Arrow Video 4K UHD Blu-ray Synopsis: Having already proven himself a master of kinetic action with Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain, legendary director Tsui Hark would add lashings of comedy and frenzied expressionism to spectacular effect with 1986's Peking Opera Blues. Beijing, 1913. In a time of violent turmoil when local tyrants vie for supremacy, three women's lives converge in the local Peking Opera house. Together they hatch a revolutionary plan to stop president Yuan Shikai from reinstating the monarchy and proclaiming himself emperor. With the help of a righteous freedom-fighter and a disillusioned palace guard, the rebels must use all their wits and brawn to protect their democratic principles and save the emerging Chinese republic. Showcasing all of Tsui's talent for visual spectacle and featuring captivating performances from Brigitte Lin, Sally Yeh and Cherie Chung in the three leading roles, Peking Opera Blues is an explosive thrill ride presented here in a stunning 4K restoration and packed with extras. (105 Mins)

 

Shout Factory 4K UHD Blu-ray Synopsis: Brigitte Lin (Police Story), Cherie Chung (Once a Thief), and Sally Yeh (The Killer) light up the screen in this fast-paced and sparkling action-comedy from director Tsui Hark (Once Upon a Time in China, Twin Dragons, Double Team). In the aftermath of China's first democratic revolution, three high-spirited young women from very different backgrounds cross paths on a quest for liberation. Fate finds the three joining forces to discover their respective warriors within. Elegantly blending action, comedy, and social satire into a bright and colourful production (much like Peking Opera itself), Peking Opera Blues boasts Hark's energetic filmmaking style at the height of his powers, along with the considerable charms of its three leads, and remains an acclaimed classic of Hong Kong cinema. (105 Mins)

 

Hong Kong Rescue Blu-ray Synopsis: In the wake of China's first democratic revolution, three beautiful, high-spirited young women from very different backgrounds cross paths in a common quest for liberation. Fateful circumstances find the three joining forces as they master the courage and fortitude to become female warriors. Tsui Hark's satirical commentary on Chinese Democracy, PEKING OPERA BLUES expertly weaves comedy, drama, and high-flying acrobatics into a lavish, colourful production, not unlike Chinese opera itself. The film's kinetic energy never slows down and propels each scene to the next, yet never loses sight of it's character's intertwined motivations. Truly worthy of it's many high praises, it remains an endearing classic of Hong Kong cinema, as well as a creative high point of Hark's illustrious career. (105 Mins)

 

Hong Kong Legends Magazine UK DVD Synopsis: Brigitte Lin, Sally Yeh and Cherie Chung play three very different women who find themselves forging a firm friendship in their fight against authority in the wake of the Qing dynasty's fall. Tsui Hark's convoluted and capricious tale, set against a key point in Chinese history, satirises traditional Peking opera, endemic political corruption and the role of women in early 20th century Chinese society. The pace is relentless, and Ching Siu Tung's breathtaking shoot-outs and masterly choreographed fight scenes neatly segue into a multi-faceted story of bravery and personal discovery. Peking Opera Blues is classic Tsui Hark: witty, wonderfully creative and thoroughly enjoyable. (102 Mins)

 

Views: Set in 1920s China; a manic period when warlords battled for power and political values were fragile, a group of rebels in support of Dr. Sun Yat Sen are determined to take their underground movement forward in a bid to establish a strong democratic republic. In amongst the chaos, three young women come together to join in the fight – each following their own reasons for doing so – getting caught up between two feuding tyrants in a fight for freedom! Directed with gusto by the much loved and globally celebrated Tsui Hark, Peking Opera Blues has thankfully been getting somewhat of a resurgence in the West thanks to the new 4K UHD Blu-ray releases from Shout Factory in the US and, in turn, Arrow Video in the UK. In essence, they are pretty much the exact same releases albeit for a very different approach to their presentations. So for me, this is what makes the Arrow Video release the better of the two with it's addition of original artwork and limited edition booklet included – although kudos must go to artist Darren Wheeling who delivers one of his finest pieces seen on the menu of the original Shout Factory release, which is much more attractive than the usual Arrow menu options!

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Nominated for no less than 6 awards at the 1987 Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Actress for Sally Yeh, Best Cinematography and Best Action Choreography, Peking Opera Blues is often considered by many as on of Tsui Hark's finest films – and that it is, for sure – but at times, I can't help but feel that it also seems like it was somewhat rushed. Granted, I don't query Hark's film-making techniques at all, after all, I've been a huge fan of his work since I caught The Butterfly Murders (1979) on British television in my early teens. Of course, since then, I've seen pretty much everything the man has ever made (almost) and I do genuinely adore his creativity from Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983) to Once Upon a Time in China (1991), Double Team (1997) to Seven Swords (2005) and so much more. But Peking Opera Blues came to me a little later in life and, regardless of the small flaws it may show here and there, I still thoroughly enjoy this fast-paced, action-packed, genre mixing, historical comedy strewn with Hark's usual social commentary and political satire. There's definitely a lot to love here from it's slapstick comedy and creative action scenes, to the art direction, costumes and great performances from all involved...

 

The first of this wonderful cast is the amazing Brigitte Lin in yet another gender-bending role, something she would go on to do in many of Tsui Hark's films after this such as Swordsman 2 (1992) and part 3, The East is Red (1993), New Dragon Gate Inn (1992) and many other wuxia hits of Hong Kong. Of course, prior to this, Lin had worked for Hark in 1983 on films such as All The Wrong Spies (of which he was involved in via Cinema City) and the epic and superb Zu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain. Here, Lin stars as Cho Wan, the 'handsome' daughter of a corrupt general and secret revolutionary who leads the fight for democracy. She is joined by the lovely Cherie Chung who stars as Sheung Hung, an opportunist amongst the chaos who gets pulled into the fight, and delivers most of the comedic moments throughout their journey. And finally, we have the fantastic Sally Yeh, the much loved singer/actress who rejoins her Pink Force Commando (1982) co-star (Brigitte Lin) for some fun as Bai Niu, an opera performer who is often kept off the stage by her overpowering father. Prior to this, Yeh starred for Tsui Hark in Shanghai Blues (1984); a rom-com that almost plays like a pre-cursor to Peking Opera Blues. Together, the three of them bring the magic to the film, delivering drama and comedy to perfection as well as getting in on the action when needed.

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The girls are joined by some of Hong Kong cinema's finest such as the handsome Mark Cheng; still only growing after a couple of years in the business. Just a year before this, he starred alongside Sally Yeh in Ringo Lam's action rom-com Cupid One (1985), and was an interesting choice for the role of Ling Pak Hoi – another revolutionary assisting Lin. The late-great Wu Ma shows up as Yeh's father and manager of the Peking Opera show, Boss Wong; already a prolific actor and film-maker by this stage of his career. Equally as talented is Shaw Brothers legend Ku Feng, making an appearance here as the hilarious Commander Liu; a man happy to get his hands on any amount of flesh he possibly can. The fantastic Kenneth Tsang, co-star of hits like A Better Tomorrow 1 & 2 (1986/87), Police Story 3: Supercop (1992), and Once a Thief (1991), delivers a great performance as Lin's tyrant but loving father, General Cho, and does so wonderfully. But fans will also enjoy the supporting cast just as much such as popular character actor Huang Ha as General Tun, the fantastic Paul Chun as flamboyant opera performer Fa Kam Siu, Drunken Master 2 (1994) co-star Cheung Kwok Keung as the confused soldier that gets caught up in the madness, the great Lee Hoi San as a hilarious army captain determined to steal as much as he can from the palace, with cameos from the likes of Sandra Ng, David Wu and Tenky Tin adding to the fun.

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Behind the scenes we have the talented Andrew Kam – director of hits like The Big Heat (1988), Fatal Termination (1990), and Donnie Yen's High Voltage (1995) – serving as the second unit director, while we get some great cinematography from Horace Wong and Poon Hang Sang who makes his debut as DOP. And, of course, I can't forget about the great Tony Ching Siu Tung who delivers some fantastic fights and gun-play as the action-choreographer of the piece. Prior to this, Ching had worked with Hark on Dangerous Encounters of the 1st Kind (1980), with their working relationship blossoming from here on in for almost a decade, sharing duties as director/producer or choreographer on classics such as A Chinese Ghost Story (1987) and it's sequels, Swordsman (1990) and it's sequels, The Raid (1991), I Love Maria (1988), The Killer (1989) and more. While not strictly a kung fu movie as such, Peking Opera Blues still gives fight fans something to smile about – although we're not talking hardcore martial arts in the sense of Duel to the Death (1982) for example – with the grand finale proving to be a highly entertaining end to such a fun film!

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Aside from it's stunning new 4K restoration, the Shout Factory/Arrow Films release comes with a host of extras including a brand new and informative audio commentary from James Mudge. We get a new 22 minute interview with the wonderful Mark Cheng with was just fantastic to watch, revealing that he was initially going to play Mark Gor in A Better Tomorrow (1986) while Chow Yun Fat was supposed to play his role in this – as both productions fell under the Cinema City banner. What a different world that would have been! This is followed by an 11 minute interview with Ray Wong; a focus puller and cameraman from the film who gives a nice insight to the production and shares his memories. Grady Hendrix delivers another exciting episode of Hong Kong Confidential, this time running around 14 minutes that sees him discuss both the film and Tsui Hark in-depth. Equally as informative is the piece from David West on Tsui Hark, coming in at about 25 minutes as he digs deep into the legendary film-makers career and filmography. Next is Dr. Lars Laamann giving us a 23 minute piece on the history of this particular era of Hong Kong. It made for an interesting enough watch once, but I'll never need to go back to it. We then have the unrestored original trailer, running at just over 2 minutes, which allows us to see how bad the film did look before this gorgeous 4K restoration and a fantastic 10 minute image gallery helps close things out, offering a great selection of stills, behind the scenes shots, promo art, etc and stands as one of the best image galleries released in a long time. And finally, the two archival interviews with Sally Yeh and James Wong (that were mentioned on the original Shout Factory release but just never could be found), do make it onto the Arrow Video disc running at 8 minutes each in SD but make for a fun watch. Regardless of which version you pick up, this new 4K release is worthy of a place in your collection and a Hong Kong movie that you will return to time and time again.

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Overall: Wild, funny, fast-paced and highly entertaining, Peking Opera Blues is one of Tsui Hark's finest and deserves to be seen!

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Arrow Video 4K UHD Blu-ray Extras: 4K Restoration, Audio Commentary by James Mudge, New Interviews with actor Mark Cheng and cinematographer Ray Wong, Archival Interviews with actress Sally Yeh and composer James Wong, New Interviews with critic David West and historian Dr. Lars Laamann, Hong Kong Confidential with Grady Hendrix, Original Theatrical Trailer and Image Gallery

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Shout Factory 4K UHD Blu-ray Extras: 4K Restoration, Audio Commentary by James Mudge, New Interviews with actor Mark Cheng and cinematographer Ray Wong, Archival Interviews with actress Sally Yeh and composer James Wong, New Interviews with critic David West and historian Dr. Lars Laamann, Hong Kong Confidential with Grady Hendrix, Original Theatrical Trailer and Image Gallery

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Hong Kong Rescue Blu-ray Extras: Asian Cinema Club Podcast Audio Commentary, Interviews with Tsui Hark, Sally Yeh, and James Wong, Brigitte Lin Documentary, What is Peking Opera Documentary, Gender in Chinese Cinema Documentary, A Fan's Collection Featurette, Son of the Incredibly Strange Film Show Episode, Music Videos, Chinese Cinema Promo, HKR Promo, Trailers

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Watch my unboxing video for the Shout Factory 4K UHD release HERE

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Watch my unboxing video for the Arrow Video 4K UHD release HERE

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