Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Martial Club Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 2, 2022

If a Wikipedia page devoted to a list of Shaw Brothers productions is any indication, despite a glut of releases from both Arrow and 88 Films, we may only be seeing the tip of a very large iceberg. Arrow has ShawScope Volume Two coming up in a couple of months, but in the meantime, 88 Films continues apace with two recent releases, the film currently under discussion and Flying Guillotine 2.

What's kind of amazing about many Shaw Brothers outings in general, and perhaps even these two latest offerings from 88 Films' 88 Asian Collection in particular is how frequently they traverse the same territory again and again (and again), but still manage to find energy and often unexpectedly generous amounts of entertainment value. That may actually be more the case with regard to Martial Club, whose very title seems to hit at a kind of generic offering, and which once again follows dueling camps of kung fu styles, though in this case in the "wait, you also get" department, there's Gordon Liu as Wong Fei Hung, the legendary folk hero who has been the focal character in everything from The Legend of Drunken Master to Once Upon a Time in China .

Many fans will of course know that Liu had played this iconic role previously in Challenge of the Masters, which was one of the many films offered in Arrow's Shawscope Volume One. My Challenge of the Masters Blu-ray review mentions the sheer glut of films featuring the focal character, but it also points out how instrumental that role was in establishing Liu as a superstar, and his authoritative screen presence helps this production immensely.

There is both action galore and a nice, almost "Aesop's Fable" aspect to a story that tends to emphasize morality as much as butt kicking. The film kind of inventively features "contemporary" bookending segments featuring lion dancers, as if to suggest the traditions fostered by Wong Fei Hung are timeless.

Martial Club Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Martial Club is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Asia Collection, an imprint of 88 Films, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.36:1. The back cover of this release has the only "technical" information, stating "HD transfer from the original negative", while slightly misstating the aspect ratio as 2.35:1. This is another largely very pleasing transfer from 88 Films, where once again the palette probably deserves top mention, as it is fairly bursting with both incredibly bright primaries and some subtler jewel tones, all of which are rendered beautifully for the most part. Detail levels are generally commendable, though this is yet another Shaw Brothers effort that has some definite peculiarities that seem related to the lenses utilized. In this presentation along with typically weird looking moments that can seem either anamorphically squeezed or stretched, there are some odd, virtually out of focus, snippets where fine detail obviously suffers. Grain is visible, though it wasn't quite as noticeable as I had expected (you can see it best against brighter backgrounds, as in screenshot 4).

Martial Club Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Martial Club features Cantonese and English audio options delivered in DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, and per my standard operating procedure, I toggled between them as I watched. On the Setup Menu, the English language track is identified as having been sourced from an English language print, which I assume is the one included on this disc as a supplement. I frankly noticed little if any difference between them in terms of general mixes and amplitude for the most part, but both sounded really bright to me in the upper registers, and each had moments of boxiness, something that perhaps interestingly tended to show up more in terms of shared elements like score and sound effects, rather than actual dialogue. The English track did have some minor peaks, valleys and distortion in passing that weren't as evident in the Cantonese track. All spoken material is rendered basically cleanly and clearly, though there is just the hint of crackle in the midrange at the loudest moments, especially in the English language track. Optional English subtitles are available. My score is 3.25.

Martial Club Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Asian Cinema Expert Frank Djeng and Actor / Martial Artist Michael Worth


• Audio Commentary with Asian Cinema Expert Frank Djeng


• Instructors of Death (HD; 1:45:22) is the original English language version of the film, advertised here as being a Grindhouse Presentation, so prepare yourself for an at times pretty badly damaged print. I'm assuming this is the same version that had its soundtrack "lifted" for the English language track for the main feature on this disc, per my comments in the audio section.


• Kung Fu and Dancing (HD; 13:22) is a fun interview with Robert Mak, who gets into some of his own martial arts training. Subtitled in English.


• Born to Be Bad (HD; 21:10) features Johnny Wang, who recounts his general biography as well as work for the Shaw Brothers. Subtitled in English.


• Disciples of Shaolin (HD; 25:16) nicely focuses on stuntmen Hung Sun-Nam and Tony Tam. Subtitled in English.


• The Right Hand Man (HD; 41:02) is a longer piece devoted to Lawrence Wong, who started working for the Shaw Brothers in 1970. Subtitled in English intermittently, as Wong kind of hilariously drifts in and out of Chinese.


• Instructors of Death Trailer (HD; 1:03)


• Original Trailer (HD; 3:27)

Additionally, this is another nicely packaged release from 88 Films, featuring a nicely appointed insert booklet, a folded mini poster with original art, a reversible sleeve featuring original Hong Kong poster artwork, and a slipcover.

Martial Club Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Martial Club proves that you can tell the same story over and over (and over) again and still find at least a few new ways of presenting things. Braced by some considerably complicated fight choreography and a plot that deftly manages to combine a lot of action with some sly humor, this is a really fun film that 88 Films is offering with generally secure technical merits and outstanding supplements. Recommended.