Peking Opera Blues: Hong Kong Cinema Classics – Shout! Factory (UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1986
Director: Tsui Hark
Writer: Raymond To
Cast: Brigitte Lin, Cherie Chung, Sally Yeh, Paul Chun, Wu Ma, Kenneth Tsang, Mark Cheng, Cheung Kwok Keung, Ku Feng

Release Date: September 23rd, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 105 Minutes 25 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10 Dolby Vision
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $39.99

"In the aftermath of China's first democratic revolution, three high-spirited young women from very different backgrounds cross paths on a quest for liberation. Fate finds the three joining forces to discover their respective warriors within." - synopsis provided by the distributor

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

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "NEW 4K Scan From The Original Camera Negative."

Peking Opera Blues comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 73.1 GB

Feature: 72.6 GB

This is another exemplary restoration that is superior to all of this film's previous home media releases. Flesh tones and colors look correct; image clarity, contrast, black levels, and comparison are solid; and the image always looks organic.

Peking Opera Blues comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 43.4 GB

Feature: 25.8 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

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

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Both audio tracks sound excellent, and they are both their original mono tracks, instead of the shoddy remix tracks that so many previous home media releases had. Dialog always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and action sequences sound robust. Included are English subtitles for the Cantonese language track and English SDH subtitles for the English language track. It should be noted that subtitles and audio can only be chosen via the audio setup menu, and they cannot be turned off while watching the main feature.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an audio commentary with film critic James Mudge.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include an image gallery (stills/posters/home video art), a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 27 seconds, DTS-HD mono Cantonese, no subtitles), a featurette titled Peking History Blues with Professor Lars Laamann who discusses the setting and time of a Tsui Hark’s Peking Opera Blues (23 minutes 42 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with author and film critic David West titled Peking Provocations (25 minutes 2 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), an interview with author Grady Hendrix titled Hong Kong Confidential—Inside Peking Opera Blues (14 minutes 22 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with cinematographer Ray Wong titled An Operatic Achievement (11 minutes 11 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with actor Mark Cheng titled An Opus For Peking: Starring in a Tsui Hark Classic (21 minutes 58 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with James Mudge.

Other extras include a slipcover (limited to the first pressing).

Summary:

Tsui Hark directed Peking Opera Blues. He’s known for Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain, Once Upon a Time in China, The Banquet, Twin Dragons, and Time and Tide. Besides directing, he’s also produced these notable films: A Better Tomorrow, A Better Tomorrow II, A Chinese Ghost Story, The Killer, Iron Monkey, Burning Paradise, and Black Mask.

The daughter of a general is torn between her love for her nation and her loyalty to her father. A woman uses the chaos of soldiers looting a warlord's mansion to steal a box of jewels, and in her escape, the box ends up at the Peking Opera. The daughter of a man who runs the Peking Opera has dreams of being an actor, despite her father rejecting the idea because there are no roles for women. These three women’s stories become intertwined as they join forces and try to obtain a document that can destroy their country.

By the time that Tsui Hark made Peking Opera Blues, he had already directed nine films. In these early films it's clear that he was a filmmaker who took chances and often went outside of the norm. That said, when he unleashed Peking Opera Blues upon audiences, he once again delivered something new, unlike anything that came before.

Hong Kong cinema before Peking Opera Blues was male-dominated; although there had been films with one prominent woman character, Peking Opera Blues raised the bar even higher by making its three main characters all women. The three leads are Brigitte Lin (The Bride with White Hair) in the role of Tsao Wan, General Tsao's daughter; Cherie Chung (Once a Thief) in the role of a money-hungry courtesan named Sheung Hung; and Sally Yeh (The Killer) in the role of Bai Niu, the daughter of the man who runs the opera house. All three performances are unique; they allow each actress an opportunity to shine, and their onscreen chemistry is immeasurable.

Alongside the three outstanding performances by its female leads, Tsui Hark has assembled an impressive cast that delivers excellent performances throughout. Other performances of note are Wu Ma (Righting Wrongs) in the role of Mr. Wong, the man who runs the Peking Opera House, and Paul Chun (Hong Kong 1941) in the role of Fa Gum-Sao, the head of the secret police.

While the comedy is rooted in Cantonese humor, much of it is accessible and translates well for non-native speakers. Although the bulk of the comedy revolves around Cherie Chung’s character, the most memorable moment is a scene with her character and Sally Yeh’s character both impersonating a Peking opera performer named Velvet Flower, who has fled because of an aggressive admirer. The action sequences are exemplary; they are a mix of gunplay and martial arts, and there is some really impressive stunt work.

Tsui Hark sets his film in the historical context of China’s 1911 revolution, intertwining it with the modern anxieties of Hong Kong citizens regarding the upcoming handover of the territory to China. Besides anxieties of Hong Kong’s handover, Peking Opera Blues is also a film about women defying authority and refusing to conform to societal norms. The well-constructed narrative does an excellent job creating tension by constantly putting its characters in peril, and it does a phenomenal job building to a rooftop shootout climax. Ultimately, Peking Opera Blues is a perfect blend of melodrama and action, making it a must-see for fans of 1980s Hong Kong cinema.

Shout! Factory gives Peking Opera Blues an exceptional release that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of insightful extras, highly recommended.

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