House Of Flying Daggers [HK Single Disc Version]: Technical Notes

Video:
Like Hero, this movie is beautifully photographed with striking use of color. Sadly, the DVD transfer doesn't capture it very well. Some scenes come across great, especially anything dominated by the color green. However, the picture on the whole is too bright and contrasts are severely blown out. Brightly-lit scenes such as the brothel sequence at the beginning of the movie look washed out. The entire film exhibits serious white crush, where details that should be visible in the brightest portions of the image are simply not encoded onto the disc at all. Perhaps some of the contrast manipulation may be an intentional stylistic choice, but certainly not to the extent that we see on disc. The result looks dupey and video-ish, as if the movie were shot on videotape by a camera operator who didn't know how to set his white balance.

The 2.35:1 anamorphically enhanced picture (the opening credits are windowboxed on all four sides of the frame) is otherwise fairly sharp without noticeable edge enhancement artifacts. Compression quality is only mediocre, with a significant amount of image shimmer in those fine details that are visible. Edko's DVD for Hero was also flawed and only rated so-so scores for picture quality, but this is a big step backwards even from that.

Sound:
Where the picture quality fails, the audio quality picks up the slack. The full bit-rate 1509 kb/s DTS 5.1 soundtrack has outstanding breadth and dimensionality. It's crisp, spacious, highly directional, and has clean, rocking bass. Surround effects fill the entire rear soundstage, including a center channel if you have ES matrixing enabled. The mix as a whole may not be as overwhelming as that for Hero, just as the movie itself is more restrained, but it's still a fantastic sonic experience.

A Dolby Digital 5.1 track is also available for those not DTS-capable, which is also fine though it doesn't blow your socks off quite the same way. If you have the equipment, go with the DTS.

Both audio selections contain the original Mandarin language soundtrack. No dubbing options are available. Optional English or Chinese subtitles have been provided. The English subs appear half-in and half-below the 2.35:1 picture, which may not bother the majority of viewers but is an annoyance for those front projection users who mask their screen to the wider ratio.

Extras:
Bonus features are nearly non-existent. We get a theatrical trailer, a photo gallery, and some filmographies (in English). That's the extent of it.

No ROM supplements have been included.

Final Thoughts:
A shoddy video transfer mars a notable foreign release. The disc is cheap, and I can recommend it for those interested in seeing the movie before it comes to cinemas (or who doubt it will hit theaters near them). Otherwise, I'd say hold out for a better edition later on. Starmax in Korea is scheduled to release their own DVD soon, which may hopefully use a different video transfer. If not, waiting for the inevitable Region 1 copy may be the best strategy.

On the 27 inch TV, the picture quality is very good but on the 47 inch screen, it is just about average. The print itself is almost flawless. There are very few imperfections but even that surprised me for a brand new film. The transfer itself lacks detail and isn't as clear as it should be on the big TV. There are also a few times when the picture looks too bright. These are relatively minor complaints. This doesn't look like a brand new Hollywood release, but it is good enough. The picture is good, just not what I was expecting from such a recent release.

There is a 5.1 Dolby Digital track and a DTS track. Both are in Mandarin. I found both mixes to be well done and they really put you in the center of the action. One scene in particular when Zhang Ziyi is playing the "Echo Game". Andy Lau hurls beans at an array of drums arranged in a circle. In the middle is Zhang Ziyi and she has to replicate the sounds with her sleeves while dancing. What starts as a bean at a time, eventually the whole bowl is hurled with beans hitting several drums. The rear speakers are used very well to make it sound like you are in the middle of all the drums. Overall, the mix is very well done and the surrounds are used to good effect.

The subtitles are very readable and are free of spelling and grammatical errors. In the very beginning they tend to go by very fast but I was able to follow them. They are timed well with the spoken dialogue and stay on the screen long enough to read once the movie begins.

There are few extras on this DVD. There are trailers, stills and talent profiles.