Police Story 2 (1988) Hong Kong and export cut reconstructions

This project recreates the two major cuts of Jackie Chan’s Police Story 2 besides the roughly two-hour cut preferred by distributor Fortune Star and spotlighted on most recent home video releases. The Hong Kong theatrical cut trims about 15 minutes, while the export cut is 10 minutes shorter than that; either one contrasts dramatically with the sluggish pace of the longer cut. The main video source for these reconstructions is Criterion’s Blu-ray of L’Immagine Ritrovata’s 4K restoration of the longer cut (with some simple color correction), with credits and other footage exclusive to these cuts taken from other sources, including the same disc’s subtitled 35mm print of the HK cut, scanned by Sydney Perkins. Huge thanks as well to Space Hunter M, jedi, and IcePrick for the other sources used in this project.

Both cuts include a number of audio options in Cantonese and English, as well as multiple English subtitle options. Further details below:

HONG KONG CUT

AUDIO:

  1. Cantonese mono AC3
  2. Cantonese 5.1 AC3
  3. English 5.1 AC3, the circa-2000 Omni Productions redub for Media Asia

SUBTITLES:

  1. English (Criterion translation), augmented with lines from Eureka’s HK cut subs for dialogue missing or different from the longer cut
  2. English (Eureka translation)
  3. English (theatrical script), transcribed from Sydney Perkins’ 35mm print scan on the Criterion Blu-ray
  4. English (alternate theatrical script), mostly based on the probably earlier (and often worse) subs for the unique longer Mandarin version released in Taiwan

EXPORT CUT

AUDIO:

  1. English mono AC3, the original export dub done in the UK
  2. English stereo AC3, the late-’90s New Line redub scored with stock cues by J. Peter Robinson
  3. Cantonese mono AC3, a custom track adapted from the HK cut soundtrack, with an opening based on a proof-of-concept clip by Space Hunter M

SUBTITLES:

  1. English (export dub SDH)
  2. English (Criterion translation)
  3. English (theatrical script)

Chapters and titles based on the Criterion Blu-ray.

The subtitles in these MKVs are Blu-ray PGS subs designed to display nicely within the widescreen frame; I’ve also included all of these subtitle tracks as SRTs for any purposes requiring text-based subtitles.

Enjoy!

SCREENSHOTS

HONG KONG CUT:

EXPORT CUT:

2 thoughts on “Police Story 2 (1988) Hong Kong and export cut reconstructions”

  1. Link?
    I happen to own a copy of Criterion’s Police Story 1 & 2 on Blu-Ray and I was wondering where I can find the download link from this project.

    1. Up until just now these were only available through private channels. That’s how it typically is for the first couple weeks. You should be able to find it now if you look again!

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