Heart of Dragon DVD
27 11 2008 new release in Japan Herat of Dragon(aka First Mission)
DVD trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N67AObY4Ywo

This DVD is included Japanese theatrical version and rare movies

http://www.shochiku-home-enta.com/shop/ite...;item_id=182702 on Japan lang

on buy now 各3,990円 http://www.shochiku-home-enta.com/shop/cart

that looks mighty interesting, thanks. and who will have the honors to try it out first

Wow! 'Making Of' and 1985 featurette, mono and remastered Japanese version!

I'd love a version that had it all with English subtitles and the HK version with branching.

Awesome! Thanks for the news on this Karl Maka.

Hopefully it'll be on amazon.jp

buy link on amazon jp http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1...753&sr=1-11

http://www.yesasia.com/global/%E3%83%95%E3...-0-en/info.html

yesasia

Better than the shitty edition Joy Sales put out in Hong Kong.

Oh go on!

You know you want to order it Span .

Shit, I'm gonna order it.

Thanks a lot for the links Karl Maka and spannick.

Man, if only this company can release more of the stuff that Fortune Star had in editions similar to this (like the Japanese version of Police Story).

already did

Can someone tell me , help how to order this dvd edition please? i cant use those crazy japanese sites, for starters , everything is in Japanese! How do you people do it? Is it available on ebay or HKflix or somehwhere english?
And damn, i already have the 1985 featurette and was planning on making a custom dvd just like this one. No point now. I dont know if im happy or pissed off.

This is all i get when i click on japanese site links like the ones you posted. - not even any pictures or clues how to order.



What a loads of help that is.

why not use my yesasia link?

Amazon (wouldn't recommend due to their shipping policy) and yesasia links have already been posted. Below are cdjapan and hmv links

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=DZ-377
http://www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail/2788459

EDIT: ah, spannick was faster

thanx, i tried Yes asia but couldnt find it. and one of these links is still in Japanese. But the CD japan one isnt so i guess ill have to go with that. Its damn expensive though. How do you guys use Japanese sites to buy from?

Add to cart --> submit credit card information -- > confirm order.

you didn't even try my yesasia Link. it's all English...

You're right, i didnt . I rushed through the thread in a pannick. I just searched yesasia for myself but couldnt find it/ thanks for the link. Preorder done.

Yeh, that works when you can read Japanese characters. Obviously i know that. But have you seen those Japanese sites. They have nothing recgonisable on them like -Add to cart - Checkout - Shipping cost - etc... Its all in fricken Japanese is my point. Surely you got my point.


example -


Nevermind now.

I'd suggest Google Translator and navigate through their window of results, although I'm not sure how secure it'll be.

Why bother with that site where English correspondence isn't guaranteed? Just go to YesAsia.

Or cdjapan. Or hmv. Or amazon. They all have English options.

True .

Yawn.

The guy already said he preordered it.

Just to make sure here, there's only one edition of this release right? Sometimes Japanese DVDs get released in more than one kind of edition.

Shochiku has put a trailer for the DVD on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N67AObY4Ywo

Be sure to click on "watch in high quality"

This was already linked in the first post.

I enjoyed it anyway

Thank's muldoon.

Sorry, wrong link. Here is the correct link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sahsws7p6l4

mine was dispatched last week so should be here soon.. anyone received theres yet?

just received this gem.

2 disc set

disc 1 . 16:9 full Japanese edit Version
disc 2 . original trailers from Japan

a feature doc in Jap running in at 48m 43s
photo gallery stills
photo gallery behind the scenes
photo gallery Promotional pictures
Behind the scenes special (cool as!!) 15m 24s

put some on youtube for a preview



no subs


bit of the doc

start of the 48 min doc

Thanks for the uploads, very nice footage, DVD looks great where is the best place to buy, I live in the UK.

Footage is stunning. Thank you.

Man the japanese always have the best behind the scenes footage from these HK classics.

If you haven't already ordered it, go buy this DVD now! It is easily the best HK DVD release of the year. The DVD is worth it just for the bonus disc which contains various promotional goodies from the film's Japanese theatrical release. Shochiku owns the Japanese version of the film so Fortune Star had nothing to do with this DVD release. Shochiku made a brand new HD master of the Japanese version of the film and there are thankfully no DD or DTS remixes on the DVD.

Eeeeeeeer! Best Japanese DVD release of an HK movie of the year (well, it has mono and a seemingly good image of a version not remastered before). I suppose HK no longer qualify to enter "best release" honours anymore, so we move on to other countries - hmm, did HK ever have a best release of a HK movie ?


Without seeming selfish, I'm sure English subtitles would have encouraged sales if there were no legal issues. The Universe DVD contains genuine subtitles based on Tai Seng's script, unlike other releases.


Wow. I'd be very interested in seeing how FS's master compares to this version (the clarity seemed Fortune Star-ish from the Youtube clip). Did King ever release this film?

What are the differences between the HK and JP edits? More fights and Jackie's Japanese song maybe?

http://www.schnittberichte.com/schnittbericht.php?ID=2705

in German, but good Pictures to indicate differences.

Thanks. How about the soundtrack? If I remember correctly, Jackie made a Japanese song for the film. Is it in the film, maybe replacing some of the original music?

all Original Music was replaced with new generic Stuff. Jackie Sings in the opening Sequence and in the end Credits (in Japanese)

in english i hope

He made two. One at the beginning and at the ending of the film. The musical score is also completely different. In my opinion, the musical score on the Japanese version, as well as the version itself, is better than the HK version. I never liked the music in the Hong Kong version.

I have this disc myself and it's amazing to have it in this quality. I would have never dreamed it would have happened.

Ah, I love the HK score... easy purchase decision made more difficult...

You are not alone. The Hong Kong score and theme song is much, much better. The great film and pop composer Violet Lam wrote both the Hong Kong score and the theme song (which was sung by Julie Sue). Both Violet and Julie won a bunch of awards for their work. At the 5th Hong Kong Film Awards, Julie won her second Best Original Film Song award for the theme song and Violet Lam was nominated for Best Original Film Score (she should have won). If you have Modern's/TVB's Jade Solid Gold Best 10 Awards Presentation 1985 VCD, both of them appear on it and win awards for the theme song:
http://www.asiandvdguide.com/80s/reviews/jsg.html

If you've seen the original Hong Kong trailer, the lady that appears in the trailer is Julie Sue. Julie made a BIG splash in the music industry after singing the songs in Cinema City's Papa Can You Hear Me Sing (she doesn't actually appear in the film). This is easily one of the top 5 Hong Kong soundtracks from the 80s. This is why she appears in the trailer. Having her sing the theme song was a big deal and Violet/Julie delivered a fantastic theme song.

Julie was the only singer to win Best Original Song three times at the Hong Kong Film Awards during the 80s (Papa Can You Hear Me Sing, Heart Of Dragon, Pedicab Driver). This is very impressive considering the competition in the 80s.

Yes, a very nice DVD and a Japanese distributor finally delivers not only the Japanese version of one of Jackie's films but also the accompanying TV special. This is no shitty Japanese laserdisc rip like HKL and Dragon Dynasty do. This is a brand new HD master made from a real print.

While most fans have probably seen the Japanese version of the film and the TV special, they most likely haven't seen the 15 minute short film included on the DVD that was made for Japanese theatergoers. It features Jackie on the set of the film attempting to introduce himself in Japanese and shows some more behind the scenes footage. Like the film itself, the short film has been remastered.

The only negative of the DVD set is the TV special has been what I would call "remixed". Shochiku removed some filler (Jackie with his Japanese fans) and added more behind the scenes footage that was shot but not used in the original TV special. The quality of the new behind the scenes footage included at the end of the TV special is astounding. It literally looks like it was shot yesterday but it was shot on video over 20 yeas ago. This "remix" also does away with the original female narration but gives you two new options:
1) Watch the special with no narration (music only)
2) Watch the special with male narration

Since the special has been "remixed", my review will take a little longer to prepare since I will do a screenshot comparison between the original TV special and the "remixed" version on the DVD.

The theme song in the Hong Kong version is fine. I can't say the same for the Hong Kong score which I find clunky and obvious. The Japanese score is much better. Much more subtle, sensible and very powerful.




Which gives the hope that other Japanese versions of Hong Kong films are not lost and can still be brought to the forefront, like the Japanese version of Police Story or even rarer stuff like the Japanese version of Naked Killer. And also the many other Japanese TV specials made for Jackie's movies. Were there Japanese specials made for other Hong Kong movies aside from Jackie's?

Out of all of the Japanese versions of Hong Kong films out there, is this the only one that has a chance to be released on DVD from a new anamorphic print? It's just weird how Fortune Star didn't secure their master of the film in Japan considering they done so for what seems to be all the others in their catalog.

I never understood why Brian White and his team never just went directly to the Japanese companies for all this footage instead of hunting down laserdiscs and blow them up as fake 16:9 transfers. Then again Brian White and his team aren't exactly capable of much except recording interviews with people.

If there is one compliant on the release (other than lack of English subs as I would like to know who is on the commentary track for the film and the behind the scenes special and what they talks about), it's that both the main feature and special feature discs are single layered. Doesn't make much sense why they couldn't have been combined on one disc other than to puff up the image of a "premium edition".

By the way, just want to point out something on the behind the scenes special presentation on the DVD:



It's not "music only" as you do hear all the noise and dialog heard on the behind the scenes special. This is appreciated because we get to actually hear people on the crew speak on the set to each other and also hear everyone during their interview segments with the Japanese crew including Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao.

Yess!! No more squeaky voiced Japanese girl grating on my ears. Thanx for the info.

Notice in the montage clips of the film on the special that they use alternate takes and alternate amera angle shots from the movie. Plus unseen fight clip with Mang Hoi. (if its the featurette im thinking of)

Blink and you'll miss it though.

P.S-


I know we've argued about this before but still get shocked and i can't understand your logic.
Where the hell do you find "powerfull" in the Japanese soundtrack? 'lol Its mostly silly Casio keyboard demos with barking dog samples and funny benny hill music playing during dramatic scenes. Its so cheesy and sounds like it really is just a pre-made demo from an old electric keyboard. How is that powerful to the scenes? Its supposed to be dramatic but instead they they made fun of it. If i din't know any better , I'd say it was a spoof. Someone pissing around with the film for a laugh. Poor Sammo's dramatic scenes got destroyed by the Japanese.

The carpark fight scene has a nice song, but thats about it. IMO

On a gayer note: If anyone wants the Japanese score/soundtrack, pm me. I have the CD soundtrack.

I wonder how many of Jackies films had CD editions of the soundtracks in Japan. I have seen this, Project A 2 and Snake & Crane on various Japanese sites...

Well, since there is a also a difference in the footage that is also included according to muldoon, that helps keep the value of the version you own of the behind the scenes special.



I admit I haven't gone through it, but there is that other featurette on it that muldoon describes as a short film. It's about 15 minutes and it's almost entirely filled with alternate takes, angles and bloopers which a Japanese man narrating on top of it in a similar fashion to the exclusive blooper reel of City Hunter on the Japanese laserdisc. Which come to think of it, I wouldn't be surprised if it were the same man.



Sop why bring it out in public?



That's a gross inaccurate description of the entire Japanese score. What you are describing is just once piece of music that only plays like twice in the movie. Once when Jackie and Sammo are walking together after he saves him from being freezing and the other when Sammo is looking for a job. That piece has a leisure type of a feel to it which is fine for the two scenes it plays it. Compare that to the stupid theme that plays for Sammo in the Hong Kong version which sounds more appropriate for a Lucky Stars movie.

All the other music that plays in the Japanese version is totally different. Watch the scene after Jackie empties himself emotionally on Sammo. When it ends, it plays a version of the Japanese theme of the movie (which I do find to be a beautiful piece of music) which in my opinion to be so much more fitting. It subtly underlines what just transpired before in a credible way instead of the loudness of the Hong Kong score at that point which just screams, "Drama, drama, drama!". Please. I don't care for the Hong Kong score.

I like em both. Yay!