Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Opium & The Kung Fu Master Blu-ray Movie Review

Kung Fu cinema never looked this good.

Reviewed by Dustin Somner June 5, 2009

The Shaw Brothers Studio ushered in the heyday of Hong Kong cinema with their release of over 1000 films between the 1950’s through the 1980’s. Unfortunately, those films rarely received a release on the western shore, and it wasn’t until the popularity of Bruce Lee that martial arts films began to receive the recognition they deserved. I’ve always been fascinated with the grace and brutality of martial arts and there’s no better way to enjoy it than to sit down for a good chopsocky flick.

Thus far, classic Hong Kong cinema has been shamelessly overlooked on the Blu-ray format, but I was pleasantly surprised when the Shaw Brothers Gold Collection was announced, with Opium & The Kung Fu Master slated as the initial offering. My excitement was tempered by the sudden cancellation of all follow-up releases in the collection, but at least we have one classic to enjoy on a level that hasn’t been achieved since it’s original theatrical showing.

The look of extreme introspection...

As leader of the Ten Kwangtung Tigers, Master Tieh Chiao-san (Ti Lung) is a well-respected member of his village, who gladly carries the responsibility of training the local men in the ways of kung fu. Unfortunately, he’s also struggling with a growing addiction to opium, which he believes to be a harmless way to pass time with the upper-class members of the town. When a local opium house opens in the heart of the village, nobody realizes the consequences of addiction until it’s too late, and tragedy soon falls on those Tieh considers to be his closest friends. Realizing the error of his ways and the toll opium addiction has taken on his ability to protect those around him, the kung fu master sets out to cleanse his body of the opium toxins and take back his village from the sinister opium dealers.

This was my first opportunity to see Opium & The Kung Fu Master and I can safely say it was a delightful experience from beginning to end. Combining elements of comedy, tragedy, drama, romance and pulse-pounding martial arts is something Hong Kong cinema is well known for, but the delicate balance is achieved with such precision in this film, that I’d classify it right up there with the best of the genre. The first 45 minutes of the runtime is dedicated mostly to exposing the intricacies of each character through comical sequences, a romantic subplot and a business conspiracy that most viewers will see coming from a mile away. In many ways, character-building is the core strength of the film. As we begin to feel an emotional attachment to the main characters in the village, we feel an investment in their well-being that extends into the tragic second half of the film. It’s rare for classic martial arts cinema to strike such a perfect balance and should serve as a testament to Tang Chia’s abilities as a director (this was only his third film as a director, but he served as a choreographer on many prior films from Shaw Studios).

Enough about the story. Let’s move on to the real reason many of you pulled up this review in the first place. THE MARTIAL ARTS. Opium & The Kung Fu Master contains some of the greatest martial arts choreography I’ve seen to date. If there’s one thing missing in modern day martial arts films, it’s the director’s comfort in showing the audience an extended fight sequence without the heavy use of quick editing. I can’t imagine how many times the actors and stuntmen had to rehearse the fine-tuned fight choreography, but the results are simply stunning. As with most films of this sort, you grow accustomed to the increased speed of some fight sequences (to give the fighting a hyperkinetic feel), but it never detracts from the experience and didn’t change my opinion of the skill on display. As a side note, one scene I particularly liked (and showed the ingenuity on the part of the choreographer), was a sequence where two thieves make their escape by climbing a building using a large metal ring they were both holding onto. It was truly impressive to watch as they flung each other up to new heights that an individual man would be incapable of ascending.

Opium & The Kung Fu Master Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 23Mbps), Opium & The Kung Fu Master is a visual treat on Blu-ray. I expected the source material to be marred with dirt and grime, so I was pleasantly surprised as the film opened to a pleasing level of detail. The finest textures on the fabric of clothing can be detected and you'll marvel at the intricacies of the set pieces that encompass the background. The only downfall of the increased resolution, is the ease in noticing some less-than-stellar sets that look a little fake (check out the dock scene where the fight with the boatman occurs). Those of you with an aversion to grain should be forewarned that many scenes have a heavy dose of grain (mostly in the background), so it's pretty apparent the studio chose not to apply noise reduction in creating this transfer. Whatever your opinion on the matter, it gives the production a dated feel that accurately reflects the original source material. Another positive aspect of the transfer is color saturation, which appears slightly bright at times, but not overly so. The color hues could have been a bit more natural, but they generally fit the feel of the film and fall within a wide spectrum. Lastly, black levels were appropriately deep, contrast is good (but not excellent) and I never noticed any edge enhancement or digital artifacting.

There are two other items worth mentioning about the visuals (that aren't related to the transfer). First off, you'll notice a number of shots where certain parts of the image are blurry and non-distinct, while others are perfectly crisp. This appears to be the result of the camera lens utilized, though I'm not 100% sure. The second visual anomaly is some noticeable stretching at the far sides of the scope ratio. The focal point (center) of the frame exhibits accurate dimensionality, but figures and items to the sides appear squeezed together (giving figures a thin man look). I couldn't find conclusive evidence that this was a product of the Super 35 (Shawscope) film format, but until I find out different, that would be my assumption.

Opium & The Kung Fu Master Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

We're given 3 audio offerings to select from, all presented in Dolby Digital 2.0. I primarily listened to the Mandarin track, which has an endearing quality despite the occasionally inaccurate dubbing and pervasive distortion (or clipping) in the louder portions of the track. I'd imagine this is true to the source material, which wasn't apparently recorded very well in the first place, but it won't offer viewers any additional value over the typical DVD release of a Hong Kong film. Sound effects include a humerous variation on pops and pows to reflect punches and kicks, and you'll likely get a kick out of the same metallic sound that's used every time a blade clashes with another blade. If there's one strength worth mentioning in the Mandarin track, it's the volume balance between all elements in the mix. There isn't much praise I can offer, but it is what it is.

In case you have an aversion to subtitles, I should mention the English audio track is pretty awful. The voice actors are cringe-inducing and aren't good representations of the characters they were supposed to portray. The end result is a cheapening of the overall experience, so I'd strongly encourage you to stick with the native language track.

Opium & The Kung Fu Master Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The collection of extras on the disc is a little light, but that's not terribly suprising when you consider the number of films produced during the 1980's by the Shaw Studio. The primary supplement includes 37 minutes of interview footage with Chen Kuan-Tai, Lee Hoi San and Mai Ti-Lo. Each of the actors field similar questions about their kung fu training, acting careers, and opinions on modern martial arts films and actors. The interview footage is presented in 480p with poorly recorded 2 channel audio. Aside from the interviews, we have a photo gallery containing stills from the film and a set of trailers for Opium & The Kung Fu Master as well as three other kung fu classics in the recently-cancelled Shaw Brothers Collection (the trailers are presented in standard definition).

Opium & The Kung Fu Master Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Opium & The Kung Fu Master deserves a place in the collection of any fan of classic martial arts cinema. The intriguing inclusion of drug addiction makes for an interesting backdrop for the complexities of the plot, but it's the incredible fight choreography that will keep you coming back for multiple viewings. From a technical basis, I doubt Hong Kong cinema could look or sound much better than this release and I hope to see additional Shaw Studios titles released to Blu-ray in the near future.