Mad Detective [Masters of Cinema] [2007] [DVD]

This year s largest grossing Hong Kong film the smash-hit Mad Detective is one of the freshest and most satisfying visits to the cinema in a decade. The traditional Hong Kong police film is turned on its head: the imaginative twist being our hero Detective Bun (a role created for Lau Ching Wan) who has the ability to see people s inner personalities or hidden ghosts . Breaking new ground and establishing new cinematic rules, Johnnie To s latest giddily entertaining collaboration with Wai Ka Fai radically raises the level of storytelling in modern film. This ingenious realisation of a supernaturally gifted copper is fast-paced and furious, yet also complex and disturbingly funny. Nominated for the Golden Lion at Venice, multiple prizewinner at the Asian Film Awards 2008, and winner of Best Screenplay at the 27th Hong Kong Film Awards 2008, Mad Detective has been simultaneously thrilling multiplexes and cerebrally challenging arthouses across the world. Detective Bun (Lau Ching Wan) was recognised as a talented criminal profiler until he sliced off his right ear to offer as a gift at his chief s farewell party. Branded as mad and discharged from the force, he has lived in seclusion with his beloved wife May (Kelly Lin) ever since. Strangely, Bun has the ability to see a person s inner personality, their subconscious desires, emotions, and mental state. When a missing police gun is linked to several heists and murders, hotshot Inspector Ho (Andy On) calls on the valuable skills of his former mentor Bun to help unlock the killer s identity. However, Bun s unorthodox methods point to a fellow detective and take a schizophrenic turn for the worse... ---Special Features---Carefully created new English subtitles -- Q&A with Johnnie To at the Cinémathèque Française -- Johnnie To retrospective (Paris, France, March 2008) - 35 minutes -- Exclusive cast interviews shot during the Far East Film Festival featuring Lau Ching Wan, and Lam Suet (Udine, Italy, April 2008) - 14 minutes -- Interview with Johnnie To for the French theatrical release of Mad Detective (France, 4th March 2008) - 21 minutes -- Original UK theatrical trailer -- 16-page booklet containing specially commissioned essay by David Bordwell (Jacques Ledoux Professor of Film Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison) -- The following materials will be released for viewing at www.maddetective.com on the day of the Blu-ray's release: Panel discussion at the Far East Film Festival during the Milkyway Image, Beyond Imagination seminar with Johnnie To, Wai Ka Fai, Lam Suet, Kelly Lin, and Lau Ching Wan (Udine, Italy, April 2008) - 13 minutes -- Following the cast and crew on their tour of the Far East Film Festival (Udine, Italy, April 2008) - 14 minutes -- Footage from the Mad Detective French premiere and Johnnie To Retrospective presentation at the Cinémathèque Française (Paris, France, March 2008) - 6 minutes

Directors Johnnie To (TRIAD ELECTION) and Wai Ka Fai (FULLTIME KILLER) team up for this quirky action film that was a huge hit in its native Hong Kong. Lau Ching Wan (BLACK MASK) plays Bun, a criminal profiler who's gone off the deep end. After slicing off his ear at a going-away party, he's forced to turn in his badge. Nevertheless Bun's madness comes with a power: the ability to see people's innermost desires. It's a talent that puts him back into action when the police encounter a particularly baffling case. The line between reality and fantasy bends in this surreal thriller that redefines the detective genre.