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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.