subject: What Is The Problem With Dragon Dynasty [print this page] True movie buffs tend to have very extensive collections, and many of them like to collect foreign films, with some of the most popular foreign films coming from Asia. In order to cater to the fans of these films, a distributor in the United States Called Dragon Dynasty started releasing remastered DVDs of Asian films. And while their efforts have been lauded among film fans, there has been some criticism cast on the distributor.
The reason for the criticism is the belief that Dragon Dynasty rushes out their DVDs. While they may restore picture quality to a release, the biggest problem is the audio. While they do offer dubbed and subtitled versions of their films, most movie buffs prefer authenticity. For example, their release of the John Woo film Hard Boiled was criticized for using an outdated dub for the movie, and if the viewer wanted to watch it with the original language, but with subtitles on, the subtitles are just transcriptions of the outdated dub. Many believe that the DVD would have been more worth it had a whole new dub track been recorded, and new subtitles created.
Other problems have also arisen due to audio problems. A very common complaint is that there is occasional pixelation in some of the DVDs, and another complaint is that often the audio will be out of synch with some of the scenes. While Dragon Dynasty has frequently stated that they are committed to giving their releases the highest quality possible, the abundance of complaints about their releases leads one to wonder how serious they are about said commitment.
One thing, however, that can be positively said about the company is their abundance of titles, and the lengths they go to to secure special features for their films, many of which are often overlooked by other companies that release foreign films.
While it cannot be said that Dragon Dynasty offer the best quality, a bit more of an emphasis on quality control would greatly improve their releases, and would give them a more solid and admirable reputation. Despite the criticism that the company receives, it is still the best source for film buffs to get their Asian film fix, so the amount of derision they are eligible for may not be quite as much as many have said. There is some hope, however, that as films continue to make a shift towards the bluray format, that Dragon Dynasty might give their films a shot at a hi-def re-release.
