Film ID

[Knetan]

hey,

the below is a link to a double feature dvd, one of the films being Vampire Buster (Stanley Fung and kent Cheng) but the second, Vampire Honeymoon, can someone ID it based on the very small picture on the left ? Don't think it's the original title.

http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.a ... 1905&tab=5

[Mike Thomason]

Hard to know really...the plot description is so brief! At first I thought it might have been DR. VAMPIRE, but now I think it could be Ricky Lau's ROMANCE OF THE VAMPIRES?

The Megastar DVD of VAMPIRE BUSTER should still be available (NINJA VAMPIRE BUSTER was the name of the English dubbed export version). DDDHouse still sell it - it has all three language options (Cantonese, Mandarin & the English dub) and is 16:9 anamorphic widescreen. Don't expect a spotless print though - I have several Megastar titles that were re-released in 16:9 from the same era and they're usually slightly worn, sometimes marginally damaged prints (eg: WILL OF IRON, CALL GIRL '88, PATH OF GLORY, SISTERS IN LAW, HERO OF TOMORROW, MAGIC COP and so on).

Hope that helps,
Michael

[Brian Thibodeau]

Not sure the title (yet) but that's definitely Helena Law Lan on the left in the photo (which narrow it down to only every Hong Kong horror movie made in the 80's and 90's!). I was thinking DOCTOR VAMPIRE until I realized that it's part of the double feature on TALES OF TERROR Vol. 2. I know I've seen that art before too: they've lifted it straight from a HK release.....

Beware these TALES OF TERROR discs from Video Asia, they're pretty shoddy, although the packaging is pretty clever (if kinda demeaning to many of the films). They also have a line called TALES OF VOODOO as well, which are also double bills of world horror B-titles, including some Asian stuff. I grabbed one of these in Best Buy (in the U.S.) a while back just for larfs: a double bill of ESCAPE FROM HELL HOLE and JUNGLE VIRGIN FORCE, a pair of agreeably silly Indonesian sleaze-fests (with fogged nudity, naturally). The VOODOO collection also has one double feature (Vol. 3) of HK flicks, GHOST RAPIST and DEVIL'S EXPRESS. I seriously doubt they licenced this stuff as both films are clearly transferred from cheap VHS (complete with the occasional video roll!) and dubbed in English, but I suppose if you're looking to see some HK cheese on the cheap, you can't beat the price.

[Knetan]

hey,

thanks guys, that is defo Helena. Not that I'm terrible interested but a contact of mine brought it up so might as well try to ID it.

Re: Megastar. yea, their 16:9 range you shouldn't expect much of but the fact that they've gone with mono on titles such as Vampire Buster, To Catch A Thief and Hero Of Tomorrow but completely ruined other ones such as Sisters In Law. Welcome to the clueless world of HK cinema on dvd...

[Mike Thomason]

but completely ruined other ones such as Sisters In Law.

I beg your pudding? What was so bad about the audio on the SISTERS IN LAW disc? It's pretty much only the original monaural audio track rephased through five channels -- and can be compensated on most any surround decoder/amplifier. Are you watching these films on a stereo playback (or through the artificial interface of a faux-surround TV's stereo speakers), as that would definitely create quite noticeable down-mix anomalies?

[Knetan]

hey,

no one else want to take a shot on the film ID?

Re: Sisters In law. Am on a prologic setup but don't tell me you didn't notice added bullet effects during the action, friggin awful.

[Mike Thomason]

hey,

no one else want to take a shot on the film ID?

I'm sure someone might have a go -- but it's pretty slim pickings to go on, to be honest. One pic of Helena Law isn't going to be a lot of help to anyone to narrow down the original title of this (bootlegged) film...considering her filmography. That said, I'm sure someone will crack it...

Re: Sisters In law. Am on a prologic setup but don't tell me you didn't notice added bullet effects during the action, friggin awful.

I did, but to be honest, it's been a very long time since I allowed anything so out of my control to hinder my viewing pleasure when it comes to Hong Kong movies. HK-based film & video distributors seldom (if ever) take any notice of what the small contingent of overseas fans of the industry would like to see and hear -- they don't reply to emails, they seldom if ever change their practices (I've seen little to no response to overseas "demands" on them in the last five years) and they certainly don't appear to consider the oft-negative foreign input against their businesses as anything of consequence -- and that's pretty much as simple as it gets, I'm afraid.

After a century or more of British rule, the last thing Chinese Hong Kongers in business are interested in listening to is a bunch of (to them) ungrateful "gweilos" trying to dictate business policy to them. One distributor's representative once said to me, via email, that they thought overseas input (though interesting from measures of foreign expectation) was largely selfish, bullying and indicative of westerners who still think they have some influence in their (Chinese) business practices -- the "British and other Caucasian" peoples were not their market, and their goal was towards servicing the Chinese people. The rep acknowledged that western markets were ancillary, but claimed they were small and limited in their trackability (as units were sold in HK & Macau to retailers -- it was the retailers' choice to onsell to overseas buyers and not their concern; their concern was numbers in the former two territories).

Hence my limited interest in the presentation of many of these films on digital discs, over their availability and the entertainment value of the films contained within. I'm not fussed if there's the odd audio anomaly or things don't turn out like I'd expect in (my spoilt) western society -- I'm just happy the films are available and I can see them. The alternative is markedly more dire than what I have at my literal fingertips at present...

[Knetan]

hey,

oh yes, one can easily understand that us "fans" do not have a say with the big companies and I've learnt to accept that the hard way yet I reserve the right to be furious over the lack of respect towards even the smallest of films (few try to smooooooothly remix mono sound). And that word respect towards their own movie legacy I think very few HK distributors know of, doesn't have anything to do with us hard to please "fans". It's sad but true and as ever, HK films has been my biggest blessing and curse.

BUT, if they do try and bring out the golden oldies, claiming that they're so proud over the movies in question, Fortune Star and Celestial for instance still are hellbent on ruining experiences on a sound level with new, inept music and foley. Gotta give the kidz something, they need Dolby apparently. Again, I see no reason the companies will change practises either but I can't help to feel rather sad and angry about the current situation.

[Mike Thomason]

Ken,

I meant no sleight -- it's just that, after nearly half a decade of reading all this online venom towards Hong Kong video companies for "ruining" the HK film experience, it's become a little "old" for me now. I'm a couple of years off forty, and there's far more important things in life to worry about than giving onself ulcers over something I have no (and will have no) control over. It really has come to a point, from evidence of the minimal impact overseas fans have on the market, of simply "grinning and bearing" what we have -- or looking elsewhere for new means of entertainment. Many times, I'm as disappointed as the next guy over aural tampering and incomplete films (due to poor archiving), but I've learned to accept what there is, make the most of it and move on -- shouting my dissatifaction into cyberspace on message forums has become the contemporary equivalent of banging my head against a wall...because no-one, other than other fans, is listening. I take what I get and make the most of the legacy that is left to me...

I read your site regularly, and we've corresponded on and off, and I know you're a fellow that knows his stuff -- so I don't have to go over the brutal history of HK film archiving. But what many forget is that film archiving also applies to storage of the original soundtrack elements and HK, as with its past haphazard junking of negatives, has done precious little to retain the original audio stems for most any film of its past. Where many western filmmakers (like the UK, US and Europe) have archived the original soundtrack elements along with the negatives, and have the luxury of going back to the original analogue audio stems for digital clean-up and reworking into modern stereo/surround soundtracks -- HK filmmakers have similarly destroyed their cinema's aural history along with the visual. There are no original audio stems to work from, there are often no original elements -- they only have the monaural optical track from the negative to work with. Thus, a lot of contemporary remixes are created via crude digital sampling and overlays -- hence the new music in some films; the digital manipulation of the old optical tracks often proves so cumbersome as to necessitate the complete rescoring of whole scenes in an attempt to "disguise" the inherent crudeness of the reworked soundtrack.

In a perfect world, it wouldn't happen -- but outside of the realm of the niche fan market, regular consumers want something new when it comes to something old (hence JAWS, THE GOOD THE BAD & THE UGLY, FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE, A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS et al now only being made available in sparkling new Dolby and DTS versions). Every film fan suffers for their art at some point in their life -- but IMHO sometimes we simply have to sacrifice our "wants" for the sake of having our artform made available to us at all.

Plus, it could always be worse -- as a fan of Thai cinema as well, not only do I have to accept that I will have inordinate waits to see certain films in an English subtitled form (as Thai distributors seldom look beyond their own market), once they are licenced by overseas companies, but I also have to accept that I will never have the luxury of exploring Thailand's rich cinematic history...due to the fact that nearly 75% of its films, from inception to the 1970s, have been lost forever due to lack of archiving...

[Knetan]

hey,

you know what, that above is one of my longest ramblings ever on this issue because I have sadly had to adopt that balanced mind when it comes to collecting HK cinema as well, hence not speaking out about it as much as others on various forums. Your stance on is very clear, valid and you know where I'm coming from so I hope you didn't interpret the above as any desire of mine to start a flame war.

I COULD go on and probably go insane over the issues but I'm a mellow guy anyway so let's just leave it at that. It all is a blessing and a curse I still maintain.

[Mike Thomason]

Flame war? Goodness no! This has struck me more like two like-minded people sharing their opinions over a matter that affects both of us, if you ask me -- and that's far better, as well as more mature, than the alternative (and the main reason I stay away from "younger" forums these days).

[Brian Thibodeau]

You can add this third "like-minded" individual to the "grin and bear it camp." I've been there since day one, sad to say. My biggest relief when DVD came along was that it was simply better than the VHS tapes and Laserdiscs I'd been accustomed to for the previous 15 years - end of story (but I'll ramble on anyways).

I've always tried to stay current with the new software technologies, and have grown quite comfortable in expecting anamorphic widescreen images, restored prints and upgraded soundtracks...on American releases. I'm not so picky when it comes to "foreign" films because I, like you guys, am grateful to even HAVE the films to watch in the first place, and often for a price that's ridiculously low. And when it comes to Hong Kong films in particular, the prices, especially on back catalogue product, make the city's cinema very appealing once you've been bitten by the bug.

Around the same time DVDs first appeared in the market, and once I bought my first player, I became hooked on VCDs, so obviously quality of presentation was secondary to simply having access to Toronto's myriad stores packed to overflowing with more Hong Kong movies that I had time to watch. A close friend also in to Hong Kong cinema was the first to try a VCD on his new player, and he was decidedly unimpressed because the image sat lower on his TV screen, was slightly vertically compressed (or horizontally stretched, if you will) and in some case, the subtitles were displayed below the bottom of the screen. He warned me against buying them because he figured they must have been better suited to VCD-only players or were maybe in PAL format. Anyways, I took a couple of his discs home and found that on my own player, they looked amazing. The image was still stretched a bit, but not as badly as it was on his player, and more importantly, my Sony positioned the image in the center of the screen, which allowed full viewing of the subtitles. In any event, my buddy realized the problem was his Toshiba player, bought a more-compatible one and we both started loading up on VCDs like you wouldn't believe - and this is back when the damned things were upwards of $12-13 CDN apiece! Import Hong Kong DVDs, however, were selling for $34-$50 each, so the decision to go for quantity over quality was also very much a financial one. Sometimes it still is, although the price drops on DVDs have allowed that collection to far surpass the VCD collection in size.

in recent years, though, one of the stores I frequent in this particular Chinese mall got out of DVDs altogether (apart from the odd new releases) due to the rampant bootlegging operations that surround it. They focus more on renting and selling VCDs, along with the obligatory newspapers, magazines, and gifty stuff. Prices for their VCDs had dropped to about $4.95 CDN over the last couple of years, which was sweet enough, but lately they've been unloading everything but the newest stuff for half price! On my last two visits I picked up probably 50 VCDs, mostly obscure B-level stuff but a great way to fill in the gaps and pad out my collection of reviews (for whatever they're worth.

Now finding the time to watch them all. That's another story....

I learned a long time ago that the Hong Kong industry, it's very mindset perhaps, was not conducive to film preservation. Fast, cheap and out of control. Make the money and move on. Give the people something good enough to at least watch while not sweating the small stuff like proper surround sound mixes, preservation of camera negatives, historical importance, etc. I'm so used to a certain level of cheapness in the presentation of Hong Kong films that the newer stuff emanating from the former colony almost seems antiseptic in comparison. No less cool, mind you, just cleaner and more likely to be treated with the respect denied so many films of the 70's, 80's and 90's.

Like you Mike, I think with age comes the realization that bemoaning every audio tweak and excised frame is better left to those who haven't yet realized just how many movies are really out there and how long it can realistically take to get through even a portion of it. Is a lifetime enough? Probably not. Those folks are providing an archival service, in a way. It's just not one that benefits me directly, but it will have its value in retrospect. When I read threads at places like Home Theatre Forum, where people are posting screenshots to show you where a speckle of film dirt was not removed from a remastered print (it actually happens!), I quickly lose interest in the debates and bitching that follow. And I'm sure such pedantry will continue with the coming of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray as well. Me, I just wanna watch the damn films, as often and as many and for as long as I can. Presentation is important: this is the digital age after all, and even the Hong Kong companies are at least trying to keep the films in circulation. But in the case of said cinema, I'm willing to take what I can get a lot of the time, because what I can get is far better than nothing at all.

[Knetan]

hey,

mark at asian dvd guide may have solved our mystery title:

Could it be this DTV film from 2003?

MY HONEYMOON WITH A VAMPIRE
Genre: Horror
Director: Not Listed
Cast: Eric Wan Tin-Chiu, Sophie Ngan Chin-Man, Helena Law Lan
Synopsis: While on his honeymoon, a police officer is confronted by a female ghost who wants him to help her find her killer

Because it's not a theatrical release you won't find it at the HKMDB or HKFA.

[Mike Thomason]

hey,
mark at asian dvd guide may have solved our mystery title

The king of online cut & paste passed off as personal knowledge? Maybe...but then, anyone can Google if they really want to...

(It could also be VAMPIRE REBORN, another DTV vampire film from the same year with Helena Law and Sophie Ngan too -- maybe you could ask the "guru"? )

[Knetan]

hey,

well, am not saying he came up with it so don't think I'm in some kind of markgway sect. It's maybe an answer, a lead or whatnot, for a movie that probably isn't very good.

[Mike Thomason]

This image look familiar?



Looks like your friend "knew" more than all of us -- well, either that or had more time to Google the info than the rest of us...

[Knetan]

hey,

yea, was not REALLY taking time to explore what kind of hidden gem this probably was not. But since there are willing people out there, thought I'd give them a workout. I'm confident I personally wouldn't have found it though.

Case closed.