The
Taking Of Tiger Mountain
(2014/Well Go USA Blu-ray)
Picture: A Sound: B
Extras: C Film: B+
It is 1946, WWII has
just ended, the Japanese has just surrendered, but all throughout
China it is civil unrest and bandits plague the land. Captain Shan
Jianbo (aka 203) and his 30 men are sent to clear Tiger Mountain of
it's bandits, but the bandits of Tiger Mountain are controlled by
vicious Lord Hawk and his 1,000 men. How will 30 men defeat 1,000?
Low on ammo, men, and food, 203 is given an impossible mission of
protecting the villages living in the shadow of Tiger Mountain.
In
Tsui Hark's The
Taking Of Tiger Mountain
(2014), we get this struggle on an epic scale and the result was a
huge hit. Out numbered and out gunned, Lord Hawk (Tony Leung) is
holed up in a mountain fortress filled with post war guns, cannons,
tanks and ammo. The only way to win is to use spies, to destroy the
bandits from within, infiltrating them and using phantom tactics to
cause the bandits to destroy each other through their own greed,
paranoia and distrust in each other.
Based on a once popular
old Chinese opera story about soldiers overcoming odds and using
their knowledge to trick their opponents. It shows the greatest
weapon a soldier can have isn't any weapon or number of troops you
have, but the mind. Symbolically you could see, national loyalty can
over come any odds. This continues a cycle of such Chinese epics and
was also issued in 3D, but it is only 2D in this release.
The 1080p 2.35 X 1
digital High Definition image was shot on a RED EPIC 5K camera and
has fine color, detail and definition reproduction throughout, making
it the highlight of an impressive Blu-ray release. Issued in Dolby
Atmos 11.1 sound in its best aural theatrical screenings, this
lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 mix has bombastic moments, but
also more quiet, subtle moments than you might expect, but is just
fine in this solid mixdown. Extras include interviews with cast and
director and trailers.
- Ricky Chiang
