Another release from 88 Films is this classic Chow Yun Fat action/drama God Of Gamblers. The film was released on Blu-ray in Hong Kong, this disc was region-free and you can read my review here….
Now 88 Films has released it with a new 2K remaster and the results are a much-improved image quality, subtitles and audio.
Ko Chun (Chow Yun Fat) is the greatest high-roller in the world, king of the casino and as cool as can be. But that was before an accident and a nasty head injury rendered him mentally disabled.
After being befriended by the unscrupulous hustler ‘Knife’ ( Andy Lau), it is discovered that, despite his other impairments, Ko’s unerring instincts for gambling remain intact. Knife thinks he’s on to a sure thing but Ko still has enemies and they haven’t forgotten him…
Being directed by Wong Jing the tone of the film shifts dramatically from juvenile comedy to ballistic gun violence. Chow Yun Fat really steals the show with his cool demeanour and two pistol gun action. The film does drag at times during the middle section and the comedy can get annoying but once the action and card games get going you can see why this became a classic.
As mentioned the picture quality on this 2K remaster is far superior to any previous release. Colours are much bolder, the image is sharper with great detail in most shots. Audio has the original Cantonese mono which is clean and easy on the ears. you also get an option of the remixed Cantonese 5.1 or English dubbed mono. The subtitles are redone and make a lot more sense.
With extras, you get two audio commentaries one from David West and another from Frank Djeng with F.J. Desanto. You get Archive Interviews with Chow Yun Fat and Andy Lau, Two Archive Interviews with Wong Jing and trailers. You also get a reversible cover with new art by Sean Longmore and the original Hong Kong Poster.
A great fun film with Chow Yun Fat at the peak of his powers. This new version comes totally recommended with a fantastic upgraded picture and good extras.
FILM – 8 PICTURE – 8 AUDIO -7.5 – EXTRAS – 7
