5.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A young man sets out to avenge his grandfather's death and prove his martial arts mastery.
Starring: Jackie Chan, Nora Miao, Sing Chen, Kam Cheung, Lung ChinForeign | 100% |
Martial arts | 51% |
Action | 45% |
Drama | 5% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The most surprising thing about New Fist of Fury is not that Lo Wei wanted to create a sequel to his record breaking Fist of Fury (note that the link points to Arrow's release in Region B for the UK market), which is not surprising in the least given the vagaries of the film industry and wanting to cash in on undeniable success, but rather that Lo Wei seemed to think Jackie Chan was going to be the "next" Bruce Lee. Now in hindsight I guess you could say in a way Jackie assumed a mantle handed to him by the passing of Lee, but as anyone who has spent much time watching Jackie Chan movies would probably freely admit, Jackie's typical screen persona is markedly different from Lee's. That difference is not quite as prevalent or at least emphasized in this film, which doesn't really rely on any of the more comedically infused antics that have tended to populate later Chan efforts.
New Fist of Fury is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the transfer:
New Fist of Fury is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio [sic] with its original Mandarin, English and Cantonese monaural soundtracks. Two versions of the film were restored in 2K resolution from original film elements by Fortune Star, who supplied these masters to Arrow Video for this Blu-ray release.It may be salient to note that the back cover of this release specifies that the above mentioned "original film elements" were the "original negatives". Both versions of the film offer generally very nicely detailed presentations and a healthy palette, though with regard to the latter, there are some variabilities at play, including some scenes where hues look a little wan and others where there's subtle but noticeable greenish undertone, something that can be especially visible when there are ton of supposed blacks in the frame. On just a few occasions the imagery can suddenly degrade for a brief moment for no discernable reason (see screenshot 9, which is within a sequence where the rest of the footage looks relatively fine). Aside from these overtly distressed looking moments, there are a few passing signs of age related wear and tear. Grain is visible, but is rather fine at times, and while this never has a really "smeary" appearance, I wouldn't be surprised if some judicious filtering has been attempted.
The film is presented in two versions, each with differing audio options. The original 120 minute 1976 theatrical version is presented with its original Mandarin and English soundtracks, as well as alternate Mandarin and Cantonese soundtracks sourced from a rare video release. The origin of these latter two tracks could not be determined but the alternate Mandarin appears to be contemporaneous to the other Mandarin track, with the same voice actors delivering alternate lines of dialogue in some scenes. The truncated 82 minute version from 1980, released to cash in on Jackie Chan's newfound fame, is presented with its original Cantonese and English soundtracks. Additional conform work on the soundtracks was performed by Brandon Bentley on behalf of Arrow Video.
New Fist of Fury has a variety of language options on both versions (see my quote from Arrow's insert booklet, above, for complete details), all presented in DTS-HD Master Audio Mono. I spent most of my time on the Mandarin and English tracks, and both offer secure support for a sometimes pretty noisy soundtrack. It is interesting to contrast all of the languages, though, as there are some manifest differences, especially with regard to the Cantonese, which had some different music and effects in some of the sections I sampled. The Mandarin track struck me as rather bright and maybe a bit overly "wet" (reverberant) at times. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly. Optional English subtitles are available.
- Theatrical Trailer (Cantonese) (HD; 3:38)
- Theatrical Trailer (English) (HD; 3:15)
- Chen Zhen Trailer Reel (HD; 17:54)
The Brandon Bentley featurette on the "competing" sequels to Fist of Fury is actually kind of a fun place to start, offering a bit of film history context for this production, which has interest not just for its perceived sequel status, but for its rather interesting casting choices. Technical merits are generally solid, and as usual Arrow has aggregated some appealing on disc and non disc supplements. Recommended.
劍花煙雨江南 / Jian hua yan yu jiang nan
1977
蛇鶴八步 / She he ba bu
1978
精武英雄
1994
獨臂拳王 / Du bei chuan wang
1972
In the Line of Duty | Huáng jiā zhàn shì | Wong ga jin si | 皇家戰士 | 2K Remastered
1986
1984
龙拳 / Long quan
1979
合氣道 / He qi dao / Lady Kung Fu
1972
少林木人巷 / Shao Lin mu ren xiang
1976
Du bi dao / Duk bei do / 獨臂刀
1967
拳精 / Quán jīng
1978
Tang shan wu hu / 唐山五虎
1979
Jung on zo / Zhòng àn zǔ / 重案組
1993
Five Fingers of Death / Tian xia di yi quan
1972
Countdown in Kung Fu / 少林門
1976
Ma Yong Zhen / Ma Wing Jing / 馬永貞
1997
贊先生與找錢華 / Chan sin sang yue chau gung Wa
1978
Se ying diu sau
1978
笑拳怪招 / Xiào quán guài zhāo
1979
刺客聂隐娘 / Ci Ke Nie yin niang
2015