Import Corner: Island of Fire aka Huo shao dao (1990) (88 Films) Blu-ray Review + 1080p Screenshots + Packaging Shots

Studio: 88 Films
Release Date: August 1st, 1991 (theatrical) / August 26th, 2024 (blu-ray)
Run Time: 1 hour 36 minutes 22 Seconds
Region Code: FREE

Disc Count: 1 (BD-50)
Picture: 1080p (1.85:1 aspect ratio)
Sound: Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (alternate), English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Subtitles: English
Slipcover: Yes (hard slip box)
Digital Copy: No
Starring: Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, Sammo Hung, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Tou Chung-hua
Written by Lee Fu, Yip Wan-Chiu
Directed by Kevin Chu
Rating: BBFC: 18

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Poster

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What's It About?

Four men of iron face their destinies within the harsh walls of a Taiwanese prison. Steve (Jackie Chan) is a gambler seeking to atone for his sins. Andy (Tony Leung) is an undercover cop solving a crime. Lee (Andy Lau) is a gangster looking for vengeance. John (Sammo Hung) is a lifer seeking to reunite with his son.

For this slice of Chinese jailhouse rock, producer Wang Yu brought together both the finest talent in Asian cinema and the finest scenes from ‘BAD BOYS’, ‘COOL HAND LUKE’, ‘PAPILLON’ and every classic Hollywood prison movie ever! Our heroes get time off for bad behaviour, leading to a furious final ‘WILD BUNCH’ style showdown.

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Video/Audio

We are given very little information on where the transfer came from outside of the box saying "HD (1080p) Blu-ray presented of the film in it's original aspect ratio of 1.85:1". This means the transfer quality could go either way and it could be better. There is very little grain here but it is present. Colors are pretty good but some of them are fairly harsh. The picture can be flat at times but it isn't terrible. Skin tones look pretty good for the most part and the image is stable except for a few instances where there is a bit of a wobble, but that does not happen very often. While this picture is in HD it is clear it is an ancient master that could have benefited from a rescan of the OCN. Overall, not the greatest transfer but not the worst either.

The included tracks all sound nice with everything coming through crystal clear.

We get three English subtitle tracks and the film is divided into 12 chapters.

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Extras/Packaging

Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto

Scenes from Taiwanese Version (40m 26s, SD, 1.33:1) A text screen plays before the scenes:

"The following is a collection of deleted and extended scenes from the Taiwanese cut of Island of Fire. Despite the best efforts of 88 Films, due to unforeseen logistical issues, film elements could not be accessed to this cut, not could said cut be shown in its entirety on this release.

However, we've compiled the most substantial of the additional footage from this cut from a standard definition source for the sake of attempting a comprehensive look at the film's original form"

These scenes are presented in 1.33:1 and they look pretty good for being from an SD source. There are forty minutes of scenes here and they are mostly character development scenes this film actually really needed. I wish 88 Films had been able to include the whole cut but it is nice to have most of the deleted footage here. There are 16 scenes here.

Interview with Kevin Chu (6m 4s, SD) A text screen plays before the interview proper:

"The rare interview which follows was not originally recorded to broadcast standards, but has been included on this DVD presentation due to the candid "behind the scene" insights provided by director Chu Yen Ping.

We hope viewers will find his comments entertaining despite the technical deficiencies of the source footage."

I don't know why 88 Films felt they needed to put this disclaimer before this interview as there really isn't anything wrong with the source. Everything looks and sounds fine. We have seen a lot worse. I was expecting the footage to play like a bad VHS tape with warping picture and sound but there is none of that here. The man is very candid when talking about the film industry and how a flop can kill your career while also giving us a look at his feels for Jackie Chan.

Interview with Wang Yu (8m 37s, SD, 1.33:1) This interview is in English and is a pretty good overview of his career.

Interview with Sammo Hung (6m 36s, SD, 1.33:1) Another good interview where Sammo talks about his career.

Interview with Jack Kao (21m 14s, HD, 1.78:1) This is the only new interview and it is very informative. This interview actually covers the making of Island of Fire and not a career overview.

Export End Credits (1m 24s, HD, 1.85:1) They appear to be the same as the Hong Kong version of the film but with English credits.

Export Trailer Reconstruction (2m 1s, HD, 1.85:1)

Taiwanese Trailer (4m 17s, HD, 1.85:1)

Japanese Trailer (1m 47s, HD, 1.85:1)

Japanese TV Spot (17s,m SD, 1.33:1) This particular entry has an error in the spelling of Japanese and TV as they are all one word. I just found that funny.

The packaging for this edition of the film is very nice. First, we get a hard case slip box maybe of the same material Arrow Video uses for their Limited Editions. The difference here is that the slip box holds only the blu-ray case with the poster and the booklet being found inside said case. This slip box features brand new artwork from Sean Longmore and it is awesome. Longmore has become a mainstay at 88 Films, giving us cover art for many releases like TWIN DRAGONS, ICEMAN COMETH, and RIGHTING WRONGS. He does great work.

Inside the slip box is a 14mm Blu-ray case featuring the same Sean Longmore artwork on one side of the reversible artwork with the film's original theatrical poster being on the other side. Inside the Blu-ray case is a folded poster featuring the same two pieces of artwork found on the Blu-ray case artwork. Also in the case is a 32-page, full color booklet with an essay from David West which focuses on how Wang Yu got so many big stars to be in the film with another by Thorsten Boost which focuses on the clothes Jackie Chan wears in his various films.

The disc is REGION FREE

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Overall

I had never seen ISLAND OF FIRE before as I heard it was crap. What I heard was correct. The film is crap. It is a mixture of an action movie and a prison drama and they do not blend very well at all. Because of the over-the-top fight scenes, the drama doesn't land very well. It is hard to watch the dramatic killing of a character by the corrupt prison guards after the Sammo Hung-style fight scene that came before it. I never really bought the prison stuff as being "horrifying". They came off as goofy. After all of the drama and martial arts scenes, the third act turns into a John Woo-style gun flick. It doesn't really work. I gave it a try but I just didn't like it.

88 Films has given ISLAND OF FIRE much more love than any other company. The sound is nice even if the picture leaves a lot to be desired. This is a serviceable transfer at best. The special features are wonderful, though, with yet another great commentary track from Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto along with some nice interviews. The deleted scenes from the Taiwanese version of the film are a great inclusion. The packaging is also really nice. If you like ISLAND OF FIRE or are a Jackie Chan completist then I can not recommend this release highly enough.

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VIDEO