Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: shanghai knights

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Posted by Daniel Burns (Member # 1549) on 01-24-2003, 11:19 AM:

I watched this print last night and all the sounds were horrible. Half of the SRD track was green, and the words are out of sync, in all formats. We have it for a screening on Saturday, thank god were not keeping it. Other than that it was an alright movie, fight scenes getting a bit old but was funny.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 01-24-2003, 09:59 PM:

If the SR*D track is green, it means it hasn`t ripened yet. You have to put the print into a fridge for 3-4 days.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 01-25-2003, 02:05 PM:

If you see green/blue/cyan fogging that reaches into the Dolby Digital track area and causes the sound to drop out, ask for a replacement reel. Likely due to excess exposure of the film to an UN-safelight. [Wink]

Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 02-10-2003, 10:07 AM:

Attendance: 2003/02/09 19:05, Regal River Oaks Cinema 8, Decatur, AL, Auditorium 6, DTS, Scope (anamorphic lens used in filming rather than super35)

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The stunt scenes were hilarious. The stunts were so outlandish and silly at times that they reminded me of the Three Stooges on steroids. I wonder how much computerized help was offered in making some of these stunt sequences look the way they did.

The soundtrack cracked me up as well. When I heard "England Swings" by Roger Miller, I couldn't help but laugh. I thought of the song "Winchester Cathedral" by the New Vaudeville Band at this time, and later in the movie, it was used as well!

This was a Jackie Chan movie to the style of the "Charlie's Angels" from a couple of years ago. That's the best analogy I can give.

The presentation was flawless. The image looked fantastic on the 40x17 screen and the DTS sound was terrific.

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 02-10-2003, 12:24 PM:

I liked this one too. I think I'll go back and see it again....

Posted by Dino Panagiotopoulos (Member # 1579) on 02-19-2003, 01:36 AM:

I was a little iffy about seeing this movie at first but I really enjoyed it really well. I believe that Owen Wilson really complimented Jackie Chan and Vice-Versa. They looked very well as a team.

I think Jackie really outdid himself this time with the hilariously choreagraphed stuntwork that he pulled off. I think the setting of the film and props helped accomplish this very well. You really have to expect this in every one of his films but every film is something new in terms of the fights. This time all I wanted to do was laugh. I had no complaints about the soundtrack on the film which I thought was mixed really well. Sounded very nice on our system (SR-D).

All in all an excellent film. Most people would argue but then again, this film was never intended to be an Oscar winner.

Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 02-23-2003, 11:38 AM:

Loews, New Brunswick NJ, 2/22, 8:20 PM show. Hall #6, attendance 95 -- 5 seats short of a complete sellout.

Shanghai Knights is one of those movies where the sequel is better than the original. The Brit settings and the Brit flavour do the job.

And yes, those 60's hits brought a smile to my face. "England Swings" ... "Winchester Cathedral" ... "Time of the Season" ... I'm old enough to remember what it was like to swing with the All-Americans on 77 WABC.

Image was dirty in at least 2 of the reel changes with specks of negative dirt here and there. Sound was good in SDDS.

Preshow looked very rushed. Everything -- rolling stock, Fandango promo, trailers -- was cut off at the fadeout. No black was left remaining to serve as a buffer. Also, every rolling stock advert and the Fandango promo had 2-3 frames cut off at the beginning. There was an audible pop between the attached trailer and the start of the feature -- a hint that the attached trailer was taped on at the depot.

I should add that the automation couldn't lower the lights to halfway for the preshow and couldn't bring the lights to halfway for the end credits. People were leaving the hall in the dark at the end. Luckily nobody was injured.

FWIW I went to Loews as a "third choice" theater. Reading Cinemas in Manville NJ put Shanghai Knights in a small hall which has serious keystoning distortion for scope ratio. The AMC Hamilton was in an area under a flood warning -- it's been raining in New Jersey since Friday night. Not only that, the rain flooded out my apartment! [Frown]

[ 02-23-2003, 04:29 PM: Message edited by: Charles Everett ]