Spoken language is Mandarin and the Dolby Digital 5.1 track presents dialogue mostly well (some passages are drowned out by music). The score is very enveloping when it hits also. A DTS-ES option for the Mandarin as well as a Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1 dub is also available.

The English subtitles are very well-written and translates even the most vital credits in addition to the title cards throughout. Traditional and simplified Chinese subtitles are also included.

Extras package starts on the first disc as an Cantonese audio commentary with director Stanley Kwan is offered up but sadly there are no subtitles available. Trailers for Drink Drank Drunk and Election can also be accessed. Viewers who opted for the Limited Edition gets a second disc of special features that does come with optional English subtitles.

The Exclusive Interviews section contains programs with director Stanley Kwan (22 minutes, 13 seconds) and actor Tony Leung Ka-Fai (14 minutes, 52 seconds). Kwan dissects characters which turns out to be more personal portrayals of his rather than copies from the novel, the reactions to Sammi Cheng's casting before, the reactions by audiences afterwards and 80s Hong Kong cinema compared to the conditions now, all in a generally informative way. Tony offers up good notes about his work, reminiscing about his prior collaboration with Kwan (Center Stage), how Mr. Cheng differs from the novel, his personal difficulties with the aging aspect of the character and his approach to working with Sammi.

Pre-production photos is an animated slide show (2 minutes, 28 seconds) covering the furniture collection at Shanghai Film Studios as used in the film, Kwan's script notes and location photos. Not terribly special but an unusual feature for a Hong Kong dvd. Another slide show (1 minute, 47 seconds) comes next, focusing on promotional materials such as poster designs and lobby cards. Looks nice although both these features could've been better with manual navigation and an option to zoom in.

The obligatory making-of (10 minutes) contains more philosophy discussions from character perspectives by the cast & crew and little else in terms of good info. Some raw footage from costume tests represents the sole standout here. Also available are 3 shorter edits of the same program, all 3 minutes at length respectively but there's seemingly no additional footage contained within.

Trailer section has both the Hong Kong and International trailer. Selling it to Hong Kong audiences meant taking more challenging routes as opposed to the very straightforward international spot without dialogue. It's essentially the same edit though. 2 TV spots rounds off the supplemental disc.

Also accompanying the Limited Edition box is a fully illustrated 40 page color booklet, featuring both Chinese and English information. The content goes over the traits of the book that was praised, Stanley Kwan provides a well-written Director's Statement and breakdowns of various elements of the film (including technical and his own impressions of Shanghai then compared to now). Since some of this behind the scenes info is not covered in the dvd programs, its inclusion here is welcome. The booklet concludes with informative biographies/filmographies for the cast & crew, even including William Cheung and author Wang Anyi. A small bottle of Florida Water perfume is also added to the Limited goodies. The packaging promises "An Essay On The Film By Sammi Cheng" but unless it's an item from the booklet that has not received an English translation, then it's a no-show.