The Man from Hong Kong (DVD – Retrofilm)

THE MAN FROM HONG KONG, starring Jimmy Wang Yu and George Lazenby, was recently released on this all-region (PAL) DVD in Germany on the Retrofilm label. This attractive and feature-rich version is available with two different covers and includes the uncut Australian print, remastered with 2.0 English audio, an English audio commentary from writer-director Brian Trenchard-Smith, and a number of other welcome extras.

In 2007, Fortune Star/Joy Sales released a remastered version of the same film on DVD. How it varies on content I cannot say as I have not had a chance to see it as of this review. I can say it is listed as the same length and comes with English audio only and optional Chinese subtitles. There is supposed to be at least two different versions of the film and Wang Yu is credited as director of the Hong Kong version. IMDB lists the running time at 111 minutes, eight minutes longer than either print. As far as I can tell both DVD versions are the same as a 103-minute print that was restored by Kodak and Atlab Australia.

Retrofilm’s release looks fabulous. The print is in excellent condition and the 16×9 transfer to DVD is well done apart from the failure to completely fill widescreen displays vertically. The English audio track has Jimmy Wang Yu’s dialogue dubbed. That was how the film was originally released in Australia. The voice actor is the late Roy Chiao, a veteran Chinese actor who appeared in INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM. Interestingly, Sammo Hung’s brief dialogue was also dubbed but by some anonymous Mandarin speaker. English subs for Sammo appears to have been altered from their original translation, possibly changing some of the context of what the director had intended.

Audio Commentary with Brian Trenchard-Smith – Based on dated comments made by the filmmaker in this commentary, it sounds like he recorded it in 2001 which would make sense as that was also the date that the film was restored. He’s a charming fellow who discusses a variety of subjects related to the production of the film while interjecting a few phone conversations with stunt coordinator Grant Page and co-star Hugh Keays-Byrne. Page briefly talks about his fight with Wang Yu and goes into greater detail on his hand-gliding stunts. One of the topics that Brian dwells on throughout the commentary is the satirical nature of the film that frankly I almost completely missed. He says that many audiences at the time didn’t get the humor. I don’t think anything has changed. While I do think some of his critical self-analysis of his early writing and direction are spot on I do think he hasn’t quite figured out that the film isn’t a comedy as he had intended it to be. He also talks about working with Wang Yu, although he seems to have an inflated opinion of Wang Yu’s abilities compared with his fellow Hong Kong peers. Sammo Hung is also discussed, as is Jackie Chan even though Jackie was not involved with this film. It’s a decent track although it could have benefited from a second person in the same room with him, perhaps to bounce some questions back and forth for a little more in depth discussion.

Trailers – There are 13 original theatrical trailers for 12 different Jimmy Wang Yu movies. There are German-language trailers for THE MAN FROM HONG KONG, THE DESPERATE CHASE, THE SILVER SPEAR, BEACH OF THE WAR GODS, and THE MILLIONAIRES’ EXPRESS. English-language trailers are provided for THE MAN FROM HONG KONG, MA SU CHEN, THE THUNDERING NINJA, FURIOUS SLAUGHTER, and KNIGHT ERRANT. Chinese-language trailers include ISLAND OF FIRE and THE ONE-ARMED BOXER.

Australian Movie Magazine (1 minute) – Short, newsreel-style footage in black and white of Jimmy Wang Yu arriving in Australia to meet with producers and some of his co-stars prior to shooting THE MAN FROM HONG KONG.

Premiere in Australia (1 minute) – Black and white, newsreel-style footage of the Australian premiere of THE MAN FROM HONG KONG. Wang Yu is conspicuously missing from the footage.

Gallery – Large slideshow gallery is packed with original promotional art, lobby cards, posters, and VHS and soundtrack cover art from different countries.

Format: Region 0 PAL DVD
Aspect Ratio: 16×9 Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio: German 2.0, English 2.0
Subtitles: German, English
Length: 103 minutes
Release Date: 2008.08.08

Currently, the disc appears to only be available at a few German online shops that I am unfamiliar with. To find them search for “Der Mann von Hongkong” and “Retrofilm.” Hopefully it will find its way to Amazon.de or some other well known retailer outside of Germany. If I get any notable updates on availability I’ll post it here.