A MOMENT OF ROMANCE (1990) Radiance Films Blu-ray Review + Screenshots

A MOMENT OF ROMANCE (1990) 

Standard Blu-ray Version 

Label: Radiance Films 

Region Code: A,B

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 92 Minutes 17 Seconds 

Audio: Japanese PCM 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 

Director: Benny Chan, Johnnie To

Cast: Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau, Jacklyn Wu, Kwong Leung Wong, Ng Man-tat

A Moment of Romance (1990), directed by Benny Chan, is a star-crossed romance film channeled through the a bloody Honk Kong action flick, concerning small-time triad hood  Wah Dee (Andy Lau, Infernal Affairs) who is enlisted by Triad boss Trumpet (Tommy Wong, The Killer) as the getaway driver for a daring jewelry store heist. The heist doesn't go quite as planned when the cops unexpectedly stumble upon the robbery in progress, but the quick thinking Wah Dee distracts the cops so his pals can get away, and to evade capture himself when cornered he ends up taking a sweet and naive teenager named Jo Jo (Jacklyn Chien-Lien Wu, The Barefooted Kid) hostage, However, when he shows up at the rendezvous point the boss orders her to be killed, no witnesses, but Dee refuses. What transpires is a star-crossed forbidden relationship between hood and the well-off ten, the predicament they find themselves in making a target  of not only the triad, but the cops, who are looking to pin the jewelry heist on Wah Dee and Trumpet, the pair evading the cops but also the bloodthirsty Trumpet. 

Produced by Johnnie To (Throwdown) and Ringo Lam (City on Fire) the film is directed by Benny Chan, who is making was feature film directorial debut here, and what a debut it is. It's action packed, raw but pretty slick looking, packed with action on the neon lit streets of Hong Kong with plenty of HK slow-motion sequences, vehicular carnage and street racing, shocking moments of up close and personal violence and a nihilistic finale that will leave you breathless by the end.  

Audio/Video: A Moment of Romance arrives on blu-ray from Radiance Film in 1080p HD, framed in 1.85:1 widescreen,advertised as being sourced from a 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative. It looks solid, there's some rough edges to the original lensing, but generally this is looks terrific. The source is in wonderful shape, colors looks accurate and skin tones fare well. There's slight brown lean to the image, but overall, no issues, and there's plenty of texture and detail to the image. Audio comes by way of Cantonese PCM 2.0 with optional English subtitles. The track sounds fine, it's not overly dynamic, but the score, soundtrack, dialogue and moments of action all fare well in the mix, and its clean without any age-related wear or tear that I detected.

This release includes a solid set bonus content, we get the 26-min In Love and Danger: HK Cinema Through A Moment of Romance - A new visual essay by critic and Asian cinema expert David Desser on the genre tropes in A Moment of Romance and their use in Hong Kong cinema (2023); another terrific Audio commentary by Asian cinema expert Frank Djeng who is animated, fact-filled, and entertaining. He gets into the production, how this is Chan;s directorial debut, how the film was meant to be a sort of retirement fund for director Wong Tim-Lam, and of course, loaded with anecdotes about the film, cast and crew. We also get a 22-min Archival audio interview with Benny Chan who discusses his start in the industry, A Moment of Romance, and his collaborators on the film (2016), plus a 4-min Trailer. 

The single-disc standard edition release arrives in a clear keepcase with a two-sided, non-reversible sleeve of artwork, the reverse side featuring an advert for Radiance Films. The film is also available from radiance Films as a Limited Edition of 3000 pieces release, which also includes a Reversible Wrap, Booklet and Removable Obi-Strip, but the same A/V and disc extras. 

Special Features: 

- In Love and Danger: HK Cinema Through A Moment of Romance - A new visual essay by critic and Asian cinema expert David Desser on the genre tropes in A Moment of Romance and their use in Hong Kong cinema (2023) (25:59) 

- Audio commentary by Asian cinema expert Frank Djeng

- Trailer (4:10) 

- Archival audio interview with Benny Chan who discusses his start in the industry, A Moment of Romance, and his collaborators on the film (2016) (21:22) 

Screenshots from the Radiance Films Blu-ray: 

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WAN PIPEL (1976) Cult Epics Blu-ray Review

WAN PIPEL (1976) 

Label: Cult Epics

Region Code: Region-Free 

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 111 Minutes 46 Seconds 

Audio: Dutch PCM 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1) 

Director: Pim de la Parra 

Cast: Willeke van Ammelrooy, 

Borger Breeveld, Diana Gangaram Panday

Wan Piel (1976), directed by Pim de la Parra (Obsession), would be the last film produced by Scorpio Films after the film went over-budget and under performed at the box office upon it's initial release. The film also has the distinction of being the first film shot in the newly independent country of Suriname, which had previously been a colony of the Kingdom of the Netherland for over three centuries. 

It's a dramatic love story, wherein Afro-Surinamese man Roy (Borger Breeveld), who is studying abroad in Holland, living with his Dutch girlfriend Karina (Willeke van Ammelrooy), receives word that his mother (Ro Jackson-Breeveld) is gravely ill, and that he must return to Suriname immediately, to his hometown of Paramaribo. Unable to pay for the flight home his loving girlfriend pays for ticket home, where he gets to see his mother briefly before she passes soon after. While home he suffers a bit of a short lived malaise, grieving for his mother, but he also rediscovers his love of his homeland, and he unexpectedly falls for an attractive Indo-Surinamese Hindu nurse named Rubia (Diana Gangaram Panday), and this Roy finds himself struggling with the decision to return to Holland with Karina to finish school, or stay in his homeland with newfound love interest Rubia.  

The thoughtful story addresses issues of self-identity, and multicultural relationships that are taboo in their individual communities, with both Roy's disapproving father (Emanuel van Gonter) and Rubia's father (Sieuwpal Soekhlall) conspiring, with the help of a translator, to make sure that Roy heads back to Holland sooner than later, as his taboo love with Rubia is disrupting the community. Things heat up considerably once Karina flies to Suriname to retrieve her errant boyfriend, meeting her Karina, forcing Roy to make a decision. I thought the performances were quite good. I did not find Roy a particularly sympathetic character, the loss of his mother is certainly affecting, but he comes across as quite a selfish fellow, with his indecisiveness about which girl and destiny to follow, but that's all part of the dramatic drive that fuels the story. The country of Suriname, which I honestly had never heard of before, is a beautiful backdrop to the story of Roy's journey of love and self-discovery following the death of his mother. 

Audio/Video: Wan Pipel (1976) makes its worldwide Blu-ray debut on a region-free disc from Cult Epics, newly restored in 2K, framed in 1.66:1 widescreen. The source looks terrific maintaining the filmic grain and inherent textures. The images of  the Surinamese locations and markets looks quite nice, good color saturation throughout, looking inherently soft in spots, but this appears accurate tot he original filming. Audio comes by way of either DTS-HD MA or LPCM 2.0 dual-mono Dutch, with various exchanges in Sranan Tongo, and Hindustani. The track is clean and well-balanced, a bit narrow when it comes to range perhaps, but dialogue is well prioritized and the rhythmic score by Hugo van Ams sounds terrific, as do the sounds of the marketplace, the natural jungle sounds, and moments of celebration and mourning.  

The disc is well-stocked with extras, starting off with an Audio Commentary by film historian Lex Veerkamp and Bodil de la Parra; an Introduction by Pim de la Parra (2020); the 25-min The Making of Wan Pipel (1976); a 38-min Interview with Willeke van Ammelrooy (2025) by Guido Franken; and a 27-min Bonus short film Aah… Tamara (1965). We also get a Photo Gallery and a selection of Scorpio Films Trailers: Wan Pipel, Dakota, Frank & Eva, My Nights with Susan, Sandra, Olga & Julie, Obsessions, Blue Movie, Pastoral (1943). 

The single-disc Blu-ray release arrives in a clear keepcase with Reversible Sleeve with both original poster artwork and a new design by Juan Esteban R. , plus a Limited Edition Slipcover with the Juan Esteban R. artwork. 

Special Features: 

- New Restored 2K Transfer

- Audio Commentary by film historian Lex Veerkamp and Bodil de la Parra

- Introduction by Pim de la Parra (2020)

- The Making of Wan Pipel (1976) (24:30)

- Interview with Willeke van Ammelrooy (2025) by Guido Franken (38:04) 

- Bonus short film Aah… Tamara (1965) (26:57) 

- Photo Gallery 

- Scorpio Films Trailers: Wan Pipel, Dakota, Frank & Eva, My Nights with Susan, Sandra, Olga & Julie, Obsessions, Blue Movie, Pastoral 1943

- Limited Edition Slipcase with New artwork design by Juan Esteban R.

- Reversible Sleeve with new and original poster art

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BLACK TIGHT KILLERS (1966) Radiance Films Blu-ray Review + Screenshots

BLACK TIGHT KILLERS (1966) 

Label: Radiance Films 

Region Code: A,B

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 86 Minutes 38 Minutes 

Audio:  Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.39:1) 

Director: Yasuharu Hasebe

Cast: Akemi Kita, Akira Koabayashi, Arisa Takami, Bin Moritsuka, Bokuzen Hidari, Chieko Matsubara, Chikako Shin, Eiji Go, Hiroshi Nihon'yanagi, Jinko Saito, Kaku Takashina, Kaoru Hama, Kozue Kamo, Kozuko Kanô, Megumi Wakaba, Mieko Nishio

Effervescent spy-goof Black Tight Killers (1966) is the feature length debut of director Yasuharu Hasebe, a student of Suzuki Seijun (A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness), who I most know from the outlaw biker Alleycat Rock series of flicks. In it Vietnam war photographer Hondo (Akira Kobayashi, Battles Without Honor and Humanity) meets curte airline stewardess Yoriko (Chieko Matsubara, Tokyo Drifter) while travelling back to Japan. He invites her out for drinks but while on their date a  trio of knife-wielding,  leather-clad female assassins interrupts their evening, kidnapping Yuriko and murdering a foreign man who was attempting to sway her away from Hondo. After initially being accused of murdering the foreign man he is released, and sets about investigating the kidnapping himself, in the process uncovering conspiracy to steal a buried stash of WWII-era gold, and apparently Yuriko and her family are the key to accessing the gold stash. 

This comes off as very comic booky, we get wild action, colorful pop-art sensibilities, with a groovy jazzy score, and of course a bevy of beautiful female assassins, the titular "black tight killers", led mostly by Akiko (Akemi Kita), who not only have a penchant for go-go dancing, but who utilize an unorthodox array of ninja-style weaponry, like throwing sharp-edged vinyl records as deadly weapons, and chewing-gum bullets to blind their enemies!

The analog that popped into my mind watching this was Mario Bava's Danger: Diabolik!, it has that same sexy, pop-arty style, with a playful delivery, bathed in vibrant color-lighting and groovy late-60s set pieces that pop off the screen with stylized electricity. To be honest, the plot kind of got away from me at certain times, but I was so enamored with the groovy vibe and pop-art style of it all I would easily recommend this to anyone with a love for stylish spy thrillers and lighthearted spy-spoofs. 

Audio/Video: Black Tight Killers (1966) arrives on region A,B Blu-ray from Radiance Films, using an HD master supplied by Nikkatsu with additional restoration having been done by Radiance Films, presented in 1080p HD framed in 2.35:1 widescreen. It's a solid HD presentation, the disc is well-authored, grain is present and natural looking, colors are  bold and black levels are string. A few scenes look naturally soft due to source limitations, but otherwise the pop-visual style really shines through on this one. Audio comes by way of Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. The track s free of age-related wear, the Japanese dialogue sounds fine, moments of action and violence are handled well, and the jazzy be-bop score by Naozumi Yamamoto (Branded to Kill) has a nice showing in the mix. 

Extras for this one includes a new Audio commentary by Jasper Sharp that I found quite informative; a 9-min Archival interview with director Yasuharu Hasebe who talks about his career and making this film while sitting inside a video store from the looks of it, and the 3-min Trailer. This standard release version arrives in an oversized kerepcade with a 2-sided non-reversible sleeve of artwork, the reverse side advertising other Radiance releases. 

Special Features:

- Audio commentary by Jasper Sharp

- Archival interview with director Yasuharu Hasebe (8:33) 

- Trailer (2:48) 

Radiance Films Blu-ray Screenshots: 

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