Lan Kwai Fong (2011)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Theatrical Trailer Trailer-Eastern Eye trailers x 4
Rating
Year Of Production	2011
Running Time	92:52 (Case: 96)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Wilson Chin
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Shiga Lin Zo Jun Kung Jason Chan Jeana Ho Gregory Wang Dada Chan
Case	Alpha-Transparent
RPI	?	Music	Ronald Ng

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes

     Lan Kwai Fong (LKF) is the party area of Hong Kong. Lan Kwai Fong, the film, is an almost plot-less homage to the area and the self-centred, beautiful people who hang out drinking, dancing and chasing sex. For over 20 minutes from the start the film, it is a scene in a nightclub where numerous, almost interchangeable, characters we don’t know party and get drunk. From there the film is pretty much a succession of drinking, sexual encounters and partying for the rest of the 90 minute running time.

     The plot, such as it is, is this. Steven (Zo) is nightclubbing with friends when he meets air hostess Jennifer (Shiga Lin). They spend the night together but in a few days misunderstandings occur and they part. Some time later Steven realises that he is in love with Jennifer but in the meantime she has become engaged to his boss Leslie (Jun Kung). In other plot strands Jacky (Jason Chan) abandons his pregnant girlfriend to party with Jeana (Jeana Ho) while Sean (Gregory Wang) falls for Cat (Dada Chan), the reigning nymphomaniac of the LKF party scene.

     There are also a couple of other plot strands as well that add to the confusion. The end result is a film where nothing much happens except a group of self-centred people drink, party and chase sex. The film lacks any sense of humour, and the characters are so narcissistic and self-destructive that we do not care about any of them. It also does not help that the script, acting and dialogue are all poor. On the other hand, there are indeed some beautiful people on show, however those looking for some titillation, perhaps encouraged by the film’s MA rating for “strong sex scenes”, will be disappointed as there is no frontal nudity and the sex scenes are not particularly inventive or interesting.

     Lan Kwai Fong was a commercial success in Hong Kong, and director Wilson Chin followed up with a sequel Lan Kwai Fong 2 in 2012, although only Shiga Lin of the main cast returned. If you like to watch beautiful people partying, then Lan Kwai Fong may be of some interest. Otherwise, it is hard to recommend.

Video

     Lan Kwai Fong is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced. The original ratio is 1.85:1.

     There are a lot of nightclub and party scenes in the film with a constantly moving camera and quick intercutting. As such some sharpness and detail is lost, but not seriously. Colours are good, skin tones natural and blacks and shadow detail acceptable. Contrast and brightness vary, but it is the nightclub after all. Grain is heavy in some sequences but otherwise artefacts are absent.

     The layer change at 47:34 resulted in a slight pause.

    English subtitles are in a clear yellow font. Lan Kwai Fong has a lot of quick fire dialogue and at times the subs struggled to keep up. I did not notice and spelling or grammatical errors.

     The print is fine, reflecting the subject matter.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     Audio is a choice between Cantonese and Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks at 448 Kbps.

     Dialogue was clear in the mix and was not drowned out by the music in the party scenes. The surrounds are prominent in club scenes with music and noise, and included the occasional directional effect such as doors shutting. The sub-woofer supported the music.

     Lip synchronisation is fine in the original Cantonese track. I did not sample the Mandarin dub.

     The original music by Ronald Ng was catchy and effective.

     The audio track was good.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Theatrical Trailer (1:43)

Eastern Eye Trailers

     Trailers for Motorway (1:32), The Front Line (2:11), Love Exposure (2:12) and Big Tits Zombie (1:38).

     There does not seem to be a version of Lan Kwai Fong currently available in either Region 1 US or Region 2 UK. There is a Region Free HK release that has similar video and audio specifications to our Region 4 version, but includes a making of and cast interviews. There are English subtitles, although it is unclear if this is just the feature or includes the extras.

     Lan Kwai Fong is a homage to the nightclub area of Hong Kong where the beautiful people hang out. The script, acting and dialogue are poor and the end result is a film where nothing much happens except a group of self-centred people drink, party and chase sex.

     The video and audio are fine. A trailer is the only relevant extra.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall