City Hunter
1993/95 mins.
Released by MediaAsia/MegaStar Video(Import-All Regions Release)
Rated NR(Probably would be PG-13)
Starring Jackie Chan, Richard Norton, Gary Daniels, Joey Wang,
Kumiko Goto, and Chingmy Yau
Directed by Wong Jing
Format: Single Sided/Single Layered
Reviewed by Robby Cox
e-mail: koi@magicnet.net
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Opening Remarks: As you guys probably know, I am a Jackie Chan
fanatic. I have seen nearly all of his films and have most of
them on DVD and Video. Anyways, I ordered this disc from
Amazon.com, and here is what I thought of it.
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Movie Quality: City Hunter kicks ass! There is no better way to
put it. This movie is just awesome. I had read in Jackie Chan:
The Best of Inside Kung-Fu, that Jackie hated this movie. Okay,
maybe hated is too strong of a word, but he didn't care for this
movie and he stated that if he had directed this film instead of
Wong Jing, that they would currently be making City Hunter 2. I
think that this overstates the facts. First off, City Hunter is
not your average JC film. It is extremely silly and is totally
over the top. City Hunter is based on a Japanese comic book
series and cartoon. This may explain the silliness, but I found
it very funny. Jackie plays Ryu Saeba, a private eye who is
entrusted with caring for his dead partners sister, Kaori, whom
he promised her brother that he would never seduce. She's in love
with him, but he can't really tell her that he loves her. They
are then hired by a Japanese tycoon to find his missing daughter.
They track her to a cruise ship and all kinds of craziness
ensues. One of the funniest things in the whole movie is that Ryu
can never decide which girl he really loves. He is infatuated
with 4 women at once. Anyways, the comedy is great, the fights
are awesome, and there are enough stunts and action to keep you
entertained. Jackie gives a nice performance, as do Richard
Norton who was great in Mr. Nice Guy, and Gary Daniels. The
ladies are excellent, as well. You should definitely check this
film out. It is amazing!
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Video Quality: This disc looks excellent. It's much better than
what the usual Hong Kong videos look like, but it doesn't look as
good as say the Rush Hour, Mr. Nice Guy, or JC's Who Am I? discs
do. Those DVDs looks better, but this disc still looks great. The
colors are very good and the film is letter boxed in it's correct
aspect ratio of 1:66.1(?). There are specs of dust and scratches
on the film's negative, but these aren't annoying. They're just
noticeable. The American release may fix these things. That is,
if there's an American release. Anyways, you won't disappointed
with the video quality of this disc.
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Sound Quality: This disc sounds amazing! The disc features 2
langauage tracks, Cantonese and Mandarin, in Dolby Digital
Surround. The surround fx are amazing. This is the best sounding
Hong Kong film that I have ever heard. The music is great, but I
don't know what they're saying. There are 8 different subtitle
tracks to choose from and they work great. I was really impressed
with the sound and subtitles:)
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Extras: This is another area where this disc really impressed me.
There are a nice amount of extras on this disc. There are 5
trailers on this disc; the original theatrical trailer of City
Hunter, Police Story, Miracles(aka Mr. Canton and Lady Rose),
Jackie Chan: My Stunts, and a MediaAsia DVD trailer that featured
clips from the rest of their DVD catalog. There are also
Production Notes and Cast and Crew Bios and Filmographies in
Chinese and English! The trailer of JC: My Stunts is in
English?!? The animated menus are awesome! The first menu is one
of the best that I have ever seeen.
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Improve: Clean up the video a little more and maybe an English
language track.
RIYL: The Young Master, Dragons Forever, Fearless Hyena, Armor of
God.
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Overall Opinion: This disc really impressed me. I figured that it
would just be the movie only with maybe stereo sound. That would
be all that was on the disc. Boy, was I wrong. This disc is great
and you should definitely check it out. The price is a bit
steep($35 from Amazon.com, $50 from Tai Seng Video), but it's
well worth it. Awesome movie, awesome disc:)
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Movie Quality: *****
Video Quality: ****
Sound Quality: *****
Extras: *****
Personal Opinion: *****
Total: 24 out of 25
Final Score: 96 %