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January 4th, 2001	Issue #40

Hong Kong Digital is a recurring series of movie reviews by John Charles -- a film reviewer for Video Watchdog magazine and the author of The Hong Kong Filmography.

Mei Ah Film Collection 2000

Most issues of Hong Kong Digital are devoted to lesser known releases in order to help collectors make informed purchases. This particular DVD, however, is not available through the usual channels, being a promotional offering created to interest retailers in Mei Ah's DVD library. I got my copy from an industry friend and you might also be able to acquire one through a similar connection or via the various on-line auction sources. For those who love HK movie trailers, the two-sided disc (which comes in a cardboard sleeve, rather than the usual blue keep case) is highly desirable, serving up a whopping 86 previews in various categories. The collection also offers an interesting look at what is still to come from Mei Ah, as a number of the films included have yet to be announced for DVD release as of this writing. Titles followed by (V) indicate a shot-on-video production.

DVD menu for Side A. DVD menu courtesy Mei Ah.

The labels on the platter are reversed so, contrary to the listing on the inside of the sleeve, Side A actually offers the Comedy, Adult, and Romance/Drama sections.

COMEDY (45 minutes) consists of AFRAID OF NOTHING, THE JOBLESS KING, CARRY ON HOTEL, CRAZY CROOKS, CRAZY PARTNER, DIRTY TIGER, CRAZY FROG!, EASY MONEY (the 1991 film with Simon Lui Yu-yeung and Amy Yip Chi-mei), FIST OF FURY 1991, THE GODS MUST BE FUNNY IN CHINA, HE COMES FROM PLANET K, HE IS MY ENEMY, PARTNER AND FATHER-IN-LAW, LAWYER LAWYER, LOVE CRUISE, THE LUCKY GUY, MY HERO, THOSE WERE THE DAYS (the 1997 spoof of old movies), and WHAT A HERO!

Eric Kot Man-fai and Stephen Chiau Sing-Chi in still from Lawyer Lawyer. Image courtesy Mei Ah.

ADULT (13 minutes) offers CHINESE EROTIC GHOST STORY, DON'T TELL MY PARTNER, THE FRUIT IS RIPE, THE FRUIT IS SWELLING, PASSIONATE KILLING IN THE DREAM, ROMANCE OF THE WEST CHAMBER, ROGUES FROM THE NORTH (V), and WATER MARGIN - HEROES' SEX STORIES.

Wong Chi-yeung (right) and friend in still from Water Margin - Heroes' Sex Stories. Image courtesy Mei Ah.

ROMANCE / DRAMA (63 minutes) has AH FAI THE DUMB, BORN INNOCENT (V), CHICKEN A LA QUEEN, CHINESE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, THE FAMILY OF SWINDLER KING (V), THE FIRE BOAT (V), FIRST LOVE UNLIMITED, JULIET IN LOVE, KILLING ME TENDERLY, LONELY SEVENTEEN (V), LOVE AND LET LOVE, THE LOVE AND SEX OF THE EASTERN HOLLYWOOD, LOVE IN THE INTERNET GENERATION, LOVE PARADOX, MAN ON THE BRINK, MARIANNA, MY DARLING, MY GODDESS, NOW YOU SEE LOVE NOW YOU DON'T, PR GIRLS, SEALED WITH A KISS, SPACKED OUT, STARS AND ROSES, and YOUNG WISELY (V).

Sally Yeh Chian-wen in still from Marianna. Image courtesy Mei Ah.

On Side B:

ACTION (65 minutes) features BLOODSHED IN NIGHTERY (sic) (V), BLOODY BROTHERHOOD, BRAVE YOUNG GIRLS (an English dubbed spot for International markets), BULLETS OVER SUMMER, DANGEROUS DUTY, THE DRAGON FROM RUSSIA (International English market spot), FATAL DREAM (V), A FATAL JUMP (V), FULL ALERT, FULL CONTACT, THE GODFATHER'S DAUGHTER MAFIA BLUES (sic), HARD BOILED (International English market spot), LET'S GO SLAM DUNK, MOONLIGHT EXPRESS, MY FLYING WIFE, PEACE HOTEL, THE RAID, RUNNING ON EMPTY, TREASURE HUNT, A WAR NAMED DESIRE, and WILD SEARCH.

Chow Yun-fat and victim in still from Full Contact. Image courtesy Mei Ah.

PERIOD MARTIAL ARTS (35 minutes) consists of ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS - BLOOD OF THE LEOPARD, THE BLAZING TEMPLE, THE EAST IS RED, AN ETERNAL COMBAT, FIST FROM SHAOLIN, ODD COUPLE, KIDS FROM SHAOLIN, SORROWFUL TO A GHOST (sic), and SWORDSMAN II.

Michelle Lee Kar-yan and Jet Li in still from Swordsman II. Image courtesy Mei Ah.

SUSPENSE / THRILLER / HORROR (18 minutes) offers up BIO-ZOMBIE, HONG KONG X-FILE (sic), INNOCENT KILLER (V), MALEVOLENT MATE, NUDE FEAR, STEP INTO THE DARK, TAKE FIVE, THE UNTOLD STORY 2, and VICTIM.

Paulyn Sun Kai-kwan and Anthony Wong Chau-sang in The Untold Story 2. Image courtesy Mei Ah.

Side B also includes a section called Special Recommendations, which allows one to see all of the trailers for films starring Chow Yun-fat (17 minutes), as well as ones directed by Ringo Lam Ling-tung (15 minutes) and Tony Ching Siu-tung (10 minutes).

DVD Specs: Mei Ah (No catalog number) Dolby Digital Mono (2.1) Mostly Cantonese Language (Some Mandarin and One English Spot) No Subtitles Letterboxed (Various Ratios) Coded for ALL Regions Not Rated (equivalent to Category III for all manner of violence, plus the nudity and sexual content in the adult trailers) 281 Minutes

DVD menu courtesy Mei Ah.

As one would expect, the visual quality is all over the place. Some spots look quite good, while some are degraded by Mei Ah's usual edge enhancement and dodgy compression (the spot for THE FRUIT IS SWELLING suffers from the worst smearing in the history of this format). In general, the quality is acceptable but considering that the purpose of the disc is to impress retailers, the company should have done better. Also, only the first half of the spot for TAKE FIVE is present, cutting off right where the horror elements are introduced! The sound is equally varied but acceptable. Chapters are not numbered in either the guide or the disc menus but accessing a desired trailer is not difficult, so this is a minor complaint. As always with Mei Ah, there are no time functions.