88 Films UK Deluxe Edition Blu-ray Synopsis: Yuen Biao delivers on of his most energetic performances in this action-packed blend of martial-arts, comedy, and romance. After a bungled mission, eccentric cop 'Little Monster' Ha is partnered with hot-tempered officer Lui Gung (Lowell Lo) on a high-stakes case: finding a missing police informant. Their only lead in Rosa (Lu Hsiao-Fen), the informant's mysterious girlfriend - but as the danger mounts, love and loyalty become just as complicated as the case itself. Featuring stunning stunts, witty banter, and heartfelt drama, Rosa is a must-have for fans of classic Hong Kong cinema - now remastered on Blu-ray with crystal-clear picture and sound. (97 Mins)

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Universe HK DVD Synopsis: A missing informer Lee was an ex-policeman and had possessed all the information regarding all the the Asian drug dealers. However all that information was left in his girlfriend, Rosa's place. Due to the drug dealers' anxious of being exposed, they killed Lee and kidnapped Rosa. Detectives Yuen and Lo were ordered to save Rosa; a duel between the police and the drug dealers was commencing...

 

Views: After some mishaps that anger their Chief Inspector, fresh CID officers Little Monster and Lui Kung are put on a mission together to protect Rosa, a feisty female who could deliver some information on her boyfriend is connected to some big criminals. Of course, this is easier said than done, and soon the young officers are tackling drug dealers, gangsters, and kidnapped lovers which leads them into some crazy situations as they try to complete their mission! Rosa is the kind of buddy-cop comedy that was hugely typical of this period of time in Hong Kong cinema. The film was initially created as an unofficial-official sequel to the hugely successful Pom Pom from 1984 which, incidentally, was also directed by the great Joe Cheung Tung-Cho – the very man behind this underrated piece and hits such as Incredible Kung Fu Master (1979) with Sammo Hung and Stephen Tung Wai, Andy Lau's Return Engagement (1990), the fantastic Pom Pom & Hot Hot (1992) with Jacky Cheung and Stephen Tung Wai, and the highly entertaining Kung Fu Wing Chun (2010) that unfortunately saw it's leading lady, Bai Jing, brutally murdered by her husband soon after!

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The film was written by late-great Barry Wong and the globally celebrated Wong Kar Wai – which is a surprise to many. Having started in the industry as a writer back in the early 80s with films such as Once Upon A Rainbow (1982), The Intellectual Trio (1985), Unforgettable Fantasy (1985), Final Victory (1987), The Haunted Cop Shop (1987) and Joe Cheung's own Flaming Brothers (1987) among others, before making his directorial debut in 1988 with the awesome As Tears Go By. Barry Wong, on the other hand, was pretty prolific in his writing starting just a couple of years before Kar Wai, and delivering the scripts for many Hong Kong classics such as The Prodigal Son (1981), Dragon Lord (1982), The Dead & The Deadly (1982), Mr. Vampire (1985), Millionaires Express (1986), Righting Wrongs (1986), Pedicab Driver (1989) and Hard Boiled (1992) to name but a few. But he was also behind comedy gold like Winners & Sinners (1983), My Lucky Stars (1985), Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars (1985), Lucky Stars Go Places (1986), and Ghost Punting (1992) which is very much where Rosa comes into play as it could well have been one-in-the-same. Interestingly, in his interview as part of this new 88 Films Blu-ray release, assistant director Benz Kong laughed how both Wong's would deliver some writings on certain scenes, before director Joe Cheung would hand them to the other writer and ask how they would approach it – resulting in rewrites and changes that (no doubt) got very out of hand...

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While it is said that both Fruit Chan and Tony Ching Siu Ting were both once attached to the project, Rosa was produced by Sammo Hung through his Bo Ho Film Company for Golden Harvest. Prior to this, they produced the aforementioned Pom Pom, brilliant Hocus Pocus, great Long Arm of the Law, and superb Hong Kong 1941 in 1984, with Yuen Biao's ghostly comedy Those Merry Souls, the awesome Heart of Dragon, and fantastic Mr. Vampire in 1985. Without a doubt, Sammo Hung was an unstoppable force and went onto produce, direct and star in many more greats from here on in with the classic Operation Scorpio/The Scorpion King being the final film of the company in 1992. Released on June 20th 1986, Rosa ran for almost 2 weeks on the big screen and brought in just over 11 million HKD during it's time. Of course, 1986 was a big year for Hong Kong cinema with Hung and Biao's own projects such as The Millionaires Express, Mr. Vampire 2, and the incredible Righting Wrongs, Jackie Chan's Armour of God, John Woo's classic A Better Tomorrow, Wong Jing's Magic Crystal, Ringo Lam's Aces Go Places 4, Tsui Hark's Peking Opera Blues and others like No Retreat No Surrender, A Book of Heroes, Dream Lovers, Legacy of Rage, Royal Warriors, The Seventh Curse, and so much more. In fact, it was an amazing year for Hong Kong cinema!!

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Of course, the biggest joy to fans of Asian action cinema is that the awesome Yuen Biao leads the way; and what a wonderful showcase it is for him in terms of action and comedy performance. We all knew about this amazingly underrated star thanks to films like The Young Master (1980), Project A (1983), Wheels on Meals (1984), My Lucky Stars (1985), Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars (1985), Millionaires (Shanghai) Express (1986), Eastern Condors (1987) and Dragons Forever (1988), but it's only fair to say that he was often over-shadowed by his big brothers, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, respectively. That said, there were a number of titles that really let him show what he could do as a leading man. Films like Dreadnought (1981), The Prodigal Son (1981), Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983), The Champions (1983), Righting Wrongs/Above The Law (1986), On The Run (1988), The Peacock King (1989) and The Iceman Cometh (1989) among others, were absolute go-to titles to see Yuen Biao deliver. But films like this and the equally fun, Those Merry Souls (1985), weren't just as available to fans in the West – especially in the earlier days of the video rental market. Now, thanks to this gorgeously restored Blu-ray release from 88 Films, we can relish in more Biao talent as he entertains wonderfully in this absurd, but highly entertaining, action-comedy. While played mostly for laughs, Biao gets to let loose a number of times, impress with some great stunt-work and acrobatics, and give a nod to his earlier film, The Champions (1983), when he shows off his football skills earlier in the movie.​ Joining him for this adventure is popular singer, composer and actor Lowell Lo, in what would have been only his second major role. After this, Lo would go onto star in films like Michelle Yeoh's Magnificent Warriors (1987), King of Stanley Market (1988), Pedicab Driver (1989), Mortuary Blues (1990) and more, often scoring the films he starred in – as with Rosa, for example. Lo plays the bonkers Lei Kung, Biao's CID partner who leans more to the comedy as his co-star delivers the kicks. He also plays the brother of the kick-ass and legendary kung-fu queen, Kara Hui Ying Hung who later strikes up a relationship with Biao's 'Little Monster'. Of course, Hui had already starred in a countless number of Shaw Brothers' kung fu classics by this stage – having only entered the film industry less than a decade before – and would go onto star in a second Golden Harvest production this same year, with the Jackie Chan produced and very fun Naughty Boys (now there's a movie I'd love to see restored and put out on Blu-ray)! As we all know, not soon after this, Kara Hui would also star in the Chan produced Inspector Wears Skirts series, and has since went onto star in over 160 films to date; and is still going strong today. Taiwanese actress Lu Hisao Fen stars as the titular Rosa, and while I really didn't find her to have much screen-presence (if I'm to be honest), she does the job rightly and takes a fall when needed. Of course, the film is loaded with every who's-who of Hong Kong cinema bad guys from James Tien to Dick Wei, Chung Fat to Charlie Cho, Hsu Hsia, Peter Chan, the prolific Fung Ging Man, and Huang Ha, while the great Paul Chun gets to go good this time as Biao and Lo's Chief Inspector, with Yuen Mui, Billy Ching, Tai Bo and Ka Lee joining in the fun.

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While not exactly action-packed, Rosa still has plenty of throwdowns to get excited about – not to mention one of Yuen Biao's most exciting finales and some impressive stunt-work. These are handled by Biao himself, who is joined by Yuen Wah and Lam Ching Ying; a trio of talent who grew up and worked together over the years on many of Hong Kong cinemas greatest titles. Two of these, in particular, stand out for me. The first is in the loan-shark's office when Biao and Lo appear dressed as 1970s American gangsters – the latter complete with black-face as part of his costume – to see they get rid of Rosa's debt. It's a funny scene, but when their cover is blown, the pair go up against the gangsters which allows for Biao to deliver some of his finest kicks and face-off against stars like Hsu Hsia and Huang Ha! The second, of course, is the lengthy and highly entertaining showdown which takes place in the same warehouse that was used in the finales of Sammo's Winners & Sinners (1983), Moon Lee's epic Iron Angels (1987), and the awesome Magic Crystal (1986). I just love this fight scene! It begins with Biao and Lo setting out to rescue a kidnapped Rosa and Kara Hui, before a small army of gangsters attack to stop them from leaving. Naturally, all hell breaks loose with Hui getting in on the action and delivering some great moves. Mind you, with this new restoration, you can clearly see her doubled by the great Hsiao Ho for her more acrobatic moves and painful stunts. After making his way through the minions, Yuen Biao then finds himself up against the powerhouse that is Dick Wei – a man who had starred alongside him in titles such as The Prodigal Son (1981), Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983), The Champions (1983), Project A (1983), My Lucky Stars (1985), Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars (1985), and Millionaires Express (1986) before this. Of course, Eastern Condors (1987) and Dragons Forever (1988) would soon follow. And it is with that long-time partnership, that we get treated with another flawless and exciting final fight between these two super-kickers that shifts from the warehouse to a walk-in freezer with hilarious results, giving Biao the chance to kick, flip and punch his way around the place!

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This amazing new Deluxe Edition Blu-ray release from 88 Films is presented with a new 2K restoration, and it looks stunning. There were things going on here that I had certainly never noticed before, including a great Jackie Chan Easter-egg which came in the form of a poster, on show at the Mitsubishi Motor Show (where Rosa is working), that sees shots of him from Drunken Master and Fearless Hyena in the promo. Not only is it on the outside, but one can be seen in the interior also. That same 88 Films release, which is graced by the artistic talents of Sean Longmore once again, is accompanied by two audio commentaries – the first from Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto which makes for an interesting listen, and the second from David West. Aside from a lengthy, unrestored Hong Kong trailer and cool image gallery, fans are treated to a great 21 minute interview with director Joe Cheung and assistant director Benz Kong, which is a must. My fingers are crossed that this celebration of Yuen Biao's films continues in the near future, especially with lesser known titles and smaller Hong Kong films like this...

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Overall: For what it lacks in fights, it makes up for in entertainment; Rosa is a great showcase for Yuen Biao and a film worth checking out!

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88 Films Blu-ray Extras: 2K Restoration, Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng & F.J. DeSanto, Audio Commentary with David West, English Credits, Original Trailer, Image Gallery

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Universe DVD Extras: Trailers

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Watch my unboxing for the 88 Films release HERE