Adventurers, The (Blu-ray Review)
Director
Ringo LamRelease Date(s)
1995 (April 29, 2025)Studio(s)
Win’s Entertainment/China Star Entertainment (Eureka Entertainment)- Film/Program Grade: B-
- Video Grade: B
- Audio Grade: B
- Extras Grade: B-
Review
Made during the “heroic bloodshed” era in Hong Kong cinema, The Adventurers (Da mao xian jia) mostly flew under the radar outside of its home turf. At the same time, director Ringo Lam, who had made the Hong Kong classic City on Fire several years prior, was tapped personally by Jean-Claude Van Damme for his action extravaganza Maximum Risk the following year. In other words, the Hollywood industry was taking notice of the action films being produced in Hong Kong, but not all of them got much distribution. As is turns out, The Adventurers was one of those films.
Suffering from PTSD, Thai Air Force pilot Wai Lok-yan (Andy Lau) continues to be haunted by the death of his parents, having witnessed their murders in Cambodia when he was a child. Intending to get close to the man responsible in order to exact his revenge, mobster and arms dealer Ray Lui (Paul Chun), he goes undercover with the help of the CIA and becomes friendly with Lui’s mistress Mona (Rosamund Kwan), and later becomes romantically entangled with his daughter Crystal (Jacklyn Wu). Aided by Uncle Seung (David Chiang), he goes even deeper undercover than he expected and finds himself forced to make some hard choices about Crystal and Lui. The cast also includes Philip Ko, Victor Wong, George Cheung, Van Darkholme, and William Ho.
Clearly a vehicle for Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau, The Adventurers was also the only time that he and Ringo Lam collaborated. They purportedly didn’t get along and went their separate ways, but that was just one of many aspects of the troubled production. Partially shot by a different director, Lam was brought in to re-shape the script and film it all over again, shooting on various locations outside of Hong Kong, and even being bombarded by severe weather.
The resulting film is as chaotic as its production. It has a narrative through line, but it certainly feels less down to earth than a simple story like this usually feels. Nevertheless, Lam peppers the film with amazing camera work, explosive action sequences, incredible stunts, and a surprising amount of pathos towards the end. It’s a roller coaster of a movie, one that doesn’t allow you to get off until it’s done with you.
Cinematographers Ardy Lam and Arthur Wong shot The Adventurers on 35mm (Kodak) film with spherical lenses, the results of which were finished photochemically, and presented theatrically in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Eureka Entertainment brings the film to Blu-ray in the US, Canada, and the UK with a new 2K restoration, encoded to a dual-layered BD-50 disc. They don’t provide the details of the restoration, but it was most likely inherited from Fortune Star Media. The source seems to be a secondary element, possibly an interpositive, which has had quite a bit of grain scrubbed out of it, at least at the outset as it tends appear more natural as it continues on. The base scan offers enormous depth in the image, with mild scratches and speckling, but good stability. Authoring duties were handled by Luke Louca, and bitrates appear to be maxed out, sitting primarily in the 30 to 40Mbps range and beyond. Saturation is impressive with a variety of hues, though contrast is a little flat with blacks that could be deeper than they are. Nevertheless, this is a major step up from DVD, of which the film was never released on in North America or the United Kingdom. It’s also worth noting that there’s a mild digital scratch running across the screen at the 19:12 mark, which I suppose was missed during QC.
Audio options include restored and unrestored Cantonese dual-channel mono, as well as a 5.1 option, all in DTS-HD Master Audio containers with optional English subtitles, newly-translated for this release by Frank Djeng. There are some key differences between the restored and unrestored mono tracks, mostly in sound effects and ambience since the restored track has much more of both, giving the soundtrack more of an aural personality. Conversely, the unrestored track is extremely muffled with only key sound effects and dialogue audible. The 5.1 takes things a step further in opening up the soundtrack, adding more low end, as well as occasional steering for certain moments, such as cars passing from one side of the screen to the other. The quality of the unrestored track makes it almost unbearable to sit with, which means that the restored mono and 5.1 options are the ideal way to go here. However, your mileage may vary.
Eureka Entertainment’s Region A/B-locked Blu-ray release of The Adventurers sits in a clear Amaray case with an insert that features artwork used for the film’s home video release; a 20-page insert booklet containing cast and crew information, the essay Unconventional Heroism: The Moral Dilemmas of Revenge in The Adventurers by Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park, viewing notes, and Blu-ray credits; and a slipcover featuring new artwork by Time Tomorrow. This Limited Edition release is available in 2,000 units only. The following extras are included:
- Audio Commentary with David West
- Two Adventurers: Gary Bettinson on Ringo Lam and Andy Lau (HD – 21:26)
- Writing for the Dark-Faced God: An Interview with Scriptwriter Sandy Shaw (SD – 14:26)
- Trailer (HD – 3:17)
The audio commentary features film critic David West, author of Chasing Dragons: An Introduction to the Martial Arts Film. It’s a low key track, but very informative. West discusses the careers of those involved with the production, the era in which it was released in, its box office competition that year, varied aspects of the script and its characters, and various thematics. In Two Adventurers, Gary Bettinson, editor of the Asian Cinema journal, discusses the careers of Ringo Lam and Andy Lau, and their role in the heroic bloodshed genre craze of the late 1980s through to the 1990s. He also speaks about the production, which was troubled in many respects, although he admits that there’s not much known about it. Writing for the Dark-Faced God speaks to screenwriter and producer Sandy Shaw about her life and career, and her experiences in the industry, speaking briefly about the role she played in the making of The Adventurers. Last is the film’s trailer, which has been re-created digitally.
Eureka’s Blu-ray release of The Adventurers will certainly please long-time Hong Kong action cinema fans, especially those looking for the titles that have fallen through the cracks. This is certainly one of them, and for that alone, it’s a recommended release.
- Tim Salmons
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