You Shoot, I Shoot [HK Version]: Technical Notes

Technical Notes Technical Notes:
You Shoot, I Shoot [HK Version]
All Content Used With Permission.


After lying complete for quite some time, it took a few years before the dvd of the film found a distributor funnily enough. Kam & Ronson in association with Panasia Films Limited (a member of the Golden Harvest group who was the production company for the film) finally brought out a dvd in 2005, replicating most of the editions for Pang's films as it's very extras- and English language friendly.

The film is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.82:1 approximately. Free of wear, little stands out as truly good about detail and sharpness but at least on a smaller display you get yourself a sufficient looking transfer.

The Cantonese (with Japanese dialogue in a few scenes) Dolby Digital 2.0 track uses the frontstage for some fun channel separations at times but only a fair amount of it. Dialogue is clear sounding. A Mandarin Dolby Digital 2.0 dub is also included.

The English subtitles have a few slight errors but come off as strong otherwise. Traditional and simplified Chinese subtitles are also available.

Packing a lot of heat in the extras department that contains English subtitles for all that's needed, we're firstly offered two separate Cantonese language audio commentaries. Director/co-producer/co-writer Edmond Pang is joined by co-producer/co-writer Vincent Kok on the first track and the light and breezy tone creates an enjoyable chat. Kok prods new director Pang with some appropriate questions at times, concerning leadership on the set and how he worked with budget restraints. In one case, he even teaches Pang that some of the camera- and editing techniques created in post-production added to the already tight budget so best be careful what you want to accomplish. Going through casting, design choices, inspirations, cameos by other directors (including Wilson Yip) and anecdotes, the duo explains the nods to Austin Powers, Boogie Nights as well as giving us a nice insight into working in their industry. Best parts come during their friendly ripping into the actors and the way you work an audience in Hong Kong. An audience that usually arrives late so don't blow your wad during the first 15 minutes. Few gaps occur and good notes about shooting the long ending pops up at that time, including how Jim Chim boosted morale on the set.

Actors Eric Kot and Cheung Tat-Ming yack on the second track, setting a tone early where they will just pull out anecdotes and scream whenever they see something on screen. It's very much a boy's tone and not unlike two friends watching the flick. Not a good thing that and even though the odd nugget turns up such as actor Wong Yat-Fei (Shaolin Soccer) not liking Cheung Tat-Ming's acting or when particular accents are used, the funny duo from the film provides a seriously lackluster commentary. The guys reveal the director is making his second film so it's safe to say the track was recorded sometime in 2003.

Deleted scenes, complete with director's commentary (22 minutes, 33 seconds) presents a continuous reel of 15 mostly extended scenes, all introduced and given reason for cutting by director Pang. Almost nothing feels like it should've belonged but if any depth can be found, it is via more scenes with Eric Kot and his wife plus an entirely excised subplot concerning Mrs. Ma's (Miu Fei-Lam, the character that first hires Bart to shoot a murder) ill husband. An alternate ending is also included but it wouldn't have made sense with other scenes cut plus audiences wouldn't have had these characters still in mind anyway. Pang even shows he had the good sense to cut himself largely out of the movie.

Making Of "You Shoot, I Shoot" (21 minutes, 44 seconds) is actually specially produced for the dvd by the looks of it and presents a retrospective on the creation of the film. Key cast & crew are interviewed, talking about conception, design of the film (especially the apartment set we get a nice overview of), director Pang's insistence not to be known under his English name and the intent to make a movie with heart, not for money mainly. Best bits come from Pang himself who shares with us footage from his home action movies where he even edited in scenes from Chow Yun-Fat actioners and his short film Summer Exercise we get clips of as well. Cheung Tat-Ming's story about working with Jim Chim on stage also gets visual representation. A decent little look into a little film.

Music video for the original theme of course contains the silly but infectious song performed by leads Eric Kot and Cheung Tat-Ming, mostly involving movie clips but also some footage either cut or shot specifically as part of the promos. The amusing theatrical trailer uses English narration to promote the film in a tongue in cheek way ("Has more gunfights than Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and much, much more Chinese than Pearl Harbour!")

Cast and filmmaker profiles includes biographies of director/co-producer/co-writer Edmond Pang, co-producer/co-writer Vincent Kok and actors Eric Kot, Cheung Tat-Ming, Jim Chim and Higuchi Asaka. Thorough on all accounts except Kok's and Higuchi Asaka's entries. Bloopers (6 minutes, 48 seconds) is the usual flubbed lines extravaganza without importance but admittedly it is a fun sight of seeing stoic triad-actor Michael Chan, break into laughter.

4 pieces of DV Footage contains this type of footage from the film but is included in full here. To explain, the first (2 minutes, 26 seconds) is the masterpiece edit of Bart and Chuen's first killing together (it's almost seen in full in the film too). Second (1 minute, 54 second) is the vcd of Mrs. Ma's sexual encounter with Ken Wong's Ray, where she earns the "dead as a fish" status. Bart's first attempt at shooting and killing (1 minute, 19 second) comes next and finally a montage of the victims with the Snorri Cam attached to them is played out. The sequence where a lot of Pang's directing friends came out. Highly amusing extra except for the long running 4th selection.

Two booklets can be found amongst physical extras, one featuring the chapter list and a short note from Pang where he expresses gratitude to see the dvd out and the chance they have as filmmakers to utilize the format. A thicker 24 page booklet contains the always open and often serious Director's Statement from Pang, a list of the awards and festival entries for the film, the original first draft (in Chinese only), a bio of Pang (same as on the dvd) and assorted movie stills on the last pages.

-So Good... - Hong Kong DVD Movie Reviews (see my profile)
http://www.sogoodreviews.com



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