Region 4 Winners and Losers

    In comparison to the Region 4 (and Region 1) version of this DVD, Region 2 receives:

• No original Cantonese language audio track - instead, a replacement Mandarin dub track is provided, in addition to the English dub track.
• A cropped 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced aspect ratio. Whilst the opening scene with the opening credits is presented in a 2.35:1 16x9 enhanced aspect ratio, yes, the transfer then reverts to a cropped 1.78:1 16x9 enhanced ratio for the entire length of the movie.
  These two factors are clearly a big negative for the Region 2 compared to other region releases..... However, note that Region 2 also gets.....
• Several extras, including: a 14-minute featurette interview with producer and co-writer Ng See-Yuen; a "Kicking Showcase" featurette with Hwang Jang-Lee; detailed cast and crew bios; a 2-minute rap music clip set to edited footage of fighting action from the film (though why and who would want it, I don't know); and trailers of several Jackie Chan films.

    In comparison to the Region 4 (and Region 2) version of the DVD, Region 1 receives:

• 2.35:1, 16x9 enhanced aspect ratio. (Note Region 4 receives the full 2.39:1 16x9 enhanced aspect ratio, whilst Region 2 receives only the cropped 1.78:1 16x9 enhanced ratio).
• The full uncut version of this film, including the scene of the fight between the cat and the cobra mentioned above (which by all indications only lasts a few seconds anyway).

    So this is not an obvious choice. The Region 2 might at first sound like the preferred version for its extras, but when you look at it objectively, probably the only really meaty extra here is the 14-minute featurette interview with the film's writer/producer, plus a short "Kicking Showcase" featurette with Hwang Jang-Lee. But you have to weigh this up against the loss of the original language track and a cropped 1.78:1 transfer. On the other hand, whilst Region 1 receives the original language track and full aspect ratio (or close enough to it not to matter), this is an NTSC transfer. Personally speaking, I would much rather have the original language track and the full theatrical aspect ratio, presented in PAL..... and I don't happen to care about missing out on one very small scene (lasting only several seconds anyway) involving a staged fight between two animals.In addition, our Region 4 release must be considered the clear preference on pricing grounds, when you consider the great packaging we get with Snake In The Eagle's Shadow and its sequel Drunken Master back-to-back in one affordably priced DVD package. I am calling this a Region 4 winner.