Women on the Run – Vinegar Syndrome Archive (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1993
Directors: David Lai, Corey Yuen
Writer: Poon Yuen-Leung
Cast: Tamara Guo, Farini Cheung, Wai-Tak Wong, Corey Yuen, Won Jin

Release Date: December 10th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 88 Minutes 55 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese, DTS-HD Mono Mandarin, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $44.98

"A young woman named Yin dreams of leaving her modest village life for a chance to try to make it big as a martial arts movie star. Leaving for the big city with her boyfriend, life takes a turn for poor Yin when she soon finds herself addicted to drugs and being pimped out by her boyfriend. After a violent altercation forces Yin to flee to Hong Kong, it's not long before she ends up on the radar of the police. Without any other options, Yin makes a deal with the police to go undercover with one of their straight-laced female detectives, Hung, in order to try and bring down a notorious drug dealer nicknamed ""King Kong."" Victimized by the men in their lives, the two unlikely friends must team up to protect each other from the criminals out to get them and work together to get revenge on those who have betrayed them.." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Scanned and restored in house by Vinegar Syndrome in 2K from its 35mm original camera negative".

Women on the Run comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 37.6 GB

Feature: 26.1 GB

The source is in great shape; some minor debris remains. Colors look correct, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look.

Audio: 4.5/5 (DTS-HD Mono Cantonese), 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono Mandarin), 3.75/5 (DTS-HD Mono English)

This release comes with three audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese, a DTS-HD mono mix in Mandarin, and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. The Cantonese language track is the most robust, and the English language track sounds constrained. That said, dialog always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and action sequences sound robust. Included are removable English subtitles for the Cantonese language track and removable English SDH for the English language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), a video essay by film historian and author Samm Deighan titled Corey Yuen and Girls with Guns (12 minutes 30 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with producer/co-director David Lai titled Hong Kong's Thelma & Louise (16 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), a conversation with producer Shan Tam and production manager Michael Parker What You See Is What You Get (22 minutes 50 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with with film writer Travis Woods, reversible cover art, a bottom loading VHS inspired slipcase, a double-sided poster, and 16-page booklet with an essay titled Angels on the Run: Navigating the Girls with Guns Subgenre by Erica Shultz.

Summary:

David Lai co-directed Women on the Run. His other notable films are Operation Scorpio and Timeless Romance. Corey Yuen co-directed Women on the Run. His other notable films are Yes, Madam, Righting Wrongs, The Legend of Fong Sai-Yuk, The Legend of Fong Sai-Yuk 2, So Close, and The Transporter.

Two women, a prostitute and a cop, are forced to work together when someone they love betrays them. Framed for a crime they did not commit, they seek revenge against those who betrayed them.

Women on the Run draws influences from two films, Thelma & Louise and La Femme Nikita. Women on the Run is a film that firmly fits into the Cat III rating of Hong Kong films known for their excessive sex and violence. There is one moment in Women on the Run where it truly deserves its Cat III rating. This scene begins with dock workers playing soccer with a dog, then they rape a defenseless woman, and when her friend tries to intervene, they assault her.

There is a combative aspect to the prostitute and the cop, who are on an undercover assignment; this relationship is reminiscent of buddy cop films. Women on the Run also fits nicely into the Girls with Guns subgenre, which is not surprising since one of its directors, Corey Yuen, is widely regarded as making some of this subgenre's best films. Out of the two directors who worked on Women on the Run, I would guess that Corey Yuen directed the action sequences. The stunt work is exceptional, and the action sequences have all the hallmarks of his style. Also, a few of the action sequences feature nude kung fu.

The cast is all great in their roles, especially its two leads, Tamara Guo, who portrays Yin, and Farini Cheung, who portrays Hung, both in their first feature films. Yin is a former martial arts champion who went to the big city with her boyfriend, who got her hooked on drugs and turned her into a prostitute. Hung’s corrupt married detective boyfriend paired her with Yin for an undercover operation. What links these two women is the betrayal of men they loved. Another performance of note is Corey Yuen, who portrays a wisecracking detective.

Women on the Run is a melting pot of genres and influences; it's not trying to reinvent the wheel. Despite the predictability of the events that unfold, it is a film that relies heavily on its shock and awe moments. That said, the narrative is briskly paced; it does a superb job building moments, and everything comes to a head in a high-body finale. Ultimately, Women on the Run is a relentless film that is not for the faint of heart, and it's a must-see for fans of Cat III cinema.

Vinegar Syndrome Archive gives Women on the Run an excellent release that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and informative extras, highly recommended.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer