A Chinese Odyssey: Parts 1 & 2 – Shout! Factory (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Hong Kong, 1995 (A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box, A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella)
Director: Jeffrey Lau (Both Films)
Cast: Stephen Chow, Athena Chu, Ng Man-tat, Yammie Lam, Karen Mok, Law Kar-ying, Jeffrey Lau, Lu Shuming, Ada Choi

Release Date: February 4th, 2025
Approximate Running Times: 88 Minutes 26 Seconds (A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box), 99 Minutes 49 Seconds (A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Films)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese, DTS-HD 5.1 Cantonese (Both Films)
Subtitles: English (Both Films)
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $39.98

"Joker (Chow) leads a band of outlaws, but soon discovers his purpose in life is something far greater. Learning that he is the reincarnation of the fabled Monkey King who had betrayed his master five hundred years earlier, Joker finds himself beset by all manner of outrageous obstacles on his journey to come to terms with his past life." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42.4 GB

Feature: 25.9 GB

A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42.9 GB

Feature: 30.1 GB

Though all of these transfers come from what looks like a dated source; they actually look very good. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, and compression is very good. 

Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono Cantonese, DTS-HD 5.1 Cantonese)

Each film comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in Cantonese and a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese. You can’t go wrong with any of these audio tracks; they are all in great shape, dialogue comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and action sequences are robust. That said, the 5.1 audio track does a great job expanding the original mono source. Included are non-removable English subtitles for the Cantonese language tracks. Audio can only be changed and subtitles disabled via the main menu and not during playback.

Extras:

Extras for A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box include an image gallery (stills), a theatrical trailer (1 minute 41 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with director Jeffrey Lau (12 minutes 44 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an interview titled The King of Cantonese Comedy with Gary Bettinson, editor of the book The Cinema of Stephen Chow (27 minutes 47 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), an interview with academic and filmmaker Gilbert Po (30 minutes 4 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), and an audio commentary with Frank Djeng of the New York Asian Film Festival.

Extras for A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella include an image gallery (poster/stills), an interview with director Jeffrey Lau (8 minutes 3 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with cinematographer Ray Wong (24 minutes 35 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an interview titled Vision For An Odyssey with James Mudge, veteran Hong Kong film critic at easternKicks (18 minutes 11 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), and an audio commentary with Frank Djeng.

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

Summary:

Jeffrey Lau directed A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box and A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella. His other notable films include The Haunted Cop Shop, All for the Winner, Treasure Hunt, and Out of the Dark.

A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box: A monkey king who betrayed his master is transformed into a mortal man. Now a man, he is a leader of a group of outlaws who are attacked by two demons who are looking for three dots on their feet, a sign that they are the monkey king.

A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella: Still in the form of a man, the monkey king travels 500 years back in time, and he tries to rectify the mistakes he’s made.

A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box and A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella is a loose adaptation of Wu Cheng'en's novel Journey to the West, published in the 16th century. Trying to fit an epic story like Journey to the West into one, let alone two films, is a daunting task. And yet, despite both films' relatively short running times—88 and 100 minutes—both films are able to retain an epic feel. That said, though the core elements remain, the end result is a pair of films that are tailored to Stephen Chow’s strengths as an actor.

Unlike the other films that Stephen Chow was appearing in around this time, A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box and A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella are ensemble casts. All around, the performances are all exceptional. Notable cast members include Karen Mok (So Close) and Yammie Lam (Flirting Scholar); they portray two demons, Bak Jing-jing and Spiderwoman, and Ng Man-tat, a frequent collaborator of Stephen Chow’s whose character is often the recipient of his jokes. That said, when it comes to humor, most of the funniest moments are delivered by Stephen Chow, whose character is reincarnated as a man with sight problems.

The funniest moments in A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box is a running gag in which Stephen Chow’s character's crotch is on fire, and those around him put it out by stomping on his genitals. The funniest moment in A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella is a scene where a monk sings The Platters Only You to Stephen Chow’s character. Though humor plays a significant role in the stories that unfold, both films are straight-up fantasy films. There are characters that look like pigs, monkeys, and other animals, and a spider with a woman’s head. Also, characters use magic to make themselves invisible, and there is a scene where two characters battle inside the body of one of these characters. 

When it comes to action sequences, they are all well-executed moments, most of which defy gravity and reality. The stunt work, especially in regards to physical comedy, is impressive. Though these two films used CGI that at that time looked very good, it looks dated by today's standards. Fortunately, the story that unfolds does a superb job pulling you in, and this shortcoming is easy to overlook.

From a production standpoint, A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box and A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella are films that fully exploit their resources. Both films' narratives do a phenomenal job building momentum, rarely giving you a chance to catch your breath. Besides A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella picking up where its predecessor left off, its narrative also has a recap of key moments from A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box. Ultimately, A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box and A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella are highly entertaining films that fans of Chinese fantasy films and Mo lei tau humor should thoroughly enjoy.

Shout! Factory’s A Chinese Odyssey: Parts 1 & 2 brings together two films, gives them strong audio/video presentations, and includes informative extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer