Search - Black Mask [Blu-ray] on Blu-ray

Rent it first! - before buying

70chevelless | 09/03/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This is a review for the blu-ray version of this Black Mask movie. I was really looking forward to this movie coming out on blu-ray and was very disappointed in it when I finally got the chance to watch it. I loved this movie when it came out on dvd with its "campy" storyline and martial arts action. This blu-ray version is barely an improvement over the dvd. I watched this on a PS3 system and hdtv with an Onkyo TX-SR606 receiver and a decent set of surround sound speakers so I was able to take advantage of the 7.1 DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack available on the disc. The video was very "grainy" looking and barely looked "cleaned up" at all. I put in my standard dvd version of this movie and could hardly see any difference at all between the two. The sound wasn't much of an improvement either. The background music sounded pretty flat throughout the movie and the only improvements were in the explosions and some of the higher action sequences. Whoever did the blu-ray transfer of this film really "dropped the ball" on this one. As far as the movie itself, if you have never seen it, you are in for a treat and a fun ride with this one. For those of you who have seen the movie and were looking for a high-quality upgrade, I would recommend renting it first to see how you like it before shelling out the bucks to purchase a copy."

GREAT FILM FROM JET

Paul Scott | CENTRAL COAST,, N.S.W. Australia | 02/05/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Great film,though the transfer reflects the period.

Its pretty accurate to how the film looked in the Chinese Cinema

where I worked a few years ago.

A lot of the Chinese Hong Kong films were badley proccessed ,especially the cheaper Production Companys.

The print is quite sharp and looks better on Bluray than the standard release



Its dubbed in English,very good job,though it would be nice to have the Hong Kong and Subs version,which is slightly longer and edited differantly.

I have the Hong Kong VCD.

Reccomended

"

Chinese ozzy takes on jet li! in hi-def? Maybe...

Kelly J. Kristek | Washington State, USA | 01/13/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"So I enjoyed the dvd version of this movie and saw amazon had the blu-ray on sale for half price so i bit. Actually i consider it lucky to get these chinese martials pictures in high def at all over here since they are so low budget and often times dont even get put out here.



Anyways There are quite a few flaws in this blu-ray. I wont say its as bad as the other review, it is DEFINATELY an improvement. I put in the dvd afterwards to double check. Viewing on a computer with a Dell 24 inch monitor, the Blu-ray definately has WAY more color information and the detail is definately much better in the blu-ray. That said It of course is not going to match a reference quality dvd that actually has a proper transfer done to it, And to be honest, the original movie probably was not shot on that great of film stock, again lower budget. It appears that the DVD and blu-ray have identical issues in certain scenes. When the two good guys are playing their chinese checkers or whatever game it is, there are a few shots of the 'cop' that are so grainy its painful. The worst i've seen on any blu-ray, but when i popped in the dvd i noticed this grain is ALSO there, just not as noticible becuase the dvd is darker and not as bright or vivid of an image, so the grain is not quite as noticible but still DEFINATELY there. That tell's me they both came from the same master with no upgrades..



Here's a REALLY wierd issue with this blu-ray that is NOt on the DVD and makes me kind of want them to fix it and exchange my disk. During the fight scene with the last drug lord, (the guy in the plastic suit) when jet li is parachuting in, the sound gets REALLY messed up.. right before he unbuckles his parachute, you can hear running footsteps in the water and a kick/punch sound. After he drops out of the parachute, and the sniper guy hits the ground, you then see jet li run up and kick him in the face, again these footsteps with water play (but this time it synchs up with the action), then you'll hear an extra punch sound when no one is being hit, then you'll see a scene of the 'cop' guy hanging from a ledge, and AGAIN you'll hear this 'footsteps and kick' sound, with no action on the screen matching this.. Someone got EXTREMELY happy with the sound effects during this whole fight scene and its really sloppy and irritating. I'm not sure how you screw this up when the regular dvd did NOT have this issue (i compared scenes just a few ago, and its not present on the DVD). Nice job lions gate, Let me know next time, i'll make it NOT suck for free.



Over-all the movie is still a DEFINATE upgrade to the DVD, if you dont let the sound issue during that one fight scene annoy you. The movie still has a bit of grain all over the place, and the worst scene is only that chess playing scene early on. There's a few out of focus shots, but they were like that on the DVD, dont expect pure bliss when upgrading to the Blu-ray but it definately has more color, more detail and just is much nicer looking than the dark and dated DVD of yester-year. And if you can pick up for the 7.99 price that it was on sale, its totally worth it.. At full price? I'd probably pass, but any sale price is going to be a good deal for the jet-li fans. Now if we can just get some others on blu-ray, like fist of legend (his best imo) :)

"