Supercop (Two-Disc Ultimate Edition)

Being an avid DVD collector I have made it a personal goal to collect every Dragon Dynasty release. This subsidiary of the Wienstien Company has gone to great lengths to release ultimate unedited editions of great Asian movies. Some of the films they are releasing were previously released on the Dimension home video label and are being re-released under the Dynasty label with more special features and..well most of the time...unedited versions of the Asian release. The Jet Li film Twin Warriors (as titled on the Dimension release) was re-released unedited under the title Tia Chi Master. I was hoping for the same with Supercop.

Sadly the the Dragon Dynasty release of Supercop is just a more special featured filled version of the earlier Dimension release because,for some reason unknown, Dyanasty has only released the American cut of the film. Where is my unedited 100 minute version of Police Story III: Supercop? Instead we get the same edited American release with a different score, added hip-hop soundtrack, and a lame title sequence. This is a shame because I have always been extremely happy with Dragon Dynasty's releases so far. Why not include both the U.S. and Asian version as they did with The Proctor DVD? Extremely disappointing.

Other than the fact that Supercop is the edited American version, the rest of the DVD set is a typical steller Dynasty release with great special features and another grand commentary by Hong Kong film expert Bey Logan.

Blah. That sums it up. After Dragon Dynasty did a FANTASTIC job with releasing uncut versions of Police Story parts I and II they did this to us... Yes folks, this is just the edited, American version of Supercop, re-released with different packaging. A huge disappointment!

There are a few good things to say about this. Some of the bonus content is interesting. In fact there's a great interview with Jackie Chan where he complains about how the American versions of his movies are edited and not as good as the original versions! Ha! After suffering through the disappointment of watching the edited version of Supercop it was quite funny to watch that interview.

The bottom line is boycott this. Pick up the Police Story (Digitally Remastered Collector's Edition) Trilogy DVD Boxset instead so that you'll have the uncut version of Supercop as well as the first two films in the series.

Supercop is the North American name given to the third installment of the popular Police Story series starring international action movie star Jackie Chan. It was the first film in the franchise not to be directed by Jackie but instead by Stanley Tong. It was also the last film in the series to feature actress Maggie Cheung as Jackie's girlfriend.

The first disc features an engaging audio commentary by Hong Kong cinema expert Bey Logan. He talks about the differences between this version and the Hong Kong version. For example, there were different opening credits and musical scores for each version. This begs the question, why wasn't the Hong Kong version included on this supposedly "Ultimate Edition?" Logan provides brief biographical information on Michelle Yeoh and Maggie Cheung as well as a wealth of production details on this very informative track.

The second disc starts with a real treat: "Flying High: An Exclusive Interview with Star Jackie Chan." He talks about working with director Stanley Tong, who, at the time, was a young director. Jackie talks about working with Yeoh and speaks admiringly of her ability to do her own stunts. He also recalls how scared he was doing the helicopter sequence.

"Dancing with Death: An Interview with Leading Lady Michelle Yeoh." She had a background in ballet and only started doing martial arts when she did her first action film. She learned something new on every subsequent film. Yeoh talks about how she got into acting and speaks eloquently and warmly in this engaging interview.

"The Stuntmaster General: An Exclusive Interview with Director Stanley Tong." He talks about working with Jackie over five films and how they collaborate together. He talks about the challenge of doing the stunts in the film without CGI.

"The Fall Guy: An Exclusive Interview with Jackie Chan Bodyguard, Training Partner and Co-Star Ken Lo." He recounts his first meeting with Jackie when he was bouncer and the action star asked him if he would like to work in films. they have worked together for 20 years.

Supercop is a fun, exciting and entertaining film that you would expect from Jackie Chan. It has all kinds of cheesy jokes, top notch fight scenes and insanely choreographed chase sequences, all done without the assistance of computer technology. In this day and age there is something refreshing about that.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 10 reviews  3.7 out of 5 stars