Wednesday 21 March 2018

On Blu-ray - John Snadden enthuses to a degree over editions of THE LONG RIDERS (Walter Hill) and A MOMENT OF ROMANCE (Benny Chan)

Some recent arrivals at sunny Club Bayswater this week, via Oz Post. Both titles have cried out for good Blu-ray transfers and Special Editions. 

The Quades, the Keach's and the  Carradines
The Long Riders
THE LONG RIDERS being easily the better of the two and another superb Blu-ray release from Kino-Lorber. For Western buffs there's a short but extremely funny interview with director Walter Hill reminiscing about the time he made a joke at the expense of Sam Peckinpah...and the "old iguana" wasn't amused! Priceless stuff...!

Andy Lau, Wu Chien-lien
A Moment of Romance
A MOMENT OF ROMANCE (Benny Chan, Hong Kong) is a terrific Canto film from 1990 and for years has suffered poor quality releases through various digital forms. This new, fine looking Blu-ray edition hails from South Korea and offers up quality packaging with excellent supplements including a specially struck series of stills from the movie, and a 30 plus page booklet about the film. Great looking photos in the latter but with the text in Korean. Only one major problem, the transfer is really bad and looks to have been taken from a HK laser disc of the 90s. So close yet so far.

I continue to be amazed at the way this particular film has been treated and all releases have suffered the same problem: a piss-poor source print/DCP. Somewhere in Asia there must be a good/very good print of this movie. About 10 years ago, I watched helplessly as staff from Melbourne's Chinatown Cinema threw nearly 100 35 mm prints into an industrial rubbish bin. Some of these titles were in excellent condition, and one was A MOMENT OF ROMANCE.

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