7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
During the Manchurian invasion of China, the son of the Ming Dynasty General takes refuge in the Shaolin Temple to learn martial arts, so that he may seek revenge for his dead father. But he must first endure the rigorous test of the temple's legendary 18 Bronzemen.
Director: Joseph KuoForeign | 100% |
Action | 21% |
Drama | 20% |
Period | Insignificant |
War | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: LPCM Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (A, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Cinematic Vengeance: 8 Kung Fu Classics from Director Joseph Kuo.
The hits (and/or kicks, smacks and whacks) keep on comin', with this set from Eureka! Entertainment following releases like Shawscope Volume One from Arrow and a number
of offerings from 88 Films like The Chinese Boxer and
Disciples of Shaolin in my review queue. The big
difference between those films and the ones featured in this huge collection is that these were the handiwork of one Joseph Kuo, a name
which may frankly not be all that familiar even to lovers of the "kung fu" genre. Kuo was, as they say, a "multi-hyphenate" who frequently wrote,
produced and directed his films, which tended to be independently financed far, far away from the riches and "studio system" of facilities like the Shaw
Brothers. As commentator Frank Djenge mentions on more than one disc, that meant Kuo often tried to film outside, where he didn't have to pay for
things like sets, which can give these films a kind of distinctive ambience at times. According to the press sheet Eureka! sent with the (check) discs,
seven of the eight films in this set are making their worldwide debuts on
Blu-ray.
18 Bronzemen is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka! Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. While it may be only an incremental downturn, I found this to be one of the less pleasing looking transfers in this set, if only intermittently. As can perhaps be made out in some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review, the color timing is a little variable here, with some scenes having a kind of oily brown-green look that can afflict flesh tones in particular. There are also some (admittedly brief) scenes where clarity definitely takes a downturn and things can look positively fuzzy (see screenshot 9). Those niggling qualms aside, a lot of this presentation looks nicely warm, with a generally naturalistic bent to the palette reproduction, and with reds in particular popping very well. This film doesn't have the glut of outdoor material that some of the other films in this set do, and so an overall dimmer lighting regimen may not support fine detail levels quite as well as in some of the other transfers in this set. As with many of the other films in this set, anamorphic oddities can accrue in various shots.
For whatever reason, 18 Bronzemen is the only film in this set to offer only one audio option, Mandarin LPCM Mono. This is overall a nice sounding track, with elements like the evocative ethnic music wafting in and out of the proceedings without any significant issues. There is once again an undeniably boxy sound that is especially evident, for example, when opening narration begins, or throughout a lot of the dialogue and of course the sound effects. All of this said, there are no real issues in terms of dialogue presentation. Optional English subtitles are available.
18 Bronzemen might have used a bit of a rework in terms of how long is spent on training, but the fact that The 36th Chamber of Shaolin repeated this arguable misstep two years after this film was released may suggest lessons were not learned. Technical merits are occasionally a little problematic, more so with audio than video, for those who may be considering making a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
18 Bronzemen II / Yong zheng da po shi ba tong ren / 雍正大破十八銅人
1976
酒仙十八跌 / Jiu xian shi ba die
1979
Jue quan / Hu bao long she ying / 絕拳 / 虎豹龍蛇鷹
1977
少林小子 / Shao Lin xiao zi
1975
迷拳三十六招 / Mi quan san shi liu zhao
1979
Shi fu chu ma / 師父出馬
1979
少林功夫 / Shao Lin gong fu
1974
Tang shan wu hu / 唐山五虎
1979
獨臂刀 / Dú bì dāo | 88 Asia Collection #15
1967
獨臂拳王 / Du bei chuan wang | Eureka Classics
1972
Master Killer / Shao Lin san shi liu fang / 少林三十六房
1978
The Five Deadly Venoms / Wu du / 五毒
1978
一代宗師 / Yut doi jung si
2013
Su Qi-Er / The Legend of Beggar Su
2010
The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter / 五郎八卦棍 / Wǔ láng bā guà gùn | 88 Asia Collection #25
1984
影 / Yǐng
2018
新精武門 / Xn jīng wǔ mén
1976
皇家戰士 / Huáng jiā zhàn shì / In the Line of Duty | Eureka Classics
1986
Ma Yong Zhen / Ma Wing Jing / 馬永貞 / 88 Asia Collection #35
1997
Five Fingers of Death / Tian xia di yi quan / 天下第一拳
1972