An Empress and the Warriors (DVD – Dragon Dynasty)

Dragon Dynasty’s “Special Collector’s Edition” DVD release of action director Ching Siu-tung’s period fantasy actioner AN EMPRESS AND THE WARRIORS is a modest, well-rounded and attractive package. It features the original Mandarin 5.1 audio, a new English 5.1 dub track and optional English and Spanish subtitles. Bonus material includes an audio commentary by resident Hong Kong film expert Bey Logan and a 24-minute Chinese-language “Making Of” featurette.

DD often changes the English title of its Asian film releases but not in this case, perhaps because it already contained the word “warriors” in it. As is further evidenced by DD’s title change of BATTLE OF WITS to BATTLE OF THE WARRIORS, this word ranks high in usage in American film marketing, alongside the word “legend.” The label scores additional points for using the film’s original poster art as its base and for spelling out the names of the three leads, even though none of them (unfortunately including Donnie Yen) are known outside of Asian film fandom here in the U.S.

Without having any other DVD version to compare, I’ll say the anamorphic digital transfer looks fine. The recorded bitrate is 4.86Mbps which is close to the DVD average and the video mode is in the superior progressive scan format.

Bey’s audio commentaries are very consistent from one release to the next. As is always the case, this one contains a healthy dose of opinionated observation that includes pointing out the occasional production gaffe and insider details about the film, cast and crew. As example, Bey explains how Ching used inserts and doubles in some wide shots taken in a remote location to give the film more of an epic look. In at least one example, the cuts between locations do not match if you watch them closely. Towards the end he mentions an alternate ending that was ultimately discarded.

The “Making Of” featurette was produced in Hong Kong for local marketing purposes and reused by DD for their release. It includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with director Ching Siu-tung and cast members. Much of the focus is on Kelly Chen, which is understandable given her central role. It’s clear from her comments and the training footage of her that she is not action star material and it leads me to wonder why Ching wastes his time with actresses who really are not cut out for action roles. I could understand if this was not his movie and he was simply choreographing action but it was his movie. He actually admits she was picked because of her looks which brings us back to the main reason why much of Hong Kong cinema is not impressing international audiences right now. We have plenty of our own fake talents in Hollywood already.

Format: Region 1 NTSC DVD
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio: Mandarin 5.1, English 5.1
Subtitles: English, Spanish, English SDH
Length: 95 minutes
Release Date: July 21, 2009

Related Topics: An Empress and the Warriors (2008), Bey Logan, Ching Siu-Tung, Dragon Dynasty, DVD