Red Corner (Blu-Ray) (Umbrella) Review

Late October, 1997. My Chinese roommate has handed me a movie ticket for a new film called Red Corner with Richard Gere. Himself along with his friends and classmates are attending an advance screening of the picture and wanted to invite me to share the experience with them. The film would last two hours but the moment would last in my memories forever as one of my best film experiences ever. I learned a lot about China (since most of the group were born there) and truly saw the film through eyes other than my own. While the DVD did get a pretty quick release, it has been twenty plus years to get a blu-ray copy, this one from Australian distributor, Umbrella Entertainment. Let’s take a look.

We arrive at a very quiet Purple Bamboo Lake in Beijing, China. A small girl throws a rock as Shen Yuelin (voiced by Bai Ling) provides narration for her childhood in China. She talks about how she would come to this park as a young girl and play. Yuelin spins a few comments about bamboo and emotions as we are introduced to the score by Thomas Newman and the opening titles.

Tiananmen Square, present day. Jack Moore (played by Richard Gere) looks out the window of a car at the girls playing soccer. Soldiers marching soon fill his line of view as he notices a couple of cameras focus in on him. Concerned, Jack decides it is best to raise back up the car window and have the driver continue on his way.

We are introduced to a rather bouncy show called “Beachside” on the television screen (think Baywatch) while Chinese businessmen are gathered around. Some are disgusted, some are rather interested, very interested. Jack Moore arrives and we learn that Jack’s company is trying to sell a multi-billion dollar communications package to bring US entertainment to the Chinese. However, many within China believe that the programming is violent, pornographic, and superstitious. Jack explains to the businessmen that having American programming would actually discourage the pursuit of Western values and therefore would be a good idea.

The group agrees to discuss it amongst themselves. Jack’s group is later invited to Lin Shou’s(played by James Hong) home where Shou as the Minister of Radio, Film and Television talks about a healthy balance when it comes to programming. While this conversation is going on, Lin Dan (played by Byron Mann) is staring a hole into Jack. However, Jack’s group has succeeded in bringing American programming (minus the Brady Bunch) and a contract will follow in the coming days. It’s time to party.

Later on at the club, we go from some nightclub dancing to traditional Chinese entertainment and then a model runaway show as both Jack and Dan look on. One particularly beautiful girl named Hong Ling (played by Jessey Meng) catches Jack’s eye. Later on, he approaches her while she is seated at a table drawing pictures. Apparently Ling has taken to a fascination with Jack’s nose. One thing leads to another and the two find themselves in the throws of saucy passion which concludes at a nearby hotel room.

The next morning, Jack is woken up by Chinese police. He realizes he is covered in blood and then the further shock is nearby, Hong Ling was savagely murdered. Jack is taken away and held as a prisoner, being charged with murder and rape of Hong Ling. He is thrown into interrogation shortly after a hosing down. His requests for his embassy go unnoticed as he maintains his innocence. Jack Moore’s only hope lies in the form of a court appointed defense advocate by the name of Shen Yuelin (played by Bai Ling). If convicted, Jack will be certainly executed for his accused crimes.

Richard Gere and Bai Ling do a wonderful job here in their characters, growing with every scene until they get to a satisfying climax and emotional conclusion. They really carry the film and while there are some interesting side characters such as Byron Mann, Bradley Whitford (who plays Bob Ghery), and Tsai Chin (who plays Presiding Chairman Xu), it’s really the two mains who shine brighter than everyone else. Furthermore, the writing from Robert King and direction from Jon Avnet are top notch and help to solidify the overall story and look of the film.

During its original release, many saw the film as ludicrous since the character of Jack Moore has conveniently a law degree and furthermore the police care an awful lot about a lowly American national simply because he’s involved in a communications deal and is accused of murder. However, the courtroom scenes are full of popcorn fare and are quite enjoyable.

The negative reviews were often a coverup for how these particular people felt about Richard Gere and they projected that into their publications. The film’s concept is an international incident when you consider who the murdered lady is related to (one of the film’s big reveals). It’s not that much of a departure to believe Jack Moore would cause this much concern for a country such as China.

Video

The video is in its original aspect 1.85:1 widescreen picture. Despite it being filmed primarily in Los Angeles (with about 2 minutes of footage from China), the filmmakers built elaborate sets and used CGI to recreate the Chinese mainland experience. This is a modest improvement over the original DVD and has a natural overall feel to the picture. I say modest, because at least to me there is evidence of this near thirty year old film showing its age.

There are elements of the picture being washed out and there are some noticeable issues, particularly in the outdoor scenes. One such moment is about ~43:33 where the color changes quickly and then back again in the scene between General Hong and Yuelin on the back streets of Beijing. That same scene on the DVD is much more muted but still appears. So it’s partially the film but it has been heightened by the scan on the blu-ray. In addition, any scene with yellow font burned in subtitles (Chinese to English) seems to be worse for wear (maybe a different source).

Overall, I think DVD owners will be happy with the improvements on the blu-ray release but there is still some work to be done here for any future releases.

Audio

The audio for this one is DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 English. The sound for this film is big and impressive. The action in many scenes is intense and tends to use all of the speakers quite well. All of this is put against the backdrop of a very underrated score that compliments the on-screen action and emotional moments. There are no issues with the dialog, and it can be clearly heard at every moment (even if you don’t speak the language). There appears to be no damage to the track and it is the shining part of the technical presentation.

Subtitles are also provided in English HOH (similar to our SDH). The subtitles are English for any English speaking part in a white font. After about forty to forty five minutes into the movie, there are also selected sections (not all) of Chinese that get the burned in yellow font English subtitle translation. I assume the idea was to present it to the audience as if they were the character of Jack Moore and not translate some of the Chinese (especially the earlier moments) so the mystery could be kept alive. If this ever gets a stateside release, I would recommend that there is an option (not default) to see everything translated to English via subtitles. It would certainly help sell a few extra copies in my opinion.

For those who are curious about the soundtrack featuring the score of Thomas Newman, there is a CD of the Soundtrack that was made back in 1997. It has a couple of US releases as well as a Japanese release but all are identical in # of tracks (however, one of the US releases is about a minute shorter). It will run you about $15-$20, though I could easily see copies getting up in the $30’s depending on condition.

Special Features

Audio Commentary featuring Heath Holland (Cereal at Midnight): Heath is engaging and easy to listen to as he talks about the film quite openly going over production notes as well as the controversy the film caused in China and the US. There is a lot to discuss on this film and I do appreciate the positive tone from Mr. Holland as the film has so many detractors. A very worthwhile listen and an excellent commentary.
“From Tiananmen to Hollywood: The Legacy of Red Corner – Visual Essay by L. Scott Jose 13:44 : This visual essay is very informative and after some brief notes on the film, it then dives into how the two leads, Gere and Ling who were basically vilified by Hollywood and blacklisted due to their anti-Chinese views. Despite all of the information, it is very one note and solely focuses on that political slant of the movie and its effects.
Blu-Ray Packaging Notes: This Umbrella release is a 1500 copy limited edition and features a clear UK style case (similar to Arrow releases) with a slipcover. The packaging indicates that the disc is Region B, but it is in fact like many Umbrella releases, All Region. The art is reminiscent of original movie poster art and was seen also on the soundtrack as well as the recent German blu-ray release. I still prefer the MGM DVD art though.
Legacy DVD Notes: The original DVD made by MGM had a commentary from director John Avnet which is quite excellent and has many interesting personal notes about the movie. The disc also has a French track and French/Spanish subtitle options. A lot of people who enjoy this movie will opt to keep both discs unfortunately. If only I could find a suitable clear double blu-ray case, at least I could eliminate that second case.

Final Thoughts

Red Corner opened 2nd on it’s opening weekend nestled between I Know What You Did Last Summer and Devil’s Advocate. Unfortunately it would only make about ~22 million from its theatrical run and was out of the top ten by its fourth week. The movie met heavy criticism and was even censored by China who proclaimed that it viciously attacked their country and hurt their people’s feelings. The truth of the matter is that it reminded us that China, especially during this time period had been known to exhibit poor human values. The truth sometimes hurts. This film would probably never see the light of day in today’s world and that’s a shame because it is a pretty darn good movie with wonderful performances from both Gere and Ling.

Technically, the disc is a mixed bag. The video is certainly an improvement over the previous DVD release, but still has its issues especially when it comes to anything with burnt in Chinese to English subtitles. The audio is excellent and the commentary from Heath Holland is solid though the director’s commentary from the dvd is very missed. At the time of this review, the blu-ray release is still available from Umbrella but is a pricey venture even going through a stateside outfit such as Deep Discount or Diabolik (where I was able to get my copy). For those who love the movie such as myself it is a must-own but others might want to stick with their DVD until a distributor such as Shout or Kino pick this one up. Enjoy.