MAGIC COP (1990)
Label: 88 Films
Region Code: A, B
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 87 Minutes 54 Seconds
Audio: Original Cantonese 2.0 DTS-HD MA Mono, Cantonese Home Video Mix 2.0 Mono DTS-HD MA, English Surround Dub 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English Dub 2.0 with newly translated English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Wei Tung
Cast: Wilson Lam, Lam Ching-Ying, Lam Ching-Ying, Michiko Nishiwaki
In Stephen Tung’s action-comedy spooktacular Magic Cop (1990) Officer Feng (Lam Ching-Ying, Mr. Vampire) is not only a cop but a Taoist master who battles various supernatural forces while on the beat. At the start of the film we gets a pretty fantastic encounter of the streets with angered spirits before Feng finds himself off to Hong Kong at the behest of a neighbor who's daughter was shot dead by the cops in HK, tasked with returning her corpse back to the mainland.
Arriving in HK Feng meets-up with the officers Set. Lam (Wilson Lam, My Hero) and a Sgt. (Michael Miu) who shot her dead during a bizarre drug bust. Inspecting her corpse Feng notes that she was dead even before she was hot, that she was some sort of animated undead, which of course falls on the deaf ears of the cops who do not believe in such mysticism. However, after encountering some weird happenings that they cannot explain the cops come around to the idea, in the process discovering that a sorceress (Michiko Nishiwaki, In The Line of Duty III) is using magic to turn the living into undead drug smugglers!
Only Feng the Taoist master can thwart the supernatural menace with his traditional (read: totally made up for this flick) Chinese magic in the process, teaming-up with the cops for a bug-nuts blend of horror, slapstick comedy, and action that could have only come out of Hong Kong. It's a highly enjoyable mash-up of genres that recalls stuff like Mr. Vampire, Ghostbreakers and even a bit of Ghostbusters as well. I love the wacky Taoist magic, how the sorceress puppets the undead around to do her bidding and battle Feng, it totally feels made-up and I was not surprised to learn in the extras that they were indeed not based on anything other than the wild whims of the filmmakers, but they come off fantastic onscreen with bonkers special effects and kinetic action and Stephen Tung slapstick style that make this a highly recommended slice of supernatural HK action-comedy.
Audio/Video: Magic Cop (1990) arrives on Blu-ray (Region A,B) from 88 Films in 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1) looking pretty solid. The source is in very decent shape with just a few nicks and scratched, grain looks well preserved, with strong colors and solid black levels. There's a bit of inherent softness throughout with some fluctuating picture density, most when it comes to optical effects, but overall I was quite pleased. Audio comes by way of Cantonese 2.0 DTS-HD MA Dual-Mono or the Cantonese Home Video Mix 2.0 Dual- Mono DTS-HD MA, but if you do not speak Cantonese or dislike reading subtitles we also get both English-Dub 5.1 DTS-HD MA and 2.0 with newly translated English Subtitles. The English-dub is pretty decent and I enjoyed the slightly more immersive 5.1, there's a bit of hiss on the English tracks but overall I thought it was a tad brighter.
Extras start off with an Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng that gets into the cast and crew locations and the Chinese folklore and Taoist rituals seen in the film, as well as the stunt work and effects,. A nice add is the inclusion of
the 94-min Taiwanese Cut with Alternate Score in fullscreen standard-definition. We also get a 36-min Interview with Director Tung Wei that covers how he got involved with the film, the casting process, shooting locations, the made-up Chinese folklore, Taoist rituals, and special effects, scriptwriting and transposing the Mr. Vampire idea to a contemporary setting, directing the cast, some of the production design, and the challenges he faced as a first-time director. The disc is buttoned-up with a 2-min Image Gallery and the 3-min Trailer.
The single-disc release arrives in a black keepcase with Reversible Sleeve of Artwork featuring both the original HK Poster Art as well as a kick-ass new illustration by artist Sean Longmore, which is replicated in the Limited Edition (First Pressing Only) Slipcover. Inside there's a Double-Sided Fold-Out Poster featuring both artwork, and the disc itself features unique Sean Longmire artwork.
Special Features:
- High Definition (1080p) Presentation in 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio
- 2.0 DTS-HD MA Cantonese Soundtrack with newly translated English Subtitles
- Taiwanese Cut with Alt. Score (93:57) SD
- Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng and Marc Walkow
- Interview with Tung Wei (36:21)
- Image Gallery (1:57)
- Trailer (2:51)
- Reversible Sleeve of Artwork
- Slipcover
- Double-Sided Fold-Out Poster
Screenshots from the 88 Films Blu-ray:
