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Uncut UK Blu-ray box



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Cliffhanger






Sisu






To Live and Die in L.A






DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES






Needful Things




Fight Back to School 2

original title: To hok wai lung 2

Comparison:

  • HK DVD (Mei Ah remastered)
  • Blu-ray (88 Films)
Release: Sep 04, 2023 - Author: Muck47 - Translator: Muck47 - external link: IMDB

Comparison between the Hong Kong DVD from Mei Ah (DTS-remastered version) and the British Blu-ray from 88 Films

  • 2 missing bits
  • Difference: 2.3 seconds

Several other master errors on the Hong Kong DVD with a duration of < 0.2 seconds each were not listed in the report.

Stephen Chow had been working in Hong Kong television at TVB since 1982, like Chow Yun-fat and many other local stars. Starting from 1988, his comedy talent graced the big screen, and after delivering the financially most successful film of the year in 1990 with All for the Winner, he achieved this feat once again in 1991 with Fight Back to School. The sequel, Fight Back to School 2, couldn't top that in 1992, but it was still lucrative enough to warrant a third installment in 1993.

The trilogy has been available on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom since September 11, 2023 (orders from the in-house store were shipped a few days earlier). This prompted us to take a look back at previous releases because, in the runtime comparison, it was noted that the old Hong Kong DVD (excluding logos) ran a few seconds shorter. This can be attributed mainly to many minor master errors throughout the film. However, there are indeed two minor missing bits. Nothing of significant relevance, and in terms of quality, fans are recommended to go for the Blu-ray regardless.

Unfortunately, the Blu-ray does not include the over 20-minute longer version that could be found on DVD in Taiwan. More on that in a separate report later.

Runtime indications are arranged according to the schema:
Hong Kong DVD in NTSC / British Blu-ray in 23.976fps

Introductory comparison images from the film. The exaggerated yellow tint is no longer an issue. The HK-DVD offers a bit more picture information (especially above) under the 1.85:1 matting of the Blu-ray. Curiously, during the end credits, the HK DVD also has the 1.85:1 matting at the top and bottom, but it's zoomed/cropped.

Hong Kong DVD (Mei Ah)British Blu-ray (88 Films)



The Blu-ray has an additional logo at the beginning.
24.3 sec



56:18 / 56:45-56:46

The camera pan around the kissing couple (Turtle & Jacky) is slightly longer.

1.1 sec



Alternative
91:30-91:34 / 92:00-92:04

Oddly, when Chow drops his head and takes a short breath, the otherwise identical shot is played in slow motion on the HKDVD and runs a bit longer.

Hong Kong DVD (Mei Ah)British Blu-ray (88 Films)


However, from the subsequent shot from a slightly different perspective, a small moment is missing at the beginning. Chow still has his head down here, while the HK DVD starts when he has already lifted it slightly.


Either way, the transition between the two perspectives feels like a small jump cut.

No time difference (Duration of missing material: 1.2 sec)

97:57-97:59 / 98:28-98:34

After the identical credits, the last shot of Chow with foam in his mouth is a bit longer on the HK DVD. The Blu-ray shows the Gala logo again.
Blu-ray 4.5 sec longer

Hong Kong DVD (Mei Ah)British Blu-ray (88 Films)






Slipcase of the box, cover and reverse cover of the UK Blu-ray: