Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Blind Fury Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 31, 2020

Mill Creek previously released 'Blind Fury' in a three-film bundle. The Blu-ray presentations are not identical. This is the superior version.

Blind Fury's lead character, played by Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner, Ladyhawke), is a blind man with a sixth sense for swordsmanship. The movie likewise has a sixth sense, its being a keen eye for getting down to basics. There's absolutely nothing here that's fully original -- even the premise is borrowed from Zatoichi and the story details from Zatoichi Challenged -- but it's nevertheless a competent and, just as important, fun little diversion hailing from one of cinema's best years: 1989.

Nick Parker (Hauer) is blinded in combat in Vietnam. He’s taken in by villagers who cannot restore his eyesight but who do sharpen his other senses and train him in the art of blind swordsmanship. Two decades later, he’s back in the United States, a vagabond in search of his old war buddy, Frank Devereaux, whom he learns has left his wife, Lynn (Meg Foster), and son, Billy (Brandon Call). Only moments after Nick arrives at their home do three men attempt to kidnap Billy. Nick, now a powerful swordsman, foils their plans but Lynn is killed in the scrum. Now with Billy in his charge, Nick travels to Reno, Nevada in search of Frank (Terry O’Quinn) where he finds a friend in trouble and danger at every turn. Nick will have to rely on instinct and physical skill to overcome, and overmatch, a flood of determined foes, including the viscous "Slag" (Randall "Tex" Cobb), armed with guns but lacking Nick's precision and desire to see his mission through to the end and protect those he loves.

Director Phillip Noyce (Dead Calm, Patriot Games) certainly has an eye for talent, bringing in Rutger Hauer to play the part of a blind swordsman thrust into a seedy underground world of violence. Noyce's film proves itself a capable entertainer with a steady story, solid performances, exciting action, and a quick and lean pace helping it along. This is a film of simple storytelling but effective workmanship. Noyce and his cast do as much as they can not so much to elevate flat material but rather to bring the most out of it they reasonably can. Nothing about Blind Fury is worth extensive critical praise, but it's quite adept as a basic entertainer, certainly with a violent edge, that is capable of hiding its core crudities through some excellent surface work. Hauer proves particularly capable of playing a character who challenges him physically with the sword fighting choreography and the believable blindness but also internally as he grows from vagabond to friend and from caretaker to father figure along his journey with young Billy Devereaux. It's one of his better works.

The film mixes things up a bit as it progresses. While the core swordsmanship gig is the reliable constant, there are scenes in which Nick must drive through a busy roadway with only Billy’s eyes and his own quick reflexes preventing them from causing a horrific accident. The film blends gunplay and swordplay – often one against the other – with both external and dramatic effectiveness. One of the final showdowns pits a handful of armed thugs against Nick in a darkened room, effectively putting them all on equal footing in a scene that sees Nick grossly outnumbered but clearly favored to be the last man standing, anyway. A climactic duel with another gifted swordsman, this one not blind, is plenty impressive for its choreography and seamless physical work. One of the film’s best assets is Randall Cobb who chews scenery with a raw grit and determination that, when paired with his imposing physical presence, makes for one of the more memorable bad guys in a film of this style.

Blind Fury Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

One need not be blind to enjoy Blind Fury's 1080p transfer. While the quality is not perfect, it's also well above substandard. Grain is sharp but not overly dense in most instances, though some lower light scenes do take on a snowier, more dense texture. The picture is satisfactorily filmic and relatively true to its source, allowing the innate detailing to shine. Sharpness is reliable and various textures present with a depth and definition that take advantage of the 1080p resolution. Facial details are particularly revealing, but the entire frame is often very sharp, whether looking at clothes, guns, blades, or backgrounds. Colors appear accurate to the source. While the palette is far from brilliant, it's also far from dull. There's a good balance to contrast and enough life in the tones to allow the content to offer full saturation and good tonal nuance. Skin tones are not overtly problematic and neither are black levels, though the latter never reaches absolute black. The image suffers from only a few minor signs of print wear and there are no serious compression issues to report. There's not a whole lot of room for large-scale complaint with this one.

Note that Mill Creek's previous Blu-ray looks very similar but is encoded in the MPEG-2 format and is framed at 1.78:1. This version is encoded in the AVC format and is framed at 1.85:1.

Blind Fury Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Blind Fury's DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack is surprisingly effective. Though limited to two channels – a standard Mill Creek audio encode – the track is aggressive in width and satisfying in clarity. Musical output is not so rich as to match more modern soundtracks for pinpoint definition but certainly landing with an agreeable presence along the front two channels. The track folds in some good environmental detail, like PA announcements and chatter din at a bus stop at the start of the film's second act, nighttime insect ambience at the 38-minute mark which fully draws the listener into the natural world, and various casino sounds in chapter seven. Driving rain in chapter six is likewise well defined and wide, like everything else absent the exacting precision of superior sound design but playing with solid foundational definition and filling the front end stage quite well. Gunshots ring out with impressive depth – particularly Slag's shotgun -- and sword swing whooshing and swooping cut through the listening environment with strong foundational detail and movement. While a track with more extensive channel implementation might have helped with immersion, there's simply no want for more from the two speakers in use. Dialogue images nicely to the center. It's generally well prioritized and detailed for the duration.

Note that Mill Creek's previous Blu-ray was encoded with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

Blind Fury Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Blind Fury contains no supplemental content. The main menu screen, which consists of film clips playing under music, offers only options for "Play" and toggling subtitles on and off. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This does ship with one of Mill Creek's "Retro VHS" slipcovers.

Blind Fury Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

What a year 1989 was for movies. Blind Fury can't claim to be one of the year's best. It can't compete with the likes of Glory, Driving Miss Daisy, Batman, The Abyss, Lean on Me, Uncle Buck, or Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, amongst a slew of other great films. It's not even the best Action film of the year, lagging behind Lethal Weapon 2 and Tango & Cash. But it's a surprisingly solid, well made, well acted, and long lasting movie that's of the meat-and-potatoes variety: filling, satisfying, familiar, a staple often worthy of return screenings. Mill Creek's Blu-ray is a perfectly serviceable way to enjoy the film. It's featureless, but the video is good and the audio is strong, too. It's also priced to own. Heartily recommended.