Portrait in Crystal (Blu-ray Review)
Director
Hua ShanRelease Date(s)
1983 (May 28, 2025)Studio(s)
Shaw Brothers Studio (Imprint Asia/Via Vision Entertainment)- Film/Program Grade: B-
- Video Grade: B
- Audio Grade: B
- Extras Grade: C+
Review
[Editor’s Note: This is a Region-Free Australian Blu-ray import.]
In the 1980s, the Hong Kong cinema market was seeing a more imaginative boost thanks to newer and more successful companies like Golden Harvest bringing a freshness to the variety of popular film genres. Fantasy, science fiction, horror, supernatural, and even erotic cinema exploded during this time frame, with many titles, including the output of Shaw Brothers Studio, falling through the cracks outside of Asia. Shaw Brothers in particular were on their way out, having been a movie mainstay for decades, but as a last act of desperation, they produced some of the mostly wildly inventive and over-the-top titles of their career. Unfortunately, the majority of them weren’t seen by Western audiences until much later on the home video market, but today, most Hong Kong cinema aficionados cite these films as among Shaw Brothers’ best.
In 1983’s Portrait in Crystal (aka Shui jing ren, Shui jing yan, and Crystal Man), it is said that priceless crystal used for carving sculptures contains magical powers, and if any blood is spilled on it, the sculpture (or portrait) will metamorphose into human form. Lung Fei (Jason Pai Piao) and his assistant Li “Fatty” (Wong Chun) do just that, creating a “Crystal Portrait” that comes to life as a beautiful but murderous woman, taking on the martial arts world and assassinating many of its most powerful members, or so it seems. Lung Fei is immediately suspected of murder and must go out into the world with Fatty as his companion to find the Crystal Portrait and clear his name as more portraits and other adversaries seek them out. Other members of the cast include Lau Yuk-Pok, Wang Yong Prince, Chan Sze-Kai, Teng Wei-Hao, Hsaio Yu, and Lin Hsiu-Chun.
Penned by Huang Ying (Bastard Swordsman, Encounters of the Spooky Kind, and Mr. Vampire), Portrait in Crystal is wildly convoluted when it comes to plot, which is to say that the core story is all over the map. What begins as a Pygmalion type of story launches headlong into a series of chaotic sequences stuffed with gore and nudity. From exploding stomachs to glowing swords to Nikkatsu-style torture, Portrait in Crystal isn’t so much an exercise in telling a complicated narrative as it is throwing everything at the wall and making it stick, whether it wants to or not. Directed by Hua Shan (Infra-Man and Bloody Parrot), there are definitely some impressive action sequences, but they tend to be overshadowed by the completely gonzo fantasy and supernatural elements. Hua Shan keeps things at a frenzied pace, rarely taking time for a breath before moving on to the next wacky but highly entertaining thing. Putting it mildly, there’s no way to watch Portrait in Crystal without ever becoming bored. It’s a frenetic Shaw Brothers production during a time when their releases were incredibly creative and bursting with energy.
Portrait in Crystal was shot by Wen-Yun Huang on 35mm film with anamorphic lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Imprint Asia’s Blu-ray presentation is sourced from an existing Celestial Pictures master. No information is provided for where and when this transfer was created outside of a Celestial Pictures 2007 copyright at the end of the film, but most of their masters tend to be 2K scans of the original camera negative by L’Immagine Ritrovata in Hong Kong from the mid to late 2000s. Imprint has encoded it to a dual-layered BD-50 disc. It’s a dated master (with digitally re-created closing titles), which is to be expected since it’s nearly twenty years old, but it holds up surprisingly well. It offers some decent grain, though obviously managed and in some reels more than others, but with a bitrate hovering around 35 to 40Mbps. Detail is decent, though it does falter in backgrounds, and there’s some crush present since blacks can appear flat. The palette is beautiful with bold swatches of red, blue, green, and yellow, among many others. The picture is also stable without any other obvious visual flaws. For a vintage high definition master, it’s surprisingly solid compared to some other Celestial Pictures masters.
Audio is included in Cantonese 2.0 mono LPCM with optional subtitles in English. It’s a very clean track that gives plenty of good support to the Cantonese dubbing, as well as sound effects and score. It’s not as full bodied as its perhaps could be, but it lacks sibilance and other aural issues that tend to plague older masters of some of these Hong Kong films.
Imprint Films’ and Via Vision Entertainment’s Blu-ray release of Portrait in Crystal is #21 in their Imprint Asia line of titles. It sits in a clear Amaray case with an inner sleeve that features artwork used for the IVL DVD release on the front and a still from the film on the reverse. Everything is housed in Imprint’s traditional side-loading slipcase, but featuring re-purposed artwork from the original Hong Kong theatrical poster. The following extras are included on the disc:
- Audio Commentary by Justin Decloux
- Portrait of Plasma: An Interview with James Mudge (HD – 14:55)
The commentary features critic and filmmaker Justin Decloux, who tends to be overcaffeinated at the start but naturally slows down later in the track. He sometimes goes down tangents, but he knows his stuff and covers a variety of subjects about Hong Kong cinema at that time, and the people behind it. He delves into this period of Shaw Brothers productions and why they moved so far away from their traditional wuxia output that they were known for. It’s a very nice track, and as of this writing, it’s the only commentary to accompany this film on any home video release.
Next is Portrait of Plasma, which contains an interview with film critic James Mudge, a familiar name to anyone who owns other Hong Kong cinema titles. He discusses the entertainment value of the film, Hua Shan’s career as a cinematographer and a director, the work of screenwriter Huang Ying and his involvement in Hong Kong films of the era, and Jason Pai Piao’s involvement in Portrait in Crystal. He also laments how little known films like this were and still are in many cases, and how Shaw Brothers dealt with competitors while unintentionally influencing others.
There are a few items from other releases that aren’t present. The 2007 Region 3 DVD release by IVL includes stills from the film, the poster, and a set of production notes. The Region B Blu-ray released in France by Spectrum features an introduction by Arnaud Lanuque; The Crazy Cinema of Hua Shan, an interview with Frédéric Ambroisine; and the Celestial Pictures trailer for the film. And lastly the Arrow Video Blu-ray release included in the Shawscope: Volume Four boxed set includes the Hong Kong theatrical trailer. All of these releases also include a Mandarin language soundtrack option.
Since Portrait in Crystal is locked away in Arrow’s Shawscope: Volume Four boxed set and Spectrum’s limited release that includes The Bells of Death and Legend of the Fox, this is the only separate Blu-ray release of the film available worldwide. That will surely change in the future, but with a nice presentation and decent extras, it’s still a fine choice for those wanting to own it exclusively. For them, this definitely comes recommended.
- Tim Salmons
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