Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

New Fist of Fury Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 1, 2023

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.

Speaking of wanting to cash in on undeniable success, kind of hilariously when New Fist of Fury was initially released in 1976, Chan wasn't even much of an "up and comer" yet, but by 1980 he was an international superstar, and the powers that be (or were) went back to this film, chopped out as much non-Chan material as they could, and re-released it. The changes are manifest and in fact almost amount to a new story, but at least in the original theatrical version, Jackie ends up partnering with with Li Er (Nora Miao from the original Lee film, here reprising the same character) in what amounts to both a figurative and literal fight between kung fu and karate experts. Plot wise, this is pretty hoary stuff, even by "martial arts movies" standards, but it's rather moving in a way to see Miao here as the more or less widow of Lee, and it's also kind of striking to see Chan in less of a goofy characterization.

New Fist of Fury Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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.

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.

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.

New Fist of Fury Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

New Fist of Fury Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Original Theatrical Cut (HD; 2:00:05) and 1980 Re-Release Cut (HD; 1:22:40) are accessible under the Select Version option on the Main Menu.


• Commentary by Frank Djeng and Michael Worth is available for the Theatrical Cut.


• Commentary by Brandon Bentley is available for the Re-Release Cut.


• New Fist, Part Two Fist (HD; 7:35) is a fun video essay by Brandon Bently contrasting New Fist of Fury with Fist of Fury Part Two. This supplement is also offered on Arrow's release of Fist of Fury for the UK market.


• Trailer Gallery

  Theatrical Trailer (Cantonese) (HD; 3:38)

  
  

  Theatrical Trailer (English) (HD; 3:15)

  
  

  Chen Zhen Trailer Reel (HD; 17:54)

• Image Gallery (HD)

Additionally Arrow provides its typically nicely appointed insert booklet, this one with essays by Jonathan Clements and Brian Bankston, along with the usual assortment of stills and technical information. The keepcase features reversible art and encloses a folded mini poster. Packaging features a slipcover.

New Fist of Fury Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.