BD 230 Throw Down

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Apperson
Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2016 3:47 pm
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BD 230 Throw Down

#1 Post by Apperson » Sun Mar 01, 2020 5:28 pm

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Release Date: 11th May 2020

In this visually arresting action drama from acclaimed director Johnnie To (Mad Detective, Election), legendary Judo fighter Szeto Bo (Louis Koo; Flash Point, The Legend of Zu) unexpectedly gave up the sport and now lives the life of an alcoholic gambler who runs a pub. However, cocky Judo newcomer Tony (Aaron Kwok) wants to challenge him, while old foe Kong (Tony Leung Ka Fai, Ashes of Time) demands Szeto to finish the match that never took place, Soon Szeto’s pub becomes the ultimate arena where the greatest Judo fighters challenge one another.

Filled with brutal, no-holds-barred Judo fight scenes, Throw Down is director To’s ultra-stylish homage to the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, and is an emotional tale of one man’s determination to rediscover himself and win at all costs. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Throw Down in its UK debut from a 4K restoration.

SPECIAL FEATURES
  • LIMITED EDITION O-CARD SLIPCASE [2000 units]
  • 1080p presentation on Blu-ray, from a stunning 4K restoration
  • Cantonese and English audio options
  • Optional English subtitles
  • Brand new and exclusive feature-length audio commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
  • Audio commentary by Hong Kong film expert Ric Meyers
  • Lengthy interview with director Johnnie To (40 mins)
  • Making of Throw Down featurette
  • Theatrical trailer and TV spots
  • Reversible sleeve
  • A collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film

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Michael Kerpan
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Re: BD 230 Throw Down

#2 Post by Michael Kerpan » Sun Mar 01, 2020 5:39 pm

That description doesn't give any clue that this film has lots of humor too. Definitely one of JT's best. ;-)

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colinr0380
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
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Re: BD 230 Throw Down

#3 Post by colinr0380 » Mon Mar 02, 2020 12:02 pm

From the rather candid Masters of Cinema description that skirts around this element are we meant to stay quiet about the
SpoilerShow
failing sight or full blindness

aspect to the main character as being the big reveal of the film? I know that it went entirely over my head on the first viewing and made me look at the film very differently once many of the visual 'clues' that were obvious on looking back were pointed out! But I kind of liked having the two different reactions as well, as if I were more in the younger character's (Mona and Tony's) shoes on that first viewing, not fully comprehending the situation, whilst more in Sze-to's for the repeat one!

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therewillbeblus
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Re: BD 230 Throw Down

#4 Post by therewillbeblus » Thu May 28, 2020 1:29 am

I've never seen a To film before, but this was a surprisingly stunning mood piece. To creates a distinct world compared to other martial arts films but where the air the characters breathe is fighting as a way to actualize their identities and participate in the world. The drama is felt with all the intense cinematic devices (is that Lion King's score?), yet there is an ethereal quality to it all despite the content and extreme uses of non-diegetic sound and flashy camerawork. All the characters really have their moments of stewing in emotion, but fighting, and in particular sensorimotor stimuli- often visual- is critical to their confidence, which is allotted so much more value than most films give it, and To isn't afraid to suggest how important self-gratification is to people. colin's spoiler highlights the importance for a particular character to hang on to all he can, however it's important to note how this isn't about selfish confidence like many martial arts films. Fighting is a tool, a language, to engage with others. There is so much pleasure in two men fighting that even if one loses (pride and money!) they rejoice in respect of the encounter. It's a philosophy and a form of self-expression, and honestly reminded me more of a musical than a martial arts or dramatic action film. I'm not sure if that's been mentioned before, or if this is an outlier in his filmography, but I'm sold on checking out more.

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Michael Kerpan
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Re: BD 230 Throw Down

#5 Post by Michael Kerpan » Thu May 28, 2020 9:21 am

therewillbeblus wrote:
Thu May 28, 2020 1:29 am
I've never seen a To film before, but this was a surprisingly stunning mood piece. ... I'm not sure if that's been mentioned before, or if this is an outlier in his filmography, but I'm sold on checking out more.
I think I've seen around 50. Not all are great -- a few may not even be very good. But most are enjoyable and quite a few are great (or close enought o great). A lot of the films are quite distinctive from all the others. I don't think any other is quite like Throw Down (which is one of my many favorites). I'd especially recommend Exiles and Blind Detective and (for something completely different) Wu Yen.

Have you seen any of Ann Hui's films? (she's my other favorite HK director). Alas, most of her work is unavailable (at least in presentable form).

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yoloswegmaster
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Re: BD 230 Throw Down

#6 Post by yoloswegmaster » Thu May 28, 2020 10:05 am

Blind Detecive is one of my favourites and that's probably because of the amazing chemistry between Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: BD 230 Throw Down

#7 Post by therewillbeblus » Thu May 28, 2020 10:58 am

Wow I had no idea he was so prolific! Michael I'm curious to how you or others, who have more of a comprehensive understanding of To's oeuvre, read this film's strengths. My impressions were a shot in the dark as a novice, but maybe getting on his wavelength may reveal a different view.

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feihong
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Re: BD 230 Throw Down

#8 Post by feihong » Thu May 28, 2020 9:28 pm

We talked about it a lot here a few years ago:

http://www.criterionforum.org/forum/vie ... 3&start=25

To has said it's his favorite amongst his films. Personally, I like the spareness and grittiness of The Mission a lot more, as well as the complicated pathos in Mad Detective. And recent movies have taken the more expressive style of this movie and the Election films and developed it further, so to my mind Drug War, Vengeance, Exiled, Sparrow, PTU and Blind Detective, as well as Election 1 and even Office are a little more complete–feeling and effective than Throwdown. But I would rate Throwdown up there right under those titles. It's fun and creative.

Edit: the talk begins midway down the page in the link. I don't know how to point the link to the specific post where it begins.

nitin
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Re: BD 230 Throw Down

#9 Post by nitin » Sun May 31, 2020 5:54 am

i havent seen this one yet (it's in the mail from the UK to Australia) but can easily recommend Exiled, Sparrow and Mad Detective.

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tenia
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Re: BD 230 Throw Down

#10 Post by tenia » Sun May 31, 2020 6:45 am

To has been alternating with grittier and lighter movies almost for ever. Not everything he did is good, not everything he did even has his name as director (it has always been rumored that Patrick Yau's Longest Nite has actually been mostly directed by To, just like Tsui Hark was doing with many of his Film Workshop productions), but there are plenty of interesting movies in his filmography (though I'm far less familiar with his early years and some of his most recent movies) : All About Ah-Long, The Big Heat, The Heroic Trio, A Hero Never Dies, Running Out Of Time, The Mission, PTU, Mad Detective, Exiled, Election and Drug War, plus (though in a lesser extent), Fulltime Killer, Breaking News and Running on Karma. His more recent Office (3D !) is kind of all over the place but not a bad curiosity either.
I was quite disappointed by Sparrow. Triangle (a 3-sketch movie done with Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam) isn't very good either, though it'll always be better than the laughable Vengeance (starring Johnny Hallyday as main character).

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knives
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Re: BD 230 Throw Down

#11 Post by knives » Sun May 31, 2020 9:26 am

Not to forget the Don't Go Breaking My Heart series which is my personal favorite from him. Though I controversially believe that it is romance rather than crime which he excels at.

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feihong
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Re: BD 230 Throw Down

#12 Post by feihong » Fri Jun 05, 2020 5:02 am

This is a very nice blu-ray; very much nicer picture quality than the HK blu ray. The commentary by Frank Djeng is sometimes extremely interesting. His thematic analysis is very worthwhile, and it does make clear to me some of the motivation behind the handling of Cherrie Yin's character, Mona. It doesn't improve Mona's character trajectory much for me, though. She is out of the movie before the climax, which is not great. Her material, which as Djeng points out, relates to age-ism and a somewhat practical frenzy over money, only slightly dovetails with Szeto and Tony's character pursuits. Mona is a key member of the main trio in the movie; but I don't feel that To quite succeeds in making her experience possess the same weight as what Szeto and Tony are experiencing. It is nice that Mona's story doesn't have an obligatory love relationship to give it appropriate "weight," but I can't deny that an equivalent sense of "weight" does not accompany the character. I think it's partly because we spend most of the movie watching judo fans doing judo, and whatever it is Mona's doing (trying to be famous, I guess), is hardly shown. We don't see her auditions; we just don't get a very visceral sense of her struggle. It leaves her seeming less substantial than the men in the film. Both are highly active, but we understand the motivations of the male characters, and we don't get such thorough backstopping for Mona's needs and desires.

I like this movie, but I think it remains 2nd–tier To for me, even though it has probably the best blu-ray now of any To picture (though I recall Blind Detective having a really high–quality blu ray, as well, and I think Office is also pretty good, as well as the Japanese blu rays of Triangle and A Hero Never Dies). Unlike others here, I find Vengeance and Sparrow to be among To's best movies. And Triangle was a profoundly interesting movie for me, though I guess for others it's a little less worthwhile. I thought Trivisa, which was a much smoother and more consistent narrative by three directors, was a lot less interesting.

cowboydan
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Re: BD 230 Throw Down

#13 Post by cowboydan » Tue Jun 09, 2020 8:56 pm

feihong wrote:
Fri Jun 05, 2020 5:02 am
This is a very nice blu-ray; very much nicer picture quality than the HK blu ray.
Do you own both? Are you referring to the 2011 HK blu or the Remastered 2019 HK blu? Last week I ordered the Remastered 2019 HK release. I hope the difference in PQ between that one and the MoC release isn't drastic. This film is a blind buy for me. If I like it enough, I may cave and get the MoC version as well, especially if the PQ is an improvement over the Remastered HK.

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feihong
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Re: BD 230 Throw Down

#14 Post by feihong » Tue Jun 09, 2020 9:57 pm

I got the MOC, and the one I had already was the Kam & Ronson one, I think from 2011?

I don't know the difference between the 2019 HK blu ray and the MOC, but my experience has been that Hong Kong discs of Hong Kong films are usually the lesser release compared to what else is out there, even just looking at Johnnie To's filmography. The Optimum UK disc of Vengeance is loads better than the HK blu, MOC's Mad Detective blu blows the picture quality of the Mei Ah disc out of the water (though it is the––to my mind––hugely inferior international cut of the film on the MOC disc, and Mei Ah released the far more coherent and worthwhile HK theatrical cut), French DVDs of The Mission and The Longest Nite are leaps and bounds better than their HK counterparts, and the Japanese blu rays of A Hero Never Dies and Triangle are the only Hi–def sources of those movies, as far as I know. The U.S. disc of Drug War is better than the HK one. A lot of it is in the DNR many HK companies apply to their discs––Vengeance and Drug War have a lot of that. So does Life Without Principle, but in that case there's no better option I know of. The HK blu ray I had of Throwdown looked pretty okay, but the new MOC disc looks a lot better.

Of To's movies, the HK blu rays I've seen that have some quality behind them are Blind Detective, Office, PTU, Running Out of Time, Exiled, both Election films (again, just because there's no better version AFAIK). I haven't watched the Breaking News disc in a long time, but I think it's kind of okay quality. I don't have Running on Karma on blu, but I remember reading it was pretty good quality? The Mei Ah Mad Detective I'd count just because it's the better cut of the film. Maybe others know if there are better blu rays of any of these?

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The Fanciful Norwegian
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Re: BD 230 Throw Down

#15 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Wed Jun 10, 2020 12:38 am

There's a Japanese Blu of Life Without Principle, but no idea how it compares to the HK release.

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