Karate Bearfighter Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Karate Bearfighter Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 6, 2024

Note: this film is available on Blu-ray as part of the two disc Beast Fighter set from Eureka! Entertainment.

The Game of Clones: Bruceploitation Collection Vol. 1, the recent compendium from Severin, offered such an abundance of gonzo delights that it's probably hard to pick just one, but seeing Bruce Leung kinda sorta fight a bull in Challenge of the Tiger might qualify as at least one singular prime example of nuttiness. Challenge of the Tiger came out in 1980, and may owe at least as much to the two Sonny Chiba films in this collection from Eureka! Entertainment, at least insofar as they include any scenes of a martial artist taking on not just a bull but a bear, as it does to any Bruce Lee enterprise. Admittedly tangentially (especially considering the broad outlines of so-called Brucesploitation), but like at least some of the Brucesploitation efforts that sought to document the real Bruce Lee's life, both Karate Bullfighter and Karate Bearfighter attempt to provide a supposed biography of real life karate expert Mas Oyama (Sonny Chiba), though the fact that these films sprang from a manga called Karate Baka Ichidai (A Karate Crazy Life) may indicate that there's a certain, well, cartoonish aspect to both of these films, as evidenced by the films' very "bestial" conceit(s). That said, the historical record actually supports the fact that Oyama was evidently adept at tackling creatures like bulls in order to prove his fighting skills.

My Challenge of the Tiger Blu-ray review contained a reference to another "man battles (ostensible) animal" film, namely Samson and Delilah, an outing which featured a reportedly scared of actual lions Victor Mature fighting tooth and nail with an obviously, um, taxidermized beast. Suffice it to say that the Mature opus is a model of bestial authenticity when stacked up against the absolutely hilarious sight of one of the worst "OMG, it's a guy in a ridiculous looking bear suit" sequences even committed to film in this particular outing. That lunacy aside, this film continues the perhaps questionable (to modern sensibilities, at least) relationship between Oyama and Chiako (Yumi Takigawa), while also continuing to portray Oyama as a deeply troubled and at times troublesome individual, an aspect that's kind of interesting if not downright peculiar given the real life Oyama's participation (including another cameo). This is even more of a vignette driven enterprise than the first film, charting Oyama's almost ronin like journey through a nefarious underworld, with a few interstitial heartwarming emphases on his more paternal side, courtesy of a little boy he befriends.

Karate Bearfighter Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Karate Bearfighter is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka! Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Eureka tends not to provide a ton of technical information on their releases, and their insert booklet once again offers only their typical "viewing notes" and calibration advice, with the back cover mentioning a generic "new restorations of the original film elements by Toei" as the sole bit of provenance data. As I've frequently mentioned when confronted with such a lack of specificity, I have to wonder exactly which "original film elements" were utilized. I'd rate the overall video quality of this transfer as being at least incrementally more pleasing than Karate Bullfighter, with a palette that's just a bit less regularly afflicted by the dowdy brownish quality I mentioned in the review of the first film. There is still a somewhat faded appearance on display here, at least in passing, but on the whole saturation is great and colors pop quite appealingly. That said, this film probably emphasizes interior scenes more than the first, and so bright outdoor moments can be a bit less sparse. There are some expected passing anamorphic oddities on tap, and occasionally variable grain structure, but the overall appearance here is commendably organic and without any major signs of age related wear and tear.

Karate Bearfighter Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Unlike Karate Bullfighter, there's no English dub available on this disc, and so only a Japanese language track in LPCM 2.0 Mono is offered. The sound here is quite similar to the Japanese track on the first film, though perhaps with a slightly more thin sound most noticeable in score and effects. That niggling qualm aside, all elements are delivered with decent fidelity and dialogue in particular is cleanly rendered throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Karate Bearfighter Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Mike Leeder & Arne Venema


• Original Theatrical Trailer (HD; 3:02)

Note: The Jonathan Clements piece included as a supplement on Karate Bullfighter is contextually relevant to this film as well, and will probably be of significant interest to fans.

Karate Bearfighter Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Vis a vis a potential "gonzo meter" as mentioned in the Karate Bullfighter Blu-ray review, the "OMG it's a guy in a ridiculous looking bear suit" scene obviously elevates this film, if not to "pure Brucesploitation" levels of weirdness, at least above the first film in this series. This follow up probably offers more consistent action than the first, but a less "believable" (a definitely relative term) narrative. Technical merits are generally solid and the Leeder / Venema commentary typically entertaining, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.