Fist of Fury 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Fist of Fury 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 12, 2023

Note: This version of this film is available on Blu-ray as part of Arrow's Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest 4K set.

In the vein of Everything Everywhere All At Once, could it be that Arrow Video and Shout! Factory are actually "each other" in alternate universes? Of course that's said in jest, but considering the following facts. Arrow has given martial arts fans holiday presents of a kind for two years running with Shawscope Volume One and Shawscope Volume Two, and Shout! is now starting to trot out their own collections with Shaw Brothers Classics: Volume One, Shaw Brothers Classics: Volume Two, and Shaw Brothers Classics: Volume Three. There's also a corollary if reversed situation in that Shout! released Bruce Lee: The Legacy Collection years ago and now Arrow is following suit with its own collection, all of which may give credence to my obviously whimsical proposition. (For purposes of this obviously joking comparison, we're just going to flat out ignore Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits from Criterion, as well as any number of other releases in various regions that have come out through the years.) As Bruce Lee fans in particular will probably know, the Shout! release of Lee films was afflicted with so many problems that it was actually recalled (more than once, kind of humorously), resulting in me having to revisit some of the films several times as Shout! attempted to remedy various problems (I got a downright hilarious private message from our site administrator at one point with this hilarious photo of a train wreck when the second or third recall was announced). One can only hope that the Arrow release doesn't encounter that series of unfortunate events (I'm hoping against hope we would know by now if it had any major issues), but it's another really stunning collection from the label, with generally secure technical merits and some outstanding supplements, along with some handsome deluxe packaging.

For my thoughts on the film, please see my Fist of Fury Blu-ray review of the Shout! release. That review also provides an opportunity to compare screenshots and see how supplements stack up between the releases.

Fist of Fury 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from Arrow's 1080 presentation of the film.

Fist of Fury is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.35:1. I've excerpted both some general and specific comments about the transfer included in Arrow's beautiful hardback book included with this release:

The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, The Way of the Dragon, Game of Death and Game of Death II have been exclusively restored for this collection by Arrow Films. The original feature film elements have been used as the primary source materials for this work, but extensive searches and investigations were also undertaken to locate and identify additional film and audio material sin order to restore original logos, credits, cut scenes and reconstruct alternate release versions.

Fist of Fury is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with Mandarin, Cantonese and English mono audio. The original 35mm camera negative was scanned and restored in 4K resolution at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna. A 35mm interpositive element containing the film's opening credits and English language end roller sections was also scanned in 4K. The film underwent additional picture restoration and was graded in SDR, HDR10 and Dolby Vision at Silver Salt Restoration, London. In addition to this, alternate opening credits were upscaled from a high definition scan of a Japanese 35mm exhibition print, supplied by Twin Co., Ltd., with further restoration and grading by Silver Salt. All audio mixes were remastered from the best quality materials available by Bad Princess Productions, London.

In its best moments, Fist of Fury looks sumptuous in 4K UHD, with HDR and/or Dolby Vision adding new luster to a palette that was already frequently quite impressive in Arrow's 1080 version. Some of the jewel tones and primaries in this film pop with really gorgeous vividness, even in sometimes less than fulsome lighting conditions. As I noted in my review of Arrow's 1080 release of this film, there's a tendency at times for things to skew just slightly toward somewhat dowdy looking browns, something that may arguably be a bit more evident in the 4K iteration. Detail levels are excellent throughout. Grain resolves organically, and any age related wear and tear is minimal.

Fist of Fury 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Fist of Fury offers DTS-HD Master Audio Mono options in Mandarin, English and Cantonese. These mixes struck me as somewhat more similar than those on The Big Boss, to the point that you can hear some near distortion in some of the string cues in particular on both Chinese language tracks at the same points. That said, all three tracks offer generally secure listening experiences with dialogue and effects well rendered. Optional English subtitles are available.

Fist of Fury 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentaries

  Commentary by Jonathan Clements

  
  

  Commentary by Brandon Bentley

• English Export Cut (HD; 1:46:16)


• Legend of the Dragon (HD; 1:21:46) is a really worthwhile overview of Lee's career and legacy by the always interesting Tony Rayns.


• Visions of Fury (HD; 35:20) is an interesting piece looking at Lee's collaborations with Lo Wei and Chris Chen.


• New Fist, Part Two Fist (HD; 7:33) is a kind of fun examination by Brandon Bentley of two competing sequels to Fist of Fury produced more or less simultaneously in 1976. Kind of hilariously, Arrow's US division is releasing New Fist of Fury, and this supplement is on that disc, too.


• Archive Interviews

  Nora Maio (HD; 16:57)

  
  

  Riki Hashimoto (HD; 11:45)

  
  

  Jun Katsumura (HD; 12:13)

  
  

  Yuen Wah (HD; 9:50)

• US Opening Credits (HD; 2:32)


• Trailer Gallery

  HK Theatrical Trailer (Mandarin) (HD; 4:21)

  
  

  HK Theatrical Trailer (Cantonese) (HD; 4:21)

  
  

  HK Theatrical Trailer (English) (HD; 4:20)

  
  

  US Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:51)

  
  

  US TV Spot (HD; 00:32)

  
  

  UK Radio Spot (HD; 00:33) plays to key art.

  
  

  Chen Zhen Trailer Reel (HD; 16:46)

• Image Galleries

  Publicity Stills and Lobby Cards (HD)

  
  

  Behind the Scenes (HD)

  
  

  Posters and Video Art (HD)

Fist of Fury 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fist of Fury starts to really establish Bruce Lee as a force to be reckoned with, and this new presentation by Arrow offers generally excellent technical merits and fantastic supplements. Recommended.