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Tai Chi Master
Presentation
The cover art isn't the greatest, but it actually shows Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh in a picture from the movie, unlike the Weinsteins' previous release under the name Twin Warriors on the Dimension label, which has some very poorly Photoshopped pictures of Jet and Michelle. Also, given the cache this movie carries, using blurbs from sources like the Austin Chronicle seems kind of cheap.
The menus aren't anything flashy, but they're clean and easy to navigate. Unlike most of Dragon Dynasty's other releases, this DVD goes straight to the menu after a couple of logo screens -- there's no need to fast-forward through a bunch of trailers with this disc, which was nice.
The Movie
It's vitally important to note that unlike the Twin Warriors version, this release is uncut, restoring about four minutes of footage that was cut from the Dimension version. Of course, many fans will say that it should have been released in its' original form to begin with, but I will grant that it is nice to see that the Weinsteins are taking some steps forward and correcting some of their past errors.
Visually, Dragon Dynasty's version does improve on the Dimension release. The colors are noticeably more saturated and the picture is sharper, making it a nicer package overall, especially with the new enhancement for widescreen TVs.
Dragon Dynasty
Dimension
Unlike the Dimesnion version, which only had an English audio track, DD's version has the original Cantonese language track, as well as a newly-remixed 5.1 Cantonese track, which does its' job well, if unspectacularly. There's also a new English audio track, but I'm sure most readers of this site will just want to use one of the Chinese ones. The subtitles (which can be displayed in English or Spanish) get a little loose in the translation -- some of the slang used seems out of place -- but overall they're not bad at all.
The Extras
Commentary with Bey Logan: Once again, Bey Logan returns to supply a commentary for this disc. Like most of his solo efforts, Logan's work here is informative (especially when it comes to explaining how some of the action scenes were set up) but gets a bit dry at times. Dragon Dynasty really needs to find some more people to use for their commentaries. Again, Logan isn't bad per se, but it would be really nice to start having some variety in this department.
Interview with Chin Siu-Ho: These are usually some of the better stuff Dragon Dynasty puts on their discs, but this one falls a bit flat. Chin comes across as a nice enough guy, but he doesn't give too much in the way of specifics about the movie, or Hong Kong film-making as a whole. This is a bit surprising, especially given the twenty-minute length of this segment. One would think that Jet Li or Michelle Yeoh would have been a better catch for this segment. In particular, Yeoh seems like the perfect candidate for this type of thing, given her fluency in English and propensity for being very honest in interviews.
Trailer: The promo for the Twin Warriors version is the lone trailer included here. While I honestly didn't miss the trailers that have been recycled over the past few DD releases, it would have been nice to at least have the original theatrical trailer also put on here.
Birthplace of Tai Chi: This is a pretty neat little featurette that travels to Chen Village to explore the roots of Tai Chi and how it is still practiced today. While this was enjoyable, I think it would have been better served to have an actual martial artist (perhaps even Bey Logan himself) host this segment instead of the (admittedly) nice-looking jade vase used here.
Mediations on the Master/Twin Warriors: Director Brett Ratner and critic/historian Elvis Mitchell discuss Yuen Woo-Ping, Jet Li, and Michelle Yeoh. While I can see why Mitchell, a well-regarded film scholar, was used in these segments, I have to ask -- Brett Ratner? Really? The guy has never worked with anyone involved with the movie, and is regarded by a lot of martial arts fans as a hack. Was he just put in so DD could include a blurb on the cover?