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Released by: Palisades Tartan
Released on: September 6, 2011.
Director: Ching-Po Wong
Cast: Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Shawn Yue
Year: 2004
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The Movie:
Ching-Po Wong's crime thriller Triad Underworld gets a North American DVD debut from Tartan, though it's been out for some time in other territories as it was originally released in 2004. Regardless, it's a welcome addition to their library, even if it doesn't really fit under the whole 'Asia Extreme' banner they've got slung across the top of the cover art.
Andy Lau, who also produced, stars as a mob boss named Hung who has risen to the top of the ranks within his particular crime family and seen similar growth in his blood family where he's recently fathered a child. Hung lords over the gang with some help from his right hand man, ironically named Lefty (Jacky Cheung), as he lost his right hand in a fight years back. This would all be well and good if one of Hung's underlings was as loyal as he seemed to be, but this is not the case and said underling soon puts out a hit on his boss in an attempt to take control of the gang for himself. If this weren't complicated enough, a pair of street toughs named Yik (Shawn Yue) and Turbo (Edison Chen) are out to make name for themselves in the underworld by carrying out their first kill - and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who their target is. Tensions rise between Hung and Lefty, and Hung decides he wants out - but it's not going to be that easy. It never is in crime movies.
Ultra slick and chock full of John Woo/Sam Peckinpah inspired slow motion camera work, Triad Underworld looks great even when it's a scene as simple as Lefty and Hung having a much needed and very tense heart to heart in a local restaurant. It's this discussion that's basically the backbone of the film, with the other events sort of filling in the blanks around it through various scenes that transpire as they relate to the conversation at hand. It's an interesting and effective tactic that makes the blatant aping of Woo's style a little more forgivable and gives an otherwise fairly unoriginal story something a little more interesting to dig into.
That said, unoriginal though it may be Triad Underworld is still a pretty solid movie, particularly if you have an affinity for movies from this genre. The movie does a good job of showcasing not only the similarities in the two leads, childhood friends they are, but also their differences with Hung having an almost Zen-like take on how to run his gang and Lefty being the more impulsive, hot headed type. The two leads do fine with the material, both men excellent actors and suited to these types of roles. Coming up the ranks and standing in parallel to Hung and Lefty are our two young upstarts, with Yik showing a frighteningly subdued determination to make it as a killer and Shawn Yue comes close to stealing the show.
So if Triad Underworld (or, if you prefer, Jiung Hu, as it was released on DVD in Hong Kong) doesn't reinvent the wheel it does at least manage to pack in enough style and substance to make it worthwhile. Those looking for loads of bullet ballet and heroic bloodshed may not be impressed with the surprisingly lack of on screen carnage but it's the performances that matter here more than anything else. On that level, the picture succeeds.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Palisades Tartan's anamorphic 1.85.1 widescreen transfer presents the film in its original aspect ratio in a reasonably decent presentation. Some mild motion blurring is evident in a few spots but it's not super distracting. There aren't any print damage issues to note, though some compression artifacts do pop up in the darker spots. Detail is about average and color reproduction looks fine. Not a remarkable image, but decent enough.
A Cantonese DTS 5.1 Surround Sound mix provides enough power and punch to keep things interested as far as the audio is concerned. The score is mixed in nicely with the effects and the dialogue levels are properly balanced and never buried. Bass response is solid but not as bombastic as it could have been but otherwise, yeah, this movie sounds just fine. Optional English subtitles are provided.
The only extra of much merit on this disc is a making of featurette, but it's too brief to add much insight into the movie and is more of a fluff piece than anything else. Aside from that, look for a trailer for the feature, a music video for one of the songs featured in the movie, animated menus and chapter stops.
The Final Word:
There are better Chinese crime thrillers out there to be sure but Triad Underworld will please fans of the genre. It's slick, suspenseful, well acted and it tells a decent story. It might not reinvent the genre but it does what it does rather well and if you're a fan of either one of the leads, consider this one worth checking out.
