Dragon Dynasty's transfer of One-Armed Swordsman

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Dragon Dynasty's transfer of One-Armed Swordsman

Postby KMGor » Wed Jun 20, 2007 9:05 pm

Has anyone picked up the Dragon Dynasty release of One-Armed Swordsman?

I already have the Celestial box set of One-Armed Swordsman, Return of the OAS and New OAS. Problem is, all three in the set had something botched in the transfer. I theorize it was an improper conversion from PAL to NTSC. It takes the form of heavy interlacing errors, which ends up looking like blurring. Sad thing, it is a gorgeous transfer otherwise. And, of course, the first OAS film and its sequel, Return, are possibly my two favorite Shaw films.

I'd be willing to rebuy OAS and Return (if it gets put out) from Dragon Dynasty, but I'd like to know if their transfer has the same problem, or if it is a new one. Anyone know? They've got the Celestial logo, which made me assume they might be reusing the transfer.
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Postby Masterofoneinchpunch » Wed Jun 20, 2007 9:28 pm

Here's DVD Beaver's quick take: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDRevie ... rdsman.htm

I'm still waiting for my copy to arrive so I'll have an opinion then (unless it doesn't get jumped in my own personal queue :lol:).
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Postby KMGor » Thu Jun 21, 2007 6:49 am

Masterofoneinchpunch wrote:Here's DVD Beaver's quick take: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDRevie ... rdsman.htm

I'm still waiting for my copy to arrive so I'll have an opinion then (unless it doesn't get jumped in my own personal queue :lol:).


Thanks for the link. Based on the images (a couple of which have motion) it looks like they corrected whatever the error is. Either way, a friend of mine who I showed the OAS to who loved it now is planning on buying it, so I'll see how his copy compares to mine soon enough.

In any case, I'm very happy the OAS is finally getting a region 1 US release. It certainly deserves it - it has probably the best storytelling (even if a bit overwrought at times) of just about any old school martial arts film I've seen, and has entertaining action on top of it - and very nice cinematography.
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Postby Masterofoneinchpunch » Fri Jul 06, 2007 6:03 pm

After finally watching the new copy, the transfer looks quite good and I didn't notice any problems (I looked at other reviews too of the DD disk and did not see any complaints).

A couple of notes: The Master: Cheng Cheh featurette is the same one on the Celestial/Image Water Margin disk.

One interesting note is the trailer for Seven Blows of the Dragon: the cut American version of Water Margin.

I have read that Quentin Tarantino is not on the commentary track (he is mentioned on the back as being in the commentary) Just checked their website he is not on the commentary.

Other terse comments on extras:
Interview with Star Jimmy Wang Yu (short but specifically for DD and somewhat informative)
Interview with Film Scholars David Chute and Andy Klein (short and nothing spectacular or informative)
Posters and Stills Gallery (this was short and the stills are just B&W pics of the movie)
Trailer Gallery (there is a lot of trailers and they're actually cool)
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Postby mrblue » Mon Jul 16, 2007 2:28 am

Interview with Film Scholars David Chute and Andy Klein (short and nothing spectacular or informative)


Yeah, their commentary on My Young Auntie is pretty awful. They didn't even know it was in Mandarin, not Cantonese as they say several times during it.

Besides that, I've been pleasantly surprised with the DD DVDs.
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