| Previously available on an Ocean Shores DVD that came with a full screen version, burned in subs and heavy edits, this Universe disc represents an almost uncut version of the film. They even went the distance to piece the movie together from different sources, which shows in the final transfer. The 1.85.1 framed transfer looks decent in terms of colours and sharpness but the uncut footage is not colour timed with the rest of the film. It's also a few notches brighter. On the other hand, it's more easy to spot the reinstated footage and I applaud Universe for this even if the end result is uneven. Print damage is heavier in the bad quality sections but otherwise it's fairly clean throughout.
The differences in versions are detailed here (not spoiler free). Just scroll down to the notes section.
Universe also saw fit to omit the 5.1 remix (a good thing!), leaving us with the fairly powerful mono track. It does its job more or less, dialogue is clear and Jonathan Wong's score comes off as atmospheric, even in mono. A Mandarin mono dub is also included.
The optional English subtitles has many spelling and grammar errors but for this movie, you have no problem piecing together the plot via a substandard subtitling job. Traditional and simplified Chinese subtitles are also included.
No extras and that's a shame, always like to have the trailer at least. |
Technical Notes:
