The Big Heat: Hong Kong Cinema Classics – Shout! Factory (UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1988
Directors: Johnnie To, Andrew Kam
Writer: Gordon Chan
Cast: Waise Lee, Joey Wong, Matthew Wong, Phillip Kwok Chun-Fung, Kirk Wong

Release Date: February 10th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 97 Minutes 2 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10 Dolby Vision
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $39.99

"Inspector Waipong Wong has to put his life and resignation from the Hong Kong Police Department on hold to investigate his former partner's mysterious murder. What he and his crack team of three other cops uncover is a plot far more sinister than they originally anticipated." - synopsis provided by the distributor

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

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

The Big Heat comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 64.1 GB

Feature: 63.8 GB

This is another exemplary restoration; flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

The Big Heat comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40.7 GB

Feature: 27.6 GB

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

Audio: 5/5 (Both Audio Tracks)

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; dialogue 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 author and film critic David West.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 41 seconds, DTS-HD mono Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with film critic James Mudge titled The Heat Is On (15 minutes 6 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), an interview with academic Gilbert Po (22 minutes 23 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), an interview with actor Waise Lee titled Big Shot! (17 minutes 58 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with David West.

Other extras include a slipcover.

Summary:

Johnnie To co-directed The Big Heat. His other notable films include All About Ah-Long, Running Out of Time, The Mission, Fulltime Killer, PTU, Breaking News, Thrown Down, Election, Election 2, and Exiled.

An investigator postpones his retirement after his former partner's murder. He forms a team that looks into and brings to justice his former partner’s killer. His investigation uncovers that those responsible currently serve on the police force, and they will do anything they can to stop him from exposing them.

Although most people were introduced to the cinema of Johnnie To via his crime films from the later 1990s onward, my introduction was his forays into melodrama (All About Ah-Long), fantasy (The Heroic Trio), and martial arts (The Mad Monk). Looking back on that selection of films and getting to know more of Johnnie To’s filmography, it's clear how diverse of a filmmaker he is. This brings me to The Beat Heat, a film made during the height of the heroic bloodshed film cycle.

While The Big Heat contains elements typical of heroic bloodshed films, it does not fully belong to this genre. This distinction is particularly evident in its portrayal of violence, which adopts a more realistic style, contrasting with the stylized carnage characteristic of heroic bloodshed films. That said, it is intriguing seeing how Johnnie To's approach to the crime film genre greatly differs almost a decade before he turned it on its head.

Hong Kong cinema of the 1980s was driven by its stars, and when it comes to The Big Heat’s cast, it takes the opposite approach. Waise Lee (A Better Tomorrow) is cast in the role of the protagonist, Inspector Waipong Wong, a character who's ready to walk away from law enforcement when he’s first introduced. Known for mostly portraying villains, he delivers a solid performance in the role of the hero.

The most notable cast member is Joey Wong (City Hunter); she portrays a nurse who becomes involved with a cop. Her character sporadically pops up and it feels like she was brought in as a star in a cameo role to add some name recognition. Another performance of note is Phillip Kwok Chun-Fung (Hard Boiled), who portrays a detective that lives on the edge. He was also one of The Big Heat’s action choreographers.

Although Johnnie To is the credited director, he took over for Andrew Kam, who was fired by Tsui Hark, a hands-on producer who often clashed with his directors. That said, The Big Heat is more of a Tsui Hark film than a Johnnie To, as it bears more of the former's hallmarks. The narrative unfolds at a swift pace, effectively balancing exposition with action sequences. Regarding the latter, the action scenes are outstanding, and The Big Heat reserves its finest moments for a blood-soaked revenge finale. Ultimately, The Big Heat is a solid action film that fans of gun fu should thoroughly enjoy.

Shout! Factory gives The Big Heat 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