I am a huge fan of foreign cinema. It gives me a chance to enjoy unique and unconventional films without the predictability and overly optimistic Hollywood undertones. So it goes without saying that anytime I get the opportunity to observe foreign film I welcome it with open arms. Already being a huge fan of Chinese cinema I hope Curse of the Golden Flower can hold up to what I’ve come to expect from past viewings

Curse of the Golden Flower is a fictitious story told in 10th century China where the ambitious Emperor Ping (Chow Yun-Fat, Hard Boiled) has abandoned his first wife to obtain the hand of a Princess later referred to as Empress Phoenix. That’s about as simple as it gets, because things start to get really confusing, encouraging a second viewing. Nevertheless, Ping has no affection for his new wife and gives her n medicine every few hours to keep her in check. But while the story develops we discover the Empress is sleeping with Ping’s son, and learns that she is being poisoned by her husband and the Imperial Doctor. This leads to her leading a rebellion which tears the family apart and tests the loyalty of the Emperor’s two sons as well as others close to him. If you get past the first while which can be extremely over indulging, the story develops into something rather interesting tied in with some nice action scenes.

Normally I’m all for complex characters and expansive storylines, but something seemed to be missing in Curse of the Golden Flower that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Ultimately I felt that the movie was just too slow, focusing too much on unessential aspects of the Ancient Chinese lifestyle, and less on building up the conflicts. But my problems with the films execution didn’t overshadow the brilliance of the filmmakers, Curse of the Golden Flower had amazing character development and some tantalizing martial arts sequences. You can really tell this film wasn’t the workings of Hollywood; things had a way of feeling real, and even Shakespearean. On a completely separate note I have to applaud Chow Yun-Fat for another superb performance, completely selling his role and adding to the depth of the character and movie. But while I didn’t find the film overly interesting, I can still really appreciate the amazing execution of the character development and in-depth storytelling, Cure of the Golden Flower is a true testament to the ever evolving Chinese cinema.

Video

Presented in a 1080p 2.35:1 aspect ratio and encoded in MPEG4, Curse of the Golden Flower nearly has the look of perfection, the interior shots early on in the film look amazing. Almost every color you can think of is shown here and they all look extremely vibrant and crisp. The costume design looks terrific in high definition, sporting both excellent detail and color.

But as good as this transfer looked, there is as always a few negative points worth mentioning. The first thing that comes to mind is the extreme softness in several scenes; more specifically within the poor lighting conditions. And despite the colors looking amazing, the blacks frequently had a tendency of looking washed out. Problems aside this is one of the most colorful looking films I have seen in high definition, not only does it render these colors perfectly, it combines them with exceptional detail to create an almost perfect transfer.

Audio

Sony has included a pair of tracks for this release, a PCM 5.1 Chinese track which sounds the best, or a less highly recommended Dolby Digital 5.1 English dub version. For me the highlight of the track lies within the action sequences scattered throughout the film, be it one on one sword fights or massive battles everything sounds so much better in PCM. For instance whenever arrows were shot they had a tremendous field of depth, traveling from front to rear channels seamlessly with impressive results. In addition to the frequent use of all channels, the dialogue from the front channels sounded crisp and meshed extremely well with a great sounding soundtrack. Once again Sony has provided a pair of excellent sounding audio tracks; this is the best the film will likely sound for a long time to come, easily pleasing fans.

Special Features

A very disappointing lack of features, but at least the Secrets Within featurette is worth some attention, making up for the otherwise lackluster special features.

• Secrets Within: Making of Featurette – A 23 minute look into all aspects Cure of the Golden Flower. Includes interviews with the filmmakers and cast regarding pre production, filming, costume design, etc a pretty interesting look behind the scenes, sure to please fans of the film.
• Los Angeles Premiere – 2 minutes of footage from the Los Angeles premiere of the film, includes a red carpet interview with director Zhang Yimou.

Final Thoughts

The film itself was a bit slow but I appreciated its complexities, just don’t expect to walk into a Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon type martial arts film. Instead get ready to use your mind a bit and enjoy a brilliant sounding audio track combined with an equally impressive video transfer. If it weren’t for the dismal special features section this disc would be a must buy for fans, but even so I’d recommend the purchase for fans. Otherwise rent this one first, because it’s not for everyone.

Special Features List

• Secrets Within: Making of Featurette
• Los Angeles Premiere

Steven Chow directs this action laden martial arts comedy. I loved it and laughed all the way through. The odd, dysfunctional characters were so funny (and well acted) that I just got into the whole spoof, relaxed and enjoyed. The dubbed voices seem to really match up well to their respective characters.Sing (Steven Chow) stars as a loser hoodlum that gets in the middle of a rivalry between the Axe Gang (a group he hopes to join) and a couple of odd, married landlords who turn out to be Kung Fu masters in disguise. It is the latter duo that simply steals the show. The big showdown comes at the end when a newly, reinvented martial artist (Chow), challenges the ultimate Kung Fu bad guy, the Beast! A comical, fun battle begins and ends with a powerful thump guaranteed to blow out a lesser subwoofer!

The fight sequences are well executed, visceral and comical all at the same time. The landlords are hilarious (particularly the yelling attack of the land lady)! Coupled with some powerful sound effects and visuals, this movie delivers on all levels. This is a classic flick for me, and I am happy to own it. The acting here is first rate in terms of eliciting laughs. The characters are hilarious in that each has their own humorous idiosyncrasies that make them so uniquely entertaining when on screen. The film’s finale which showcases the best Kung Fu powers of each of the characters mixes shear drama with out an out laughs and a powerhouse soundtrack. I enjoyed this immensely!

Video

This 2.40 aspect release is excellent. Colors are well saturated in most scenes, but subjectively lack some vibrancy throughout some of the presentation. The dilapidated hotel setting comes across beautifully with rich details but, again, with somewhat muted colors. Contrast is also very good on this disc. Black levels are deep and much detail is preserved throughout. Some film grain is noticed in a few scenes but is not distracting at all to the picture. Much of the time, the film is clean and razor sharp! I did not find any egregious compression artifacts or edge enhancements. The film has only a few softer scenes but mostly things are very sharp. This is a great looking disc! The presentation here is excellent and is adding to the trend of better and better looking Blu-ray titles.

Audio

This film is one sonic tour de force. Recorded level allowed for viewing at -2 from THX reference. As I watched the dubbed 5.1 Dolby Digital version, dialog was not well integrated and as clear (as I’d expect) but certainly good enough not to be distraction after getting used to the overlaid voices. Dialog was very natural and held up well to reference level viewing (e.g. no hard edge). Surround activity is intense with a lot going on in the sound field. At times a 3-D environment is created with the sounds of the over the top martial arts moves. Active and often is the best description of surround activity (and bass for that matter). Dynamic range is also potent with deep, piercing thuds and bodies crashing about during the many fight scenes. Bass is deep and powerful. I would say subjectively to below 20 Hz and loud. This is a film that may overload a few lesser subs. The film’s finale with the sustained bass sequence is so powerful and violent, I found myself nervously eyeing my sub amplifier’s clip meters. Very potent bass! This is a reference audio track. This film will reward those with seat transducers!

Special Features

All of the Special Features included on this discs are presented in standard definition:

• Audio Commentary with Cast and Crew: 2nd audio track with Steven Chow and other actors.
• Deleted Scenes: 3 deleted scenes (Pig Sty, Community Meeting, Meeting Brother Sun).
• Behind the Scenes Featurette: Made for TV short that tells about the making of Kung Fu Hustle and interviews with the various actors.
• Ric Meyers Interview with Steven Chow: A candid one on one interview with Ric Meyers interviewing Steven Chow on his life, breakthroughs and film chronology.
• Outtakes and Bloopers: Botched scenes with funny one liners, forgotten lines, and other bloopers not making it to the film.
• Previews: Previews of XXX, Underworld: Evolution and Resident Evil: Apocalypse.

Final Thoughts

What more can I say, we have a decent load of extras to peruse, the film is funny and the characters are ones you can really get into. This film was a real surprise to me as I expected to be a dull spoof that would not translate well to the American market. I was wrong. You get a great story, a great looking disc, a reference soundtrack and some extras to peek at. What more do you want. Highly Recommended!!!