Posts: 37
Threads: 17
Joined: 2019 Aug
Thanks: 38
Given 7 thank(s) in 4 post(s)
Country:
Wow. I was looking up Blu-Ray reviews for Kiss of the Dragon and I did not expect the image quality to be this poor. The picture quality is supposedly horrendous and lacking in detail which is a shame because I love Kiss of the Dragon. I know the movie is almost like a video game complete with "boss fights" but I've always loved it as a straight-forward, no-nonsense action movie. Kiss of the Dragon definitely deserves a better Blu-Ray release because it's an underrated gem I don't hear too many people talk about imo
Posts: 426
Threads: 17
Joined: 2015 Jan
Thanks: 284
Given 258 thank(s) in 125 post(s)
Country:
I'm a big fan of this film too. Haven't seen it in a while - disappointing to hear that I won't like what I find!
It seems the streaming versions are no better (Amazon review complains it looks barely SD).
Did you find any views on the German release? It's AVC rather than MPEG-2, which suggests it *might* be a different master.
Posts: 485
Threads: 22
Joined: 2017 Dec
Thanks: 51
Given 241 thank(s) in 166 post(s)
Country:
2020-06-07, 03:20 AM
(This post was last modified: 2020-06-07, 03:20 AM by SpaceBlackKnight.)
Kiss of the Dragon was shot anamorphic but also had some sections shot in HDCam. It was also reportedly finished digitally and locked to a 2k DI, which could explain why it looks the way it does.
KOD had two versions. The uncut theatrical version that was released in Germany and France by Europa Corp and Buena Vista International in Latin America and Scandinavia, and the Fox cut released in the rest of the world that removed some of the gorier shots and blood for a US PG-13 rating. Fox released their cut on Blu in MPEG-2 with DTS-MA, and then reissued by Anchor Bay in the US with a AVC codec in exchange for drastically inferior DD 640kbs audio. The German Universium BD is said to be the uncut Europa Corp version, but some reports say early 2011 copies had the the Fox US cut by mistake and corrected it on later pressings.
Posts: 229
Threads: 12
Joined: 2021 Oct
Thanks: 27
Given 37 thank(s) in 32 post(s)
Country:
The French DVD is uncut under the title Le Baiser Mortel du Dragon.
Posts: 1
Threads: 0
Joined: 2021 Dec
Thanks: 0
Given 1 thank(s) in 1 post(s)
Country:
The French DVD.
My all time favorite and I wouldn't mind doing it all over again.