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Released by: Warner Archive
Released on: December 8th, 2015.
Director: Sammo Hung
Cast: Sammo Hung, Nina Li, Yuet Suen, Max Mok, Fennie Yuen
Year: 1989
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The Movie:
A ridiculously satisfying mix of goofy slapstick comedy, overripe melodrama and absolutely ass-kicking action set pieces, Sammo Hung's Pedicab Driver, made for Golden Harvest in 1989, is definitely all over the place - but goodness gracious me if it isn't an insanely entertaining way to spend ninety-five minutes.
There are really two stories here, though they weave together well enough by the film's finale that you won't mind so much. The first story follows Hung as Lo Tung, a regular guy who makes a living as, you guess it, a pedicab driver in the old Macau of the 1930s. After an opening fight scene that works in both Star Wars and Three Stooges gags, we learn how Lo Tung falls for Ha Ping (Nina Li). She works as a baker's assistant to Fang (Yueh Sun), a dirty old man who can't take his eyes off of Ha Ping's chest! While Lo Tung is attempting to win Ha Ping's heart, his friend and co-worker, Pretty Boy (Siu Chung Mok), strikes up a romance with Hsiao-Tsui (Fennie Yuen) after running her down with his cart. They hit it off and things are going great for the couple until his pal, Blue Beard (Lowell Lo), lets slip that Pretty Boy's bride to be is actually a prostitute in the employ of a gangster named Mr. M (John Shum).
As the two stories dodge and weave, we see Lo Tung constantly having to fight people and Pretty Boy trying to come to terms with some complicated matters of the heart culminating in a predictable but inevitable finale where the friends join forces to take out Mr. M and save Hsiao-Tsui from a life of servitude in a Chinese brothel.
The comedy in Pedicab Driver is juvenile but hard not to giggle at. The melodrama in Pedicab Driver is overdone but hard not to get wrapped up in. But the action in Pedicab Driver? It's over the top, perfectly executed and impossible not to get excited by. Highlighted by an amazing sequence in which Sammo, who should not be able to defy the laws of physics and move the way he is able to move, goes toe to toe with Lau Kar-leung. The scene doesn't really have a whole lot to do with furthering the plot but when these guys go at it, the kid gloves come off and goofy comedy bows at the feet of some absolutely amazing fight choreography and pole fighting madness. The big finale, in which Sammo's character takes on Mr. M and a few of his henchmen, is also impressive stuff, the kind that leaves our hero bloody but unbowed and the villainous John Shum in pretty rough shape - it's played quite seriously, only to end, yep, with a gag. You've got to love eighties era Hong Kong action pictures for their sheer unpredictability, a trait that Pedicab Driver offers up by the bucketload.
Given how completely schizophrenic the film is, it is ultimately hard to classify in terms of genre but one thing is for certain - if the comedy doesn't work for you and the melodrama and romance fail to tug at the strings of your cold, cold heart the action scenes will kick you in the face and make you ask for more.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Pedicab Driver is released on MOD/DVD-R format through Warner Archive in a pretty solid anamorphic 1.78.1 widescreen transfer that is colorful, clean and sports nice detail for what is obviously a standard definition offering. Skin tones look good, black levels are nice and there's virtually no print damage here at all. There's a little bit of aliasing noticeable in a few spots but otherwise this shapes up quite nicely.
A Cantonese language Dolby Digital 2.0 track is the only audio option provided, though it comes with removable English SDH subtitles (meaning the text describes the music and sound effects in addition to translating the dialogue). There are a few awkward phrasings and quirks present but not to the point where you'll have trouble figuring out what's going on. Clarity of the audio itself is just fine, the levels are properly balanced and there are no issues with any hiss or distortion.
There are no supplements on the disc, just static menus offering chapter selection.
The Final Word:
Pedicab Driver was a long time coming, and even if Warner Archive's release is completely barebones, at least it's been given a really strong transfer with decent audio. As to the movie itself, it bounces around between serious and absurd in patently strange ways but it's never less than endlessly entertaining. It's also a great showcase for the indisputable greatness of Sammo Hung.
