Reminder: Born to Fight Out on R1 DVD

This is the latest in the Dragon Dynasty line from the Weinstein Co. and Genius Entartainment, and it's a very decent two-disk edition.

The picture (enhanced for widescreen) looked fine on my 27" high def LCD monitor, though, as always, your mileage may vary. I listened to the Thai DD 5.1 audio track, but my speakers are on the blink, so can't say how much oomph you can expect; the disk also includes Thai DTS and English DD 5.1 tracks. I sampled the latter for a few minutes, and it sounded fine, if that's your thing. The white, removable English and Spanish subtitles are easy to read and well-timed.

Bey Logan's audio commentary was jam-packed with information, from identifying all the key actors to noting the dodgy special effects. He doesn't hesitate to point out the action-movie conventions and cinematic antecedents (from Gymkata to Police Story), but also, by putting things in historical perspective, gives the appropriate amount of credit where it's due. He also comments on Thai cultural practices, national identity, and similar matters.

The 65-minute documentary on the second disk is filled with interviews with the producer, director, and all key cast members, supplemented by clips from the film and a few behind-the-scenes footage. It gets a bit repetitive because all the athletes say similar things, but Panna Rittikrai expresses his intentions and interests quite well. At the end he says something about being glad that the film will be seen in America, but otherwise all the interviews sound like they were shot in connection with the film's original Thailand release in August 2004.

Also included on the second disk is a five-minute collage of behind-the-scenes shots, the original trailer, and the DVD trailer. Two trailers play automatically when you pop in the first disk: DVD trailers for Seven Swords and Police Story 2.

How does it stack up with the other, long-released DVD editions of the film?

Check out the excellent Asian DVD Guide Forum for a review thread in which further details are provided about the Region 1 disk and other versions.