Let The Bullets Fly (2010/Well Go USA Blu-ray/DVD Set)
Picture: B/B- Sound: B/B- Extras: C Film: B+
Legendary
mountain bandit Pocky Zhang (Jiang Wen, who also directs this film) and con man
Tang (Ge You) has just decided to con the town of Goose Town (circa the 1920s) by pretending to
be the new magistrate of Goosetown. Their
goal is to steal the of its wealth, but when they get to Goose town they
discover it is already under the control of the evil business man Huang (Chow
Yun-fat), and they have some serious competition of who is the chief dog of
Goose Town in Let The Bullets Fly.
A comical tale of a bunch of bad guys trying to run the town, as the town
bandit 'mayor' steals from the rich 'evil' business man, both are men of
influence, power and lies. On the
surface they act as polished gentlemen, but behind their backs they have
their guns and knives ready. As each one
tries to get the upper hand on each other to trick each other into
make a fatal mistake revealing their true identities, their lies get more
outrageous and ingenious. It is a game
of mind games of wits and cunning between two old wily weasels.
A comical film featuring a tale of a comedy of lies,
where everyone is lying, but whoever is the one to get caught lying
first will end up (most likely) dead, the characters can lie
with a smile, things get even more hilarious violent behind the scene with
all their lackeys fighting, framing and dying with each of their bosses
moves to try and gain the advantage. Soon,
it becomes more than a struggle to see who can steal more money, but who is the
alpha and omega thief in town. This
is as we post this the biggest moneymaking film in the history of the Chinese
box office. We bet it will stay that way
for sometime.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image (shot very well with Kodak film in the
Super 35mm format) and DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix make for a
great combination showing off this film to fine effect in the superior format,
while the anamorphically enhanced DVD with lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is as
good as it can be in that older format and no match for the Blu-ray. It is good they include both. Note that a Limited Edition of this set has
also been issued.
- Ricky Chiang
