Fist of Fear, Touch of Death Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		0.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.0

Fist of Fear, Touch of Death Blu-ray Movie Review

Exit the Dragon.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 5, 2020

I've seen plenty of stinkers in my time: big studio bombs like Pluto Nash and Battlefield Earth, even lower-hanging fruit like Gigli and Cats, and hundreds of more obscure movies not even worth hyperlinking. But few have been as willfully ignorant and completely wrong-headed as Matthew Mallinson's Fist of Fear, Touch of Death, a laughably pathetic and short-sighted attempt to cash in on Bruce Lee's brand seven years after his untimely death in 1973. It's good for a few MST3K laughs, sure, but make no mistake about it: someone should've been thrown in jail for this.

Funded by Terry Levene's production company Aquarius Releasing -- who had already distributed several similar cash-ins, including Bruce Lee Fights Back from the Grave -- and written by Ron Harvey, this sloppy collage of newly-shot footage and lukewarm Lee leftovers almost must be seen to be believed. It attempts to fan the still-roaring flames of Lee's considerable legend but does so by completely fabricating his life story and early career, using poorly-dubbed footage from Levene's prints of 1957's The Thunderstorm (starring a young Lee) and 1971's Invincible Super Chan as soap opera-grade flashbacks. These clips serve as the ridiculously extended "halftime show" for Fist of Fear's main attraction: coverage of the 1979 "World Karate Championships", filmed at Madison Square Garden...which was really just an exhibition hosted by New York Karate Academy founder Aaron Banks. A few special guests in attendance, including actor Fred Williamson and legendary martial artist / future UFC commissioner Ron Van Clief, also appear in on-screen interviews and other skits, some of which were shot on location at Aaron Banks' NYC facilities.

On paper, such an oddball approach to pseudo-documentary filmmaking might work. But Fist of Fear, Touch of Death starts off-balance and limps along the wrong path for almost every second of its glacial 87-minute runtime, from an awkward pre-show interview with Banks (who suggests that Lee was killed by a secret martial arts technique) all the way through two goofy attempted rapes thwarted by Fred Williamson and martial artist Bill Louie, dressed up as Lee's Green Hornet character Kato. It's all barely held together by "host" Adolph Caesar (an otherwise respectable actor who plays it completely straight here) and a lackluster script that's anchored by lofty ambitions and odd diversions, none of which seem like anything more than pointless padding. Fist of Fear is one wrong decision after another, with any slivers of good will completely negated by its too-serious tone, deceptive marketing tactics, and an overall structure that makes almost zero narrative sense. But the fatal flaw is repeated mistreatment of its dead subject: from his fictional backstory to poorly edited "interviews", its no wonder Lee didn't actually fight back from the grave.

During an included retrospective featurette, actor Fred Williamson dismisses the film's many critics by insisting that director Matthew Mallinson crafted a clever satire whose jokes were lost on clueless critics. To that I respectfully but loudly call "bullshit". Yet Fist of Fear has its fans, ironic or otherwise, and those select few will undoubtedly love Film Detective's brand-new 40th Anniversary Blu-ray. Limited to just 1,500 units (one per dollar of the film's production budget?), it features an exclusive 4K-sourced transfer that's way better than this cinematic fart deserves.

Fist of Fear, Touch of Death Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

One of the only bright spots here is the film's new 4K-sourced 1080p transfer, reportedly scanned from the original 35mm negative. It's a largely respectable effort that features plenty of natural film grain and good color saturation with no obvious compression-related issues, including artifacts and heavy banding. That said, Fist of Fear, Touch of Death was assembled from a patchwork of sources including cropped film prints seen during its lengthy "halftime show" -- you know, the ones starring young Bruce and the Lee "family", including his Japanese grandfather. These don't look nearly as good with clear signs of noise reduction and blown-out contrast, although such issues are likely not all transfer-related. In fact, the only clear-cut problem here is a lack of additional cleanup, as almost every scene is littered with stubborn dirt, debris, and other age-related wear and tear. Overall, this still represents a best-case scenario for fans; even with a few nagging drawbacks, it's a giant leap beyond all those bargain-bin DVD and VHS versions.

Fist of Fear, Touch of Death Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Any shortcomings with the Blu-ray's DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track are likewise source-related, as all the dialogue and sound effects come through clearly with a few understandable pops and hisses along the way. Depth, dynamic range, and low frequency response are minimal, while some of the film's less-than-impressive dubbing is still out of sync as it should be. Overall, this is a very capable presentation of limited source material that, like the new transfer, represents a solid improvement over previous home video editions -- and it's not a faux-surround remix, either.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature and even the bonus features -- Criterion and many other boutique studios don't even do that. These are formatted nicely and fit within the 1.85:1 frame.

Fist of Fear, Touch of Death Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This limited edition Blu-ray arrives in a red keepcase with poster-themed cover art and an insert booklet.

• That's Brucesploitation! Making Fist of Fear, Touch of Death (29:12) - This retrospective featurette includes words from filmmaker Jim Markvic (The Real Bruce Lee), producer Terry Levene, screenwriter Ron Harvey, director Matthew Mallinson, and actors Ron Van Clief and Fred Williamson. Topics include the sordid history of Aquarius Releasing and their other Bruce Lee knock-offs, assembling the film from lukewarm leftovers, shooting new scenes, filming at Madison Square Garden, the "guest stars", script re-writes, Adolph Caesar, creating a fake news station, and more. One inadvertant bonus is that all clips from Fist of Fear are taken from an unrestored version so you can at least appreciate the work that went into its new 1080p transfer.

• Trailers (3:34) - Includes both the English teaser and a full-length Spanish trailer with forced subtitles. Sadly the longer English version seems to be missing in action, but that's what YouTube is for.

• Booklet - An eight-page insert that includes the short essay "Fist of Fear, Touch of Death: An Appreciation" by podcasters William Sloan and Justin Decloux, plus a few vintage promotional print ads and other images.

Fist of Fear, Touch of Death Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Matthew Mallinson's Fist of Fear, Touch of Death is a notoriously awful film and long-time fixture in IMDb's "Bottom 100" list for very good reasons. Maybe you've seen it...or just confused it with Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury, which will be part of Criterion's upcoming Greatest Hits boxed set. If you haven't seen it, don't bother: Film Detective's Limited Edition Blu-ray is for established fans only, who will appreciate its 4K-sourced transfer, lossless audio, and extras. Everyone else should steer clear of this cinematic train wreck -- even Quentin Tarantino treated Lee better.