Even if they don't hold up in all areas of filmaking, to fans they're still fun to watch.
"The Terror of the Tongs" (1961, 76 min., color)
For my money, this is the weakest of the four Hammer films in this two-disc set. Even more than "Stranglers," so many Caucasians made up to look Chinese seems not just glaring, but even offensive. This time Christopher Lee is the leader of a Chinese tong, and we're told in the commentary track that the eye make-up which made his eyes "slitty" was a painful and annoying process. Well, viewers might also feel pained or annoyed as they watch him do his Fu Manchu thing. The Red Dragon Tong operates like any other syndicate, trafficking in drugs, slaves, and other commodities, and working a protection racket. The difference is, they're big on ritual hatchet killings, and as you watch this film you can't help but wonder if Stephen Chow didn't have this one in mind as he crafted his parody, "Kung Fu Hustle." The main action in this Sangster story revolves around a mysterious Mr. Ming (Burt Kwouk) who arrives in Hong Kong harbor with a letter that names people in this secret organization, the brutal murder of a teenaged girl, and the attempts by the girls father, Captain Jackson Sale (Geoffrey Toone), to exact revenge. There are plenty of killings, lots of torture, and a surprising amount of static moments as well. Bottom line: it's a little hokey, but I could see people watching is as the B-movie prelude to a night of "Kung Fu Hustle," just as I could see people watching "The Stranglers of Bombay" as a warm-up before "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." Heck, if you do the math, you're only talking about roughly five bucks per film with this set.
Video:
The box says that these are remastered in High Definition, and the films do look very good, especially for low-budget affairs. The films are presented in the original aspect ratios, ranging from 1.66:1 to 2.35:1, and visually "Pirates of Blood River" is probably the weakest. There's a little more grain in evidence, and a little blurring on the edges at times. The black-and-white entry is probably the strongest, with a nice contrast level and rich-looking details. But the colors are bright and near fully saturated on the other three films, and so overall it's an impressive visual experience . . . no surprise, really, because that's one of the Hammer hallmarks.
Audio:
The audio on the films seems to be a Dolby Digital Mono 2.0, and they're all relatively free of pop, hiss, or transfer distortion. Language options are French and English, with English and French subtitles as well.
Extras:
Surprisingly, there are a number of extras. Disc One features the two pirate movies, with full-length commentaries for both provided by film historian Marcus Hearn (co-author, The Hammer Story), writer Jimmy Sangster, and art director Don Mingaye. Though there are a lot of pauses and Sangster and Mingaye are up in years, Hearn keeps the group on-task and it's an engaging enough track to listen to. I wouldn't call it above-average--there's just not enough head-snapping info for that--but it's still worthwhile. Disc One also features "The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd, Chapter 1," which is really just the first scene-selection chapter from the 1953 Columbia Pictures pirate movie, a teaser, really, to complement the original trailers from the two pirate films. The other bonus feature on this disc is "The Merry Mutineers," a Color Rhapsody cartoon with a pirate theme. What can I say-it's okay.
Disc Two has Hearn returning with Sangster and assistant editor Chris Barnes for a discussion of "The Terror of the Tongs," while writer David Z. Goodman flies solo on the commentary track for "The Stranglers of Bombay." Goodman says he hasn't seen the film for 47 years, and at one point, when a bone is pulled from the earth, he says, "What's this about? We shall find out together." He's honest and forthcoming, and tosses off an occasional irreverent zinger in the direction of his former bosses: "This looks good. I'm glad they could afford uniforms," he says at one point.
Also on Disc Two are original trailers and an Andy Clyde short film, "Hot Paprika," whose connection to this set seems tenuous at best. This Mack Sennett veteran goes to see a doctor for a cure for his hiccups, is given shock treatment ("You've only got three months to live") to cure them, but leaves on a ship for the Republic of Paprika before the doctor can tell him it was all a stunt. It's an okay comedy, but again, I'm not sure why it's here.
Bottom Line:
Most Hammer films fall in the 5-6 range on the DVD Town scale, with some of the very best approaching a 7. I'd have to say that a 6 is fair for this grouping, which may be generous, but I don't think so. We're talking about an iconic B-movie maker here, which is a little like dealing with a legend like Ray Harryhausen stop-motion or Roger Corman horror films. Even if they don't hold up in all areas of filmaking, to fans they're still fun to watch, especially on a day when you feel in a matinee mood.
For my money, this is the weakest of the four Hammer films in this two-disc set. Even more than "Stranglers," so many Caucasians made up to look Chinese seems not just glaring, but even offensive. This time Christopher Lee is the leader of a Chinese tong, and we're told in the commentary track that the eye make-up which made his eyes "slitty" was a painful and annoying process. Well, viewers might also feel pained or annoyed as they watch him do his Fu Manchu thing. The Red Dragon Tong operates like any other syndicate, trafficking in drugs, slaves, and other commodities, and working a protection racket. The difference is, they're big on ritual hatchet killings, and as you watch this film you can't help but wonder if Stephen Chow didn't have this one in mind as he crafted his parody, "Kung Fu Hustle." The main action in this Sangster story revolves around a mysterious Mr. Ming (Burt Kwouk) who arrives in Hong Kong harbor with a letter that names people in this secret organization, the brutal murder of a teenaged girl, and the attempts by the girls father, Captain Jackson Sale (Geoffrey Toone), to exact revenge. There are plenty of killings, lots of torture, and a surprising amount of static moments as well. Bottom line: it's a little hokey, but I could see people watching is as the B-movie prelude to a night of "Kung Fu Hustle," just as I could see people watching "The Stranglers of Bombay" as a warm-up before "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." Heck, if you do the math, you're only talking about roughly five bucks per film with this set.
Video:
The box says that these are remastered in High Definition, and the films do look very good, especially for low-budget affairs. The films are presented in the original aspect ratios, ranging from 1.66:1 to 2.35:1, and visually "Pirates of Blood River" is probably the weakest. There's a little more grain in evidence, and a little blurring on the edges at times. The black-and-white entry is probably the strongest, with a nice contrast level and rich-looking details. But the colors are bright and near fully saturated on the other three films, and so overall it's an impressive visual experience . . . no surprise, really, because that's one of the Hammer hallmarks.
Audio:
The audio on the films seems to be a Dolby Digital Mono 2.0, and they're all relatively free of pop, hiss, or transfer distortion. Language options are French and English, with English and French subtitles as well.
Extras:
Surprisingly, there are a number of extras. Disc One features the two pirate movies, with full-length commentaries for both provided by film historian Marcus Hearn (co-author, The Hammer Story), writer Jimmy Sangster, and art director Don Mingaye. Though there are a lot of pauses and Sangster and Mingaye are up in years, Hearn keeps the group on-task and it's an engaging enough track to listen to. I wouldn't call it above-average--there's just not enough head-snapping info for that--but it's still worthwhile. Disc One also features "The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd, Chapter 1," which is really just the first scene-selection chapter from the 1953 Columbia Pictures pirate movie, a teaser, really, to complement the original trailers from the two pirate films. The other bonus feature on this disc is "The Merry Mutineers," a Color Rhapsody cartoon with a pirate theme. What can I say-it's okay.
Disc Two has Hearn returning with Sangster and assistant editor Chris Barnes for a discussion of "The Terror of the Tongs," while writer David Z. Goodman flies solo on the commentary track for "The Stranglers of Bombay." Goodman says he hasn't seen the film for 47 years, and at one point, when a bone is pulled from the earth, he says, "What's this about? We shall find out together." He's honest and forthcoming, and tosses off an occasional irreverent zinger in the direction of his former bosses: "This looks good. I'm glad they could afford uniforms," he says at one point.
Also on Disc Two are original trailers and an Andy Clyde short film, "Hot Paprika," whose connection to this set seems tenuous at best. This Mack Sennett veteran goes to see a doctor for a cure for his hiccups, is given shock treatment ("You've only got three months to live") to cure them, but leaves on a ship for the Republic of Paprika before the doctor can tell him it was all a stunt. It's an okay comedy, but again, I'm not sure why it's here.
Bottom Line:
Most Hammer films fall in the 5-6 range on the DVD Town scale, with some of the very best approaching a 7. I'd have to say that a 6 is fair for this grouping, which may be generous, but I don't think so. We're talking about an iconic B-movie maker here, which is a little like dealing with a legend like Ray Harryhausen stop-motion or Roger Corman horror films. Even if they don't hold up in all areas of filmaking, to fans they're still fun to watch, especially on a day when you feel in a matinee mood.
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[release]24136[/release]