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4K UHD Blu-ray / 2025 Blu-ray set 
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Comparison between the old Celestial version, originally scanned in 2002 and included on various DVDs, including the Blu-rays from Japan (2013, Paramount), Germany (2017, WVG), the UK (2020, 88 Films), and the US (2022, Arrow Video) with the 4K remastered Blu-ray from 88 Films, based on a new 4K scan by Celestial with 88 Films' own color grading (2025, together in a set with a 4K UHD Blu-ray)
With Come Drink with Me, King Hu revolutionized wuxia cinema in 1966, and it is fascinating to see how many motifs and scenes from this genre classic have been copied in countless other Easterns or quoted almost 1:1 in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, for example. At the time, Hu was still working for the Shaw Brothers before moving to Taiwan to make masterpieces such as The Dragon Gate Inn and A Touch of Zen. Unlike so many other Celestial scans of the studio's treasures, this title was not affected by the infamous frame cuts, probably because it was released quite early on, before this practice became standard. Differences in running time between international releases are mainly due to the fact that, for example, the German Blu-ray runs at 1080i in 25fps (i.e., PAL speed) and is therefore 4 minutes shorter than its counterparts from the UK and the US. A 4K Blu-ray has been available in the UK since August 25, 2025. In addition to the main film on a 4K disc with HDR, the set also includes a new Blu-ray created with the same image master, which also offers new bonus material compared to the previous 2020 edition from 88 Films. The film was previously released in UHD in France in 2023, but of course there are no English subtitles here. In addition, 88 Films has reworked the color grading for the UK release, based on a new scan by Celestial. If you compare this new 4K master with the previous version from Celestial, you will find that, as mentioned above, there are no typical frame cuts, but there are actually a few small differences. Basically, it's similar: Presumably, there were brief moments that were damaged on the original scan, and several tricks were used in the transitions between shots to cove that up. In one case, almost 4 seconds are missing in a row, and several other transitions were added or individual frames were simply repeated. In addition, one zoomed segment is strange; here, too, something at the edge of the image was probably damaged. All in all these small differences are not that relevant at all, but the clearly superior image quality alone makes the new 4K scan a must for anyone interested.
Running times are listed according to the following scheme After the Celestial logo, the old version has a little more black screen at 00:10-00:11 / 00:11.
As a general mini-comment on quality and, above all, the colors: The new 4K master looks much more natural. For example, the sky is really blue and faces have a more realistic color, and above all, everything is not as muddy as is usual with many old Celestial restorations.
09:22-09:40 / 09:45-10:04 Here is a shot with a camera pan through the restaurant in the old master, clearly zoomed in. We also included the shot from the same perspective just 2 seconds earlier at the beginning, where the old Celestial Master still had almost the same framing. The following shot of the three at the table is also still zoomed in, after which the framing is (virtually) the same again. No time difference
At this point, you can also refer to a post in the Blu-ray.com forum, which shows the UHD image master originally supplied by Celestial for this scene. This still had a strong green cast and tended to have a similar look to these older Celestial masters described at the beginning. The color grading by 88 Films is clearly preferable. In the same thread, you can also find short clips of the flaws described in our report. 22:47-22:49 / 23:44-23:46 In the old version, the image also blurs here, but then abruptly switches to the next scene. Actually, the image blurs a little longer and fades smoothly into the following scene. However, these almost 2 seconds were not completely cut from the old Celestial Master, but covered up by repeating/slowing down the rest of the shot. No time difference
42:24 / 44:12-44:13 The first real flaw, after a mini-difference of 9 frames (= 0.3 sec) had accumulated in the first 10 minutes, but this is of course not relevant in any way for “normal” viewers, and from then on, apart from the two differences described, the versions ran perfectly in sync. In this case, however, only the end of a shot is lost. Basically, nothing happens, but there is still missing footage. 0.9 sec
72:10-72:13 / 75:15-75:22 In the old version, the slow-motion effect starts a little earlier, while the new 4K scan continues at normal speed. This means that a difference of one second has already accumulated at the moment of the screenshot shown first here. The transition to the next scene then begins here, meaning that the actual last frames of this shot are missing. In addition, the follow-up shot also begins much earlier with a camera pan. Original version 3.6 sec longer
90:11-90:12 / 94:06-94:08 The fade to the last shot of the film starts a little earlier in the old version. Again, the rest of the previous shot and the beginning of the next shot are missing. Original version 1.5 sec longer
After the end credits and the Celestial logo, the copyright information on the scan naturally differs: 2002 vs. 2022.
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