulting in a film that foreshadows where he would go with crime cinema in the 1970s.

Wolves, Pigs & Men is a story about three brothers; the oldest brother, Kuroki, is a yakuza yes man; the middle brother, Jirō, is a troublemaker who recently spent 5 years in prison; and the youngest brother, Sabu, was forced to take care of their ailing mother, who passed away. After years of not seeing each other, Jirō comes up with a plan to rob the clan that Kuroki works for, and he enlists Sabu and his friends to help him pull off the job. What should have gone off without a hitch quickly spirals out of control when Sabu, who does not trust his brother, hides the money and drugs.

Though honor and loyalty are the backbone of yakuza cinema, in Wolves, Pigs & Men, it's honor and loyalty not to the yakuza but to your family and where you come from. The dysfunctional family, where no one trusts each other, puts the loyalty of the three brothers to the test. And despite Kuroki’s best efforts to look out for his two brothers, they see him as an outsider who betrayed them. Jirō is a loner, always looking out for himself, while Sabu’s friends are his new family.

Throughout Wolves, Pigs & Men Kinji Fukasaku explores classism and the desire to escape where one came from. Though all three brothers desire to leave their lives growing up and living in the slums, only Kuroki is ashamed of where he came from. Unlike Kuroki, his brothers, when faced with giving up their ideals, decide it's better to die than give in.

The performances are excellent, especially Ken Takakura (Abashiri Prison) in the role of Jirō and Kin'ya Kitaôji (Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima) in the role of Sabu. Ken Takakura portrays a self-assured character who rarely allows someone to get the drop on him. Kin'ya Kitaôji portrays a jaded character whose anger at the world clouds his judgment. Both of these actors deliver masterclass performances in which they fully immerse themselves into character. Despite portraying a character that is difficult to sympathize with, Rentarô Mikuni (Vengeance Is Mine) in the role of Kuroki is this Wolves, Pigs & Men's most underrated performance.

From a production standpoint, there is no area where Wolves, Pigs & Men do not excel. Its narrative quickly draws you in with a stylized opening sequence that does a superb job laying out all the three brothers' backstories. Also, despite being a film about organized crime, the yakuza’s presence is minimal. Wolves, Pigs & Men’s grimy locations are the opposite of the visually appealing locations that one expects from a yakuza film. Not to be overlooked when discussing Wolves, Pigs & Men is its unflinching in your face, moments of torture. Ultimately, Wolves, Pigs & Men is an early masterpiece from Kinji Fukasaku that's a must see if you're a fan of yakuza cinema.

Violent Panic: The Big Crash: Two criminals commit bank robberies to finance their escape to Brazil. During one of their getaways, one of them dies, disrupting their plan.

Kinji Fukasaku knows how to set the foundation for a story. Violent Panic: The Big Crash opens with a frantic pre-credits sequence that perfectly sets the tempo for what follows. Also, in these opening moments, the narrative does a fantastic job providing backstory for all of the key characters via flashbacks. After everyone's backstories are established, the narrative maintains a relentless pace, propelling towards the demolition derby finale.

Though the main narrative revolves around Takashi, the bank robber who survives, there are three other subplots that intersect with his story. These are the other characters whose stories collide with Takashi’s: a ditsy prostitute named Midorikawa Michi, a corrupt cop who is the brother of Takashi’s dead partner, a young man with a criminal past who works at a car repair shop, and an inept police officer named Hatano. Though there are a lot of moving parts in the narrative, things never get too complex, and everything perfectly comes to head.

Though the main performance is Tsunehiko Watase (Sympathy for the Underdog) in the role of the protagonist Takashi, it is actually the two female leads, Miki Sugimoto (Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs) and Yayoi Watanabe (School of the Holy Beast), who steal the show. In the new role, a character that is the polar opposite of the tough characters Miki Sugimoto portrayed in Pinky Violence films is given to her. Yayoi Watanabe’s character, a nympho policewoman, provides most of this film’s humor. Of course there are many moments where they are topless. That said, all of the performances are great.

One should not overlook the way Kinji Fukasaku uses the camera when discussing his films. In Violent Panic: The Big Crash, there is an immediacy to the visuals; the kinetic camerawork often stalks characters as they move throughout the frame. The most surprising aspect of the visuals is how well Kinji Fukasaku films the car chases and crashes. Kinji Fukasaku had no experience working on car chases or crashes, and at that time in Japanese cinema, these types of scenes were not a common occurrence.

The 1970s were Kinji Fukasaku’s busiest decade as a filmmaker; most years he directed two or three films. And though he worked at a prolific rate, there was never a dip in quality. That said, even lesser Kinji Fukasaku films are better than most films directed by his contemporaries. Ultimately, Violent Panic: The Big Crash is a film that stands up well when compared to Kinji Fukasaku’s best films, despite not being as well known.

Ferocious Fukasaku: Two Films by Kinji Fukasaku is an excellent release from Film Movement Classics that gives two Kinji Fukasaku films solid audio/video presentations and informative extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

My Heart Is That Eternal Rose – Kani (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1989
Director: Patrick Tam
Writers: Chan Koon-Chung, Tsang Kan-Cheung
Cast: Kenny Bee, Joey Wong, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Chan Wai-Man, Cheung Tat-ming, Gam Lui, Kwan Hoi-Shan, Chia-Hui Liu (Gordon Liu), Ng Man-tat 

Release Date: September 24th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 90 Minutes 47 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese, DTS-HD Mono Mandarin
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $44.98

"The idyllic, beach-side life of a retired Triad boss, his daughter Lap (Joey Wong) and her boyfriend Rick (Kenny Bee), shatters when a mob favour turns into a bloody shootout. Trading her freedom for her father’s, Lap becomes mistress to Godfather Shen, while Rick goes into exile. Years later, as Shen unknowingly hires Rick as a hitman, Lap sees her chance at escape, while doe-eyed Triad gofer (Tony Leung) completes the doomed quadrangle." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about My Heart Is That Eternal Rose's transfer, "The digitization and restoration of My Heart Is That Eternal Rose was entirely commissioned by Steve Law’s team of IST Hong Kong (a member of Mei Ah Entertainment Group). The film was scanned from 35mm color negative on an ARRI 4K and graded in Blackmagic Resolve. The film restoration was remastered primarily in Phoenix and Diamant, and is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Additional sound restoration work was completed in 2024."

My Heart Is That Eternal Rose comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 44.8 GB

Feature: 24.4 GB (My Heart Is That Eternal Rose), 5.5 GB (The Underdogs - The Story of Ah-suen), 5.1 GB (CID - Two Teddy Girls), 5.1 GB (CID - Dawn Noon Dusk Night)

This new transfer is a substantial improvement over Mei Ah Entertainment’s 2008 DVD. Flesh tones look correct, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 5/5 (DTS-HD Mono Cantonese), 4.5/5 (DTS-HD Mono Mandarin)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese and a DTS-HD mono mix in Mandarin. Both audio tracks sound clean, clear, balanced, and robust when they should. The Cantonese language track is the stronger of these two audio tracks. The Mandarin language track exhibits many of the traits that are all too common with dubbed audio tracks. Included are removable English subtitles for the Cantonese language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an archival interview with producer John Sham (21 minutes 32 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with removable English subtitles), an interview with actor Simon Yam who discusses the TV show CID (5 minutes 54 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), three TV episodes directed by Patrick Tam: an episode from The Underdogs titled The Story of Ah-suen (51 minutes 42 seconds, DTS-HD mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an episode from CID Season 1, Episode 3 titled Two Teddy Girls (48 minutes 32 seconds, DTS-HD mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an episode from CID Season 1, Episode 14 titled Dawn Noon Dusk Night (48 minutes 23 seconds, DTS-HD mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), a spot gloss slipcover (limited to 2,000 units), and a 32-page booklet with Persistence of Vision in Conversation with Patrick Tam, From Licensed Gangsters to TV Stars a Brief Note on Hong Kong in the 1970s, and the Birth of CID, cast & crew information for the three TV episodes directed by Patrick Tam, and information about the transfers.

These three TV episodes offer a glimpse into Patrick Tam as a filmmaker before his feature film debut, The Sword. These TV episodes are best described as melodramas, despite containing police procedural elements. Also, the main theme for CID lifts Bernard Herrmann’s theme for North by Northwest.

Here’s the information provided about the TV episode transfers, “CID was shot in 1976 on reversal 16mm film. The tight production schedules meant that at times, the episodes were not transferred onto magnetic tape before being Telecine’d for broadcast. From first broadcast to the 1990s, these episodes were archived on 1-inch magnetic tape. In the 1990s, the episodes were transferred to Betacam, and the magnetic tapes were disposed of. In the 2000’s, they were transferred to digital files from Betacam. The Betacam’s were scrambled and disposed of. In the late 2010s, the episodes were upscaled digitally, and the original files were not kept by TVB. The status of the original film elements is unknown, though believed lost.

All but one episode of The Underdogs was shot on tape. “The Story of Ah-suen”, Patrick Tam’s contribution to the series, was shot on 16mm film stock. 

These three episodes are presented here in their best, surviving quality, for the first time on home video with English subtitles.”

Summary:

Patrick Tam directed My Heart Is That Eternal Rose. He is also known for directing The sword, Love Massacre and After this our Exile. Besides directing, he worked as an editor on these films: Days of Being Wild, Ashes of Time, and Election. Christopher Doyle, one of the two cinematographers who worked on My Heart Is That Eternal Rose, is known for his numerous collaborations with Wong Kar-wai.

A woman named Lap has her life turned upside down in the aftermath of a crime boss’s son's death. Wanting to protect her father and boyfriend who are blamed for the death, she makes a deal with another crime boss. Years later, a fateful event will bring her ex-boyfriend back into her life, giving her a chance to get back what she lost.

The opening moments do a superb job introducing the characters. Also, during the opening moments, there are a handful of moments that teeter between romance and comedy. That said, these moments are not representative of the rest of the narrative, which takes on a much darker and, at times, melancholy tone.

The shift in tone occurs when Lap's father agrees to do a favor for a crime boss who is an old friend; from there on out, there is a bleakness to the events that unfold. And though the plan to get the crime boss’s son out of mainland China appears to be on track, things quickly spiral out of control when one of the men helping Lap’s father gets greedy, and his actions lead to the death of the crime boss’s son. That said, the remainder of the narrative is a straight-up crime film like one has come to expect from late 1980s Hong Kong cinema.

At its core, it is Lap and her boyfriend Rick's love story that anchor My Heart Is That Eternal Rose. That said, the narrative very effectively introduces another man into the mix, a character named Cheung whose job is to protect Lap. Though Cheung’s relationship with Lap starts off as a protector, over time he develops romantic feelings. This forms a love triangle between these three characters, and instead of viewing Cheung as a rival, Rick forms his own close bond with him.

The cast is filled with faces that anyone familiar with 1970s and 80s Hong Kong cinema is sure to recognize. And when it comes to the performances, the entire cast is excellent. That said, the most memorable performance is Chia-Hui Liu (Gordon Liu), who is most known for the 36th Chamber films series. In My Heart Is That Eternal Rose he portrays a crime boss’s deviant henchmen. Also, his character wears a ridiculous wig, which provides some unintentional humor. Despite his limited screen time, Chia-Hui Liu (Gordon Liu) takes full advantage by delivering what is easily the most mean-spirited one he has ever portrayed.

The strongest performances are Joey Wang (City Hunter) in the role of Lap and Kenny Bee (100 Ways to Murder Your Wife) in the role of Rick. Though both are tremendous on their own, their strong onscreen chemistry makes the moments they share even more potent. Also, the light moments that they share at the beginning of the narrative offer a perfect contrast to the turmoil that follows. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai’s (Bullet in the Head) portrayal of Cheung is another standout performance. Despite his character being one of the crime boss’s henchmen, he does not share their same enthusiasm for random acts of violence.

From a production standpoint, My Heart Is That Eternal Rose is a film where everything perfectly lines up. A well-constructed narrative moves at a good pace, the key moments are given ample time to resonate, and a carnage-filled heroic bloodshed finale provides an exemplary finale. Visually, My Heart Is That Eternal Rose delivers, and then some of the visuals do an exceptional job heightening the mood. Though My Heart Is That Eternal Rose was made during a time when crime and action films in Hong Kong were filled with wall-to-wall shootouts. The end result is a more drama-driven film that still retains the essence of a heroic bloodshed film.

My Heart Is That Eternal Rose gets a definitive release from Kani, highly recommended.

                                                               CID Screenshots.

                                                 The Underdogs Screenshots.

Written by Michael Den Boer