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First of all, I ask for your patience. Please forgive me, as I may sound repetitive to some, but sometimes such repetition is in everyone’s best interest.
Is there any DVD company other than Hong Kong Legends that has the rights to martial arts movies? If so, please kindly hand over the rights to Hong Kong Legends. Although they are not the best, they do their job decently. Perhaps no one is trying, which is why the bar isn’t set very high. Having said that, there is no excuse to fake it and do such a poor job. Once I elaborate more, you will understand my frustration.
Set in the backdrop of worsening relations between China and Russia, an undercover agent investigates a murder. To my amusement, the key to unlock the mystery is contained in the title snuff bottle.
Anamorphic 2.35:1 has a rather subpar transfer. The covering of the entire film has so much dirt, scratches and dust that it hints at print damage. One can virtually never encounter a seamless instance in the film, due to the significant scratches and the massive tears present on the print. Even the last fight sequence gets damaged by big lines.
The audio track was poorly executed in both attempts and they portrayed Leslie Phillips’s voice comedically. The distortion in the audio track made it unwatchable which is what caused the multi-syllabic cuss words representation. The technical quality of the English dub was much better however, in hindsight, it was simply bad. With tons of sound effects used yet again. In particular the subtitles during the audio representation were absolutely cringe-worthy. An example of the misrepresentation were the ranks that were described in the audio track, but not in the subtitles.
For some reason, the audio commentary seemed to have been made using a handheld microphone while sitting on a park bench next to a busy road. This is one the first commentaries you have with a question mark. Never having the need to listen to actual commentary of any video, it seems bizarre to question the technical quality of it. Although the commentators appear to be knowledgeable about the film, their voice makes it challenging to pay attention to what they are attempting to explain.
Aside from the audio, there is also an interview with Roy Horan regarding the video that spans 20 minutes. Lastly, there were also a few trailers and still images that were untouched.
Conclusion
I would urge that you avoid watching this film till the very last. When the rest of Yuen Woo Ping’s films are available for viewing, what is the point of siting through this mess? When comparing it to the modern day standards, this film is quite dated and nonsensical owing to the terrible audio and video quality along with the graphics. Movies that showcase the skills of Yuen Woo Ping’s fight choreography such as Crouching Tiger, Magnificent Butcher, Drunken Master or Once Upon a Time in China are worth a watch instead.
Watch the other movies I have mentioned instead, this is one movie that is not worth your time.
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