HKCuk.co.uk - Bullet in the Head Platinum Edition Region 2

Feature Film (128 minutes)
Audio Tracks (as defined on case)
- Cantonese 5.1 (Dolby Digital)
- English 5.1 (Dolby Digital)
Subtitles (as defined on case)
- English (two versions)
- Dutch
Screenshots

Trailers: The Grudge, Ichi the Killer, Volcano High, Bang Rajan, Bichunmoo, The Warrior, The Killer, Naked Weapon, Tiger on the Beat, Moon Warriors, fatty Dragon, and Iron Monkey.

Picture: Fantastic re-mastered and restored picture presentation, and it is shown in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen.

Audio: Very clear! Great 5.1 surround sound, which really becomes a treat during some of the later more intense battle scenes in the film.

Dubbing: You can never expect much from dubbing, this being no exception. Oddly all four of our leads sound exactly the same, as though dubbed by one person. Not good at all. Avoid at all cost.

Commentary: The Bullet in the Head DVD comes with a fantastic full-length audio commentary by Hong Kong film expert Bey Logan. It’s a great time listening to this, and you can really learn a lot of great facts about the film, and its cast. You are also treated to some very entertaining, but honest criticisms about the film and its cast! However, it would have been great to have John Woo or even some cast members on there as well.

Behind the Scenes Documentaries: The DVD is loaded with a schmorgasboard of great interviews, all spanning about 10-15 minutes in length. There is an exceptionally entertaining interview (in English) Simon Yam! There is also a Waise Lee interview (in Cantonese) showing him sporting a bandana and safety glasses? As well we get an English interview with a very fluent Jacky Cheung. Probably one of the major let downs with all these great interviews and features is the absence of the films biggest highlight, Tony Leung Chi-Wai. The technical interviews are good as well, but as usual are not quite as interesting as the cast interviews.

Alternate Ending: Included on the DVD is a rare, and roughly cut alternate ending to the film. The ending is not pretty to look at, especially compared to the quality of the film, but it really shows an interesting approach to what the end of the film could have been. We see the same ending which shows Leung's character enter the office or Waise Lee. Everything plays up the same with Leung pulling out the skull of Cheung's character. Only we do not eventually get led to the climactic cars chase and final fight. Instead we see Leung push Lee’s head into the table, and execute him on the spot in the same fashion Cheung’s character was shot. Yes this ending would have left out the climactic car chase, and shortened the fill a great deal, but in some ways would have been far more effective.

Personal Thoughts: This is hands down the best version of Bullet in the Head money can buy, not only is the film presented with perfection. The amount of extras you get on that second disc is enough to make any HK film fan weep. The DVD is near perfection, however what really could have made this a finer selection, would have been the inclusion of Tony Leung Chi-Wai some way shape or form. Also having John Woo on the audio commentary would have been a nice addition as well. That said it’s a wonderful presentation of a phenomenal film. Its no wonder it is always on the Hong Kong Legends top 10 DVD list.