7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.8 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The troublesome son of a martial arts master must learn the art of "Drunken Boxing" when he loses a fight with an assassin hired to kill his father.
Starring: Jackie Chan, Jung-Lee Hwang, Kau Lam, Dean Shek, Tien Lung ChenForeign | 100% |
Martial arts | 48% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Cantonese: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Mandarin: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, Cantonese
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Yuen Woo-ping's "Drunken Master" (1978) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; new video program with critic Tony Rayns; archival interview with Jackie Chan; deleted scene and more. In Cantonese, Mandarin, or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
The troublemaker
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Yuen Woo-ping, Drunken Master arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
The release is sourced from a recent 4K restoration of the film, and even though I do not have an old DVD release to perform direct comparisons, I am convinced that the film has never before looked this fresh and vibrant. In fact, my one big criticism pertains to the presence of fairly consistent black crush that routinely makes the visuals look thicker and flatter than they should. The effect is most noticeable during indoor footage where some nuances are very clearly lost, but trained eyes will likely spot its presence even during numerous daylight sequences (see an obvious example in screencapture #3). On the other hand, this is a film with plenty of shaky camera movement and frequently very obvious focus fluctuations, so some of these native limitations can actually exacerbate the issues that the crushing introduces in pretty dramatic ways. Density is proper, contrast levels are good, and image stability is excellent. I like the primary color values and supporting nuances as well. I noticed some extremely light background flutter, but I am fairly certain that this is an issue that is inherited and its effects are minimized as best as possible (you can see an example around 00:15:13 mark). There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. Also, the film has been carefully cleaned up. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There are three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Cantonese LPCM 1.0, Mandarin LPCM 1.0, and English LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the Cantonese and Mandarin tracks, as well as English SDH subtitles for the English dub. As a bonus, the label has also provided the original Hong Kong theatrical subtitles, which retain inherent spelling and grammatical errors.
I viewed the film with lossless Cantonese track, but after starting with the proper English subtitles I very quickly switched to the Hong Kong theatrical subtitles. And I am glad I did, because they made the film even more entertaining. There are a number of enhancements and effects during the fights that show their age. Obviously, this is how they were recorded and mixed, so my guess is that a decision was made not to try to 'improve' or possibly even remove them. On the other hand, when music is used it is quite clear that there is light distortion in the upper register(s). Sometimes it is very minor, but sometimes it grows into borderline conventional buzz. However, I am fairly certain that the surviving elements are not in perfect condition and it is very possible that this is best that could have been done. The important thing is that none of these source limitations ever become distracting.
When I revisit Jackie Chan's early films, one of the things that never seizes to amaze me is just how incredibly good the supporting actors that he worked with were. The bulk of Drunken Master, for instance, quite simply would not have worked without the supporting actors matching his skill level. In the contemporary action comedies that he made years later he did a lot of groundbreaking work that was enough to permanently separate him from everyone else, but in the early days team work of the highest caliber was absolutely essential. It is pretty incredible to see what these guys were able to accomplish together without cheating with fancy CGI effects. Eureka Entertainment's recent Blu-ray release of Drunken Master is sourced from a 4K remaster and is the healthiest presentation of the film that I have seen to date. RECOMMENDED.
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1987
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1985
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1981
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2008
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2012