The mixed Cantonese/Mandarin language track in Dolby Digital 2.0 sounds clear and crisp, especially in the way it presents Lo Tayu's magnificent score. Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS-ES options are also available for this soundtrack as well as a Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 dub.

The English subtitles are free of obvious grammar errors or spelling mistakes and are very easy to follow. Traditional and simplified Chinese subtitles are the other options.

Buyers have the option to settle for a bare bonus 1 disc edition of the film but also for the 2 disc special edition. In the always welcome move by Panorama, the crucial supplemental features are equipped with optional English subtitles (as well as a set of Chinese). The now standard Exclusive interview with director Johnnie To is shorter than usual (11 minutes, 56 seconds) but the always open To covers some worthwhile ground. He explains the expectations of his new work overseas, why Hong Kong therefore remains the best platform for his films, the value of the history of triads and character choices for Election 2. Wish it had been allowed to go on for 20 minutes more but the program is still welcome obviously.

Exclusive interviews with actors serves up sessions with supporting players Lam Suet (17 minutes, 18 seconds) and Gordon Lam (14 minutes, 16 seconds). Lam Suet thankfully elaborates on his background going from being a grip to now being a highly regarded supporting actor, a traumatic experience working on Running Out Of Time 2, deleted scenes from Election 2, the real life spoon eating incident he was actually involved in and the precious master-student relationship he has with director To.

Gordon Lam covers topics such as changes in the character of Kun between the films, what inspirations to draw upon in regards to that, his favourite scene, deleted material that ended up in the trailer and how he got hurt during the filming of an action scene. An enthusiastic Lam is a benefactor for this interview and I'm always amazed how various actors can dish out such balanced praise towards Johnnie To. No stock answers here. They draw upon individual experiences rather.

The making-of documentary (7 minutes, 1 second) contains interviews with Johnnie To (from the same session as the program above so there is some slight overlapping of content), Louis Koo and co-writer Yau Nai Hoi. A mature and quite somber piece, it concerns itself mostly with discussing where Hong Kong is now after the handover and how the themes of the film fits into that. The theatrical trailer, 3 TV spots and an animated Photo Gallery (17 stills) rounds off the disc. Note that the teaser trailer available as an easter egg on the Election dvd is not included here.

The 20 page colour booklet is attractive but low on info. Johnnie To's Director's Statement is a heartfelt confession of his impression of Hong Kong post 1997 and how it plays into the themes of the film. A plot synopsis and a triad poem is all that's left outside the stills that take up the bulk of the pages.