After WWII in 1946, China went through a civil war between the military and groups of bandits. The leader of the bandits is a ruthless man named Hawk. He has taken over a fort and stockpiled enough munitions to keep the army at bay. So it is up to the group of soldiers to advance up the mountain and remove Hawk from power.
Tsui Hark’s movie is an adaptation of the classic adventure novel by Qu Bo. Judging by some of the scenes in the film, it might also be a remake of an older version of the movie. They showed a little clip during the credits. The story is well told in the film and the action seems to be non-stop. The shootout scenes are well choreographed and the audio puts you right in the thick of things. The most difficult piece of the movie to follow is the characters’ names. A few of the characters not only have call signs but nick names as well. The only people who are very easy to keep straight are Little Dove who is the female soldier, the child, and Lord Hawk. This may also be from this being a popular story in China but less familiar here
Cast
Zhang Hanyu as Yang Zirong
Tony Leung Ka-fai as Hawk
Lin Gengxin as Shao Jianbo
Yu Nan as Qinglian
Lin Gengxin as Captain 203
Tong Liya as Little Dove
Han Geng as Jimmy
Chen Xiao as Gao
The film has clearly been filmed digitally and has a clean look to it. The skin tones are natural and stay n the warm side. No one ever looks washed out or lost in the screen image. The 1080p AVC transfer makes the coloring brilliant. The reds are especially bold and pop on screen. The frame rate creates a smooth image and brings out the details. It is easy to see individual hairs and skin textures on this Blu-ray.
The DTS-HD MA mix on the release is one that Well GO USA should be extremely proud of. It is a very dynamic audio track and perfect for a “war” movie. The bullets whiz through the sound field and the speakers are very directional. From the very first action scene in China, the filmmaker consciously makes the viewer feel immersed in the action. The bass gets the most use from the explosions, the train approaching the mountain but especially the galloping horses. This is an excellent mix and gives the home theater a decent workout.
The extras on the release are the cast and crew interviews that Asian releases tend to have. There is also the trailer for the theatrical release of the film.
Bonus Features:
-Interviews
Tsui Hark: Director
Tony Ka Fai Lueng: Hawk
Zhang Hanyu: Yang
Tong Liya: Little Dove
Lin gengxin: Captain 203
-Trailer
Disc Details
1 Blu-ray Disc
Running Time
141 mins
Edition Ratings
Not Rated
Region Coding
Region A
Video Resolution
1080p AVC MPEG-4
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio Mixes
Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Mandarin Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles
English
THE TAKING OF TIGER MOUNTAIN is one of those Asian military movies that have everything you want in this genre: action, a good plot and characters the audience ends up caring about. The clarity of the video and the crispness of the audio create a release that is made for Blu-ray. The extras are the typical grouping of interviews and the trailer that is basically the standard for Well GO USA releases. I can easily recommend picking this movie up and it is easy to enjoy.
