| This China Star dvd benefits from a solid 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer. With comic book characters so predominant throughout, colours need to have a sharpness and resonance. Thankfully, this is mostly the case for Master Q 2001. The bright colours of Master Q and Potato are well contrasted by the cold silvers and blues of Hong Kong; there is virtually no bleeding or graininess on the colours. Considering this is a couple of years old now, the quality of the print is still better than some of the newer Hong Kong releases.
Sound wise, Master Q 2001 benefits from a good 5.1 track and a quite impressive DTS track. The DTS track makes good use of the full sound system with much better use of rear speakers than I expected. The film has action sequences that breathe life into the DTS with crisp sounds of bullets and cars blasting out of the rear channels. The 5.1 track, though slightly inferior, is still better than average. The disc comes with Cantonese and Mandarin audio tracks.
The English subtitles are mostly error-free and show an improvement over older Hong Kong discs. Even in the grammatically bad lines there is a certain logic to them. Traditional Chinese subtitles are also included.
At first glance, China Star seem to have packed the disc with extras. Further examination, though, reveals that there's not much to be that joyous about. Firstly there's a Making Of short; lasting a mere 5 minutes, it skims over the film and briefly touches on the film's effects. It's saving grace is that it is subtitled which isn't something that can always be boasted by Hong Kong discs.
There's Cast, Crew and Author sections that are scant on detail and information, just making a slight mention of the careers and filmographies of Nicholas Tse, Cecilia Cheung, Herman Yau, Tsui Hark and Master Q's creator Alphonso Wong. The Synopsis regurgitates the details from the back of the DVD with little differences, while there's finally a trailer for the film itself. |
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