Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

Hand of Death Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 1, 2023

Unless you're a native speaker of either Mandarin or Cantonese or have some "insider" knowledge about original versions of names, the fact that Hand of Death is a "Wu Wu Sheng" film may mean next to nothing, but as soon as that name is Anglicized to John Woo, interest may be substantially more piqued. Kind of hilariously, there's also an "alternate version" of the film's very title, though in this case it's actually presented on screen as part of the title, with the film's actual credit moniker being Hand of Death AKA Countdown in Kung Fu. If there are therefore a few passing variations of names and the like to be navigated in this effort, the basic story in the film is pretty rote, though Hand of Death remains of interest due to a rather starry cast (some in very early roles), including Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung in supporting roles. Interestingly, both of them also have "originalist" credits as Chen Yuan-Lung and Hung Chin-Pao.

Considering the stars they became, it may seem odd to think of Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung as sidebars to a story, and even more strangely perhaps, Chan is arguably even more of an outlier than Hung in this tale, with the main focal character of Yun Fei actually portrayed by Dorian Tan Tao-Liang. In the sixth century, Shaolin disciples are being threatened by Commander Shih Shao-Feng (James Tien), and Yun Fei is kind of "voluntold" to take Shih down. This is one of countless films that on one level play out as a tale of vengeance after a master is killed and one of his students sets out on a quest for revenge, but in this particular case, there's also what might be thought of as an ancillary revenge aspect courtesy of Jackie Chan's character of Tan Feng, a character who is at least intermittently there for comic relief. Hung is an unrepentant bad guy named Tu Ching, though he's under the thumb of Shih. The film's at times comical production design adorns Tien with a frankly hilarious fake mustache that is virtually begging to be twirled, old time villain style.

Yun Fei eventually forms a Three Musketeers- esque partnership with Tan Feng and another character identified only as The Wanderer (Yang Wei), while Shih and main henchman Tu Ching attempt to maintain their hold on power, with the survival of the Shaolin style of fighting on the line. As Frank Djeng and Michael Worth at least allude to in their commentary, there are a variety of interesting (if perhaps just slightly funny at times) techniques on display in the fight sequences.

Despite its apparent imprimatur, many would probably be hard pressed to identify this as a "John Woo film" if they didn't know it already. There's surprisingly little of the absolutely viscerally staged action sequences that would help define Woo's Hollywood career, but that said, some of the fight scenes, while one assumes intentionally cartoonish (including with hyperbolically ridiculous sound effects), can be exciting. As Frank Djeng and Michael Worth mention in their commentary, fans of Chan may not be used to seeing him pre-plastic surgery (see screenshot 2).

Hand of Death Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hand of Death is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the transfer:

Hand of Death is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio [sic] with its original Mandarin and English monoaural soundtracks, as well as more recent 5.1 remixes in Mandarin and English and a Cantonese stereo track. It was restored in 2K resolution from original film elements by Fortune Star, who supplied this master to Arrow Video for this Blu-ray release. Further adjustments to the HD master, including the reinstatement of day for night filters in two scenes and a blue tint over a flashback sequence, were made using an archive telecine from a theatrical 35mm print as reference.

The appealing palette is one of the strengths of this presentation, while some inconsistencies in grain resolution may be one of the deficits. The surplus of brightly lit outdoor material offers some real standouts in color reproduction, and some warm tones in the orange to red territory can pop extremely well. Woo and cinematographer Liang Yung-chi favor a lot of close-ups (at times arrived at courtesy of zooms), where detail levels are typically very good to excellent. There are moments that look somewhat faded and where flesh tones can skew slightly toward brown. Grain is in evidence throughout the presentation, which argues against any aggressive filtering, but it can look rather roughhewn at times, especially against more saturated backgrounds. As with many Chinese productions of this general era, there are occasional anamorphic anomalies on display.

Hand of Death Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Hand of Death features a variety of audio options. Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio Mono and what is labeled as a "classic" English dub in DTS-HD Master Audio Mono are the "archival" choices, while there is also a remix in Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and similar English "DVD dub" also in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Finally, a Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is included. The only one of these that I personally didn't care for very much was the English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track, which sounds curiously phased, tinny and overly reverberant, especially in moments like the introductory narration. Otherwise, though, all of these choices, while obviously different, provide solid accountings of a somewhat silly sound design. Both of the rejiggered surround tracks may not offer really consistent engagement of the side and rear channels, but things at least occasionally open up during some of the fight sequences. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Hand of Death Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary by Frank Djeng and Michael Worth


• From Hong Kong to Hollywood with John Woo (HD; 22:52) is an archival piece wtih Woo, Peter Pau and Chow Yun-fat.


• A Cool Conversation with Tan Tao-liang (HD; 29:50) is advertised as "never seen before" and features Michael Worth both as interviewer and introducer. This comes with a kind of sweet disclaimer about it having been shot with "consumer grade equipment" and this definitely has the look of your father's (and/or your) old VHS or Betacam tapes. Audio is also a little iffy and Tan can be a bit hard to understand on occasion.


• Interview with Sammo Hung (HD; 5:44) is an archival piece.


• Alternate Opening Credits (HD; 5:03)


• Trailer Gallery

  Theatrical Trailer (Mandarin) (HD; 4:00)

  
  

  Theatrical Trailer (English) (HD; 3:40)

• Image Gallery (HD)

Additionally, this limited edition includes a double sided fold out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch, as well as a keepcase insert with a reversible sleeve also featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch. The nicely appointed insert booklet features an essay by William Blaik, along with the typical cast and crew listing and technical information. Finally, packaging features a slipcover.

Hand of Death Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hand of Death is a perfectly agreeable film, though if it didn't come with such perhaps outsized expectations given the participation of Woo, Chan and Hung, it might come off a bit better. This is a story that martial arts film lovers in particular will have seen countless times before, though one way or the other, it's fun to see Chan and Hung in such early stages of their careers. Technical merits are generally solid, though I recommend parsing through the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review. As usual with Arrow releases, the supplements are very enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.