Hong Kong 1941 Chow Yun-fat Blu-ray Eureka 1984 Cecilia Yip

The classic that launched Chow Yun-fat to stardom two years before A Better Tomorrow!

Introducing Eureka's Limited Edition Blu-ray release for 1984's Hong Kong 1941. A versatile British-Chinese filmmaker whose career has spanned nearly fifty years, director Po-Chih Leong has worked in a variety of genres, from action in Foxbat to horror in The Island, comedy in Ping Pong and the gangster movie in Shanghai 1920, which was nominated for Best Feature at the Chicago International Film Festival.

His masterpiece, though, is Hong Kong 1941 – an affecting war drama starring Cecilia Yip (Nomad), Alex Man (Rich and Famous) and Chow Yun-fat (The Killer) in his breakout role.

Executive produced by Sammo Hung, Hong Kong 1941 follows three Hongkongers forced to negotiate life under occupation as their homeland falls to the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Ha Yuk-nam (Yip) is a young woman locked in a love triangle with her close friends Yip Kim-fei (Chow) and Wong Hak-keung (Man). As they dream of escape, their complicated personal relationships play out against the background of oppression and brutality that was brought to Hong Kong by Japanese rule between 1941 and 1945.

A story of loyalty and love, Leong’s film deals with one of the darkest periods in Hong Kong’s history and was nominated for no less than eight awards at the 1985 Hong Kong Film Awards – winning for its breathtaking cinematography by Brian Lai (The Postman Strikes Back). The Masters of Cinema series is honoured to present the film on Blu-ray for the first time outside of Asia.

Limited Edition Features:

• Limited Edition [2000 copies]
• Limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Time Tomorrow
• Limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on Hong Kong 1941 and Po-Chih Leong by Gary Bettinson, editor of Asian Cinema journal
  

Features:

• Presented in 1080p HD from a brand new 4K restoration
• Original Cantonese mono audio track
• Optional English dub
• Optional English subtitles, newly translated for this release
• New audio commentary by East Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
• Hong Kong 1984 – new video essay by Tony Rayns on the contemporary impact of Hong Kong 1941
• New appreciation of Hong Kong 1941 by film writer, programmer and East Asian film expert Tony Rayns
• Crossing Cultures – an interview with Po-Chih Leong by Frédéric Ambroisine
• Po-Chih Leong on Hong Kong 1941 and Cultural Identity (Masterclass at Udine FEFF 2023)
• Two archival interviews with Chow Yun-fat
• Three archival interviews with Cecilia Yip
• Archival interview with Paul Chun
• Theatrical trailer
  

Technical Specs:

• Country: Hong Kong
• Language: Cantonese
• Year: 1984
• Runtime: 100
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Subtitles: Optional English subtitles