TVB Released VCD/DVD Questions

[wargods]

I finally got my Yesasia calendar. Here are some of the series' that will be released on DVD and VCD this year:

I will pick up a few of these, but they still haven't hit the home run yet.

is that the whole list???? if not just type all the drama names in english or pinyin is fine. THANKS!!!

So far your pics include:

Life Made Simple
Wars of In-Laws (RELEASED)
Beyond the Rose Garden
The Conqueror's Story (SOON)
The Academy
The Charm Beneath
Angels of Mission (SOON)
The Wild Bunch
On the Track or Off
Once Upon a Time in Shanghai (SOON)
The Lonely Hunter
Hearts of Fencing

[almo89]

is that the whole list???? if not just type all the drama names in english or pinyin is fine. THANKS!!!

So far your pics include:

Life Made Simple
Wars of In-Laws
Beyond the Rose Garden
The Conqueror's Story
The Academy
The Charm Beneath
Angels of Mission
The Wild Bunch
On the Track or Off
Once Upon a Time in Shanghai
The Lonely Hunter
Hearts of Fencing

I could have typed it out in chinese, but I was lazy and not all of them had english titles on the picture. That's all that came with the calendar.

[wargods]

I could have typed it out in chinese, but I was lazy and not all of them had english titles on the picture. That's all that came with the calendar.

thank you very much.

[almo89]

Is Lonely hunter any good?

[wargods]

Is Lonely hunter any good?

I haven't watched it before, but Felix Wong started to become famous because of this drama (his first ever main lead). So, it must be good. Meanwhile, the theme song is pretty good (sung by Susanna Kwan).

[Quinton]

hey everybody, hows it going? ive signed up at spcnet for quite a while now, but have aways been holding back to speak up on the forum. recently ive been intrigued to join this big forum family as the result of such interesting conversations.
i have a question for almo89 or anyone living in vancouver/richmond area. where are some great video stores for finding movies, music, drama shows(china, tvb). i live in victoria and im planning to head over to van for a trip. some of you may know that victoria DOESNT have any video stores selling asian productuctions, so i figure that i stock up while im over in vancouver. help is much appreciated =D

[almo89]

hey everybody, hows it going? ive signed up at spcnet for quite a while now, but have aways been holding back to speak up on the forum. recently ive been intrigued to join this big forum family as the result of such interesting conversations.
i have a question for almo89 or anyone living in vancouver/richmond area. where are some great video stores for finding movies, music, drama shows(china, tvb). i live in victoria and im planning to head over to van for a trip. some of you may know that victoria DOESNT have any video stores selling asian productuctions, so i figure that i stock up while im over in vancouver. help is much appreciated =D

I usually go to MX2 at Lansdowne mall. They have good selection for new stuff. If you can't find old stuff, you can probably place special orders which is what i always do. As for TVB stuff, they are not an authorized dealer, so their selection is small, but when I place a special order, the boss will directly order it from HK for me.

MAL is another store in Richmond. They are one of TVB's authorized dealers, so their selection for TVB stuff is good, but their prices before tax cost more than MX2 after taxes. I don't really go to this store a lot anymore.

These are probably the 2 stores that sell legit stuff. There's one in Parker Place also in Richmond, but selection is kinda weak.

[Quinton]

alrighty thanks almo89 for the quick response. i know where to go the next time im in richmond. i think ill use mal as the last resort if all else fails. i went to the parker place shop the last time i was in richmond and came back without "infernal affairs II". hopefully i can find it at mx2 to complete the trilogy. almo89 do you know if they have mainland's loch 03 and roch 06 at mx2?

also does anyone remember the correct title of this old tvb show. it's one of the better cooking shows that i can remember watching to date. it starred bobby au yeung, esther kwan, louis koo, jessica hsuan, paul chun pui, and lydia sum. i dont remember much but i believe paul and bobby were master and apprentice relationship. bobby and paul competed in a competition in sydney australia and paul lost as a result of bobby sneezing his spices onto paul's dish. paul goes missing and bobby rises to supremacy. louis koo utters everytime he speaks early in the show. he eventually becomes good at cooking himself and clashes with bobby. correct me if data is incorrect. another note is, the theme is sung by the cast.

[Suet Seung]

also does anyone remember the correct title of this old tvb show. it's one of the better cooking shows that i can remember watching to date. it starred bobby au yeung, esther kwan, louis koo, jessica hsuan, paul chun pui, and lydia sum. i dont remember much but i believe paul and bobby were master and apprentice relationship. bobby and paul competed in a competition in sydney australia and paul lost as a result of bobby sneezing his spices onto paul's dish. paul goes missing and bobby rises to supremacy. louis koo utters everytime he speaks early in the show. he eventually becomes good at cooking himself and clashes with bobby. correct me if data is incorrect. another note is, the theme is sung by the cast.

It's called Recipe for the Heart.

[Canuck21]

almo89,

Do you know if the DVDs at Malmusic are of which versions? I'm specifically am interested in The New Heaven Sword & The Dragon Sabre. It is really uncut? I read a review in YesAsia that it's not really uncut, some scenes are missing. What do you know about it?

[Ken Cheng]

HSDS '86 is not only uncut, I swear there seemed to be a few extra frames added back in. The CGI effects from the 1980s have also been enhanced.

[almo89]

almo89,

Do you know if the DVDs at Malmusic are of which versions? I'm specifically am interested in The New Heaven Sword & The Dragon Sabre. It is really uncut? I read a review in YesAsia that it's not really uncut, some scenes are missing. What do you know about it?

The DVDs at MAL are TVBI versions directly from HK since they are they authorized dealer. It should be uncut.

[Canuck21]

HSDS '86 is not only uncut, I swear there seemed to be a few extra frames added back in. The CGI effects from the 1980s have also been enhanced.

This is Star Wars all over again. I don't like it when the special effects are redone. Just clean up the print and leave the rest alone! Ugh. How's the CGI, minimal retouching I hope?

[Ken Cheng]

This is Star Wars all over again. I don't like it when the special effects are redone. Just clean up the print and leave the rest alone! Ugh. How's the CGI, minimal retouching I hope?

Pretty much. They kept the original CGI intent, just brightened it and intensified it so that it doesn't look so aged. To TVBI's credit, they went for a 1986 look for the CGI instead of incongruously sticking 2006-style CGI in there - just enhanced it so that it's more vivid (although in a few cases, they added extra CGI that wasn't on the original master...but still in an authentically 1986 style).

[almo89]

Pretty much. They kept the original CGI intent, just brightened it and intensified it so that it doesn't look so aged. To TVBI's credit, they went for a 1986 look for the CGI instead of incongruously sticking 2006-style CGI in there - just enhanced it so that it's more vivid (although in a few cases, they added extra CGI that wasn't on the original master...but still in an authentically 1986 style).

I didn't notice any star wars type edits for HSDS. But then again, I haven't seen the original VHS enough times to compare. When I was watching the DVD, I didn't notice anything stick out at me. One pet peeve I had was the english titles they used on some episodes. It seriously looked like it was done using Word Art from Microsoft Word. I preferred if they just used a simple font with one color and make the wording small to bring out the chinese title more.

[Ken Cheng]

I didn't notice any star wars type edits for HSDS. But then again, I haven't seen the original VHS enough times to compare. When I was watching the DVD, I didn't notice anything stick out at me.

I definitely noticed, but I was pleased with the results. TVBI managed to hit that sweet part where they succeeded in adding and enhancing without interfering with the original. In some ways, the DVD version now looks more "complete" than the original release.

One pet peeve I had was the english titles they used on some episodes. It seriously looked like it was done using Word Art from Microsoft Word. I preferred if they just used a simple font with one color and make the wording small to bring out the chinese title more.

Heh. If TVB managed to use MS Word Word Art back in 1986, they would have been BEYOND cutting edge!

[almo89]

It would be cutting edge! haha

If they do decide to edit Star Wars...I mean Smiling Proud Wanderer, I wonder how it would look like.

[almo89]

Here was one of the reviews from Yesasia regarding HSDS86

THIS VERSION IS NOT UNCUT, AND THE REASON WHY I KNOW IS BECAUSE THIS IS MY FAVORITE TVB SERIES OF ALL TIME. I GREW UP WATCHING THIS. I HAVE AT LEAST WATCH THIS MORE THAN 50 TIMES OVER THE COURSE MY TWENTY SOMETHING ODD YEARS. THERE ARE SOME SCENES MISSING. THE MOST RECONIZALBE SCENE I CAUGHT MISSING WAS THE ENDING WHEN TONY LEUNG HANDED OVER HIS LEADERSHIP TO ONE OF HIS PROTEGE'. THEY CUT OUT THE PART WHEN HE HANDED OVER THE "HOLLY FIRE PLAQUE" ALONG WITH THE TWO MARTIAL ART BOOK, THE "GOU YANG SUN KUNG" AND THE "KEEN QUN DAI LAUR YE". THEY TOTALLY CUT THAT PART OUT AND JUST HAD HIM SAY IT AND THEN LEFT. HE ALSO HAD A LITTLE MOMENT WITH HIS UNCLE TOO, BUT THEY CUT THAT OUT AS WELL. I DON'T KNOW WHOSE FAULT IT IS BUT THIS IS DEFFINETLY NOT THE UN-CUT VERSION!!! VERY DISSAPOINTED, I NOT SURE IF I CAN TRUST ANOTHER TVB SERIES THAT'S TITLE UN-CUT. I DON'T WANT TO PURCHASE THOSE SERIES ANYMORE UNTIL TVB GETS IT RIGHT. AFTER 20 YEARS I THOUGHT I COULD OWN THE SERIES IN A HIGH QUALITY. I HAD WAITED SO LONG EVER SINCE DVD EXIST. THIS IS NOT RIGHT, YESASIA NEEDS TO CHANGE THE PROFILE ON THIS DVD VERSION.

I can't confirm if this is true on the top of my head.

[Ken Cheng]

Here was one of the reviews from Yesasia regarding HSDS86



I can't confirm if this is true on the top of my head.

If any such scene existed, then it must have only been on the original *broadcast* version of HSDS '86 shown on TVB in Hong Kong back in 1986. The 1980s VHS did *not* have any scene like the reviewer mentioned.

So if it's true, then it was cut from all home video versions.

[Ken Cheng]

It would be cutting edge! haha

If they do decide to edit Star Wars...I mean Smiling Proud Wanderer, I wonder how it would look like.

Honestly, SPW '84 would benefit from having ALL of its CGI *removed*.

Even George Lucas would have called it overkill.

SPW '84: the adaptation in which when even a minor character just sneezes, thirteen different colors of CGI laser beams shoot out of his nose.