Eastern Condors [Dutch Version]: Technical Notes

Extras: There are several interviews with Sammo Hung. The first (9 min) can be found on other HKL releases and covers his childhood, school days and how he got into action movies. The second (17 min) is specific to Eastern Condors and covers the film's change in tone, his diet and weight loss, the style of full contact choreography, and a nasty accident that happened to Chin Kar-lok during the production. Both interviews are very enjoyable. Sammo’s English is very impressive as he recalls his thoughts, tells a few stories and even cracks a few jokes. There is also a very detailed biography (22 min) with narration and animation that is separated into three sections covering Sammo's career starting Peking opera training and concluding with Heart of the Dragon. Joyce Godenzi also receives a similar, but less detailed biography (4 min). extras are rounded out with a collection of trailers for Eastern Condors and other HKL releases. This is not one of the more feature-laden discs from HLK but the Sammo interviews and biography are welcome additions.

Notes: An excellent, restored and anamorphic transfer does great justice to the luscious greens and browns of the jungle. It's marred only by the brief inclusion of some poor-quality stock footage. Both 5.1 Dolby language tracks are quite good, however the English dub and especially Lam Ching-ying’s character sound relatively subdued. The rear speakers are not always in use but when they are, they offer some decent jungle effects. The subtitles do show some discrepancies from the English dub but not to the detriment to the film.