Men from the Gutter – Vinegar Syndrome Archive (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1983
Director: Lam Ngai-Choi
Writers: Tony Leung Hung-Wah, Keith Lee Pak-Ling
Cast: Jason Pai Piao, Wang Jung, Lo Meng, Michael Miu Kiu-Wai, Chan Pui-Sai, Parkman Wong Pak-Man, Billy Lau, Yuen Wah, Yuen Bun

Release Date: October 21st, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 88 Minutes 13 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $44.98

"On the grimy streets of working-class Hong Kong, some merely scheme to get out, and someone has returned to exact savage vengeance. After a cop is killed in cold blood, detectives Qui and Zhou begin tracking a trio of lowly ex-cons plotting a jewel heist. The hoods hope to land a score that'll finally allow them to leave town, while the cops are chasing a corporate kingpin active in the heroin trade. Meanwhile, a steely yet inconspicuous hitman has arrived from Thailand, eager to take out that same kingpin for having crossed him. While chasing down leads from gun dealers and drug pushers, the police repeatedly encounter these various criminals as the desperation mounts. In a race across smoky gambling dens, cheap love hotels, seedy bars, and dingy warehouses, who will make it out of town alive?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release’s transfer, "Newly scanned and restored in 2K from its 35mm original negative."

Men from the Gutter comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 31.1 GB

Feature: 23.9 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, and image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese with removable English subtitles. Dialogue comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise this audio track sounds excellent.

Extras:

Extras for this release include  a video essay by film historian Erica Shultz titled Jason Pai Piao: Hong Kong Cinema’s Chameleonic Tough Guy (13 minutes 23 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a making-of documentary titled From the Gutter to the Theater, featuring interviews with screenwriter Tony Leung Hung-Wah, actor Jason Pai Piao, and actor Yuen Bun (26 minutes 41 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with film historian and author Samm Deighan, reversible cover art, a bottom-loading VHS-inspired spot gloss slipcase, a double-sided poster, and a 40-page perfect-bound book with an essay titled Down and Out in West Kowloon written by Walter Chaw, an essay titled High & Low: on Lam Nai-Choi’s Men from the Gutter written by Ariel Esteban Cayer, and an essay titled Unheroic Bloodshed: Shaw Brothers Studio and Modern Crime Films written by Keith Allison.

Summary:

Men from the Gutter was directed by Lam Ngai Choi, whose other notable films include The Seventh Curse, Her Vengeance, Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky, Erotic Ghost Story, and The Cat.

The narrative centers on two cops: one adheres strictly to the rules, while the other frequently crosses the line and is willing to do whatever it takes to apprehend his suspect.

Lam Nai-Choi's gritty crime film, Men from the Gutter, stands in stark contrast to his fantasy films. The look and vibe of Men from the Gutter fit firmly into Hong Kong cinema’s new wave that began in the late 1970s. By the time the Shaw Brothers made Men from the Gutter, the type of film that was successful in the past was no longer popular, and they started to venture outside of their usual martial arts films.

Although there are a few brutal moments in Men from the Gutter, it predates Heroic Bloodshed films by a few years. There is a noticeable stylistic difference between Hong Kong new wave crime films made before Heroic Bloodshed films rose to prominence in the 1980s. The most significant distinction between these new wave crime films and Heroic Bloodshed films is their emphasis on a more realistic approach.

While his character is essentially a secondary character whose subplot ultimately intersects with the two cops' stories, it is impossible to imagine Men from the Gutter without Jason Pai Piao (Killer Constable). He portrays Zi Jian, a hitman from Thailand, who is also driven by revenge. He delivers a performance that is equally unassuming and menacing. That said, the rest of the cast are very good in their roles.

Men from the Gutter is one of two crime films that Lam Ngai Choi directed before making the shift to fantasy/horror films, the other film being Brothers from the Walled City. It is a shame that he did not direct more crime films, since it is clear that he excelled in the two he made. His direction for Men from the Gutter is exemplary; he fully exploits urban landscapes and delivers an ample amount of tense moments.

The narrative is well executed; it does a superb job weaving the two cops' stories with the hitman from Thailand. The narrative quickly draws you in; things move briskly and build to an outside action set piece finale in which the floor of the building collapses in the middle of the shootout. That said, the stuntwork and action sequences are outstanding. Ultimately, Men from the Gutter is an exceptional crime film that effectively connects earlier films with those that follow the heroic bloodshed genre.

Men from the Gutter gets an exceptional release from Vinegar Syndrome Archive that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras. Highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer