Region 1 Genius Products (USA)
NTSC, 2.35:1 16x9 enhanced
87 minutes
Audio: DD 5.1 Cantonese Chinese, DTS 5.1 Cantonese Chinese, DD 5.1 English
Subtitles: Optional English, English SDH, Spanish
Extras: audio commentary by Donnie Yen and Bey Logan; Collateral Damage: The Making of Flash Point; Flash Point Explored; Perpetual Motion; deleted scenes; Gladiators; M.M.A. on Display; On Dangerous Ground: An Exclusive Interview With Donnie Yen; Gala Premiere; Trailers; TV Spots
Released: 22 April 2008
slim double keepcase with cardboard slipcover
12 chapters
When the Weinstein Brothers ran Miramax and Dimension during their stay at Disney, they tried to expand the American audience for Asian action cinema by importing movies featuring Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, and others during their ‘80s and ‘90s primes. However, die-hard fans hated the Disney editions as they featured butchered edits, lousy English dubs as the only audio options, and zilch extras. Now that they’re on their own again, the Weinsteins are doing a lot to rectify the damage done during their Disney days.
The Weinsteins’ Dragon Dynasty DVD label is a respectful, laudable showcase of Asian action cinema. From the look of things, the label is tended by Bey Logan, an Englishman who has spent much of the past three decades working in the Hong Kong film industry. While the emphasis is understandably on Hong Kong, the label has also released movies from Thailand and South Korea. These movies arrive on American shores fairly intact, with original language audio and minimal editing interference.
Flash Point is the latest entry in the Dragon Dynasty line. The movie re-teams director Wilson Yip with martial-artist Donnie Yen. (One of their previous movies, Sha Po Lang, was released by Dragon Dynasty as Kill Zone.) This is another contemporary cop flick, though it’s set more than a decade ago during the months before Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule.
Film scholars tend to analyze ‘80s Hong Kong cinema with the impression that everyone was panicking about Chinese Communist rule. While movies like John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow certainly reveal anxieties and wistful nostalgia for the past, the industry as a whole didn’t really buckle under Handover fears until about the mid-1990s. That was when some major figures stopped working and emigrated, and box-office numbers plummeted.
Well, about eleven years have passed since the Handover, and China is basically keeping its promise to leave Hong Kong as it was for fifty years. I lived in China for about half a year in 2005, and I visited Hong Kong while I was in the Far East. In China, you couldn’t mention sensitive issues such as Tibetan separatism and the Falun Gong. In Hong Kong, I saw Tibetan and Falun Gong protestors everywhere.
The way that China has handled the Handover has restored some confidence in the Hong Kong film industry. Big-name directors like John Woo have left, but their departure has allowed for once second-tier filmmakers to be seen. Big-name stars are encouraging young directors to develop the next phase of Hong Kong film history. To be honest, the Handover exodus was probably a good thing for Hong Kong as stagnated talent ceased to hinder change and growth.
Flash Point is a reflection of the ease that the people of Hong Kong feel about their current situation. Even though the story takes place in 1997, none of the characters are remotely interested in the Handover. The plot is entirely concerned with two dedicated police officers hunting down a vicious gang of three Vietnamese brothers. The law enforcement and justice systems function as if British customs will persist until Judgment Day. Tough martial artists brawl in the streets as if they enjoy re-enacting the Boxer Rebellion.
Indeed, the movie’s neutrality with regards to politics arises from both practical reasons and Hong Kong’s acceptance of Chinese rule. This movie, like nearly every other major production since 1997, was made with mainland Chinese funding, mainland Chinese actors, and mainland Chinese crew members. For the Hong Kong film industry, it would be suicide to bite the hand that feeds the city.
While I’m sure that there are many illegal Southeast Asian immigrants causing trouble in Hong Kong, Flash Point’s focus on them is similar to what happened in Hollywood. The bad guys used to be the Germans but became the Soviets during the Cold War and are now Islamic extremists. For Hong Kong, the bad guys used to be the mainland Chinese but are now everyone except for the mainland Chinese.
(Flash Point has a so-so plot that doesn’t really go anywhere and doesn’t sustain interest, though the final fisticuffs showdown between Donnie Yen and Collin Chou is fairly entertaining.)
Video:
Excepting a couple of previews and four audio tracks, the DVD gives the video plenty of breathing room. The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is sharp and clear, about as detailed as one might expect from live-action films. Rapid movement doesn’t blur as with poorly-transferred movies.
Audio:
You can watch the movie with its original Cantonese dialogue in two guises--DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1. The mix is surprisingly subdued for an action movie. While you hear discrete effects in the front and rear surrounds, you mostly just get dialogue from the center channel and music cues across the front. Bass presence is tight and solid but nowhere near as thunderous as what we’ve experienced with hyperactive movies like The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.
You can also watch the movie with a DD 5.1 English dub. Optional English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles support the audio.
Extras:
--Disc 1--
Upon loading, the disc plays previews for other Genius Products DVDs.
Donnie Yen and Bey Logan contributed an audio commentary. The two have known each other for several years, and they have an enjoyable camaraderie, which makes for a breezy session.
--Disc 2--
Behind-the-Scenes Gallery
“Collateral Damage: The Making of Flash Point” is a general introduction to the movie with some behind-the-scenes clips.
“Flash Point Explored” focuses on the different characters.
“Perpetual Motion” briefly spotlights the movie’s fight choreography.
Deleted Scenes
There are three deleted scenes. They’re disposable affairs, though they let you hear one of the mainland Chinese actresses speak Mandarin instead of the Cantonese dub actress who was used for the final edit.
The Ultimate Fighters
“Gladiators” and “M.M.A. on Display” show you how some of the Mixed Martial Arts (M.M.A.) stunts were achieved.
Promotional Gallery
“On Dangerous Ground: An Exclusive Interview With Donnie Yen” is a half-hour chat with the star of the movie. He provides additional insights into his relationship with the director as well as the movie’s genesis.
You get to see footage of the “Gala Premiere” in Hong Kong.
Finally, there are trailers and TV spots.
--Miscellaneous--
The DVDs are housed in a slim double keepcase with a cardboard slipcover. This time around, Dragon Dynasty has not included an insert or any coupons.
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