Review of Introduction To Hong Kong Legends, An

Introduction

This disc is 2 things. First, it`s the chance to get a Jet Li film for under 4 pounds sterling, and secondly it`s a chance for people who aren`t familiar with Hong Kong Legends to get to know the studio and their output. The former is very appealing to me, the latter not so. But that`s only because I`ve got shedloads of their titles in my collection already. If you aren`t familiar with them, now`s your chance.

The film contained here is Hitman, which is the film Jet Li made in between Lethal Weapon 4 and Romeo Must Die. It`s a combination of action and comedy, but played more for laughs than for the action. There are plenty of familiar themes here, including Chinese/Japanese tension, awkwardness around women and a few good fights along the way.

Video

What`s important here is the quality of the main feature, and we get a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer which is rather good. This is probably lifted from the original Hong Kong Legends DVD release, as it`s very good but not totally perfect. Most of the problems are with the source material though, and at one point you can see some dirt on the camera lens (it`s very, very obvious!) All very watchable though, and an early example of the standards that Hong Kong Legends would set and then continually surpass.

For those of you interested in the on-screen action, there`s far less wire work than in many other Jet Li films, so if wires aren`t for you then this film will suit just fine.

Audio

A choice of DD2.0 Cantonese or DD2.0 English (dubbed). I chose the original language as ever, and this was the first time many audiences will have heard Jet Li`s real voice, as he was almost always dubbed up to this point. The sound is pretyy standard for a stereo track, with some good separation now and again, but nothing to write home about.

Features

We lose interviews, a biography and photo gallery from the original release of Hitman but it`s not a massive loss.

In their place we get the other part of this disc, the Hong Kong Legends material. First up you get loads of Hong Kong Legends trailers for many of the best films in their range including Iron Monkey, The Killer (released soon) and most of their Bruce Lee output.

Also on the disc is what`s described as a "20 minute documentary on the restoration, subtitling, audio mixing and final presentation processes". This has actually appeared on quite a few of their discs during the year. Here`s what I said about it the first time I saw in on a disc:-

"You might think would contain an in-depth look at how these films are restored and made to look and sound so good. Well, there`s a few minutes of that, but the whole thing rather comes across as something that Hong Kong Legends might send to potential investors. The bits that are actually about restoration are interesting but it`s all a bit too self-congratulatory. Maybe next time they`ll cut the PR fluff and show more of the technical side of restoration."

Now I know why it was made - as a piece of PR fluff to go on this disc to entice people into buying more discs from the studio.

Conclusion

A good film at a bargain price. Whilst this is not the greatest Jet Li film ever, it is entertaining with a good mix of comedy and action. If you look at it as a comedy with action thrown in, then you`re about right. It`s certainly not an action film, as all the best stuff is saved until the end. There`s some very silly stuff about a man with laser pointers in his rings and his shoes, a Pretty Woman type scene (lots of dressing up) and just a bit too much of that awkwardness around women.

It`s very much a by-the-numbers affair, and not the greatest showcase for Li`s talent (perhaps something from the Once Upon A Time In China series would be better), but it`s still enjoyable enough, and worth 4 quid (or perhaps a tad less online) of anybody`s money. If you`re not familiar with the studio, you also get to see glimpses of some of their other titles.

A commendable idea, and quite well executed. Recommended if you don`t have the film, or if you`re looking for a cheap introduction to the excellent work of Hong Kong Legends.