Restorations are a great way to not only preserve cinema history, they are also a way for films that may have been lost, forgotten, or otherwise kept to a region or country to find new audiences. For 88 Films, specifically their 88 Asia Collection, the restorations they put together often feel like lovingly crafted packages aimed at cinephiles, that feel like you are acquiring something special, even if snagged as a blind purchase. One of their latest is the two-film set The Long Arm of the Law — Parts 1 & 2 Collector’s Edition, complete with copious on-disc special features, physical materials, and a quality case that will protect the two films well. If you failed to pick up this set when it released stateside in December, let’s walk you through what to expect.
For the unfamiliar, here’s a quick rundown on the two films:
In The Long Arm of the Law (1984), trouble comes to Hong Kong as wanted terrorist Ho Yiu-Tung (Lam Wai) recruits several former Red Army buddies to join him on a 48-hour mission in which they will cross over from mainland China into Hong Kong, commit several jobs, and leave with loads of bounty and authorities well behind them. However, things go south with a series of unexpected incidents put the cops hot on their trail well before the main job can be attempted. In The Long Arm of the Law — Saga II (1987), after the events of the first film, Officer Ching (Ng Hoi-Tin, reappearing in a different role) is tasked with overseeing the transition of three men as prisoners in a reform-through-labor camp into undercover officers who can help prevent Chinese criminals from taking advantage of Hong Kong hospitality. Promised freedom after two years of work, the three men gladly take the deal, unaware of the choices they’d have to make or the real way their contributions would be perceived.
Over the last year, I’ve been exploring as many films in the 88 Asia Collection as possible, mostly out of innate curiosity for an area of cinema that I know about academically but have never spent much time in. From Magnificent Warriors (1987) and The Postman Fights Back (1982) to The Last Blood (1991) and Magic Cop (1990), there have been moments of typical action and drama, but also emblematic moments of heroic bloodshed, girls with guns, and other Hong Kong-created related subgenres. The two Long Arm of the Law films included in this set, the first from director Johnny Mak (The Bare-Footed Kid) and the second from director Michael Mak (Dragon Force), are not only compelling heroic bloodshed films, they are rich with the politics of the period in which they were made. For the unaware, heroic bloodshed films are those involving crime stories, drama, and action that utilize gun-based battles over martial arts, certainly the most popular and accessible example being director John Woo’s work (Hard Boiled; Silent Night) which helped cement the term. These first two films in the four-film series can easily be described as members of the heroic bloodshed subgenre, but they are more than this as they explore the political rift between mainland China and British-occupied Hong Kong.
In the first film, Ho Yiu-Tung and his team come to Hong Kong to rob it as they see it as a place of opportunity, a means of getting rich in a way that they can’t in China. However, rather than positioning them as some kind of Ocean’s Eleven-type (2001) crew, they are introduced as former Red Army soldiers who may earn more money on this one job than they could dream to earn their entire lives. To accomplish this, they must first risk their lives by taking the long journey to cross the border from one to the other, including surviving the border crossing where sentries and their dogs lie in wait for any who might try to sneak across. Upon reaching Hong Kong, they then find themselves as pawns in a game between corrupt cops who don’t take kindly to people taking what they think is their’s and fellow criminals who don’t want to secede profits. In this way, the first film is as much a battle between two countries represented by criminals on both sides, thereby making the first film not a cop-and-robber adventure, but one in which everyone is a certifiable asshole where money is concerned. It’s a bold approach and one that utilizes the tension of the time as it wouldn’t be until approximately 13 years after the release of the first film when Britain would pull out of Hong Kong, ending their 150 years of oversight and allowing Hong Kong to re-join mainland China. It’s fascinating to look at the film now and see how the narrative from Philip Chan (The Final Judgement) doesn’t explicitly hold either country accountable despite putting them both on full blast throughout. In the second film, Chan returns as writer and what was lacking in the first is made quite plain here, the crux of the film being how little the Hong Kong police department thinks of mainland Chinese individuals, specifically criminals, and how easily they can see them as tools to be used and replaced in order to protect Hong Kong and paid their wallets. The bigger difference between the two films is how Chan positions the three criminals to genuinely want to be of service, to use their skills as former members of the Red Army to earn their freedom and assimilate into Hong Kong, making the three far more sympathetic than the characters we meet in the first. However, Chan once more makes it plain that honor only gets you so far when dealing with criminals, even if you’re trying to stay clean, because in a world in which even law enforcement is corrupt, there is no method of staying above the fray when fraud is everywhere. Because of this, there’s a prevalent sense of doom that hovers over both films that stays until the audience reaches its bloodied and victimless conclusion.
If you’ve come this far, what you really want to know about is the collector’s edition itself. That starts now.
THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW SAGA I & II. Photo courtesy of MVD Entertainment Group.
First off, the slideshell for the two films is of the same hard material that 88 Films uses for their slipcovers, so there’s little sense that the contents of the films are without protection. The slideshell can be enjoyed as it comes or the release information can be detached by removing adhesive circle on the bottom-front and top-back, at which point you can get the full view of frequent art designer Sean Longmore’s cover artwork. Rather than being in a single case, each disc is confined to their own slim disc case, similar to that of the In the Line of Duty I-V set. Both include new art on the front of the liner which can be reverse to present original release art. The case for Long Arm I includes the 39-page booklet containing release information, cast/crew credits, still images, and an extraordinary essay from author/academic Tom Cunliffe which examines all four films in the Long Arm series, with a deep focus on the two films and their place in the sociopolitical period of their release. The second case contains Long Arm II and a dual-sided poster that replicates the original artwork of the films (a larger version of the liner notes edition).
It’s a little strange that there’s no information on the restoration process on these new 2K remasters, so there’s no way to tell what exactly Fortune Star/Golden Harvest did in the preparation for this edition or what part 88 Films played in getting this together; however, from a visual perspective, these two films are far cleaner and more detailed than before. One needs only look at the original trailers to quickly identify the enhanced detail and balanced color. It’s not that the films lose any sense of the time period so much as the haze that is visible in some of these films, due to technology at the time or damage from time, is mostly gone, enabling the frames to present their stories in a way that maintains their essence and emotionality without sacrificing anything. For the purposes of this review, both films were watched in the Hong Kong Cut editions and with the new Cantonese mono audio in an effort to see exactly what was original shown upon release and the audio is nice and tight here, even when the front speakers or, essentially, center speaker, is doing most of the work. Despite the mono audio, there’s solid balance so that the dialogue isn’t lost amid the action and the any hails of bullets or explosion don’t seem unnecessarily explosive compared to the score or dialogue. In fact, soon after starting the films, one does tend to forget that it’s mono audio playing on a 5.1 home theater setup, finding themselves lost in the story, which is as much a compliment to the restoration as it is the film.
Regarding the bonus features, each disc comes with their own materials. Both contain a Hong Kong Cut and Export Cut, both contain audio commentary for the Hong Kong Cuts from frequent 88 Films contributor Frank Djeng (The Inspector Wears Skirts), both contain their original Hong Kong and English trailers, and both feature four (4) featurettes/interviews with principle members of their respective films. Be advised that to access them, rather than list them out all at once on the main screen or select the menu and click from a full list there, each feature appears one-by-one and you’ll need to scroll through each one via the “Bonus Features” menu selection. It’s a little odd in the design, making one feel like materials are being hidden, but you get used to it pretty quickly.
In 2023, 88 Films released similar editions like this one with In the Line of Duty I-IV four-film collection, their special editions for Police Story 3: Supercop (1992), Gorgeous (1999) and Dragons Forever (1988), and look to be kick-starting 2024 with a 4K UHD edition of Jackie Chan’s Project A (1983). Thus far, each restoration has been worth picking up for fans of the film, even if not for those seeking it as a blind-buy. In this way, while I do recommend getting your expectations in order in terms of what these two The Long Arm of the Law films seek to accomplish narratively and thematically, if you’re on their wavelength, you’re going to not only enjoy yourself, you’re going to be glad you picked them up. Films like these, which are heavy with consequence, make one look at a newer example of John Woo’s heroic bloodshed release Silent Night (2023) and see the straight-line connection between past and present. The more we see and understand of the past, the more one can relate with and connect to the present.
The Long Arm of the Law Special Features:
DISC 1 – The Long Arm of the Law [1984 – 106 mins]
- Brand New 2K Remaster from the Original Camera Negative
- High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray™ presentation in 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio
- Hong Kong Version featuring Cantonese Mono Audio with newly translated English Subtitles (106 mins approx)
- English Version featuring English Mono dub (105 mins approx)
- Audio Commentary by Hong Kong Film Expert Frank Djeng (HK Version)
- Family Business – An Interview with Michael Mak
- From Hong Kong Police to Big Circle Gangs – An Interview with Scriptwriter Philip Chan
- A Conversation with Action Director Billy Chan and Scriptwriter Philip Chan
- An Interview with Director Johnny Mak
- Hong Kong Trailer
- Reversible cover with new art by Sean Longmore
DISC 2 – The Long Arm of the Law – Saga II [1987 – 90 mins]
- Brand New 2K Remaster from the Original Camera Negative
- High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray™ presentation in 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio
- Hong Kong Version featuring Cantonese Mono Audio with newly translated English Subtitles (90 mins approx)
- English Version featuring English Mono dub (87 mins approx)
- Audio Commentary by Hong Kong Film Expert Frank Djeng (HK Version)
- Bringing the Action – An Interview with Director Michael Mak
- Man of Action – An Interview with Co-Star Ben Lam
- An Offer You Can’t Refuse – An Interview with Scriptwriter Philip Chan
- The Iron Fist of Crime – An Interview with Stuntman Stephen Chan
- Hong Kong Trailer
- English Trailer
- Reversible cover with new art by Sean Longmore
Available on Blu-ray December 12th, 2023.
For more information, head to the official 88 Films The Long Arm of the Law – Parts 1 & 2 Collector’s Edition webpage.
To purchase, head to the official MVD Entertainment Group The Long Arm of the Law – Parts 1 & 2 Collector’s Edition webpage.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
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