HK: Donnie Yen's Flash Point on Blu-Ray [Text View]

mcgarnagle

11-03-07, 09:40 PM

yup....local companies have been testing the waters with BD in HK. Infernal affairs got released last year, plus some of the local artists are releasing their concert videos on BD as well. In fact you can download some trailers off the HK PSN store if you make an account.

Donnie Eldridge

11-03-07, 09:42 PM

Excellent news. I can't wait !!!! :D

MySassyGirl

11-03-07, 10:23 PM

Very happy to see asian movies going for blu-ray exclusive!!! I didn't like this movie much so I'm going to pass. I hope they decide to release some classic asian movies.

Here's the trailer of the movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aesZe4NFQE0

ryoohki

11-03-07, 10:38 PM

Whoa they are Crazy on Audio Format

Cantonese : PCM 7.1, DTS HD MA 7.1, DD 6.1ex, DTS 6.1ES
Mandarin : DD 6.1ex

Dahl77

11-04-07, 02:30 AM

The movie has one of the best fight scenes I have ever seen.

lgans316

11-04-07, 04:15 AM

Link to the "Add to Cart" page please ?

Liersi

11-04-07, 06:23 AM

Oh nice, Deltamac would be a great addition to HDM. Hope this sells reasonably well and they keep going. I'm gonna be so very, very broke when HK starts releasing more movies. Especially the classics, may have to turn to a life of crime to support the addiction. Just the thought of Fortune Star putting all their classic HD masters on HDM makes me weak at the knee.

Flash Point's a cool little noir. Dramatically not quite as satisfying as SPL, but the fights are incredible. Everyone does martial arts in movies these days, but few are really good and even fewer innovate. There isn't much of it in this crime thriller, but what's on display is no less than jaw-dropping, balls-to-the-wall fisticuffs that make most mainstream MA look like granny-brawls. Since SPL, this team has moved so far ahead of the curve it's not even funny.

gubarenko

11-04-07, 08:08 AM

affairs were region free, hope this one will too...

Rathbone

11-04-07, 12:08 PM

Deltamac belongs to Fox in some way so it's obvious they release Blurays only.

Stevie76

11-04-07, 02:03 PM

I really need a way to crack the region code in my PS3 so I can watch all those coming HK movies on Blu-Ray :)

JAC6

11-04-07, 03:08 PM

Nice. Infernal Affairs was a pretty good Blu-Ray disc and I hope this one meets or exceeds that first one. (I believe this is only the second HK Blu-Ray, but someone let me know if I'm wrong.) How about: The Mission, Running Out of Time, SPL, Election, Exiled, etc., next?

TuenMuner

11-04-07, 03:25 PM

I believe this is only the second HK Blu-Ray, but someone let me know if I'm wrong.

One of the Sammi Cheng's concert will be out on Blu-Ray later on.

Sgt_Strider

11-04-07, 06:49 PM

I really need a way to crack the region code in my PS3 so I can watch all those coming HK movies on Blu-Ray :)

I thought these movies aren't region-coded? Will North American PS3s be able to watch it?

dalamchops

11-04-07, 07:02 PM

REGION A, you can't even look at the 1st post?

dai

11-04-07, 08:22 PM

One of the Sammi Cheng's concert will be out on Blu-Ray later on.

Any idea when?

Also, would it be her latest (Show Mi) concert or one of her older ones?

TuenMuner

11-04-07, 08:33 PM

Any idea when?

Also, would it be her latest (comeback) concert or one of her older ones?

I believe that is the Show Mi 2007 concert, but I don't know when it is coming out. The 720p trailer is available in the HK PS Store.

Amiable-Akuma

11-04-07, 08:47 PM

I rarely, if ever, order from or know much about the sites listed so...could somebody PLEASE review these sites and figure out which is offering the best price w/shipping for this title? Then make a recommendation....

I want to buy/order this title ASAP but I'd like to here such a suggestion first. I care more about costs than whether a site is slightly less shady than another as well...

Capek

11-04-07, 09:04 PM

Yesasia is great. I've bought tons of stuff from them. I can't speak to the other two sites, or which site has the best price on this title, but yesasia is a totally reliable site.

TuenMuner

11-04-07, 09:05 PM

I usually order from yesasia for Canto-Pop/J-Pop CDs. They are far from being the cheapest, but their shipping is very fast and most importantly: They are custom tax-free.

nyg

11-04-07, 09:23 PM

I'm interested but I think I'll wait for the reviews first. The Infernal Affairs BD didn't impress me much PQ wise.

jkcheng122

11-04-07, 11:45 PM

I'm interested but I think I'll wait for the reviews first. The Infernal Affairs BD didn't impress me much PQ wise.

it was still significantly better than the DVD and the audio was impressive as well. i'd prob blind buy Flashpoint just to make sure there are more titles coming from HK. I want Hero, Banquet, and the rest of the IA series for starters.

d3code

11-05-07, 07:42 AM

i want Iron money in high definition. now that would be awesome :)

Liersi

11-05-07, 09:57 AM

I can vouch for all 3 of the sites linked in the OP. YesAsia has warehouses in the states while the others ship from HK. Personally I'd go with DDD or buyoyo (DDD has a better website, yoyo's interface has horrible speed and useability). You're guaranteed prompt shipment upon release and great CS from Johnny at DDD. He's been a fave with the asian movie crowd for many years and for good reason.

private Angus

11-05-07, 09:59 AM

any experiences with DDDHouse.com yet ???????

Donnie Eldridge

11-05-07, 10:05 AM

any experiences with DDDHouse.com yet ???????

They very reliable. I use them all the time and have never encountered an issue with them.

private Angus

11-05-07, 10:11 AM

THANKS....how long is the shipping time ?

Donnie Eldridge

11-05-07, 10:13 AM

Normally 5-6 days tops.

MySassyGirl

11-05-07, 10:21 AM

Donnie Eldridge

11-05-07, 10:52 AM

jkcheng122

11-05-07, 11:06 AM

I usually order from yesasia for Canto-Pop/J-Pop CDs. They are far from being the cheapest, but their shipping is very fast and most importantly: They are custom tax-free.

if you check the prices at places like DDDHouse, it sure seems the custom tax is already included in the price. DDDHouse's Flash Point is cheaper after shipping than Yesasia's price with free shipping. judging by my previous experiences with Yesasia's free shipping, i'd get my blu-ray at about the same time as if i imported from DDDHouse. i've shopped at both places and both took about a week for my item to arrive in the mail.

jkcheng122

11-05-07, 11:09 AM

I can vouch for yesasia after spending several thousand a year at their site.... They have great customer support as well.

Now, we need a buy 1 get 1 free HK blu-ray movies :)

And yes, give me Hero in Blu-Ray with english subtitle please :)

there are only 2 HK BR movies, i dont think we're quite at BOGO deals yet. :D

i just hope if Hero is released here by Sony we'd get the uncut Director's cut version with traditional chinese subs included on disc. the arrows scene and the Zhang Zi Yi/Maggie Cheung fight will sound amazing with lossless audio.

parallax1

11-06-07, 03:15 AM

I'm interested but I think I'll wait for the reviews first. The Infernal Affairs BD didn't impress me much PQ wise.

Wow...compared to what? I was really blown away with the transfer and audio. Of course I'm only watching on a 60A3000.....;)

wongcfu

11-10-07, 04:22 PM

Flash Point BD is out! got some pics from a forum:)

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd90/wongcfu/01-1.jpg

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd90/wongcfu/02-1.jpg

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd90/wongcfu/03-1.jpg

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd90/wongcfu/04-1.jpg

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd90/wongcfu/05-1.jpg

gubarenko

11-10-07, 04:47 PM

any info on region code?

wongcfu

11-10-07, 05:06 PM

any info on region code?

It's got region A on the back of the case, but I'm not sure if its really region locked or not:confused:

Donnie Eldridge

11-10-07, 07:16 PM

Looks very nice indeed. :)

joeblow

11-10-07, 08:16 PM

Looks like my kind of film; thanks for the info. My favorite Donnie Yen movie is Iron Monkey 2. Any word on that one? And what is SPL?

TuenMuner

11-10-07, 08:49 PM

And what is SPL?

Sha Po Lang

AKA Kill Zone

xradman

11-11-07, 02:42 PM

That looks awesome. Just ordered from DDDHouse.

Kilian.ca

11-11-07, 05:10 PM

Relieved to see this disc doesn't refer to Chinese Mandarin and Chinese Cantonese subtitles!

I'm off to HK this week: this one is on my shopping list!

Oh dear, this film is also released in VCD!

dalamchops

11-11-07, 05:44 PM

love the audio options

TuenMuner

11-11-07, 06:08 PM

Oh dear, this film is also released in VCD!

Like I said in another thread, VCD is still a very popular format in many Asian countries.

Kilian.ca

11-11-07, 07:32 PM

Yes I know it's still popular out there and that's an even bigger problem for HDM to catch on than in the west if people are satisfied with VCD quality.

mcgarnagle

11-11-07, 08:00 PM

Nice to see local HK studios releasing hidef media this early in the game.

However, the local pricing is a bit steep.....it retails for $239 HKD. Rataouille by comparison is only $230. Not sure how many sales they will get by pricing above Hollywood releases.

When DVD's were first released by the local HK companies they were general 30-40% cheaper than Hollywood releases, and generally without any extras whatsoever. So it will be interesting to see how this new strategy plays out.

Note: Theres also a concert release from a local popstar about to be released. The preview trailer can be downloaded from the HK Playstation network.

lllllllxlllllllx

11-11-07, 08:31 PM

TuenMuner

11-11-07, 08:45 PM

Anychance you know who is the local pop star?

Check out post #20.

lgans316

11-11-07, 08:57 PM

Is the movie on BD-25 or BD-50 ?

Arpeggi

11-11-07, 09:09 PM

I would like to vouch for buyoyo.com. Great site and fast shipping (within a week)

xradman

11-11-07, 10:38 PM

Is the movie on BD-25 or BD-50 ?

The movie is very short, only 87 minutes. Even at near maximum BD bitrates (25GB should allow almost 40Mbps for 87 minutes), it should fit comfortably in BD-25. Only reason to go with BD-50 would be if there were tons of extra features.

jyzz

11-12-07, 01:49 PM

or tons of large audio track files to fit in perhaps?

jkcheng122

11-12-07, 01:58 PM

or tons of large audio track files to fit in perhaps?

won't see any language tracks beyond cantonese and mandarin on HK releases.

xradman

11-12-07, 02:39 PM

or tons of large audio track files to fit in perhaps?

You can't fit in tons of audio track without running up the total against the bitrate limit. For some strange reason, every audio track takes it's share of bandwidth whether it's selected or not. So if you had 6 lossless PCM track each taking up 6Mbps, there would not be any bandwidth left for the video.

So for short film such as this under 90 minutes, there are very few instance where you would need anything more than BD-25 (couple of instances in which BD-50 was used for short films were when they had to encode the movie twice for pseudo PiP picture ala Crank and Descent).

Brajesh

11-13-07, 12:13 AM

How is the movie? Before this thread, I'd never heard of it.

Liersi

11-13-07, 02:36 AM

It's a stylishly shot, moody noir about a cop who 'gets the job done' but is constantly in conflict with the authorities for his use of excessive force. When he goes up against a gang led by three ultra violent brothers (with a demented mother who still thinks they're angels!), things quickly spin out of control and good guys start dying in droves. Naturally, all of this is just an excuse to justify more excessive force from our main man as he takes on brother after brother in some epic brawls and shootouts.

THE reason to watch is the gun 'n fu. Without that the movie is mediocre, as the drama is underdeveloped. Bad cop, bad robbers, but good sons with loving mothers...all a bit too shallow and obvious. It suffers from not having all that much action in the first hour, which it only partly makes up for in style. What follows though is a tour de force with innovative martial arts choreography that is heavily inspired by mixed martial arts fighting. Some good gunplay too. If you dig that it's good stuff.

Joppers

11-13-07, 07:19 AM

Is it region free though?

Donnie Eldridge

11-13-07, 09:26 AM

Is it region free though?

It's region A.

highdef_junkie

11-13-07, 04:33 PM

so will it play in my bdp-s300?

Donnie Eldridge

11-13-07, 05:10 PM

so will it play in my bdp-s300?

Absolutely. :)

clear31

11-13-07, 10:38 PM

anyone get this yet?? im considering ordering it from xploited

Blasst

11-14-07, 01:17 AM

I'll have it Friday.

Tony is the man!

Amiable-Akuma

11-14-07, 07:28 AM

^^^Make sure you report back to us here, Blasst. This is one of my most wanted titles. Love Asian/anime.

jkcheng122

11-14-07, 10:41 AM

hoping to get my copy sometime this week, ordered last week from dddhouse.

Blasst

11-16-07, 08:49 PM

Got it from Xploited today. The usual great service from Tony and crew.
I hope to take a look later tonight at this title.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/14f051ff.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/713ddac7.jpg

dalamchops

11-16-07, 09:07 PM

in case you're wondering what the sticker says...

"When you purchase this Blu Ray Disc Before or on Dec 30th, keep receipt and UPC and you can enter a questionnaire at *site* The fastest to answer the most questions correctly will win a onkyo amp price $6000 HK ($750-800US)

Blasst

11-16-07, 09:22 PM

Yes, I was wondering what it said.:D

I have a friend from China that speaks Cantonese, but she was not around today to do the honors.

MySassyGirl

11-16-07, 10:13 PM

I believe it says "if you like movies from Asia, then Blu-Ray is the only way to go" :)

clear31

11-16-07, 11:35 PM

I watched it tonight after receiving it from Xploited and have to say I was very surprised. It started off a bit slow but it definitely kicks in sooner or later. Donnie Yen is a great talent and I hope to see more of him possibly stateside eventually.

The film looks very good and the sound is superb. Think the price might turn away some people but I enjoyed it.

NLN987S

11-17-07, 09:53 PM

'Got my copy from Xploited yesterday and watched it tonight.

This movie is awesome and 7.1 LPCM rocks!! The movie is loud too - I have to turn down the volume a bit on my AVR.

This is a good movie to own if you're into action and martial arts movies. :D

Blasst

11-18-07, 12:31 AM

I finally got a chance to watch this tonight.

It looks great!!

As others have said it could use more plot development, but the action is fantastic!

Great production values, choreography, etc, down the line.

We need to get Clarence or Cliff to do justice for the screen shots.

What I see is better than my screen shots. We all know the usual points on screenshots.

I wish "Hardboiled" on the PS3 game could have looked this great. Not even a contest.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/c522c94d.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/9761af92.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/6c663549.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/f084a006.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/d2aa227b.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/b453996c.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/24b0f83e.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/a2393677.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/db879f97.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/bae9ecef.jpg

Blasst

11-18-07, 12:41 AM

A few more shots.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/4f6f3e47.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/83d596c8.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/50ecdffb.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/ca3498f6.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/9b3601c0.jpg

Liersi

11-18-07, 04:47 AM

Great disc, saw some EE in the outdoor shots toward the end but not elsewhere. No problem. Looks better than IA to give a reference. Sounds wicked, too. Buy this disc if you like the film, send Deltamac the message in cash.

WE WANT MORE. Oh yeah.

SneakerPimp

11-19-07, 03:13 PM

Some full screen shots: http://forum.cinefacts.de/showpost.php?p=5083301&postcount=21

SneakerPimp

11-19-07, 05:33 PM

This thread could use a bit more from CRT..

...

This doesn't look like Flash Point ;)

Donnie Eldridge

11-19-07, 05:34 PM

This doesn't look like Flash Point ;)

+1

mp20748

11-19-07, 05:39 PM

This doesn't look like Flash Point ;)

Oops wrong thread - sorry..:o

cyan

11-20-07, 12:15 AM

Got my copy today and watched it tonight...and will agree with most of the above...it looks pretty good, but the movie is excellent. I think I liked SPL a little better, but this was was darn close.

The fight with Donnie and Yu Xing was pretty awesome, particularly the suplex Yen pulls off in the middle of it.

The subs, while there, are not always grammatically perfect...my only beef with the disc, other than the packaging.

Kroenen

11-20-07, 12:40 AM

Nice screen caps!

I've never seen this film, but based on everyone's comments I just placed an order at Xploited.

bplewis24

11-20-07, 02:10 AM

Donnie Yen is a great talent and I hope to see more of him possibly stateside eventually.

Donnie Yen is my absolute favorite martial artist. Whatever it's called.

Brandon

Blasst

11-20-07, 01:39 PM

Hopefully more people will discover other countries movies that are well done, and we can have more HD content.

Lots of great titles from overseas. I had to watch this one again...

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/b5e57569.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/f59b91ec.jpg

TuenMuner

11-24-07, 05:56 PM

I just watched the whole thing today, both the transfer and the soundtrack are excellent.

Hyabusha

11-24-07, 06:03 PM

Can you show some fighting shots?

Thx.

MySassyGirl

11-24-07, 10:21 PM

Is it me, but Donnie's hand holding the gun looks so fake..manequin look?

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/f59b91ec.jpg

Blasst

11-25-07, 01:20 AM

In that shot of his hand, I thought the same thing.
Its just the way the light is hitting his hand.

Blasst

11-25-07, 01:41 AM

Can you show some fighting shots?

Thx.

You would enjoy it better watching it!;) Top notch fight scenes.

A couple of the fighting scenes made me wince, watching it the first time. Great flick.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/9aa306d9.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/f827e4fa.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/2963cc7a.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/35ee2d28.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/5498794e.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/7071edc3.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/19f022db.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/0e1ed1cf.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/3e95cc80.jpg

joekun

11-25-07, 02:42 AM

Looking for opinions, I didn't like SPL, should I steer clear of this movie? I like Donnie a lot.

I didn't really think that SPL had a lot of "action" more like death scenes and that didn't really appeal to me. That's the best brief explanation I can give. Anyway, I'm interested in "Flash Point", but don't want to waste money if it's not for me.

SneakerPimp

11-25-07, 04:13 AM

Looking for opinions, I didn't like SPL, should I steer clear of this movie? I like Donnie a lot.If you like Donnie, go for it. There is so much Donnie posing going on, the movie should have rather been called The Donnie Yen Show. ;)

xradman

11-28-07, 09:19 AM

I finally got to see this last night. This is a reference quality disc in PQ and AQ. The sound even in 1.5 MBps dts core 7.1 (out of dts HD MA) was incredible. The martial arts action is first rate. Deltamac really did a great job putting this together. The only downside is that the extras were in SD only and Chinese commentary on the DVD wasn't ported over. Not a big deal since I don't speak any Chinese. Before anyone asks, the subtitles are located below the picture.

Donnie Eldridge

11-28-07, 09:34 AM

If you like Donnie, go for it. There is so much Donnie posing going on, the movie should have rather been called The Donnie Yen Show. ;)

+1

I rolled my eyes the first time I saw the beach scene....oh brother.

Kroenen

11-28-07, 09:48 AM

I finally got to see this last night. This is a reference quality disc in PQ and AQ. The sound even in 1.5 MBps dts core 7.1 (out of dts HD MA) was incredible.

I was finally able to watch this yesterday and I agree about the PQ and AQ.

I can hear the MA track and it is without a doubt the hottest MA mix that I have heard yet.

As for the PQ there were many scenes that exhibited that "3D pop" that HD is known for. IMO the PQ is easily a 4.5 out of 5 and the AQ a perfect 5.

Before anyone asks, the subtitles are located below the picture.

That was a disappointment.

joekun

11-28-07, 11:02 AM

If you like Donnie, go for it. There is so much Donnie posing going on, the movie should have rather been called The Donnie Yen Show. ;)
When I said I like Donnie, I didn't mean in that way :eek:

Hyabusha

11-28-07, 11:24 AM

You would enjoy it better watching it!;) Top notch fight scenes.

A couple of the fighting scenes made me wince, watching it the first time. Great flick.

Nice, yea I need to watch this one. :)

Blasst

11-29-07, 12:39 AM

Nice, yea I need to watch this one. :)

Watch closely.;)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/ab58e194.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/9ed38180.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/e7ef5845.jpg

Hyabusha

11-29-07, 08:56 AM

Damn!! :d

JAC6

12-09-07, 08:12 PM

Watched this last night and it is an excellent disc. Video and audio quality are good and the subtitles are also quite good, with only a few errors. This is about as good as I expect a HK movie can look, with the exception of a few special effects (i.e., the explosion) which looks a bit crude, a problem with the source not the transfer. I'm hoping the Blu-Ray sales figures are enough to justify some more HK releases.

Josh Z

12-10-07, 01:17 PM

Watched this last night and it is an excellent disc. Video and audio quality are good and the subtitles are also quite good, with only a few errors.

You must be joking about the subtitles. I finally watched the disc this weekend, and the English translation is horrible. "All our lifes are on the line. This uniform is not for looks only!" The terrible subtitles make the plot nearly incoherent. Fortunately, the movie has next to no plot. :)

rover2002

12-10-07, 01:29 PM

JAC6

12-10-07, 01:58 PM

You must be joking about the subtitles. I finally watched the disc this weekend, and the English translation is horrible. "All our lifes are on the line. This uniform is not for looks only!" The terrible subtitles make the plot nearly incoherent. Fortunately, the movie has next to no plot. :)

Subtitles are a relative measure. There have been HK DVDs that I haven't even been able to follow due to misspellings and translation/grammar issues that make them incomprehensible. With this movie, there were relatively few misspellings and I was able to follow what little plot there was.

Blasst

12-10-07, 08:16 PM

You must be joking about the subtitles. I finally watched the disc this weekend, and the English translation is horrible. "All our lifes are on the line. This uniform is not for looks only!" The terrible subtitles make the plot nearly incoherent. Fortunately, the movie has next to no plot. :)

Come on Josh, you can't just talk about the subtitles, without telling us your thoughts on the video and audio.....cranky member. ;)

No doubt there are errors in the translation, yet I think many will still enjoy this movie, great video, and audio. Top notch fighting scenes, good looking women to look at......http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/Polardoor/797a1c70.jpg

MySassyGirl

12-11-07, 01:14 AM

Bing Bing is a babe - she's one of the hottest Asian chick that I like :)

TuenMuner

12-11-07, 06:16 AM

Bing Bing is a babe - she's one of the hottest Asian chick that I like :)

Fan Bing Bing went topless in the movie "Ping Guo"(apple).

I'm waiting for the DVD release...:D

Matt_Stevens

12-11-07, 11:34 PM

Watched the SD DVD tonight. Movie was so-so. Script was lacking. More so than with SPL. The finale was kick ass, but nowhere near as exciting as it could have been had the filmmakers given us a decent story and characters we could root for. The low low budget didn't help matters. This film just felt cheap.

SD DVD sucks. Edge enhancement everywhere. :mad:

I encourage anyone wanting this to WAIT until there is a proper U.S. release with a decent subtitle track. the subtitles on the current release are poor and according to my pal who is a fluent Canto speaker, not accurate at all. To me the dialogue seemed pathetic at times, but that is due to the translation.

These are my thoughts.

Josh Z

12-12-07, 10:39 AM

I encourage anyone wanting this to WAIT until there is a proper U.S. release with a decent subtitle track.

That's assuming that there will be a proper US release. I'm sure Miramax or Weinstein may pick up the distribution rights for DVD, but the likelihood of a High-Def release in this country is pretty slim.

For what it's worth, the Blu-ray looks great. Only a tiny smidge of edge enhancement in a few spots and a couple of minor compression problems (it's a single-layer disc), but terrific detail and colors.

Brajesh

12-12-07, 10:47 AM

QCamera

12-12-07, 12:03 PM

If 'Flash Point' isn't that good a flick, can you guys recommend a few good, recent HK flicks to watch? I just got 'Breaking News', but haven't watched it yet. Is 'SPL' worth checking out? Any others? Thanks.
My favourite HK movie from 2007:

"Invisible Target" (HOW I WISH THEY RELEASE THIS ONE ON BLU-RAY!! It is my favourite action flick from HK in 2007. After you watch this one, u might fall asleep watching FLASHPOINT. THe DTS AQ in this DVD will blow you away. You subwoofer will get major, and I do mean, major torture!! The action just kick major butt!! HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)

"Protege" Beautiful movie with damn gorgeous picture and colors. Amazing scenery.

"Eye in the Sky" Pure Cinema heaven, slow as heck, but slick and cool as hell.

"The Detective" WOW!! a different take on detective work.

"Election 1+2" and "Exiled" two words, "Johnnie To" That is all u need to know. =D

"Fatal Contact" again, the action in this movie will make "Flashpoint" look dull. Check out the combo. And I do mean COMBO. DAMN AMAZING!! The best Kung Fu flick in 2007. Story is very crappy though. U can just skip to the fight scene.

"Confession of Pain" just simply a beautiful movie. A very unique way of telling story. And I love it!! Tony Leung, that guy make any movie good. =D Can't wait to see "Lust, Caution"

That's all for now. Enjoy... =D

Brajesh

12-12-07, 12:47 PM

Wow, thanks. Plenty to look into.

jkcheng122

12-12-07, 01:19 PM

That's assuming that there will be a proper US release. I'm sure Miramax or Weinstein may pick up the distribution rights for DVD, but the likelihood of a High-Def release in this country is pretty slim.

For what it's worth, the Blu-ray looks great. Only a tiny smidge of edge enhancement in a few spots and a couple of minor compression problems (it's a single-layer disc), but terrific detail and colors.

Josh, does HDD plan on posting foreign blu-ray movies such as Flash Point and Infernal Affairs? i think having these movie reviews posted should help with exposure to foreign cinema and increase adoption. this in turn will help get more titles released. I will be a very happy man should "The Banquet" ever see a release on blu-ray. I bought Flash Point as a blind buy simply to help make sure there are more titles coming out of HK. Oldboy and IA were no-brainers as i seen them before and loved them.

Josh Z

12-12-07, 01:19 PM

If 'Flash Point' isn't that good a flick, can you guys recommend a few good, recent HK flicks to watch? I just got 'Breaking News', but haven't watched it yet. Is 'SPL' worth checking out? Any others? Thanks.

SPL and Breaking News are both excellent. Of course, there's also the Infernal Affairs trilogy (first one available on Blu-ray now), which is a stunning achievement all around.

Pretty much any movie by Johnnie To (Breaking News) is worth a watch. I second the recommendation for the two Election movies. PTU is also a personal favorite.

Josh Z

12-12-07, 01:21 PM

Josh, does HDD plan on posting foreign blu-ray movies such as Flash Point and Infernal Affairs? i think having these movie reviews posted should help with exposure to foreign cinema and increase adoption.

I've already written and submitted a review for Flash Point, but it's not likely to get posted until after the holidays. Import reviews are typically held back until days when there's a lull in domestic reviews.

Infernal Affairs is on my docket, but I haven't watched it yet.

JAC6

12-12-07, 01:35 PM

SPL and Breaking News are both excellent. Of course, there's also the Infernal Affairs trilogy (first one available on Blu-ray now), which is a stunning achievement all around.

Pretty much any movie by Johnnie To (Breaking News) is worth a watch. I second the recommendation for the two Election movies. PTU is also a personal favorite.

+1. As to Johnnie To, Running Out of Time is worth a look, but I found Running on Karma virtually unwatchable. And there's The Mission as well, though last time I looked, it lacked a decent DVD release.

And good to hear about the reviews for Flash Point and, eventually, Infernal Affairs.

Josh Z

12-12-07, 05:12 PM

+1. As to Johnnie To, Running Out of Time is worth a look, but I found Running on Karma virtually unwatchable.

It's true that Running on Karma is not a "good" movie by any means, but Andy Lau's rubber body suit is a great source of amusement, and the scene on the scooter had me laughing harder than any comedy in recent memory. :)

JAC6

12-12-07, 05:52 PM

It's true that Running on Karma is not a "good" movie by any means, but Andy Lau's rubber body suit is a great source of amusement, and the scene on the scooter had me laughing harder than any comedy in recent memory. :)

Fair enough. Keep up the good work at HDD and I look forward to the reviews. I will briefly plug for moving Infernal Affairs closer to the top of the holiday viewing pile.

Matt_Stevens

12-12-07, 05:58 PM

I've had so little time to watch flms, let alone hard to find foreign films, that I am almost completely clueless to what came out on 2006 and 2007. :( I do like DUMPLINGS, which is old now, but finally available in an uncut form. just a creepy, unsettling film.

Would you believe I still have not had time to sit down and watch all of Infernal Affairs? Life is just too busy.

jkcheng122

12-17-07, 12:08 PM

watched it last night. i enjoyed it a lot. while not much plot, this isnt the type of movie to have much of a plot anyways, just an excuse to show off some spectacular fight scenes. Donnie Yen vs Kicking guy from Kung Fu Hustle followed by Donnie Yen vs Seraph from The Matrix, doesn't get much better than that. High on babe factor as well.

question: i noticed some what looks like compression artifacts (macroblocking) in the scene near the beginning where donnie was interrogated about his brutal methods. i noticed on the upper left hand side in the background behind Donnie while he was sitting in the chair. is this an issue with my TV like issue no.4 here (http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/upgrade/2826881.html) or problem with the transfer?

jkcheng122

12-17-07, 12:10 PM

Would you believe I still have not had time to sit down and watch all of Infernal Affairs? Life is just too busy.

skip domestic films for a while and make this your top priority. :D the first 2 movies of the trilogy are must-sees. the second one reminded me of The Godfather a lot. the 3rd one imo just gives closure of the first, wasnt as enjoyable for me, leon lai kinda messed it up.

jkcheng122

12-20-07, 02:05 PM

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1286/flashpoint_hk.html

thanks Josh.

i actually havent watched on the DTS track, after reading the review i have to give that a listen.

JAC6

12-20-07, 02:44 PM

Yes, thanks for the review.

When will they get around to Exiled, Election, SPL, etc.?

jkcheng122

12-20-07, 05:57 PM

Yes, thanks for the review.

When will they get around to Exiled, Election, SPL, etc.?

Hero, Banquet, Fearless

Kilian.ca

12-20-07, 10:02 PM

HK movies are not doing well: I hear last year (or is it this year) there were only forty odd movies released, which is a fraction of the amount it used to be in good times. It needs much better plots than just action, shooting, kicking and car chases. While kung-fu movies are admired by many in the west, they aren't regarded as that special locally.

This BD is very expensive in HK (from HK$269 down to $225 in MK, where I bought mine) and although not more expensive than imported US BDs, at this price HDM remains strictly a niche for a long time.

ryoohki

12-20-07, 10:08 PM

Josh Z

12-21-07, 04:19 PM

It's possible.... Warner encode on many disc have BG problem with Macroblock, the best example of this is The Island Warner UK import...

Flash Point was not released by Warner, so I don't understand your point.

The disc does have some minor compression problems, however. The movie was squeezed onto a single-layer disc.

Sofdec7

12-21-07, 04:24 PM

Received my FlashPoint the other day and will hopefully get a chance to watch it tonight - as has already been said, the story doesn't seem to be its strong point but the action scenes (if the trailer is a good indication) should be nice to watch.

A question regarding Infernal Affairs though - People are saying that it looks quite well, but the trailer on the PSN store (either Hong Kong or Japan, I can't recall) didn't seem too impressive. Since it would be a double-dip, I'd like to see about how much of an upgrade it is before buying (since it would be about $35 after shipping). For anyone with it (and a PS3), does the movie look noticeably better than the trailer? I assume it would be less compressed and of higher quality, but the trailer didn't seem to have a lot of detail in scenes.

Blasst

12-21-07, 04:43 PM

jkcheng122

12-21-07, 05:10 PM

I haven't watched the trailer, but the Blu-ray version is clearly a big step up over the dvd.

It doesn't look as good as Flashpoint though.

yeah, looks and sounds way ahead of the dvd imo also, but it's nothing compared to POTC.

DaTong

12-22-07, 09:00 AM

Can anyone check for me if this blu-ray is region locked even though it states Region A.

I need this BLU RAY! For my UK PS3.

lgans316

12-22-07, 09:03 AM

Coded as REGION-A.

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1286/flashpoint_hk.html

DaTong

12-22-07, 09:33 AM

I've got around 5 region A blu ray titles which all play on my UK PS3.

Coded as Region A?
Does that mean it is region locked though?

DexS

12-22-07, 10:52 AM

FYI Invisible Target BD is released in HK already.

JAC6

12-22-07, 11:15 AM

DaTong

12-23-07, 01:19 PM

Just to clarify. I've been doing research on the net and it seems that FLASH POINT can indeed play on Region B Blu Ray Players.

Here's the proof:
http://www.asiancultcinema.co.uk/film-1527.html

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://blog.affenheimtheater.de/2007/11/03/flash-point-hk-blu-ray-disc-angekuendigt/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=4&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3DFLASH%2BPOINT%2BBLU%2Bregion%2B%26start%3D20%26 hl%3Den%26sa%3DN
(translated german site) Read the bottom comments.

http://adg.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=2195
look at the second from last post.

People have been stating that it is region A locked? However I cannot see any proof of this unless they have tried it on a region B Blu-Ray player. If so reply to this post and say it does not work :)

I've blindly purchased this Blu Ray title yesterday off the net.
I'm 99% it will work on my UK PS3 when I receive it next week.

SneakerPimp

12-23-07, 03:02 PM

DaTong

12-23-07, 04:43 PM

Thanks alot for the clarification.

JAC6

01-04-08, 02:21 PM

Not entirely on point, but are there any rumors about additional HK Blu-Rays? Also, Lust, Caution is a Universal release in the US so it will be an HD-DVD exclusive. Does anyone know whether it might be one of the next HK Blu-Rays? It would make sense, as it has a major director and was a big award winner in Asia.

emacs

01-14-08, 12:16 AM

My favorite Donnie Yen movie is Iron Monkey 2 ...

oh my :eek:

please watch Iron Monkey from 1993 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108148/. it's far, far superior in all aspects.

jkcheng122

01-14-08, 10:44 AM

Kilian.ca

01-14-08, 07:20 PM

Lust, Caution R3 edition is from Edko. Further talk on this should be in the Wishlist sticky.

<><

01-19-08, 10:43 PM

lgans316

01-19-08, 11:22 PM

Flash point has some notorious EE and ringing.

Blasst

01-20-08, 12:30 AM

just saw this and wow is the transfer clear as daylight!
and its a damn good movie to boot, they story flowed very well and everything was put together nicely, a good movie to watch, even w/ the english subtitles!
A+ from me :D

Glad you enjoyed this one. The audio is great also. When Donnie Yens character jumps in the ring during the beginning, the shots he gives the guy thump you pretty damn well sound wise!!!:D

stigdu

01-17-10, 09:44 AM

Does anyone have the UK Blu-ray of Flash Point?

I'm just wondering how it compares to the HK release which by all accounts had sub-par subtitles (you see what I did there? :)) and all extras were in Cantonese only...

Many thanks!

raoul_duke

01-17-10, 03:19 PM

I have it and PQ wise, it beats the HK version. There's still some light DNR and EE, both of which appear to be baked into the master, but nowhere near the level of the HK disc. It also has a higher bitrate, even though its still on a BD-25. Obviously getting rid of all those unneeded extra lossless tracks paid off. The subtitles are exactly the same as the HK release, unfortunately.

All extras are subtitled in English and carried across from the 2 disc DVD. It's well worth picking up IMO and I say that having owned the HK disc.

stigdu

01-17-10, 05:21 PM