| Stanley Kwan's film finally got to look better than the but it's not without its problems. As part of their remastering of Hong Kong cinema classics, IVL presents the film in a anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Good news is that the print is spotless, sports good colours and sharpness. The colour scheme compared to prior dvd's appear more cold but seems suitable for the mood of the film. Bad news is that the top frame is noticeably cropped (see screen captures below), resulting in a handful scenes appearing very cramped. Slight grain can be seen throughout most of the film also but whether or not that's an authoring flaw or due to the original negative, I can't say.
There's a plethora of sound options available, which is really overkill for a dialogue driven movie like Rouge. IVL have received much criticism for being unable to properly sync up the mono tracks on other releases but for this one they seem to have gotten it right. Having said that, Rouge hardly is filled with effects. Alternating between the Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1 remix and the Cantonese mono, the former opens up the front stage slightly and features crisp sounding dialogue. When effects do hit, such as the fireworks scene, the added foley do distract and dialogue also is mixed much lower compared to the mono option.
During Anita Mui's introduction while singing opera, the mono track sounds incredibly muffled but it soon clears up and the presentation is very much acceptable. Slight distortion can be heard in the dialogue passages but personally, I prefer this over the remix. Cantonese DTS 5.1 and Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 are also included.
By comparing with Deltamac's subtitles (and also Megastar's original disc), it appears that IVL have created a new English translation for the film. Granted, the old one appeared quite solid in the grammar and structure department but the new one handles those aspects equally well, if not better. Regarding which one is the better translation...well, you'll have to ask a Cantonese speaker about that. Traditional and simplified Chinese subtitles are also included.
IVL have put together a small extras package as well, main one being the newly filmed interview with director Stanley Kwan (11 minutes, 53 seconds). Optional English subtitles are thankfully available. Kwan crams a lot of good information in this all too brief chat including revelations of the original director and cast for the film, main themes, sets and final casting. It's a very good program but one IVL easily could've expanded into something more substantial.
The remaining extras are 2 trailers (original theatrical and a newly created one that plays up the ghost angle just a little bit too much) and a 22-page photo gallery (a slideshow option also exists for this). Promotional trailers for A Better Better Tomorrow, Once Upon A Time In China and Swordsman are also included.
The packaging itself holds a few items. Housed in a digipack fold out case with different front and back cover art, inside you'll find two small sized 24-page photo books containing images from various Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung movies respectively. Rouge gets covered more extensively and this is a nice inclusion. Two bookmarks can also be found among the physical extras, reportedly containing words from Stanley Kwan and screenwriter Lillian Lee. |
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