It's the news we've all been waiting for (on in the case of us who've been tipped off in advance, waiting the confirmation of) – the first blu-ray release under the Eureka Entertainment Masters of Cinema banner. It's an intriguing choice in the shape of an offbeat modern detective thriller, the biggest grossing film at the Hong Kong box office last year and one of the freshest and most inventive films to arrive here from the former colony in some time.

Nominated for the Golden Lion at Venice and winner of multiple awards worldwide, including Best Screenplay at the 2008 Hong Kong Film Awards, Mad Detective (Sun taam) turns the traditional Hong Kong police film on its head, the imaginative twist being that our hero, Detective Bun (a role created for Lau Ching Wan), has the ability to see people's inner personalities or "hidden ghosts." A giddily entertaining collaboration between directors Johnnie To and Wai Ka Fai that is both ingenious and fast paced, but also complex and disturbingly funny.

Eureka Entertainment have chosen Mad Detective to be their first blu-ray release under the Masters of Cinema label, and the film will be simultaneously released by them on blu-ray and DVD on 20th October 2008 at the RRP of £19.99 for the blu-ray disc and £17.99 for the DVD.

The blu-ray release will feature a 2.35:1 transfer in 1080p, 24fps state of the art AVC encode with optional Dolby Digital 2.0, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD soundtracks. Both the blu-ray and DVD releases will have the following extra features:

• Carefully created new English subtitles;
• Q&A with Johnnie To at the Cinémathèque Française Jonnie To retrospective – Paris, France, March 2008 (35 mins);
• Exclusive cast interviews shot during Far East Film Festival featuring Lau Ching Wan and Lam Suet - Udine, Italy, April 2008 (14 mins);
• Interview with Johnnie To for the French theatrical release of Mad Detective - France, 4th March 2008 (21 mins);
• Original UK theatrical trailer;
• 16-page booklet containing a specially commissioned essay by David Bordwell (Jacques Ledoux Professor of Film Studies, University of Winsconsin-Madison).

In addition, the following material will be released for viewing at www.maddetective.com on the day of the release of both discs:

• 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 mins);
• Following the cast and crew on their tour of the Far East Film Festival - Udine, Italy, April 2008 (14 mins);
• Footage from the Mad Detective French premiere and Johnnie To Retrospective presentation at the Cinémathèque Française, Paris, France, March 2008 (6 mins).

You can read our cinema review of the film here.

UPDATE: The release date of both the DVD and blu-ray disc of Mad Detective has now changed to 3rd November 2008.