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ONCE UPON A TIME IN
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CHINA
Released by HK LEGENDS
Region 2, PAL
Picture: Widescreen (2.35:1) Anamorphic
Audio
Extras
Picture 8/10
Very nice transfer. Widescreen at 2.35:1. HKL have clearly cleaned up the source print. However I thought the opening scene was a little too dark. I remember the laserdisc being brighter. Grain is noticeable in some scenes. Very good subtitles appear in the bottom widescreen bar. It's anamorphic!
Audio 7/10 (provisional)
I didn't listen to the disc with a 5.1 channel set-up so I can't really comment on the 5.1 mix. However on a bog-standard tv the soundtrack was clear and in synch. The English dub is a waste of space.
Extras 8/10
HKL have done an excellent job of providing these cool extras. The audio commentary is extremely interesting and as usual Bey Logan (and Mark King) does an excellent job. The photo gallery is nice bonus but the kind of thing you only look at once and once again, the photos are too small. HKL should revert to a 'previous/next arrow' selection process. Disappointingly the Jet Li interview is the same as featured on Eastern Heroes' Shaolin Temple dvd but with longer clips and slightly longer chat. Jet doesn't really tell us much about his experiences with OUATIC. Secondly the Yuan Gam Fai interview has an English voice over. While I admit he's being interviewed in a crowded restaurant, I would still have preferred subtitles to some posh dude doing a voice over. Both interviews have been shot on camcorder. Out of the two interviews, Yuan's is much more interesting. The original HK trailer is subtitled in English.
Overall 9/10
HKLegends have done themselves proud once again. For their release they have provided the full uncut print of the film which is considerably longer than both the Megastar and Columbia dvd releases. While the extras are excellent, the execution of them could have been improved. However the comments I've read about the HK and US releases of OUATIC aren't very flattering therefore this is clearly the best available release. If you're a fan of the movie (and most are) then you really must own this dvd.
