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2-Disc Blu-ray edition does NOT contain a DVD version!
Amazon has incorrectly labeled this edition as "2-Disc Blu-ray with DVD + Digital Copy." The correct description is what appears on the box cover: "Blu-Ray + Digital Copy." Disc 1 is the Blu-ray version, while Disc 2 only a downloadable digital copy. Neither disc is playable on a standalone DVD player.
Published 18 days ago by Scot
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35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
Blu-ray: I love this film so much but no lossless Chinese audio soundtrack is disheartening for the hardcore fans!
Beautiful, artistic, poetic...an enchanting martial arts film that will captivate you with every scene!
These are the words I feel about "HERO", the 2002 film directed by Zhang Yimou ("Curse of the Golden Flower", "The House of Flying Daggers" and "Happy Times") and a film that would feature cinematography by Christopher Doyle ("Chungking Express", "In the...
Published 11 months ago by Dennis A. Amith (kndy)
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35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
Blu-ray: I love this film so much but no lossless Chinese audio soundtrack is disheartening for the hardcore fans!, September 15, 2009
This review is from: Hero Special Edition (2-Disc Blu-ray with DVD + Digital Copy)[Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
Beautiful, artistic, poetic...an enchanting martial arts film that will captivate you with every scene!
These are the words I feel about "HERO", the 2002 film directed by Zhang Yimou ("Curse of the Golden Flower", "The House of Flying Daggers" and "Happy Times") and a film that would feature cinematography by Christopher Doyle ("Chungking Express", "In the Mood For Love", "Fallen Angels", "Happy Together") and music by composer Tan Dan ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "The Legend of the Black Scorpion").
The film would also star Asia's top talents which include Jet Li ("The Warlords", "Fearless", "Once Upon a Time in China", "Fist of Legend"), Tony Leung Chiu Wai ("Lust, Caution", "Red Cliff", "Tokyo Raiders", "Infernal Affairs"), Maggie Cheung ("Ashes of Time", "Sausalito", "In the Mood for Love", "Comrades: Almost a Love Story"), Daoming Chen ("Peace Blossom", "My 1919, "Infernal Affairs III"), Zhang Ziyi ("House of Flying Dagger", "My Wife is a Gangster", "Musa the Warrior", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") and Donnie Yen ("All's Well, End's Well", "Iron Monkey", "Flash Point" and "Bodyguards and Assassins").
The film which was Hong Kong's most expensive film at the time, was critically acclaimed, won several awards and eventually would make over $178 million worldwide in the box office.
"HERO" is presented on a two-ray Blu-ray disc with one being the primary Blu-ray and the other being a digital copy version of the film. Also, the Blu-ray also comes in a slipcase.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
"HERO" is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:35:1) and suffice to say, this film just looks incredible. It's one of the most significant qualities of this film is its artistic direction, costume design, set design, location and most of all, the cinematography of Christopher Doyle.
Personally, I have always have seen Christopher Doyle as an avant-garde cinematographer since he worked on Wong Kar Wai's "Chungking Express" and suffice to say, his amazing cinematography and the tight editing really pulled the artistic vision of director Zhang Yimou to new heights.
Picture quality is vibrant. Very vibrant and color plays a big part in this film. Grain is seen on the film and I'm glad to see that Walt Disney has again kept with that and not gone the excessive DNR (Digital Noise Reduction) route. But for a film that came out back in 2002, is it a reference film on Blu-ray? Not really. But it does look very good. Part of the main reason is that despite the film being shot in beautiful locations and costume design and the colors really enhance the look of the film, it's no super clear, nor is it reference quality compared to recently released films on Blu-ray but still, "HERO" is just absolutely magnificent to watch.
As for audio quality, this is where it pains me to give it slightly less than perfect score. The film is presented with an English 5.1 DTS-HD losless audio track but the original Chinese language is only in Dolby Digital 5.1 (along with the Spanish and French). For a film of this caliber, I was hoping there would be a lossless audio track for the Chinese language but unfortunately, it's not.
But for some, I know it's a dealbreaker for some that the original language is not in lossless audio but the English version is and to be fair, I will say that the English dubwork is very good for this film. For earlier DVD releases, Asian films released in the US had terrible English dubbing but I will say that "HERO" turned out very well.
For audio, sounds such as the rains, swords clanging, arrows zipping through air... this is all captured quite well on the DTS-HD lossless audio track and sounds great. For the most part, audio is front and central channel driven with dialogue, music and sound effects but many of the soundtracks do utilize the surround channels. Again, I wish the original language was in lossless but for those who enjoyed the dubwork, you will be pleased by the DTS-HD audio.
As for subtitles, subtitles are presented in English SDH, French and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"HERO" comes with the following special features (in 480i, English 2.0 Dolby Digital, English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles):
* Close-Up of a Fight Scene - (9:18) The secrets of the fighting choreography of "HERO". Quentin Tarentino, Jet Li and Donni Yuen discuss the fighting choreography. Also, storyboard and fighting scene comparisons. (Note: Some of the footage is the same as the one used on the main featurette).
* Hero Defined - (24:01) The Director and talent on their experiences of working on the film and the challenges they faced. Also, how locations were selected and what took place before the shooting of the film, during and after.
* Storyboards - (5:19) A side-by-side (or more like top-and-bottom) comparison of the storyboards and final feature.
* Inside the Action. A Conversation with Quentin Tarentino and Jet Li - (13:55) Jet Li is interviewed by Quentin Tarentino about his past films and working on "Hero".
* Soundtrack Spot - (:39) commercial spot for the "Hero" soundtrack.
JUDGMENT CALL:
"HERO" is a film that really distinguishes itself from other martial arts film due to its artistic style, wonderful cinematography, well-chosen locations and of course, having a talented director and top talents of HK cinema definitely helps as well.
For the most part, "HERO" was definitely one of those films that you can remember for many years later for its scenes. From the vibrancy of the colors used, the battle scene on top of the lake (which Director Zhang Yimou wanted perfect still waters and didn't mind waiting to film when it happened), the thousands of arrowheads attacking the art school, there is simply many scenes that are just memorable.
Sure, "HERO" is a beautiful film known for its cinematography, its talent, its location but what about the storyline? The story of "HERO" is good but not great. Where a film like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is one of those films that captured beauty through its storyline, "HERO" definitely relies on the visuals to enhance the storyline. Because the film is split up into three arcs with three different stories of what took place, it's all about how the viewer interprets that storyline and how that storyline touches their soul.
Personally, I have found "HERO" almost like a piece of art. You embrace everything that went on to create that artistic piece. From its characters as Jet Li and Donnie Yen are just fantastic when they battle each other during their scene. You know that when these two are together onscreen, you're going to get a beautiful, captivating scene with the best fighting choreography. When you see Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Maggie Chung, you know that these two have awesome chemistry and that they can bring out the more dramatic scenes and even during their fighting scenes, everything seems believable and the two enforce the vibrancy and color of the film. The same goes with Zhang Ziyi who brings the more emotional scenes to the film.
But is the Blu-ray release perfect? Unfortunately, it misses the mark of perfection due to the Blu-ray not including a lossless audio track for the Chinese language. I was so excited about "HERO" on Blu-ray and it's a given, we are going to get awesome picture quality because it's a colorful and vibrant film. You know that the scene between Falling Snow vs. Moon with its rich red colors and yellow leaves is going to be absolutely brilliant on HD or the scene when Broken Sword and Falling Snow wear these blue outfits or their green outfits and you know that color is going to look great on Blu-ray. But along with that awesome picture quality, you want awesome audio.
The English dub is definitely one of the better English dubs for an Asian film and the lossless audio track was very good. But I was torn by wanting to watch the film in its original language but knowing that the audio quality of the Chinese Dolby Digital 5.1 was nowhere near the 5.1 DTS-HD English track. For a fan of this film, for me...it was bittersweet.
So, overall "HERO" is definitely a wonderful film to catch on Blu-ray and it's great to see Disney give this release a digital copy as well. But for the most part, "HERO" could have been a great release but without the Chinese audio track in HD, it ends up being just an average release.
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67 of 96 people found the following review helpful:
An otherwise great movie ruined by Mirmax's STUPIDITY and IGNORANCE!, September 7, 2009
This review is from: Hero Special Edition (2-Disc Blu-ray with DVD + Digital Copy)[Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
Let's get one thing out of the way: This is an excellent wuxia movie and by now, there is little point to cover what is so great about the movie itself - almost everyone who is reading this review has almost certainly already watched it.
Unfortunately, this movie's debut on the BD format really suffers and disappoints diehard Asian movie fans like me because some jerk at Miramax (who needs to be fired) royally SCREWED UP and made the decision to encode the ludicrous English-dub audio track in the lossless 5.1 DTS HDMA format, while the original Mandarin track that any self-respecting fan would prefer is in the crappy (and lossy) Dolby Digital 5.1 format.
Whether this was an honest mistake or done out of ignorance or as a racist sentiment on Miramax's part is irrelevant. What matters is that true fans are screwed because of this decision. I am really mad at Miramax and given their history of treating Asian movies like dirt (and yes, it is a LONG history), I think I am done buying anything from this company. This was the last straw for me.
Edit: typo: added "ruined" to title because it was bugging the hell out of me...
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2-Disc Blu-ray edition does NOT contain a DVD version!, August 21, 2010
This review is from: Hero Special Edition (2-Disc Blu-ray with DVD + Digital Copy)[Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
Amazon has incorrectly labeled this edition as "2-Disc Blu-ray with DVD + Digital Copy." The correct description is what appears on the box cover: "Blu-Ray + Digital Copy." Disc 1 is the Blu-ray version, while Disc 2 only a downloadable digital copy. Neither disc is playable on a standalone DVD player.
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Excelente movie and video quality, May 23, 2010
This review is from: Hero Special Edition (2-Disc Blu-ray with DVD + Digital Copy)[Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
Great movie, great efects and images. Worth every single penny.
The history takes place in ancient China, when a 'tyrant' emperor was working to unify the small reigns into one big country. It's a lesson to be learned even in modern times.
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A MasterPiece !!!, March 27, 2010
This review is from: Hero Special Edition (2-Disc Blu-ray with DVD + Digital Copy)[Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
Been watched this movie 4-5 times. One of the best JET Li movies yet. ALl my friend love it. Keep asking to borrow my movie. Gotta have em.
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STUNNING, March 23, 2010
This review is from: Hero Special Edition (2-Disc Blu-ray with DVD + Digital Copy)[Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
By far the most beautiful and visually stunning martial arts movie I have ever seen. Incredible scenery, cinematography, story. A must own not only for any martial arts movie fan, but for any fan of movies.
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Vibrant and Briliant, March 8, 2010
This review is from: Hero Special Edition (2-Disc Blu-ray with DVD + Digital Copy)[Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
Is a great movie to begin with. It is even better in BR. They did such a great job with the colors in this movie and the BR disc brings them out even more. I just wish I had an LED lit, 120hz HDTV to watch it on. Still looked amazing on the 60hz LCD. I also recommend "Fearless" on BR as well. Believe it or not, the picture in these two BR movies is some of the best I've seen. Jet Li has always been one of my favorites. I don't buy many BR movies but this one was a must have. If you have not seen the movie, it is a great story and the kung fu action is good (a few crazy parts but overall good).
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very worth watching, January 30, 2010
This review is from: Hero Special Edition (2-Disc Blu-ray with DVD + Digital Copy)[Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
The picture and sound are beautifully shooted in this movie. SPECtACULar view and music. A really worth watching movie it is.
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14 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
Miramax has no idea and does not listen to its customers, September 12, 2009
This review is from: Hero Special Edition (2-Disc Blu-ray with DVD + Digital Copy)[Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
I was shocked when I discovered that Miramax was releasing this great movie on Blu-ray as a dubbed film. It's an insult to a great director and to all Chinese filmmakers. We don't see French films dubbed, so why did this stupid film company go out of its way to destroy a great Chinese film in this way? It's ignorance on a grand scale. Dumbos at Miramax need to realise that there is a great joy to watching subtitled foreign films and no-one wants to see great art films destroyed with these inappropriately dubbed soundtracks.
The greatness of Zhang Yimou classics such as Raise The Red Lantern, To Live, House of Flying Daggers, The Road Home, Ju Dou and Hero is partly because of their Chinese soundtracks, and to dub these films is to destroy the very fabric of their art. I own House of Flying Daggers on Blu-ray and that film has been largely destroyed by the horrible dubbed soundtrack, which makes the actors sound goofy and unreal. You cannot believe how bad House of Flying Daggers now is and I don't know if I can bear to watch it with those dreadfully corny dubbed voices. Miramax needs to understand that customers don't want dubbed cr*p ... leave the soundtracks as they are, with English subtitles.
My other complaint about Miramax is that it won't listen to its customers. There are a lot of great reviews on Amazon, and across the web, about the film Enchanted April, which has an almost cult following. But is Miramax thinking about releasing it on Blu-ray? Hardly. Not one word has been mentioned about the possibility of this title coming out on Blu-ray. We are seeing second-rate films released by Miramax on Blu-ray, but not something good like Enchanted April, which so many people want to see at its very best.
I'm so angry with this film company. I think it is very poorly run.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Visually superb, could use some more extra features though, September 25, 2009
This review is from: Hero Special Edition (2-Disc Blu-ray with DVD + Digital Copy)[Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
Quentin Tarantino gets lots of credit for creating pop-culture purees with each of his films. He takes from countless sources of media old and new and combines them into something interesting. Tarantino has another talent though. He has an eye for knowing which films deserve a chance. Bring Hero into the equation and you realize just how good Tarantino's eye for aesthetic brilliance really is. The rich vibrant colors, the beautiful choreography and a magnificently told story make Hero one of the most gorgeous and luscious films to ever come across the sea from China.
Before the Great Wall of China could be built, an emperor had to conquer and unite all of the kingdoms in the land. Consequently, it's a time of great turmoil with towns being burned and many people dying in the process. For all the good such change can bring through unity, the side effects include men and women who want to overthrow those who killed their loved ones. Enter the nameless assassin (Jet Li). His family died in one of the many conflicts that ripped across China and has come to speak to the King of Qin (Daoming Chen) with a most unusual request.
Unknown in the land, Nameless boasts a story which the King must hear to believe: he has felled the three greatest assassins that ever dared attack the king. He offers proof of each victory over the assassins and in return for each story is allowed to proceed closer and closer to the King, which is a sign of honor and respect. Each story Nameless tells informs the King of a masterful fight and begins to unravel a plot that betrays the assassin's initial claim. The defeats of the assassins Sky (Donnie Yen), Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) and Broken Sword (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) seem too perfect and gradually the King realizes that Nameless's quest wasn't as simple as he made it sound. What started as a simple exhibition of three stories becomes a tightly woven revelation of revenge and intricate plotting. The King finally sees Nameless for what he is and asks the question upon which the entire film hangs: Why?
The story has an excellently plotted non-linear structure and works as an odd one man Rashomon. Instead of varying perspectives, Nameless instead shows each story with varying levels of truth, until he stops omitting facts altogether. But what really makes the structure of the film interesting is how it's broken up into chapters by according to visual style - namely colors. Each epic battle comes strewn in a cloak of a different color and to great aesthetic effect. Each scene is stunningly filmed by prized cinematographer Christopher Doyle and choreographed by Siu-Tung Ching. The colors break the film into pieces but the narrative and the visual style running beneath the colored fault lines bring it all back together into a glorious whole.
If you've seen it before, you know the potential for beauty in Hero. If not, the Blu-ray experience will be equally rewarding. In hi-definition the colors and scenery become characters all their own and the clarity of the shots showing huge armies and clouds of arrows makes the film worthy of a slot on your shelf. Now, if you've already bought it on DVD it's hard to say whether or not you'd be content with the upscaling a Blu-ray player already does or if you'd want that extra-extra bump to full-blown awesome. How much do you value awesome?
Blu-ray Extra Features:
The extras aren't busting at the scenes but there is a really fun interview between Tarantino and Jet Li. You get to watch Tarantino ooze infatuation and curiosity in the way he's known for doing. Otherwise there're two production featurettes covering a fight scene and then all the other general aspects. The former is fun (though you find similar ones on lots of other movies) and the latter is mediocre.
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![Hero Special Edition (2-Disc Blu-ray with DVD + Digital Copy)[Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51CTNK1V0LL._SL160_SL90_.jpg)
