TVB Released VCD/DVD Questions

[Ken Cheng]

@ Batman,

So i finally ordered the Bund DVD set. It should be coming next week or next next week. It better be as good as advertised I have HIGH expectations for this one. I'm looking forward to the complex characters who are a shade of grey.

You'll get it in spades. Dialogue and acting are at a premium in this series. There are no "fluff" lines or cliches as in most TVB series. The dialogue counts and counts big in this one.

[Ken Cheng]

OK, having watched a little more of my THE BUND DVDs on Saturday night, I have to admit I've spotted some more edits than I originally encountered in my first, quick run-through scan. While not nearly as bad as the VCD edits, which cut out huge chunks of the series, these relatively minor edits are still rather annoying because they truncate or omit the myriad mood- and atmosphere-setting scenes characteristic of THE BUND.

THE BUND is a unique series not only because of the superior storywriting, script, and acting, but also because the director made very clever use of camerawork, lighting, etc., to convey a certain atmosphere. Many people believe that if you throw fancy scenery or CGI into a movie/television production, that makes for superior filmmaking. It doesn't; superior filmmaking is getting more out of whatever resources you have at hand, which is what TVB did with THE BUND.

Case in point: at the beginning of Episode 3, there's a wonderful sequence that juxtaposes the elegant, bubbly atmosphere of Fung Ging Yiu's grand dinner banquet, where he and Hui Mun Keung are getting to know each other and discuss the possibility of a future business partnership, with a brutal, horrific scene of mass slaughter occurring at that very same moment just a few blocks away from Fung Ging Yiu's house. As Fung and Hui drink champagne and exchange pleasantries, Hui and Ding Lik's flunkies are gunning down a Blue Shirt (i.e. Kuomintang intelligence agent) officer and his gang of thugs, who were preventing a wounded friend of Fung Ging Yiu's (who happens to be a traitor and spy, which is why the KMT is after him) from reaching the hospital for lifesaving surgery.

In the original broadcast version and VHS of the series, there's a great transition scene from the party inside Fung's mansion to the image of those bloodied corpses lying there on the street in the dark night. An ominous, disturbing version of the main bars of THE BUND theme song played slowly on strings (cellos and violas, most likely) underscores the dark, frightening violence of the scene...contrasting the horror of the dark side of Shanghai with the elegance upon its surface. This was a masterfully done scene that lasted only about seven seconds or so, but was so powerful...it gave you the creeps, and made you realize what a dark and brutal place Shanghai really was under all the opulence.

In the DVD, however, they only bother to show you about two seconds (if that) of the sequence...you see it, but it's so brief that you just go "huh?" rather than feel the ominous vibe of that scene. What a waste! That scene, brief as it was, was one of the most memorable and masterfully done scenes of the series! It's a shame that TVB trimmed it so much (maybe because it was too "violent").

THE BUND was a series that pulled no punches when it came to violence. It wasn't gratuitously gory and didn't descend into cartoonish violence like a RAMBO movie, but it did show you the violence in an unflinching manner to create an appropriate atmosphere for the setting and theme of the story.

[almo89]

Yeah it was like that on the Japanese version too. I was like wtf. It felt cut short. The music just started and then it's the next scene.

[Ghaleon]

So it's not really uncut If the Japanese version is like that then i guess it's not too bad. Would the minor "edits" effect a new viewer to the series?

[almo89]

So it's not really uncut If the Japanese version is like that then i guess it's not too bad. Would the minor "edits" effect a new viewer to the series?

It's a minor edit that will bug the hell out of purists like me. For a first time viewer, you will enjoy it even if you watch the butchered VCD version.

[Ghaleon]

It's a minor edit that will bug the hell out of purists like me. For a first time viewer, you will enjoy it even if you watch the butchered VCD version.

Great So how bad was the butchered VCD version? How much minutes did they actually cut? Because almost all the TVB VCDs are edited a lot especially the LOCH 83 VCDs.

[Ken Cheng]

Great So how bad was the butchered VCD version? How much minutes did they actually cut? Because almost all the TVB VCDs are edited a lot especially the LOCH 83 VCDs.

The VCD edits were so terrible that I gave up after watching a single episode. I was too disgusted to continue. I imagine the rest of it was pretty bad.

The DVD, though not edit-free, is much better. The series is essentially all there (on the DVD), but unfortunately, it seems that a few very well-done scenes were truncated.

Hopefully, there'll be a future release that will edit NOTHING. You really can't afford to lose a frame of this series because it was so masterfully done.

[tweety365]

I don't know why TVB classics are edited when they are released on dvds. Aren't dvds supposed to include everything plus extras? Movies in the US have tons of stuffs. Things like hours of commentaries and behind the scene shots are jammed in. Unlike the vcd format, dvds can handle the large data.

Unless those greedy bastards are planning to milk it and release more versions of the dvds. Like what they did with Lord of the Rings. Screwing the fans like that is just plain wrong .

[Ghaleon]

The VCD edits were so terrible that I gave up after watching a single episode. I was too disgusted to continue. I imagine the rest of it was pretty bad.

The DVD, though not edit-free, is much better. The series is essentially all there (on the DVD), but unfortunately, it seems that a few very well-done scenes were truncated.

Hopefully, there'll be a future release that will edit NOTHING. You really can't afford to lose a frame of this series because it was so masterfully done.

Ok GREAT to hear the DVD release is generally intact. Wow the VCD version must be heavily edited.

I don't know why TVB classics are edited when they are released on dvds. Aren't dvds supposed to include everything plus extras? Movies in the US have tons of stuffs. Things like hours of commentaries and behind the scene shots are jammed in. Unlike the vcd format, dvds can handle the large data.

Unless those greedy bastards are planning to milk it and release more versions of the dvds. Like what they did with Lord of the Rings. Screwing the fans like that is just plain wrong .

Well generally TVB DVD releases don't have too many episodes per disk, maybe 3 or 4. This is to maximize the viewing quality. They don't want to stuff too much stuff onto the DVD. The Taiseng TVB DVDs tries to stuff 6+ episodes onto a single disk. I think only Korean and Japanese TV Dramas have special features and extras consistently in their DVD releases.

[Ken Cheng]

For THE BUND, it's hard to do extras because there's so little archival material (I'm really not interested in a THE BUND blooper reel; it would ruin the grim and gritty atmosphere of this series). Even getting interviews with the cast and crew would be difficult because so many of the people involved with the production of THE BUND thirty years ago have moved on. I mean, TVB could probably wangle an interview with director Chiu Jen Keung (if they haven't burned their bridges with him), and I could see interviews with Ray Lui and Angie Chiu (aren't they both back with TVB in some capacity these days?), but the absolute Holy Grail, an interview with Chow Yun Fat, is probably out of reach. Chow Yun Fat is an international superstar now, and he's got ZERO reason to kiss TVB's butt.

[Ghaleon]

You raise great points since this series is from the 80's. If only the newer TVB series had special features. So the series is grim and gritty? Nice. I love gritty or dark series. The new TVB series are way too light-hearted.

[Ken Cheng]

You raise great points since this series is from the 80's. If only the newer TVB series had special features. So the series is grim and gritty? Nice. I love gritty or dark series. The new TVB series are way too light-hearted.

THE BUND has isolated moments of humor, but it isn't the contrived, corny, over-the-top humor that you see in current TVB series. In THE BUND, humor is handled within the context of the drama...never out of place, and respects the series' gravity (and the characters' dignity). It's not a lowbrow sort of humor; there's more wit to it.

The humor is also very infrequent, and as the series intensifies, it disappears altogether (not that there was a whole lot of it to begin with). THE BUND isn't a lighthearted show by any stretch of the imagination. That said, it's no histrionic tearjerker either. It's not a series that causes you to laugh out loud or start bawling. It's a series that causes you to think a lot...and flinch with shock and horror a lot. There's a lot of symbolism hidden in some of the images (down to the details of how the characters dress during different phases of their lives), and it's very literate (a part of THE BUND plays off parallels with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's THE SEAGULL). THE BUND was a thinking person's drama...accessible to the common viewer, but better appreciated by the educated, cultivated viewer.

Yes, you'll notice right away that this series is very grim and gritty, with a dark, noirish edge to it. You can almost picture this series filmed in black and white; it's got that timeless feel to it...like CASABLANCA or those other old Humphrey Bogart movies.

Heh. It sounds like I'm putting this series on some pedestal, and I admit I am...but you know what? It TOTALLY deserves it. It really is that great.

[Ghaleon]

grim and gritty = good Those are the missing ingredients in recent TVB dramas. Seriously I can't even remember the last time TVB made a dark and gritty series that actually made you think a lot. All the TVB dramas nowadays feels extremely light-hearted. There is no gritty feeling to it at all. The closest comparison i can think of is Star Trek The Next Generation vs Star Trek Deep Space Nine.

I only wish that the site will ship my copy sooner.

[Ken Cheng]

grim and gritty = good Those are the missing ingredients in recent TVB dramas. Seriously I can't even remember the last time TVB made a dark and gritty series that actually made you think a lot. All the TVB dramas nowadays feels extremely light-hearted. There is no gritty feeling to it at all. The closest comparison i can think of is Star Trek The Next Generation vs Star Trek Deep Space Nine.

I only wish that the site will ship my copy sooner.

You're in for a treat with THE BUND. The ending of Part 1 is great in that it can send you into a delicious depression (after you finally close your mouth from gaping in shock at what you've just witnessed, that is).

[Ghaleon]

Just don't spoil the ending. I'm looking forward to it So I take it The Bund is amongst your favorite series of all time for all genres?

[Ken Cheng]

Just don't spoil the ending. I'm looking forward to it So I take it The Bund is amongst your favorite series of all time for all genres?

It just might well be my favorite series of all, PERIOD. It was just perfect in every way I could imagine. THIS is the way a series should be done.

[almo89]

I guess what ken is trying to say is that the Bund is one damn good show. Right?

[Ken Cheng]

I guess what ken is trying to say is that the Bund is one damn good show. Right?

Yeah, it was all right.

[Ghaleon]

^^ I'll comment once i get the DVD set... i'm sure i'll be blown away from all the raves about it. too bad they still haven't shipped my copy out yet =\ i like yesasia.com the best so far. they are really fast in shipping. anyway, can't wait to see this PERFECT series

[NetDragon]

I see that Batman is a really, really big fan of The Bund You draw so much out of it, things that I don't even think of hehe. But I agree, The Bund is one of the most spectacular series of all time.

Although in general I have to say that there are some parts that are sloppery done, it was like they just did the scene in a rush, then turning to us audience and say: Yeah, you know what we mean, ok? Enough said!" And if only the Bund had the usual intro music video style that later TVB shows had, it would have been perfect. The freeze frame with rolling text just made it a little tiny weird. In the VCD butchered version, TVB attempted on a new created intro music video, which in my opinion wasnt quite good and done properly. There is this scene in the video where CYF climbs on the table and gives this bad guy a kick, it was so out of place. I remember laughing so hard at that kicking scene, one of the more pathetic "You know what we mean.." scene I was referring to :P

What I love about the Bund the most is the small memorable moments, and there are a lot of them. Moments that mix great camera shots with emotional background music. Moments that will get stuck in your mind for quite a time after you see it. It is not randomly filmed, it was done on purpose that way to enhance the viewing experience. That is what makes classics out of movies, something that many directors nowadays just dont get it. Mark my words, addictive and good background music is very very important for movies/series, and The Bund makes use of this at totally 100%.

Oh and of course, I just placed my order on motionandsound.com Hope they will ship it out soon, sooo looking forward to watching part II and III. Btw, does part II and III still use the background music from part I? Or do they use tunes of the intro music of the sequels?