Police Story III: Supercop 4K UHD Screenshots (Patreon)

Video

Caring, pristine, and crisp, 88 Films does incredible work bringing Police Story III to 4K, and it's wishful thinking to prefer they handle the first two films rather than Criterion when the time comes. This lavish package begins with a spectacular new 4K master, preserved flawlessly at superb resolution. Detail thrives in this environment. Texture appears everywhere, wide shots just as crisp as those in close.

Masterful color replication delivers the primaries demanded by the original film stock, elevating location scenery via elaborate greens. China's red flags and signage sport impeccable color density, natural yet ever so slightly elevated. Flesh tones bring warmth.

Dolby Vision isn't aggressive, but layered. Ample contrast layers Police Story III without drawing attention to itself (although tasers produce a mighty glow). Properly calibrated black levels add their own punch, heavy and bold without crush.

Audio

Cantonese Atmos is an unexpected highlight, going along with mono Cantonese, alternate Cantonese, and Englush dubs in mono. Sadly, it's overdone in regards to the score, failing to mix the channels discreetly and treating them all as one. Dialog stays strictly to the center, while sound affects track better around the soundstage than the music. The first fight around 18-minutes has birds convincingly chirping in the rears, but then rain later doesn't drift from the center at all. The Atmos is wasted aside from a helicopter, and errant gunshots lack precision.

LFE isn't factored in either, so while the overall fidelity (and it's superb) impresses, the marketable remix isn't. Sticking with original mono is preferred.