Warlords, The (Tau ming chong): Collectors Edition (Blu-ray) (2007) |
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Warlords, The (Tau ming chong): Collectors Edition (Blu-ray) (2007) |
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| General | Extras | ||
| Category | War |
Featurette-117 Days - A production Journal Featurette-Reflections on 'The Warlords' Deleted Scenes More…-The history behind 'The Warlords" |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2007 | ||
| Running Time | 113:00 (Case: 109) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | RSDL | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By |
Peter Chan Raymond Yip |
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Studio
Distributor |
Talentaid Anchor Bay Entertainment |
Starring |
Jet Li Andy Lau Takeshi Kaneshiro Xu Jinglei Guo Xiao Dong Jacky Heung Wei Zong Wan Gu Bao Ming Wang Kui Rong Zhou Bo Shi Shao Qi |
| Case | Amaray-Transparent | ||
| RPI | $29.95 | Music |
Kwong Wing Chan Peter Kam Leon Ko |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
Mandarin DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 Mandarin Linear PCM 48/24 2.0 |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 1080p | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | English | Smoking | No |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
The Warlords is set during the time of the Taiping rebellion in China when five million people died from starvation, disease or by the sword. When General Pang Qing-Yun's (Jet Li) Qing soldiers are massacred in a three day battle with the Taiping rebels because his allies, led by General Ho (Shi Shao Qi), refused to fight, Pang is the sole survivor. Alone and racked with guilt, believing dying is easier than living, he stumbles across the equally damaged Lian (Xu Jinglei) who comforts him for a night and is gone. Pang then meets bandits Jiang Wu-Yang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and Zhao Er-hu (Andy Lau) and persuades them that salvation for their vulnerable and impoverished villagers is for them to join the Qing army and fight the Taiping. The three form a blood brotherhood and their tactics and determination lead to victory against the odds at Shu City. Granted more men by the Qing Imperial War Council, the new Shan Army commanded by the blood brothers goes from victory to victory. But Pang realises that neither the Qing Imperial War Council nor General Ho want the fighting to stop as this would undermine their power. So Pang decides to incur their enmity by attacking the strong Taiping city of Suzhou as a preliminary to capturing their capital Nanking and ending the war and the people's suffering.
No longer supported by the Qing, the Shan army fails to take Suzhou by assault which leads to the dehumanising stalemate of a nine month's siege. The result is a war of attrition: bloody trench warfare where both attackers and defenders face sudden death from shot and shell while starvation and disease are ever present. Facing annihilation and the end of his dreams for a better, safer world, Pang is forced to make an alliance with General Ho to secure supplies. Then, after the fall of Suzhou, Pang displays a streak of brutality that disgusts Zhao, threatening to split the brotherhood. Even more critical to the brotherhood is the presence of Lian, whom both Pang and Zhao love. When Pang successfully captures Nanking he is appointed governor by the Qing Empress. But as his inauguration approaches, his enemies, and his friends, are circling for retribution.
The Warlords is a magnificent epic film with large scale battles, huge sets and a cast of thousands that still manages a focus upon intimate personal relationships. The Warlords explores in a sensitive manner the themes of love, brotherhood and betrayal and here it is well served by a great cast. Jet Li, in a role for which he won Best Actor at the 2008 Hong Kong Film Awards, is simply brilliant as the ambitious General Pang, intent upon the bigger picture and prepared to sacrifice whoever and whatever it takes to achieve his goals. He says "winning is all that matters in war" and that is indeed his creed. Andy Lau as the charismatic, humane and honourable Zhao is equally good; in a world falling apart he just wants to look after his family and his village without breaking his promises or compromising his honour. Takeshi Kaneshiro as the young and naive Jiang is the perfect foil; he is caught between his two blood brothers with knowledge that has the potential to destroy everything they have fought for. And finally Xu Jinglei is superb as Lian, the catalyst that draws everyone towards their individual fates. Each of these characters have their own clearly defined journey in the film and each journey reaches a logical and deadly resolution.
The action and colour palate of The Warlords reflects the bleak period of Chinese history that was the Taiping rebellion. Despite the staring role of Jet Li, this is not a martial arts film and it has no use for characters floating in trees or across lakes; instead the battles are bloody, intense and brutal. It is not a time for heroes; it is a time when edged weapons and cannons meet, when trench and siege warfare occurred amid dirt and disease and people in their millions died of starvation. The colour palate of The Warlords mirrors the darkness; it is deliberately monochromatic, grainy and muted with browns, yellows and greys dominant although there are still some stunning images superbly captured by cinematographer Arthur Wong.
The Warlords from director Peter Ho-Sun Chan (Perhaps Love) is a stunning cinematic experience with perhaps action star Jet Li's best performance. But the film is far more than one performance: it is a historical epic with a focus upon individual, intimate relationships that builds to a climax that will not soon be forgotten.
The original theatrical aspect ratio of The Warlords was 2.35:1 and although the Blu-ray cover indicates the film is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 this is not so and we do get the original theatrical ratio. The film is 16x9 enhanced.
This is a magnificent print. The film, except for a few scenes towards the end, has an intentional monochromatic desaturated colour palate, with all bright colours leeched out leaving a dull, silver tinged predominately brown, yellow and gray print that effectively renders the poverty and desolation of the period and the horrors of war. Intentional grain occurs throughout but this does not stop this print from displaying razor sharpness and intense shadow detail. Every detail of costumes and armour is clear and the faces in close-up show every wrinkle, blemish and blob of dirt. I was surprised at 7:47-48 to see some white artefacts but this was the only time I saw anything amiss.
The English subtitles in a clear white font appeared timely and I only saw one spelling error: "closes your eyes" (45:56).
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The Warlords offers a choice of Mandarin DTS HD Master 5.1 or Mandarin PCM Stereo 2.0. The DTS HD Master 5.1 is stunning. Dialogue is clearly heard and the surrounds constantly support rain effects, battle sounds, ambient noise and music; the subwoofer is constantly in use for hooves, explosions and music to provide an enveloping audio experience. The orchestral score is both strident and lush, providing wonderful support in both the action scenes and the more intense, intimate moments. If your system only allows 2.0, this track is surround encoded and reasonably robust.
Lip synchronisation is occasionally noticeably off.
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The first 7 items are short (just over 1 minute each); sections cover costume design, the construction crew, the battlefield, "true heroes", the use of fire and smoke effects, life in the trenches and the role of women. Following these are some longer sections (up to 4 or 5 minutes) on specific sequences of the film. These include filming the Shu battle (an excellent piece), the emphasis in the action sequences upon realism, the Suzhou massacre, the love triangle and the fall of the brotherhood. Two final items concentrate on the director and the cast.
While for ease of access these could have been better organised, the sections provide an interesting and very informative look at the production of The Warlords. The actors and director speak in Chinese with burnt in English subtitles in US English with some minor errors.
There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Australian Region B Blu-ray of The Warlords is identical to the UK Region free release (down to the artefacts at 7:47-48). It contains the International cut of the film and the same extras, except that the UK Blu-ray also has the UK theatrical trailer (I own the UK Blu-ray and can verify that although the cover states it includes the International Theatrical Trailer this is not on the disc). I have read that the Region A Blu-ray distributed by MegaStar Hong Kong contains the 125 minute Asian cut of the film, audio options Mandarin DTS HD 7.1, Mandarin Dolby True HD 7.1, Cantonese Dolby Digital EX 5.1, the same production diary, deleted scenes (that are reported to run 40 minutes as opposed to the 23 minutes of the UK and Australian release), plus an Audio Commentary by Director Peter Ho-Sun Chan. The commentary is in Mandarin and is subtitled. In addition the deleted scenes also have a commentary subtitled in English. The Region A misses out on the excellent Reflections on The Warlords feature & the text historical screens. Still a win to Region A I think.
The Warlords from director Peter Ho-Sun Chan is a stunning cinematic experience. It is an historical epic with exciting, brutal action sequences and enough blood and mayhem to satisfy anyone. Yet, with a focus upon individual, intimate relationships and perhaps action star Jet Li's best performance fully supported by Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Xu Jinglei, The Warlords builds to an inevitable climax that will not be forgotten in a hurry. The Warlords is a powerful film, one of the best epic action films of 2007, presented on a Blu-ray with exceptional video and audio and a great range of genuine extras. Very, very highly recommended.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Sony BDP-S350, using HDMI output |
| Display | LG 42inch Hi-Def LCD. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
| Audio Decoder | NAD T737. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated. |
| Amplification | NAD T737 |
| Speakers | Studio Acoustics 5.1 |