7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
After his revered master is murdered by a rival dojo of Japanese imperialists, a marital arts student sets out to defend the honor of both his school and of the Chinese people.
Starring: Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, James Tien, Maria Yi, Robert Baker (I)Foreign | 100% |
Martial arts | 50% |
Drama | 36% |
Crime | 29% |
Action | 14% |
Thriller | 7% |
Romance | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (A, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Note: This version of this film is available on Blu-ray as part of Arrow's Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest 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.
Fist of Fury is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p 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.This is another presentation that I think easily outpaces the Shout! version I reviewed many years ago. Colors are noticeably better saturated, and as with The Big Boss, I'd argue the overall look here is darker than the Shout! version, with no real attendant issues arising in less well lit moments. Both this version and the 4K version can skew just slightly toward brown at times. Detail levels are commendable throughout, and fine detail on elements like costumes is frequently very appealing. Grain resolves tightly throughout, though can ebb and flow at times.
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.
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.
- Commentary by Jonathan Clements
- Commentary by Brandon Bentley
- Nora Maio (HD; 16:57)
- Riki Hashimoto (HD; 11:45)
- Jun Katsumura (HD; 12:13)
- Yuen Wah (HD; 9:50)
- 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)
- Publicity Stills and Lobby Cards (HD)
- Behind the Scenes (HD)
- Posters and Video Art (HD)
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.
精武門 / The Chinese Connection
1972
精武門 | Jīng wǔ mén | The Chinese Connection | Limited Edition
1972
精武門 | Jīng wǔ mén | The Chinese Connection | Limited Edition
1972
精武門 / Jīng wǔ mén / The Chinese Connection
1972
(Still not reliable for this title)
唐山大兄 | Táng shān dà xiōng | Fists of Fury | Limited Edition
1971
猛龍過江 | Měng lóng guò jiāng | Return of the Dragon | Limited Edition
1972
死亡遊戲 | Limited Edition
1978
死亡塔 / Sǐ wáng tǎ / Tower of Death
1981
精武英雄
1994
東邪西毒: 終極版 / Dung che sai duk redux
1994
新精武門 / Xn jīng wǔ mén
1976
その男、凶暴につき / Sono otoko, kyōbō ni tsuki
1989
殺破狼 / SPL: Kill Zone / Saat po long
2005
激突! 殺人拳 / Gekitotsu! Satsujin ken
1974
獨臂刀 / Dú bì dāo | 88 Asia Collection #15
1967
導火綫 / 导火线 / Dǎo Huǒ Xiàn / Dou fo sin | Ultimate Edition
2007
用心棒 / Yôjinbô
1961
2009
Lung zang fu dau / Lóng zhēng hǔ dòu / 龍爭虎鬥 / 50th Anniversary 4K w/40th BD
1973
椿三十郎 / Tsubaki Sanjûrô
1962
給爸爸的信 / Kap ba ba dik sung / My Father is a Hero | Eureka Classics
1995
警察故事 / Ging chaat goo si | Eureka Classics
1985
逆襲! 殺人拳 / Gyakushū! Satsujin ken
1974
警察故事續集 / Ging chaat goo si juk jaap | Eureka Classics
1988