Alright... I'm keeping myself anonymous as I've been against Dimension Films' treatment of pretty much all Hong Kong imports, yet this release wasn't as bad... First off, I'm not sure if the print was cut at all, but at least the run time was over 100 min. Yes, this version has a new dub created by Dimension, HOWEVER, it has retained the original Hong Kong score. I don't believe Dimension has ever done this. The only thing close to this was the opposite with "Iron Monkey" in which the Cantonese track had been retained, but the music had changed. Also, the score was blasting in 5.1 surround sound, no less. And even the original sound effects were kept and with very good bass coming from the subwoofer. As for the picture, it looked almost like a brand new film. It might not've hit the standards of the Region 2 company "Hong Kong Legends", but was still highly impressive. As for extras... this is where it falls flat on its face... NOTHING! Also, I had feared that Dimension would chop out the outtakes since Jackie is seen singing in Cantonese in the original version, yet it was left in! Unfortunately, Dimension was too lazy to get subtitles for it. Well, it looks like Dimension may be getting closer to getting things right... but not until they release a Hong Kong film on DVD UNCUT and with BOTH English and Cantonese/Mandarin audio tracks. If Disney/Miramax, can take Japanese anime films ("Spirited Away", "Castle in the Sky", etc.) and give them high-class two disc releases, then why not Hong Kong live action films? They'd sell better that way as well. All we can do is wait... but it's getting harder and harder to hold my breath. As for this DVD... if you can find it for a decent price or you have a gift card and can't find anything else, it's actually worth the purchase. But, if you want original language over video quality, I guess you'll have to find the Mega Star Hong Kong DVD... either way, IT'S UP TO YOU!!
