Martial Club Blu-ray Screenshots (Patreon)

Video

88 Films debuts a new master for Martial Club with this release. It's decent. Moderate color saturation keeps most hues on the dry side except for reds; their vividness stands out much of the time. Overall color density is average at best. The same is true of the black levels, dulled and gray. Marginally better contrast allows slight dimensionality to enter.

Middling resolution lags behind better masters too, possibly done at 2K, but likely at HD. A slightly detectable sharpening invades and lessens purity. Martial Club looks rugged while grain lifts, challenging the encode. Compression can't keep pace, and slight filtering leaves smearing in its wake. Those negatives aside, texture is evident and resolved. Benefits from this fresh scan are apparent, and the definition is firm enough to clearly see the glue/tape holding on sideburns when in close.

The best work comes from the restoration, defeating all scratches, marks, and dirt. It's a spotless print.

Audio

A dub (eww) and DTS-HD Cantonese perform well enough for the material. Obviously dated, dialog passes through the mono channel coarsely, albeit purely. Age sounds organic, not rotting. While the music's peak treble struggles, mid tones fare well.