Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.0

Cameroon Connection Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 23, 2024

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Severin's The Game of Clones: Bruceploitation Collection Vol. 1.

When Severin Films released Kung Fu Trailers of Fury and Return of Kung Fu Trailers of Fury several years ago, I'm sure I wasn't the only one initially thinking, "Well, that's a stupid idea for a release", only to have the sheer lunacy of the trailers assembled in both collections "fight back" against that assessment, as if to say in response, "Yeah, well who's stupid now?" In fact, both Kung Fu Trailers of Fury and Return of Kung Fu Trailers of Fury were kind of deliriously enjoyable in their own slapdash way, and those releases evidently were one of the inspirations for a full on collection of so-called "Brucesploitation" films, this time offering the actual films in addition to their trailers. The goofily affable Michael Worth, who has contributed so many fun commentaries through the years to various kung fu films on Blu-ray, is your "host" of sorts here, offering introductions to all the films and commentaries for many of them. If none of these films is ever going to be acclaimed as an unappreciated masterpiece, and if both video and audio on many of the films in this set might be charitably termed problematic, merely having these films in high definition will be alluring, and an absolute glut of other supplemental material is included as well, making this a probable "must have" for a certain demographic.

As with this film's disc mate, Challenge of the Tiger , Cameroon Connection may benefit somewhat from an almost tangential "Brucesploitation" connection, in this case Bruce Le admittedly as a Lee-esque character named Bruce, but in a story that is arguably starring (director) Alphonse Beni as Inspecteur Baïko. Michael Worth makes the case that the Cameroon locale of this supposed whodunit gives it an exotic flavor, and Le is given ample opportunity to show off his fighting skills as a veritable Deus ex Machina who shows up to save Baïko, but kind of surprisingly Beni just doesn't know what to do with himself, so to speak. The film seems to want to dart off into tangents to distract until the next Le fight scene erupts, and that means that what is supposedly the central murder (or is it?) early in the film almost gets shuffled to the sidelines.

Cameroon Connection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Cameroon Connection is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. In addition to being kind of tangential Brucesploitation efforts, Cameroon Connection like its disc mate Challenge of the Tiger was sourced from the original negative, in this case evidently held in France according to Michael Worth's introduction. This has some of the nicest looking video in the entire set, and in fact I'd probably rate it as incrementally more consistent than even the relatively excellent Challenge of the Tiger. The palette is nicely suffused and accurate looking most of the time, with maybe just a slight skewing toward reds and purples at times. Detail levels are typically quite commendable throughout the presentation. This also has an organic grain field and only minimal damage, almost negligible in fact when compared to some of the more problematic source elements providing transfers in this set.

Cameroon Connection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Cameroon Connection features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track, in this case in French. You can hear some discernable background hiss/noise from the get go, even before the damsel in distress becomes even more distressed, and that same kind of ambient background quality can ebb and flow throughout, depending on what's going on in the sonic foreground. The good news is the soundtrack has some enjoyable music and enough dialogue and sound effects to keep the high end interference in the background. Optional English subtitles are available.

Cameroon Connection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary With Writer/Criterion Reflections Podcast Host David Blakeslee


• Lights... Cameroon... Action! – The Life And Films Of Alphonse Beni (HD; 48:18) is a sweet reminiscence of the late Beni, who died in 2023, by his assistant and friend Jean Roke Patoudem, who produced two of his films. Subtitled in English.


• 2022 Q&A With Alphonse Beni At Cine Club N'Kah (HD; 11:05) is subtitled in English.


• Severin's Kung Fu Theater With Actor/Director/Bruceploitation Expert Michael Worth (HD; 1:08) offers a brief introduction. This is accessible as either a standalone supplement or under the Play Menu, where it's authored to lead directly to the feature.

Cameroon Connection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Cameroon Connection features arguably the best video and some of the best audio in this set, and the supplements are also very engaging, especially the commentary and the actually quite touching piece on Beni. The film itself never really gains much momentum, and Le is almost a sidebar.