The 7 Grandmasters: Technical Notes

Technical Notes Technical Notes:
The 7 Grandmasters
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    by MVR1950


The DVD audio and video is extremely good for a non-Shaw non-Golden Harvest release and therefore well worth it.



    by Pat Rick


DVD: Tokyo Shock

Picture:This print is perfect, what else can I say. The image (letterbox 16x9) and sound is excellent. Let's just hope that Tokyo Shock is going to release others Kung Fu Classics like this one.




    by MP29124

The DVD has good picture has easy to read subtitles.



    by Kung Fu Cinema
    www.KungFuCinema.com



Distributor: Media Blasters

Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC

Length: 90 min (w/ English credits)

Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2.35:1) anamorphic

Audio Tracks: Cantonese, English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Extras: A two-page insert with informative liner notes by Linn Haynes and trailers for 7 Grandmasters, Zatoichi 26, Sure Death, Samurai Fiction, Kunoichi, Red Shadow, & Legend of the Wolf (as New Big Boss).

Notes: This print was acquired from Hong Kong-based distributor Mei Ah. It's in very good shape with excellent clarity and negligible degradation. Colors are good overall, but occasionally favor a bluish-green tint. There are two abrupt cuts near the end of scenes that appear as though a number of frames are missing. The original Cantonese and the English-dubbed audio tracks are acceptable. Removable English subtitles are newly translated and mostly match the English dubbing apart from being a little more informative.




    by Gary W. Tooze




On first viewing I was a little harsh on reviewing this title on DVD. I re-watched it a 2nd time and am able to clear up some of my previous points (with thanks to Linn Haynes). It is confirmed that the transfer was from a PAL source hence the "Ghosting" in the many of the images with movement (see first capture below). Although this becomes most apparent when doing screen captures for the review, it is far less noticeable on normal viewing.

I originally stated that it was ported from a Mei Ah laserdisc - as I saw their logo open the film and this practice is quite common in many Asian DVDs. I was incorrect - Mei Ah, who owns the rights to the film, just got the rights a year ago to all of Joseph Kuo's films and licensed it to Media Blasters. This release was made from an original film negative in Mei Ah and remastered by them. The only releases of this film prior to this one was three full screen releases (one subbed and two dubbed) and a semi-widescreen release from German that was slightly cut.

The colors still seem a little washed out to me with a greenish tinge, but I understand this was the original appearance of the film. I again saw very minor damage (dust, speckles etc.) which did not detract from the viewing experience. It is anamorphic with decent contrast and unusually sharp for a release of this genre and being this old. The subtitles are clean, bright and I didn't notice any errors at all even on 2nd viewing where I was scrutinizing. The subs are different than the English DUB and my Chinese speaking wife verified their accuracy with the audio. The Extras are not extensive with some trailers which are in very poor condition and Linn Haynes informative liner notes.
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