SHU QI TAKES TAIWAN
(circa 1996)

Cantonese: Lo tai jing ling Shu Qi
Mandarin: Luo ti jing ling Shu Qi
English: Naughty Figure Shu Qi

RATING:

SHU QI TAKES TAIWAN 5/10
SHU QI: UNIQUE GIRL 5/10

Here are two more of the video pictorials Shu Qi did before she found fame in mainstream Hong Kong cinema (see issue #201 for reviews of SHU QI: PRIVATE and SHU QI: TRUE WOMAN). Both programs shy away from full frontal nudity but certainly offer just about every other inch of the beguiling Taiwanese starlet in loving detail.

SHU QI TAKES TAIWAN follows the usual vignette structure, with Shu posing clothed, semi-clothed, and unclothed in a variety of locations, including some attractive rural and beach areas. The results are highly watchable but the uncredited creators over-indulge in solarization, artificial grain, and high contrast effects. The middle-of-the-road soundtrack selections are also uninspiring and the video cameraman catches the still photographer in a number of shots, which does not help the mood.

    
Stills from SHU QI TAKES TAIWAN. Additional stills (nudity): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Fans get more for their money with SHU QI: UNIQUE GIRL (mistakenly identified in issue 201 as TOP SEX MODEL), which not only runs twice as long but also comes with a multiple-angle option. When a camera icon appears in the lower left hand corner of the screen, you can click the appropriate button on your remote and a different angle appears. Only one alternate angle is provided and, in a couple of instances, the option just gives you a clothed version of the bit in question (which does provide a quick fix should your other half happen to walk in) but it remains a welcome extra that is fairly rare on HK DVDs. A second chapter guide (located on the right side of the Chinese-only menu) is provided that allows one to skip directly to the 9 multiple angle segments. The icon is encoded as a subtitle option, so turning off the subtitles allows you to view the program without it appearing. The jumpy edits signalling the beginning and end of each angle section remain, however. Shu Qi poses in locations like a park, on the deck of an impressive looking log cabin, and, most memorably, a small waterfall. While her attractions remain as obvious as ever, the staging is not especially imaginative and the disc works best if viewed in small increments.

    
Stills from SHU QI: UNIQUE GIRL. Additional stills (nudity): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Both programs were shot on video and neither release has dialogue or narration. TAIWAN boasts an attractive, colorful image with only some occasional (unintentional) video noise detracting slightly. The 5.1 is basically "wide" mono but free of the annoying reverb that plagues so many re-mixes of older material. There are no extra materials included. The master tape for UNIQUE GIRL displays periodic dropouts and damage, and the image tends to look dupey and bland. The monaural audio occasionally distorts on the lower end and the MOR music selections are best left at low volume. The only other extra is a single screen profile in Chinese only. The cover inserts on both releases were designed for wider-than-usual keep cases and have been awkwardly cropped to fit the standard size. Neither DVD has any English on the packaging.

  
  
Stills from SHU QI TAKES TAIWAN (top) and SHU QI: UNIQUE GIRL (bottom).