Protege (DVD – Dragon Dynasty)

Dragon Dynasty’s DVD release of PROTÉGÉ features a vibrant anamorphic print, original Cantonese 5.1 and newly dubbed English 5.1 soundtracks, and a nice little collection of bonus material. The cover art does a good job of promoting the lead actors but resorts to using the single worst cliché of all time by having Wu pose with a gun in hand. What does this say about this movie that is accurate? Nothing. Wu doesn’t pick up a gun once. I imagine somewhere there is an image library full of random hands holding guns that artists use to slap onto any cover. The artist also sneaks in some explosions that have no place being here. As usual, it’s Hollywood marketing shenanigans at work to make a few extra bucks. What they should have put on the cover was a shot of Wu laying on his drug-addicted neighbor’s couch in his police uniform. That’s what the movie represents. You have to see the movie to know what I’m talking about.

Audio Commentary with Bey Logan – Bey is usually providing commentaries for martial arts and action movies from Hong Kong but as a Hong Kong producer and longtime industry insider he able to transition seamlessly to discussing this dramatic work from a former Shaw Brothers martial arts actor, writer and director Derek Yee. I only had time to skim through the commentary for 15 minutes or so, long enough to hear Bey treat the film with the same care and attention he affords to the martial arts movies he enjoys talking about most. Bey’s skill as a commentator is that despite his knowledge of the Hong Kong film industry he always presents it in a way that even first-time Hong Kong movie watchers can absorb. It’s worth a listen if you enjoyed this film and want to learn more about the production and those involved with it.

The Making of PROTÉGÉ (15 minutes) – Director Derek Yee and the lead cast members discuss their preparation for the film and their use of various real-world locations to lend the film more realism. There is, however, very little in the way of discussion on actually making the movie. Most of the time is used up by discussing the evils of drug use and how this movie was designed to send that message to teenagers.

Exclusive interview with Daniel Wu (27 minutes) – Speaking in English, his native language for those who don’t know that Daniel Wu is American born and bred, he talks at length about working on the film and especially working with Yee and his co-stars. At one point he is asked about Yee in regards to the filmmaker being a former Shaw Brothers star and Daniel provides a glimpse into how Yee has transitioned away from acting and what it was like to work with Yee in front of the camera on this film. One thing the segment could have done without were several film clips interspersed. DD uses the corny English-dub version which really cheapens Daniel’s serious discussion of the film. I’m also just tired of seeing these interviews on DD releases broken up by unnecessary film clips. Anyone watching these segments has undoubtedly already seen the movie and doesn’t need to be reminded, particularly when it puts the interview on pause.

Exclusive interview with Zhang Jing-chu (21 minutes) – Daniel’s female co-star Jing-chu, who plays his heroin-addicted neighbor in the film, talks about her role and preparation for the film. She’s a native Mandarin speaker but is a very good English speaker also. Even so, I couldn’t get half way through the interview. It’s like sitting at a dinner party with in-laws and being forced to listen to someone talk about their mundane job when you would rather be out playing hoops, watching a kung fu movie or running for your life. No offense intended to Jing-chu. She’s attractive, seems like a nice gal and gives a solid acting performance in this movie.

Exclusive interview with producer Peter Chan (14 minutes) – THE WARLORDS producer-director Peter Chan talks about his role as producer on PROTÉGÉ. This is an interesting segment where Chan breaks down his impression of the film in a succinct and clear manner while making a couple important points. One point is in regards to how PROTÉGÉ involved a lot of research which is uncommon for Hong Kong cinema and this is what got him interested in the project in the first place. The second point Chan makes is a defense of the Hong Kong film industry’s method of turning out acting talents which generally involves grabbing pop idols and models who he admits are generally not that committed to acting initially but sometimes turn out to be very good. He makes this argument within the context of talking about Andy Lau, one of Hong Kong’s most successful crossover entertainers who has earned respect as an actor through hard work despite being an idol. I agree with his assessment of Lau but I still believe his argument is weak, particularly when you look at the current line up of Hong Kong acting talent working today. Many of them are great entertainers but very few are great actors like Anthony Wong.

Trailers – For once, DD has included an original theatrical trailer for one of its releases. It’s always nice to see how a movie is marketed in its home territory while collectors will appreciate having a quality trailer to add to their stash.

Format: Region 1 NTSC DVD
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Widescreen (1.78:1)
Audio: Cantonese 5.1, English 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
Length: 109 minutes
Release Date: 2009.02.24

Related Topics: Bey Logan, Dragon Dynasty, DVD