Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

A Touch of Zen Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 1, 2016

Winner of Technical Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, King Hu's "A Touch of Zen" (1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new video interviews with actors Hsu Feng and Shih Chun; documentary film produced by Yann Brolli and Hubert Niogret; exclusive new video interview with acclaimed director Ang Lee; new featurette with film critic Tony Rayns; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring film scholar David Bordwell's essay "Prowling, Scheming, Flying: A Touch of Zen", notes on A Touch of Zen by King Hu, and technical credits. In Mandarin, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Mr. Gu

It is a truly groundbreaking film that unintentionally defined the wuxia genre and inspired generations of different directors across the world. It has been used as a blueprint by such contemporary Asian masters as Wong Kar-wai, Tsui Hark, Zhang Yimou, and Ang Lee.

The film is inspired by a short folk story from Pu Songling’s novel Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but actually offers a very ambitious reinterpretation of the original material populated with various authentic characters from the Ming dynasty. It took director King Hu a little more than three years to complete it.

The young scholar Gu (Shih Chuh) is repeatedly urged by his aging mother to pass the imperial exams that would allow him to seek a prestigious job far away from their village. He pretends that he wishes to be certified, but all he really wants to do is paint and draw in peace. And for a while this is precisely what he does, but when a beautiful female warrior, Yang (Hsu Feng), and her mother move into an abandoned fort on the outskirts of the village, his life begins to unravel. It happens after he visits the fort, which some villagers believe is haunted, and then discovers that Yang and her mother are being sought by a group of merciless imperial assassins.

The film is long and full of outlandish twists and turns that can literally make one’s head spin. Multiple viewings are almost certainly needed to get all details in the proper order, but even with a good number of scattered gaps the big picture does not feel compromised. That’s because the mood and atmosphere of the film are far more important than the evolution of the relationships between the different characters.

For a while Gu remains the most important character, but his experiences gradually become irrelevant. Indeed, once the imperial assassins are revealed and their mission identified the film actually becomes a lot more interested in the socio-political environment in which the main conflict is set and some of the key contrasts that define it.

The final act shifts the film in an entirely new direction and essentially forces one to rethink it as a giant metaphor for a corrupt elitist system. (It is just as effective in summing up the corrupt communist system in contemporary China as well). There are some pretty wild psychedelic overtones here that basically justify the title of the film. (French director Jan Kounen did something quite similar in his experimental western Blueberry, where the final act is essentially one very long acid trip).

The action sequences are brilliantly choreographed by Han Ying-jie, who plays the leader of the assassins, and have been copied by numerous directors. The spectacular duel in the bamboo forest from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, for instance, borrows plenty from Ying-jie’s inspired action choreography.

After the film’s success at the Cannes Film Festival, director Hu was forced to edit and cut the film in two parts, which is how it was also screened domestically. Later on, the film was reassembled and restored. Criterion’s new Blu-ray release presents a 4K restoration of the complete three-hour version of the film as originally envisioned by director Hu.

A Touch of Zen Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, King Hu's A Touch of Zen arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new digital transfer, sponsored solely by actor Hsu Feng, was created in 4K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative for the Taiwan Film Institute. The removal of splice marks was a heavy task: a movie with fast editing, A Touch of Zen is full of close splices. This work was done by manually reconstructing the damaged parts of frames with interpolation tools, adjusting for luminance and grain. Also involved with the restoration was cinematographer Hua Hui-ying, who supervised the color grading. As there was no vintage positive element available to use as a reference for color restoration, a 1992 print preserved at the TFI was consulted. Research results on King Hu's 1967 film Dragon Inn provided by the TFI and the lab's previous restoration experience on that film also helped the lab execute the color correction of A Touch of Zen, which was shot by the same cinematographer and film crew.

Restoration supervision: L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna, Italy."

The technical description above confirms that the restoration of A Touch of Zen was an extremely challenging project. Because of fading and serious damage, plenty of rebalancing work was done to ensure optimal fluidity and stability. And in terms of fluidity and stability the end result is indeed very pleasing. The color grading, however, is unconvincing. Not only are there very obvious unnatural fluctuations, but in select areas there are massive color shifts that destabilize entire ranges of nuances and actually produce what are essentially digital anomalies. For example, there is daylight footage with an abundance of natural light where specific color grading choices have introduced unnatural flatness and in the process eliminated existing detail (see screencaptures #11 and 21). Similar and in some cases much stronger anomalies can also be observed during indoor/nighttime footage where shadow definition is collapsed and large unnatural blocks of gray/black are introduced (see screencaptures #8, 10, 14, and 17). Admittedly, source limitations are also partially responsible for some of the awkward flatness, but the bulk of it is clearly a byproduct of the manner in which the color grading was managed. (You can observe the lack of consistency and the shifts from the more natural palette in screencapture #22 to the more extreme stylistic appearances in screencaptures #9 and 13). Excluding a few segments with small inherited density fluctuations, grain is wonderfully exposed and resolved. There are absolutely no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. Large debris, damage marks, cuts, stains, and other distracting age-related imperfections have been removed as best as possible. Ultimately, it is difficult not to agree that the film looks impressively healthy now, but I find the color grading and the film's overall very inconsistent appearance disappointing. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

A Touch of Zen Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Mandarin LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

It immediately becomes obvious that the audio has been fully remastered. Dynamic intensity somewhat limited, which should not be surprising given the film's production history, but clarity and balance are excellent. There are not audio dropouts, pops., cracks, or digital distortions report in our review.

A Touch of Zen Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - restored trailer for King Hu's A Touch of Zen. In Mandarin, with imposed English subtitles and English text. (2 min, 1080p).

• Hsu Feng - in this brand new video interview, actress Hsu Feng (Yang Hui-zhen) discusses her professional relationship with King Hu (which started with Dragon Inn), her interaction with the director and some specific instructions he gave her during the shooting of A Touch of Zen, the 'rough' side of the character she plays in the film, Shih Chun (Mr. Gu) and Bai Ying's (General Shin) performances, the construction of the Jing Lu Fort, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2016. In Mandarin, with optional English subtitles. (14 min, 1080p).

• Shih Chun - in this brand new video interview, actor Shih Chun discusses the shooting of A Touch of Zen (which took a little over three years), the story from Pu Songling's book Strange Tales From a Chinese Studio that inspired the film, the production designs and their historical accuracy, the film's authentic period look, the shooting of the fights and the obvious influence of Beijing opera, Han Ying-jie's instructions, Hsu Feng's performance, the forced editing of the film (it was edited and cut into two parts), the film's success at the Cannes Film Festival, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2016. In Mandarin, with optional English subtitles. (18 min, 1080p).

• King Hu: 1932 - 1997 - this documentary film focuses on the life and legacy of director King Hu. Included in it are clips from interviews with Poon Yiu-Ming (chief editor, Ming Pao Monthly), production manager Chaplin Chang, historian and producer Peggy Chiao, actor Yue Hua, choreographer/producer/actor Wu Ming-cai, and cinematographer Hua Hui-ying, amongst others. The documentary was produced by Yann Brolli and Hubert Niogret for French label Les Films du Tamarin/Filmoblic in 2011. In English, Mandarin, and Cantonese, with optional English subtitles. (48 min, 1080i).
  
  1. Working-class life
  2. Beginnings
  3. Influences
  4. Moving images
  5. A true artist
  6. Making an impact

• Ang Lee - in this brand new video interview, acclaimed director Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) discusses the socio-political environment in Taiwan and Mainland China during the early 1970s, King Hu's approach to filmmaking, some of the major technical characteristics that define his work, the importance of mood and atmosphere in his films, the influence of Beijing opera in the choreography of the action sequences, and the impact King Hu had on his work. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (14 min, 1080p).

• Tony Rayns - in this brand new featurette, film critic Tony Rayns discusses the state of the film business in Hong Kong and Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War, King Hu's work as a character actor, his professional relationship with mentor and friend Li Han-hsiang (The Magnificent Concubine), and his work and influence as a dierctor. Tony Rayns also discusses the narrative,, structure and visual style of A Touch of Zen. The featurette was produced by Criterion in 2016. In English, not subtitled. (35 min, 1080p).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring film scholar David Bordwell's essay "Prowling, Scheming, Flying: A Touch of Zen", notes on A Touch of Zen by King Hu from a 1975 Cannes Film Festival press kit, and technical credits.

A Touch of Zen Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

King Hu's legendary film A Touch of Zen is undoubtedly responsible for the emergence and establishment of the wuxia genre. During the years it has served as a blueprint for countless action films that are now considered cult classics. It has been recently restored in 4K with the involvement of its cinematographer, Mr. Hua Hui-ying, but I find the end result disappointing. However, Criterion have produced an excellent selection of supplemental features that make the new Blu-ray release very easy to recommend. RECOMMENDED.