Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (DVD - Image)

[oldeschool17]

http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=79&stc=1&d=1208036351

I'll do screencaps later on
http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=80&d=1208036553
http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=81&d=1208036565

[venoms5]

I'll check the BB nearest me to see if they have this. I never bought the IVL one for whatever reason.

[oldeschool17]

I'll check the BB nearest me to see if they have this. I never bought the IVL one for whatever reason.
I almost didnt see it. I was at best buy today hoping they would have heroes 2 but saw this instead. Picked up a couple of non kf movies too. Dissapointed in one case but didnt walk out empty handed

[venoms5]

I almost didnt see it. I was at best buy today hoping they would have heroes 2 but saw this instead. Picked up a couple of non kf movies too. Dissapointed in one case but didnt walk out empty handed

If yours has it then the one near me should have it, too. I'll ride out there tomorrow. Thanks for posting this. I had forgotten about this release.:)

[Morgoth Bauglir]

Thanks for the info Oldschool. I didn't think this came out for another week or so. I'm gonna check it out since I've never seen it.

[oldeschool17]

No prob fellas. i think other places and e-tailers are saying either next week or the 22nd for its release. Typical IMAGE fashion, on their website they list that it doesnt have a dub, but on the back cover and as you can see on the menu, theres a dub. Laziest sb distro ever

edit: Just saw on best buy that they had this listed for a release date of the 22nd. Oopsie on them!

[mantis FIST]

sweet. I will be picking this up tonight. Thanks for the headz up! Did not know this came out. I have never seen it so should be cool to have the english dub too!

[HAZ]

I have a Chinese bootleg of the French DVD. I think I'll grab this one!

[chen lung]

Nice to know 'Chinese' is there in stereo. Truth is, both are dual mono in stereo.

Anyway, how's the transfer?

[clayk]

It looks like you can put this in your queues now as well:
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Intimate_Confessions_of_a_Chinese_Courtesan/70091541?lnkctr=srchrd-sr&strkid=691874109_0_0

[oldeschool17]

Nice to know 'Chinese' is there in stereo. Truth is, both are dual mono in stereo.

Anyway, how's the transfer?
Typical interlacing thats quite evident during action scenes but not to the point that you cannot view the film. It's IMAGE, so you know exactly what you are getting into. See attached images for mentioned interlacing. If somebody could post some images from IVL or Siren for comparison, that would be great. I would imagine Siren would look better.

http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/imagehosting/88848017fbb1ecf3.jpg
http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/imagehosting/88848017fbb40fde.jpg
http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/imagehosting/88848017fbb5ec7d.jpg
http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/imagehosting/888480180127f2d2.jpg
http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/imagehosting/88848018012a29d3.jpg

[mantis FIST]

Damn I went to two best buys in two states and could not find this on dvd.

[oldeschool17]

Thats some dedication for a movie! I guess im just lucky to get them on time and in stock( i think they only had 2 copies of this when I was there). So maybe tosh will buy the other one :D


Damn I went to two best buys in two states and could not find this on dvd.

[venoms5]

Picked this up at BB today.

[oldeschool17]

Picked this up at BB today.

I havent watched it thru yet. Still got a backlog of other movies i need to watch. Lemme know what you think on it

[Morgoth Bauglir]

No copies at the west Omaha BB. But I will be stopping by the other store tomorrow!

[bobo]

INTIMATE CONFESSIONS with english dub. i will get this one for sure. now lets hope HUMAN LANTERNS has the english dub. yeeeeehaaaa

[Morgoth Bauglir]

If I remember correctly Linn said Human Lanters won't have the dub.

[oldeschool17]

If I remember correctly Linn said Human Lanters won't have the dub.
It will probably be cut too

[Morgoth Bauglir]

And when you open up the DVD case a bunch of spiders are gonna come out.

[tarim69]

Can someone verify this doesnt have the cuts the IVL does

[venoms5]

Can someone verify this doesnt have the cuts the IVL does

What are the cuts? I never bought the IVL. Watched this last night and it's an excellent movie. As classy as an exploitation movie is ever going to get although at the end it went totally overboard with the gory excess; which isn't a bad thing! Can't believe I passed up seeing this on VHS years back. What a nice surprise.

[gfanikf]

Hell, yeah! I would have been pissed if after all the work I did finding the damn thing along with Seven if it wasn't used.

[oldeschool17]

you found what?

[gfanikf]

you found what?

The dub in the LOCongress holdings which allowed Image to help Celestial find it in their own archive.

Actually one cool thing I knew from Linn is that Brave Archer 4 WAS dubbed and does exist somewhere.

[venoms5]

Hell, yeah! I would have been pissed if after all the work I did finding the damn thing along with Seven if it wasn't used.

Why should you need to find a dub for Celestial when the Shaw's should still have all these in their vaults? Since Celestial has access to all things Shaw in relation to THEIR MOVIES, I'm sure finding if something was dubbed or not shouldn't be all that difficult. I think just about everything was dubbed anyways for possible sales. A lot of these dubbed Shaw's surface in Third World countries on reels (FRIENDS being a recent example). Anybody can look up a film at the Library of Congress.

[bobo]

as long as we are talking existing dubs--i seem to recall LINN saying he pointed image in the direction of the dub for HUMAN LANTERNS as well--but he had doubts as to whether they would pursue it. i for one believe that celestial has access to all things shaw. includeing ALL the dubs.

[gfanikf]

Why should you need to find a dub for Celestial when the Shaw's should still have all these in their vaults? Since Celestial has access to all things Shaw in relation to THEIR MOVIES, I'm sure finding if something was dubbed or not shouldn't be all that difficult. I think just about everything was dubbed anyways for possible sales. A lot of these dubbed Shaw's surface in Third World countries on reels (FRIENDS being a recent example). Anybody can look up a film at the Library of Congress.

Yes, BUT Celestial is a bunch of boobs and the collection at the time was all over the place. They had no idea what they got in relation to English Language materials. Celestial would have just told Image "No we don't have it". Same with Have Sword Will Travel until they found it while finally cataloging the dubs and cleaning them up for English language markets (tv, dvd, etc), they would not know where it was if they ever thought they had it. At that point in time Celestial couldn't find anything!

Whats this about Friends?

[oldeschool17]

The dub in the LOCongress holdings which allowed Image to help Celestial find it in their own archive.

Actually one cool thing I knew from Linn is that Brave Archer 4 WAS dubbed and does exist somewhere.
In all due respect, you are taking credit where credit isnt due. Linn even told you that Celestial has the dubs all long it just wasnt a priority until they started picking up distro's in the US. It was just poor negotiating on IMAGE's part to not pick up all of the dubs for their releases amongst other contract stipulations that they didnt work out.

[gfanikf]

In all due respect, you are taking credit where credit isnt due. Linn even told you that Celestial has the dubs all long it just wasnt a priority until they started picking up distro's in the US. It was just poor negotiating on IMAGE's part to not pick up all of the dubs for their releases amongst other contract stipulations that they didnt work out.

No, it wasn't. Celestial had no idea they had it. It had nothing to do with bad negotiation, they were able to use the archive info from the LOC to locate the dub in their own archive. Linn never said they had all the dubs at any point. It had nothing to do with contract negotiations. Hell, before I came across it in the LOC Linn didn't even think ICOC was ever dubbed.

[oldeschool17]

No, it wasn't. Celestial had no idea they had it. It had nothing to do with bad negotiation, they were able to use the archive info from the LOC to locate the dub in their own archive. Linn never said they had all the dubs at any point. It had nothing to do with contract negotiations. Hell, before I came across it in the LOC Linn didn't even think ICOC was ever dubbed.
Did you personally notify IMAGE/Celestial of said dubs that you saw on LOC? Let me expand on that. By you saying you found dubbed shaw releases at LOC, how does that help Celestial in locating the dubs? Did you reference a serial # to Celestial/IMAGE that would match to their records?

[gfanikf]

Did you personally notify IMAGE/Celestial of said dubs that you saw on LOC? Let me expand on that. By you saying you found dubbed shaw releases at LOC, how does that help Celestial in locating the dubs? Did you reference a serial # to Celestial/IMAGE that would match to their records?

Yes it did via numbers in the registration data and Yes I did inform them via Linn.

[oldeschool17]

Yes it did via numbers in the registration data and Yes I did inform them via Linn.
Last question(s). When did you pass on this info to Linn? Last year, the year before? Im curious so that we can see what kind of timeline was involved between your discovery and when linn notified Image/Celestial.

So let me ask you for clarification again. You say that Celestial had no idea that they had this dub. So are you saying they do not have a catalogue system for their dubs that references them by Title? They can only reference based on serial #'s/sku's or in this case, registration data?

[gfanikf]

Last question(s). When did you pass on this info to Linn? Last year, the year before? Im curious so that we can see what kind of timeline was involved between your discovery and when linn notified Image/Celestial.

So let me ask you for clarification again. You say that Celestial had no idea that they had this dub. So are you saying they do not have a catalogue system for their dubs that references them by Title? They can only reference based on serial #'s/sku's or in this case, registration data?

Bingo! Their system until recently was really screwed up or just non-existent.

In regards to when, it should still be in the official dub thread.
2006.09.25, 02:24 PM
Not sure where the original thread is but Kwoki Choi linked to it around that time
http://kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3001&page=4

It was in Sept of 06 when I posted about it with Seven and Linn sent it to Image.

Hey, I'm just happy it wound up on the DVD.

I can't wait to hear the dub on Opium and the Kung Fu Master :)

[venoms5]

Whats this about Friends?

I know someone who has dubs for several Shaw movies on reels, FRIENDS is one of them.

I'm guessing here but I'd say everything was dubbed for potential sales most especially in Third World countries where they couldn't afford bigger movies, Chinese films were incredibly cheap and easy to buy to satisfy distributors for the product.

Considering a number of the Wu Xia swordplay films from Chu Yuan have surfaced dubbed in English, movies that do not translate well to audiences outside of Asia, then it's quite possible everything was dubbed into English.

The Shaw's should have had all their various release prints in their vaults when Celestial acquired the catalog. Dragon Dynasty was the first to get a number of titles so you're saying they didn't bother to request for English language versions? Considering they are an AMERICAN company, why would DD or Celestial for that matter not be interested in the demographics for the nationality purchasing their acquisitions?

Granted, taking into consideration these films weren't kept in the best conditions so maybe a number of those English language versions don't exist anymore but I'd bet that they were there at one time. Plus, those separate tracks cost extra. You don't just get Mandarin, Cantonese and or English for the price of one.

Linn said in one of those posts, as he was asked the question as to why DD and MB were able to get the dubbed soundtracks and not Image for titles that clearly have them, his response was that DD and MB were better at negotiating with Celestial and Image were not.

By saying "Celestial are a bunch of boobs", and "they don't know what they have" is a bit far fetched and is hardly support for your "theory" that you are responsible for dubs being on Shaw Brothers DVD's in the United States.

I can't picture a company paying millions for a movie library and not cataloging what they have. However, considering these movies were being released for the ASIAN MARKET (again, that little '3' inside the globe on the back of the box) it's completely understandable that they would be less interested in markets outside of Asia......but they weren't. In the beginning it was a "buy them all or nothing" and when no one was biting outside of Asia they began selling them in packages. (Refer to paragraph above again).

[gfanikf]

Look I'm going on with what I've heard from several people who had been at the Shaws library. Celestial did catalog their Chinese materials, the better negotiation skills for DD was because they were with Disney and could ask for anything. MB was after Celestial took the stick up out of their ass. Image got them during a time where the stick was firmly up Celestials ass and they had not started cataloging and re-mastering them

I only said I was responsible for the dub for Deadly Breaking Sword and ICOC, I never claimed any other dub was because of me. Hell, in Linn's Liner notes for ICOC (before Image decided to stop doing them) he mentions Paul and me by name. I heard him read an excerpt from it to me once.

EDIT: I think I should add that I didn't mean to imply I opened up all of the dubs or something, just these two. I can see why that may look a bit silly otherwise. I also didn't mean to get jumpy on anyone.

[bobo]

i,d like to add something if i may. i beleived all along that celestial had access to all the english dubs . i,m pretty sure that all of the DRAGON DYNASTY--MEDIA BLASTER and BCI shaws are suposed to becoming with the english dubs. as for IMAGE the last time i had an email conver with them they told me that from now on they would make every effort to get the dubs for all future releases. they are including the dub for INTIMATE CONFESSIONS and KISS OF DEATH .as for HUMAN LANTERNS and BAT WITHOUT WINGS we,ll just have to wait and see because for some reason they seem to skip info on their website. i,m trying to convince them to rerelease HAVE SWORD WILL TRAVEL with the dubs but so far no luck. anyway from here on in theres no excuse for any of these companies not to pursue the dubbed versions. just as a side note some of the other dubs found at the LOC were-THE PIRATE--THUNDERBOLT FIST--GOLDEN SWALLOW--VALLEY OF THE FANGS--FIST OF VENGEANCE--14 AMAZONS--NAVAL COMMANDOS--DELIGHTFUL FOREST--BAMBOO HOUSE OF DOLLS--SPIRITUAL BOXER and DEADLY BREAKING SWORD. its up to us fans to keep the pressure on these companies to get the dubs. quick question for gfanikf--any word yet on the BCI releases ? thanks

[oldeschool17]

i,d like to add something if i may. i beleived all along that celestial had access to all the english dubs . i,m pretty sure that all of the DRAGON DYNASTY--MEDIA BLASTER and BCI shaws are suposed to becoming with the english dubs. as for IMAGE the last time i had an email conver with them they told me that from now on they would make every effort to get the dubs for all future releases. they are including the dub for INTIMATE CONFESSIONS and KISS OF DEATH .as for HUMAN LANTERNS and BAT WITHOUT WINGS we,ll just have to wait and see because for some reason they seem to skip info on their website. i,m trying to convince them to rerelease HAVE SWORD WILL TRAVEL with the dubs but so far no luck. anyway from here on in theres no excuse for any of these companies not to pursue the dubbed versions. just as a side note some of the other dubs found at the LOC were-THE PIRATE--THUNDERBOLT FIST--GOLDEN SWALLOW--VALLEY OF THE FANGS--FIST OF VENGEANCE--14 AMAZONS--NAVAL COMMANDOS--DELIGHTFUL FOREST--BAMBOO HOUSE OF DOLLS--SPIRITUAL BOXER and DEADLY BREAKING SWORD. its up to us fans to keep the pressure on these companies to get the dubs. quick question for gfanikf--any word yet on the BCI releases ? thanks

Bobo, you have to realize with Have Sword Will Travel, that it would cost extra for them to acquire the dub and not to mention the manufacturing cost to re-release it. I highly doubt they made much money of the existing release let alone break even.

[oldeschool17]

Look I'm going on with what I've heard from several people who had been at the Shaws library. Celestial did catalog their Chinese materials, the better negotiation skills for DD was because they were with Disney and could ask for anything. MB was after Celestial took the stick up out of their ass. Image got them during a time where the stick was firmly up Celestials ass and they had not started cataloging and re-mastering them

I only said I was responsible for the dub for Deadly Breaking Sword and ICOC, I never claimed any other dub was because of me. Hell, in Linn's Liner notes for ICOC (before Image decided to stop doing them) he mentions Paul and me by name. I heard him read an excerpt from it to me once.

EDIT: I think I should add that I didn't mean to imply I opened up all of the dubs or something, just these two. I can see why that may look a bit silly otherwise. I also didn't mean to get jumpy on anyone.

I think we're at a stalemate on this matter and I apologize for bring the tone down in this thread. We see eye to eye on some points and disagree on others. Let's just leave it at that.

[gfanikf]

I think we're at a stalemate on this matter and I apologize for bring the tone down in this thread. We see eye to eye on some points and disagree on others. Let's just leave it at that.

I agree, besides it takes time away from discussing important things like Ninjas and the sort :)

[gfanikf]

quick question for gfanikf--any word yet on the BCI releases ? thanks

Sorry Bobo none at the moment, things are moving along though :)

[venomchamber]

Considering a number of the Wu Xia swordplay films from Chu Yuan have surfaced dubbed in English, movies that do not translate well to audiences outside of Asia, then it's quite possible everything was dubbed into English.

...so hopefully Images's BAT WITHOUT WINGS will feature the North American debut of an English dub!

Since last year's releases, Image seems to have "improved their image" so to speak and have released 3 consecutive rarities with English dubs (DEADLY BREAKING SWORD, THE MAGIC BLADE, INTIMATE CONFESSIONS OF A CHINESE COURTESAN), and the fact many can't find these at retail shows business must be brisk!
For those searching the NYC area, the Best Buy (are they the only ones that stock these things?) on Broadway/Houston Street was sold-out of ICOACC, and the one on Bay Parkway in Brooklyn was sold-out of both MB and ICOACC, while the one located on West 23rd Street Mid-town still had a couple copies left of both titles as well as the non-dubbed SHAOLIN INTRUDERS. (I guess those 9 to 5 executive-types don't really fo for SB films!) lol
Kim's Video Underground on St. Mark's Place in the Village will have 'em, but their prices tend to be around $5 bucks higher on these discs.

Hope this info is useful.

[magicpoe]

FYI for those who pre-ordered this title from deepdiscount. Yours should be on the way soon.

[Tosh]

Thats some dedication for a movie! I guess im just lucky to get them on time and in stock( i think they only had 2 copies of this when I was there). So maybe tosh will buy the other one :D

Tagged, but where did you find Heroes Two?

[oldeschool17]

Tagged, but where did you find Heroes Two?
Heroes Two hasnt popped up at Best Buy yet, last I checked, which was I believe this past Saturday or Sunday. I even called FYE and they dont have it and i was at circuit city and they dont have it.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

Tagged, but where did you find Heroes Two?

the Suncoast in my area got it in today. I would give your local Suncoast/FYE a call to see if they have it.

[bravearcher101]

The Image print of Intimate Confessions Of A Chinese Courtesan is a very good one, it also has a good english dub

[Morgoth Bauglir]

I agree. great sounding dub, and great pic quality. I couldn't be happier.

[dewolfeaddict]

Hey folks, this is "sevenhooks" here.
Just wanted to quickly chime in w/regards to the whole LOC/dubbing issue.
It is true that gfanikf and myself (but gfanikf especially) spent many hours combing through the LOC site to track down titles that had been cataloged with the dubs.
I'd say with almost 100% certainty that both DEADLY BREAKING SWORD and ICOCC would've been released on DVD WITHOUT the english dubs were it not for our collaborative efforts.
And yes, Linn took our information and presented it to Image and the rest is history.

And yes, the horrible cataloging (at least at the time) of Celestial's archive in addition to the general lack of film knowledge among their staff have definitely contributed to the lack of dubs up to this point.

Since the sale of certain titles to British satellite tv, the situation has seemingly gotten better.

(although I still wouldn't hold my breath regarding any future Image titles containing dubs)

Also, it is true that Dragon Dynasty had originally not even BOTHERED to acquire the dubs at first!
The story went that either Celestial was asking for too much money and/or DD wanted to actually RE-DUB the films in order to "update" them!
Whatever the case was, it took a couple of years before ANY DD Shaw titles surfaced, and when they finally did, the OG dubs were thankfully included.
It's wise to note that in the interim, an absolute uproar went out over the internet demanding that DD re-work their contract w/Celestial to include the dubs.

How much of that uproar actually had to do with the proper releases finally coming to light is a mystery.

[gfanikf]

Thanks 7

Just wanted to add that I picked this up with DBS at Best Buy today (no Heroes Two). I have to say ICOCC sounds fairly mint. The transfer is an IVL one I think (smeary and soft), but still a gorgeous print.

[tarim69]

But is this uncut? Theres a a coupel minutes missing from the IVL version.
Can someone whos familiar with both version please verify.

[Monk Sante]

Got my copy of the Intimate Confessions DVD, can't wait to see it (english dub and all).:cool:

[Tosh]

Damnit I still haven't got a chance to watch it yet!

[Mark Pollard]

For oldschool17, here is a side-by-side comparison of the Image and IVL releases. I don't have the Siren or CTV versions. I don't have time to post more images as I'm working on the disc review at the moment. The only difference I see is that the Image version actually appears to be slightly cropped.

http://kungfucinema.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=24&pictureid=272

I do know that if The Weinstein company had released this, they would have run it through a color-enhancing process. Their SB releases look much more vibrant.

http://kungfucinema.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=24&pictureid=273

[Mark Pollard]

Here's a video sample of the Image version with the English dub. Visit the Youtube page to see a higher-resolution version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0vg0psI7uY

H0vg0psI7uY

[oldeschool17]

Thanks mark

[bobo]

just got my copy yesterday and watched it as soon as i got home. LOVED IT. i of course watched the dub version and as i have said in the past i just don't know why some people don't like the dubs--i thought it was great-- i'd gladly buy every old school shaw dub there is.

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

Well, most of the dubs for the Shaw movies, and GH was pretty good! Most of the dubs for the indie flicks are pretty bad, especially the ones with heavy accents! So I think the dub hate stems from that!

[Mark Pollard]

REVIEW: Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (DVD - Image Entertainment)
http://www.kungfucinema.com/?p=1972

[venoms5]

Mark, in this paragraph from your review you mention...

Bonus content is lighter than on SB releases from Dragon Dynasty and Crash Cinema but it appears that Image is making some effort to address this.

Do you mean Media Blasters instead of Crash?

[Mark Pollard]

Yes, I did. Thanks for catching that.

[Killer Meteor]

just got my copy yesterday and watched it as soon as i got home. LOVED IT. i of course watched the dub version and as i have said in the past i just don't know why some people don't like the dubs--i thought it was great-- i'd gladly buy every old school shaw dub there is.

Well geeze Bobo, some people don't like hearing films in a language different to what was intended AND some people don't like seeing Chinese people speaking with phoney mid-atlantic accents.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

oldschool original dubs rule. Only time I read the subs is if it's the only option. And it's not just the voices I like, but the dialogue on the dubs usually make more sense to me than the subs. For example, Killer Constable is my favorite Shaw Brothers movie, but if I would have had to read those crappy subs the first time I saw it, it probably wouldn't even be in my top 10. It really hurt the movie. And the voices on the sub version suck too. Pretty much everything is wrong with it. Only positive about the subbed version is that the picture is remastered.

[oldeschool17]

And the voices on the sub version suck too. Pretty much everything is wrong with it.
So you dont like the actual actor's voices?

Meh, cant we just keep the dubs discussion in that one thread dedicated to dubs? This can easily become a drama infested thread. :eek:

[Killer Meteor]

So you dont like the actual actor's voices?

Meh, cant we just keep the dubs discussion in that one thread dedicated to dubs? This can easily become a drama infested thread. :eek:

Actually, those aren't the actor's voices! It wasn't until the 90s that HK films had the actors provide their own lines as standard. Before then, the films were shot silent, and a bunch of actors (using the term loosely) would dub them into Chinese. For example. the first Chinese Jackie Chan film where you actually hear his voice in the Chinese version is Supercop

[oldeschool17]

Actually, those aren't the actor's voices! It wasn't until the 90s that HK films had the actors provide their own lines as standard. Before then, the films were shot silent, and a bunch of actors (using the term loosely) would dub them into Chinese. For example. the first Chinese Jackie Chan film where you actually hear his voice in the Chinese version is Supercop

oh thats right

[Morgoth Bauglir]

Pai Paio's voice is probably the worst voice on the Chinese version of Killer Constable. His character's voice should be really wicked sounding, but it's not even close. It's like they didn't even pay attention to what the characters should sound like when they hired the voice actors.

[oldeschool17]

Pai Paio's voice is probably the worst voice on the Chinese version of Killer Constable. His character's voice should be really wicked sounding, but it's not even close. It's like they didn't even pay attention to what the characters should sound like when they hired the voice actors.
that can be said bout lots of english dubbers too:D

l

[Morgoth Bauglir]

that can be said bout lots of english dubbers too:D

l

yeah that's true. In Shaolin Temple Strikes BAck, Cliff Ching Ching plays this big super badass dude, and they give him a really high pitched voice. It's so funny. But the English version of Killer Constable is well done. Even with the limited voice actors they had they still did a very good job.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

All in all, it's just preference. I for one can't stand reading subtitles when I know there's a good English dub available.

[chen lung]

For example. the first Chinese Jackie Chan film where you actually hear his voice in the Chinese version is Supercop
'Twin Dragons' for a snippet: "How do you know?" in English actually:D, but yeah :).

[venoms5]

One of the reasons aside from economics related for other performers doing the voices has to do with the fact that these voice actors could speak whatever dialect perfectly and the dialog would come through much clearer. However, I think there were occasions in which an actor did his own voice in some of the older films.

How anybody can say an inferior dub is far better than the original spoken word is perplexing. To each their own I guess. These movies play on a far more serious level in Chinese than they do with the laugh inducing effect these films propagate in English when viewed by somebody even remotely curious about these movies. For the genre to grow these movies need to be viewed on a more serious level to gain respect for what is arguably the most maligned film genre out there.

[venoms5]

IMO, the dub for KILLER CONSTABLE is pretty bad. There's a couple of spots where dialog isn't even translated into English not to mention a few silly high pitched voices that play havoc with the downer nature of the film.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

You didn't like the dub for Killer Constable? I thought every single voice was above average. Are there English dubs you do like?

[Morgoth Bauglir]

How anybody can say an inferior dub is far better than the original spoken word is perplexing. To each their own I guess. These movies play on a far more serious level in Chinese than they do with the laugh inducing effect these films propagate in English when viewed by somebody even remotely curious about these movies. For the genre to grow these movies need to be viewed on a more serious level to gain respect for what is arguably the most maligned film genre out there.

I can't agree with that at all. Maybe if I spoke Chinese I would listen to the Chinese dub, but when an English dub is done well, to me it is far superior to a Chinese dub. And I do view these movies on a serious level, very serious (like Killer Constable). I just love the dubs for most oldschool movies. But if you were talking aboiut newer movies, I would agree with you. I can't stand English dubs for movies from about 1993 and after.

[venoms5]

You didn't like the dub for Killer Constable? I thought every single voice was above average. Are there English dubs you do like?

Not really. Again, it nearly wrecks the grim atmosphere of the film. The thousands of average and below average indies out there are made more bearable by the ridiculousness of the dubbed voices. Just Shaw Brothers movies I prefer to hear in Chinese.

Even long before Celestial restored these movies, I wondered for years if I would ever be able to see them in their original format save for the scant few I had already seen in Chinese. The experience is far more rewarding to me and I have gotten several fans enamored with these movies by watching them in Chinese who had only ever seen those insulting dubs and thought the movies were low class. Only after seeing them in Chinese did these films earn them an air of respectability.

[venoms5]

That dub was fine for the time as nothing else was available. But upon seeing KILLER CONSTABLE in its original language, a greater appreciation for the film was born from the experience. I'm sure the director intended the film to be seen that way and not some shoddy dub done in 2 to 3 days.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

Yeah indie flicks are most of the time really cheap, so the voices do kind of help it since it's hard to take seriously in the first place. I watch a lot of movies at work (because I'm really lazy and I don't like to actually work), and to my surprise I've gotten a lot of people into these movies. We always repeat the dubbed lines to eachother. Helps get me through work:D

[Morgoth Bauglir]

That dub was fine for the time as nothing else was available. But upon seeing KILLER CONSTABLE in its original language, a greater appreciation for the film was born from the experience. I'm sure the director intended the film to be seen that way and not some shoddy dub done in 2 to 3 days.

You must be referring to that crappy Chinese dub that probably didn't even take a whole day to make:D;)

[venoms5]

You must be referring to that crappy Chinese dub that probably didn't even take a whole day to make:D;)

Ha Ha. I assure you I am referring to the ENGLISH dub of the film. Now if the dubbers had done what was done on many of the older Godzilla movies, as in the dubbers actually doing a voice that would sound remotely like an actual foreigner attempting an English accent, than I might have warmed to these more.

I've never really liked dubs but this was reinforced once I saw a handful of Shaw classics in the proper language.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

Well we just strongly disagree here. that's all. I think it would be really cheesy if they had English guys trying to do Chinese accents.

I will say this, I do like the Shaw Brothers dubs, but they are far from my favorites. All of my favorite dubs are from Seasonal, Golden Harvest and other comapanies.

[oldeschool17]

Can we not keep this thread steered towards the actual movie and not a rehash of dubs vs subs? There is a thread designated for that crap here:
http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3164&highlight=dubs

[HAZ]

I don't think people care much about the films themselves, that's why you don't see much discussion about actual films here, just DVD's & their formatting.

[Killer Meteor]

I don't think people care much about the films themselves, that's why you don't see much discussion about actual films here, just DVD's & their formatting.

Well the thread is about the DVD

[Alex]

I don't think people care much about the films themselves, that's why you don't see much discussion about actual films here, just DVD's & their formatting.

i often get this feeling reading some of these threads

[Killer Meteor]

i often get this feeling reading some of these threads

I think its unfair to suggest that. I do care about the films a LOT. I also care about them getting an acceptable DVD transfer, which many do not get. Surely we can discuss both without being accused of not caring?

[oldeschool17]

Ok since there's no talk about the actual movie, i'll step up and say something.

Finally got to watching this. Spoilers ahead
I liked the movie. Chu Yuan definently played up the lesbian love angle quite well and tasteful. Lily Ho and Betty Tei Pei had good chemistry. I think it was rather funny that Betty Tei Pei did not think Lily Ho would turn on her, considering everybody that had wronged her was getting killed not to mention she promised Man Chung Sang she would avenge him. However, Betty Tei Pei gets the last laugh in the end. Good emotional connection between the 2 as well(Betty definitely showed that she really loved Lily Ho and you could definitely empathize for Lily Ho). The action was decent but nothing to write home about.
Overall: 4 out of 5
Story: 4
Scenery/Atmosphere: 5
Action: 3.5

Recommend to all Chu Yuan fans

[venoms5]

I talked about the movie on page 3.:D I can't even think of a time I talked about a dvd presentation (at least not in any great detail) as opposed to the actual movie itself.:D

[oldeschool17]

oh i was being facetious. cause you know, god forbid we talk about specs of a dvd that can help people decide what versions to buy/keep, etc. but then again, i guess i just dont care about the movies, right?:rolleyes:

[venoms5]

oh i was being facetious. cause you know, god forbid we talk about specs of a dvd that can help people decide what versions to buy/keep, etc. but then again, i guess i just dont care about the movies, right?:rolleyes:

:p:):D

[Tosh]

Ok since there's no talk about the actual movie, i'll step up and say something.

Finally got to watching this. Spoilers ahead
I liked the movie. Chu Yuan definently played up the lesbian love angle quite well and tasteful. Lily Ho and Betty Tei Pei had good chemistry. I think it was rather funny that Betty Tei Pei did not think Lily Ho would turn on her, considering everybody that had wronged her was getting killed not to mention she promised Man Chung Sang she would avenge him. However, Betty Tei Pei gets the last laugh in the end. Good emotional connection between the 2 as well(Betty definitely showed that she really loved Lily Ho and you could definitely empathize for Lily Ho). The action was decent but nothing to write home about.
Overall: 4 out of 5
Story: 4
Scenery/Atmosphere: 5
Action: 3.5

Recommend to all Chu Yuan fans

Dangit I still haven't been able to get to this one, it's still sitting in my dvd player, between work and Hockey I haven't had time, I mean two beatiful Asian girls making out on screen:eek:What the hell am I waiting for?

[oldeschool17]

Dangit I still haven't been able to get to this one, it's still sitting in my dvd player, between work and Hockey I haven't had time, I mean two beatiful Asian girls making out on screen:eek:What the hell am I waiting for?
Not sure what movies you like, but I imagine you would like this if you are a fan of Chu Yuan's work.

[Tosh]

Well I'm 100% positive I'll love this flick, one of those that always has escaped me over the years, but I've heard and read nothing but great things about it. Of course I'm a Shaw fan thick and thin, I can only think of one or two titles I didn't like.

[vengeanceofhumanlanterns]

Tosh, you'll appreciate this film. It's a well done Chu Yuan film (comparatively speaking). I just watched this version and have to say it was quite a pleasurable experience.

[Tosh]

Um yeah, this one fits nicely in the middle of my all time top ten now, after sitting down last night I realized I was about to watch a couple hours of reruns on adult swim, watched this instead, little different movie than what I was expecting, in a better than I thought way.

[Lo Lieh]

Um yeah, this one fits nicely in the middle of my all time top ten now, after sitting down last night I realized I was about to watch a couple hours of reruns on adult swim, watched this instead, little different movie than what I was expecting, in a better than I thought way.

I've always wondered what this movie was like. I guess theres not very much kung fu in this one hey?

[venoms5]

It's a good amount of fighting. It's about as classy as an exploitation movie can get. The ending however, throws subtlety out the window. A little bit of everything in this one. I can't believe I passed on the subbed VHS tape years back. A must see and important classic. If you don't care for early 70s swordplay style action you might want to read up on it more as there's a bit more going on here than just fighting. Lesbianism, sex, torture, gore and revenge are amidst the fighting. It's still an important movie in Chu Yuan's career that any fan should see at least once.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

Loved the ending. It was like a competition to see who had more hate in them.

[Tosh]

I have to say the English dub came in handy the otherday when I wanted to show my friend after drinking a 12 pack at the pool(lets face it, it gets hard to read the subtitles after a certian point:p), and I do love a good Shaw dub every once in a while.

I wouldn't mind being the filling of a lesbian rice cake sandwich at the moment:D

[chen lung]

I have to say the English dub came in handy the otherday when I wanted to show my friend after drinking a 12 pack at the pool(lets face it, it gets hard to read the subtitles after a certian point:p), and I do love a good Shaw dub every once in a while.
I'm sure The Running Man does the same :).