The two-disc special edition DVD set reviewed here is a Hong Kong release from Mei Ah Entertainment that has been encoded for All Region play. There is also a single disc Region 1 version that has been released in the U.S. by Tai Seng; this is not that disc.

The two discs are housed in a clear single-size keep case, which fits into a cardboard sleeve.

Video: The anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) presentation can best be described as a decent transfer; it's not very crisp or clean, but it's free of any digital problems.

Audio: Dolby 5.1 surround is used for both the original Cantonese soundtrack and a Mandarin dub. Both tracks are quite nice, playing into the whole action-movie joke without ignoring the dialogue. Removable subtitles are offered in English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese.

Extras: Disc one features a commentary from Pang, with optional English and Chinese subtitles. There are some long gaps in the conversation, but when he's talking, it's of interest, especially when the discussion leads to the politics of the movie. (Pang admits he is not making a point for or against adultery, but merely telling a silly story.)

Also on Disc One are trailers for "The Romancing Star," "The Romancing Star 2," and "Running On Karma." All three trailers are presented in both Cantonese and Mandarin; burned-in subtitles (in both Chinese and English) are included on the "Karma" trailer.

Disc Two opens with a Director's Statement from Pang. It's a two page chunk of text in which he discusses his intents for the film. (Both Chinese and English translations are presented.)

A thirty-minute making-of features the usual assortment of on-set interviews with cast and crew, although it does manage to go a bit more in-depth than you'd expect from a mere half-hour.

Deleted scenes and outtakes are of minor interest (no subtitles are available, so following along may be an issue). The deleted scenes offer very little, while the outtakes consist mainly of flubbed lines.

Storyboard comparisons of several scenes don't go into the detail such a feature usually provides - we only get a minute or two of each of the featured scenes, not enough to be of much value.

A music video (it does not tell the song's title in English) is better than usual, combining clips from the movie with footage of the studio recording session.

The film's trailer and TV spot, a photo gallery, and a "data bank" detailing character histories round out the disc.

Final Thoughts: If you're a fan of the movie, then this release is certain to please. But for anyone else, there's just not much to the movie to make this worth catching. Rent It for a few nice ideas and a fun appearance from Leung, but that's about it.

Regardless, the 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer looks very sharp and colourful with only few specks on the print. A nasty line does appear briefly in the scene where the men visits Tony Leung's character.

The Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1 track uses the surrounds very little but adds a lot of nice effects on the front stage. Dialogue is always clear sounding. A Mandarin 5.1 dub is also included.

The English subtitles has a few sloppy errors but on the whole seem like a well-done translation by Mei Ah. Considering the time post-production lasted (as you'll learn in the commentary), the subtitles should be considered excellent despite flaws. Traditional and simplified Chinese subtitles are also included.

On the first disc we also find an audio commentary with director/co-writer Edmond Pang, co-writer Patrick Kong and editor Wenders Li. Commentaries are slowly becoming more common special features on Hong Kong dvd's but what isn't common is the inclusion of English subtitles for the tracks. Mei Ah HAVE provided that for Men Suddenly In Black though (as well as traditional and simplified Chinese subtitles) and it was a pleasure to actually enjoy this track as a Westerner. Kong and Pang dominate heavily and discusses everything from how the project came together, the serious themes of the film and a wealth of production anecdotes.

The guys quickly sets the correct tone by expressing their appreciation for these kind of tracks and keeps things flowing with only a few small gaps of silence. Kong and Pang have good chemistry but does have a tendency to interrupt each other. That's a minor quibble and all throughout there are much informative subjects touched upon such as the movies behind the movie spoofs, what the Se7en credit sequence has to do with the plot of Men Suddenly In Black and Pang even points out scenes he's not happy with. There's much to enjoy here and the guys clearly had great fun while doing this commentary. The subtitles are more flawed than the feature but overall they relay the information by the filmmakers pretty well. Excellent initiative, Mei Ah!

Finishing off the first disc are trailers for The Romancing Star 1 & 2 (recently reissued in anamorphic transfers by Mei Ah) and the newest film from Johnnie To & Wai Ka-Fai, Running On Karma.

The 2nd disc, named 60 Minutes Special Mission holds the rest of the extras, starting with Director's Statement. This 2 screen essay by Pang briefly goes over how he misses the golden era of Hong Kong, mostly symbolized by the closure of the Tonnocchy Night Club (also a plot point in the film). He himself wasn't around for that era and he writes that Men Suddenly In Black is to him, in part, a memorial to the golden age of Hong Kong. A bit of a downer but it proves there lies serious thoughts behind what could be considered a whacky film.

The making of lasts 22 minutes and 8 seconds, comes with optional English subtitles (in addition to traditional and simplified Chinese ones) but is very low on good information. The usual cast & crew interviews appear but only a few notes by Pang and about Pang can be considered informative. The director talks about Hong Kong's bad economy as being a theme and how his mindset were during the shooting in regards to the merging of genres but that's about it. Big thanks to Mei Ah for providing subtitles but it's still program you'll probably only watch once.

The Deleted Scenes section disappointingly has no subtitles whatsoever so these 5 clips are hard to judge in terms of quality content. As far as I could gather though, 4 of them are extended scenes.

To access the Outtakes Footage you have to play a little game that involves choosing, in the right order, the places the men visits in the movie. Not too difficult but the reward is 7 minutes of actors flubbing their lines. Even if subtitles had been included, I doubt it would be funny.

Storyboard Comparisons (2 minutes, 14 seconds) showcases 3 scenes and how the filmed version compares to the storyboards. I have never been too keen on this kind of feature but it does nicely show the differences between what's drawn and what ended up being shot. That a Hong Kong movie actually used storyboards is a revolution in itself.

Next are some standard extras; the theatrical trailer and a TV-spot, a 30 page photo gallery that is dull except it features a few different poster designs for the movie and a music video by a band I'm not familiar with. It mostly consists of movie clips intercut with the band recording the song in the studio. Hong Kong always seems to make crappy videos and this is no exception. The Data Bank has the plot synopsis and a cast & crew listing. Select any of the male actors and you'll find a bio for the character they play. A feature that Mei Ah seem to have adopted recently. Finally, a phone card comes with this 2 disc set. Fun.

Mei Ah have taken a great step forward in terms of supplements by subtitling the audio commentary but it sadly remains the only real informative extra in this set. I applaud them for what they have done and let's hope they can do more. If you care about these things I suggest you write a polite email thanking Mei Ah for getting the Western market a chance to almost fully understand the extras features. Official website is www.meiah.com.

The disc includes Cantonese and Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks. Shot with sync sound primarily in Cantonese, the dialogue is clear with ambient effects and music mixed well together. Since this a simple drama-comedy, don't expect an action-packed sonic experience, but rather a more subtle use of surrounds for atmosphere and tension. The score is quite effective and is amongst the best I've heard in recent years from Hong Kong.

The English subtitles are adequate for the most part and does a fair job of translating the dialogue and getting some the Hong Kong style of humour across. While obviously some of the local colloquialisms will be missed, that and the occasional grammatical errors don't detract from what is a very funny movie.

Released in both single disc and 2-Disc formats, this fine film gets a decent amount of extras on both editions. The first disc in the box set and the single release are identical, so aside from trailers for The Romancing Star 1 & 2 and Running on Karma, the real extra is the filmmaker's audio commentary featuring director-scriptwriter Edmond Pang Ho Cheung, co-writer Patrick Kong, and editor Wenders Li. What makes this a real treat and certainly the first time I've encountered it, is that Mei Ah has gone the extra mile and subtitled the entire Cantonese conversation track in English! Screen-specific and filled with anecdotes, the three have an easy chemistry and clearly enjoyed working with each other. They are very complementary to the many performers and crew they worked with and reveal details behind the production from choice of locations to the use of Adam Cheng's famous theme song from Romance of the Book and Sword to set the tone for a scene. They mention the influence Michael Mann's Heat on the feel they were reaching for and hint at scenes that were cut from the longer version of the original script.

The second disc of extras, subtitled as 60 Minutes Special Mission is presented fullscreen and is only partially subtitled in English.

The Director's Statement is bravely political (especially considering Hong Kong's current climate) and reveals that the film's underlying bleakness has more to do with the filmmaker himself rather than say, any undue box office influence from Infernal Affairs. For Pang, the closure of the Tonnocchy Night Club meant not only the end of the golden age for the male characters in the film, but also symbolized the end of Hong Kong's golden era as a free economic and creative powerhouse since the handover to China. A surprisingly somber thought for what is typically considered as comedic escapist fare.

The making-of-featurette is about 22 minutes long and looks like it was made for television. Quick interviews with the cast and crew reveal details behind the script and even background information for the characters, especially for the women in the film. While the wives get quite a bit of screen time, little is known about who they are and where they came from, and here you get a chance to see more of the wonderful actresses and what they thought about their roles. While clearly a promotional piece, it's shot well and much of the on-location footage is quite interesting and is definitely worth a look.

Okay, now the deleted scenes are a real disappointment. Not only are the 5 selections not subtitled, but they're all very minor and are little more than extended scene bits. They're a little funny if you understand Cantonese, but nowhere to be found are the alternate takes and whole sequences that were dropped from the finished cut as mentioned in the commentary track. A missed opportunity.

The Outtakes Footage selection was a little confusing at first, but basically you have to play a game set up as series of 'missions' that involves picking in the proper order all the places that the men visit in the film. Not too hard, and it's amusing the first time, but it's kind of annoying if you have to do it over and over again. The outtakes themselves are only 7 minutes long and consist of flubbed lines and laughing performers. Unremarkable, and also not subtitled.

The Storyboard Comparisons shows clips from 3 scenes simultaneously with their storyboards and displays the differences between the two. Not too exciting.

Also included is the trailer, which is always nice to have and a quickie TV spot.

The Photo Gallery is self-explanatory and contains 30 images from the production including performers, location shots and several alternate poster designs and the film logo.

MTV is apparently a music video that was made for the film. At 3 minutes long, it splices in footage from the film with (I assume) a four member band singing the theme song in a recording studio. It's not subtitled, but the Cantonese lyrics are amusing and the guys even sing the female parts.

Data Bank has the typical plot synopsis and a short list of the cast and crew. If you click on any of the four male leads however, you will get a mini bio for the character they play rather than for the performer. Cute.

If you enjoyed the movie as much as I did, then the second bonus disc is almost worth the price, but if you decide to skip it and save a few bucks then you aren't really missing anything of import either.