6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Hwang Jang-lee plays the main baddie, and along with his nasty henchmen, they cause all sorts of problems for the good guys, hero Wah-jee, pretty soy-milk seller Tsui-jee and Tsui-jee's father.
Starring: Jeong-lee Hwang, Lik Cheung, Jeanie Chang, Kuan-Wu Lung, Mei Sheng FanForeign | 100% |
Martial arts | 34% |
Action | 19% |
Drama | 19% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Mandarin: LPCM Mono
English: LPCM Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (A, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Cinematic Vengeance: 8 Kung Fu Classics from Director Joseph Kuo.
The hits (and/or kicks, smacks and whacks) keep on comin', with this set from Eureka! Entertainment following releases like Shawscope Volume One from Arrow and a number
of offerings from 88 Films like The Chinese Boxer and
Disciples of Shaolin in my review queue. The big
difference between those films and the ones featured in this huge collection is that these were the handiwork of one Joseph Kuo, a name
which may frankly not be all that familiar even to lovers of the "kung fu" genre. Kuo was, as they say, a "multi-hyphenate" who frequently wrote,
produced and directed his films, which tended to be independently financed far, far away from the riches and "studio system" of facilities like the Shaw
Brothers. As commentator Frank Djenge mentions on more than one disc, that meant Kuo often tried to film outside, where he didn't have to pay for
things like sets, which can give these films a kind of distinctive ambience at times. According to the press sheet Eureka! sent with the (check) discs,
seven of the eight films in this set are making their worldwide debuts on
Blu-ray.
The 36 Deadly Styles is (are?) presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka! Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. This is another presentation that is aces in palette reproduction, and, for the most part, a good accounting of detail levels. The glut of outdoor material helps keep things well lit and popping extremely well most of the time, and fine detail on everything from hair to fabrics on costumes to, well, bulbous noses is typically great. There are some occasional downturns, where clarity can falter for a moment and where grain looks slightly chunky and yellowish (see screenshot 10).
The 36 Deadly Styles features LPCM Mono audio in either Mandarin or English. As I am wont to do, I toggled between the two tracks as I watched. Both of these tracks have pretty brash, even slightly painful at times, high ends, which can crackle and have quite a bit of hiss and other attendant issues. Music in particular can be overly bright, especially in the upper registers. As with virtually all of the films in this set, there's a boxy, overly reverberant sound in both tracks that can make the already goofy sound effects even more comical. Kind of weirdly, the music between the tracks struck me as being about a quarter tone different, though I noticed no timing discrepancies. Despite the issues, dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
The 36 Deadly Styles might fare better for some viewers if not watched directly after The 7 Grandmasters. This film is a bit too derivative and repetitive for its own good, but it does feature some decent fight sequences. Technical merits vary from generally nice (video) to occasionally problematic (audio), for those who may be considering making a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
少林小子 / Shao Lin xiao zi
1975
酒仙十八跌 / Jiu xian shi ba die
1979
Jue quan / Hu bao long she ying / 絕拳 / 虎豹龍蛇鷹
1977
Shi fu chu ma / 師父出馬
1979
少林寺十八銅人 / Shao Lin Si shi ba tong ren
1975
少林功夫 / Shao Lin gong fu
1974
贊先生與找錢華 / Zàn xiān sheng yǔ zhǎo qián Huá
1978
Shi ba ban wu yi / 十八般武藝 / 88 Asia Collection #30
1982
Chi jiao xiao zi / Chik geuk siu ji / 赤腳小子
1993
Liu A-Cai yu Huang Fei-Hong / 陸阿采與黃飛鴻
1976
瘦虎肥龍 / Sau foo fei lung | Eureka Classics
1990
新精武門 / Xn jīng wǔ mén
1976
Hong quan xiao zi / 洪拳小子 / 88 Asia Collection #28
1975
皇家戰士 / Huáng jiā zhàn shì / In the Line of Duty | Eureka Classics
1986
皇家師姐 / Huang jia shi jie / Police Assassins | Eureka Classics
1985
Feng hou / 瘋猴
1979
Zhang bei / 長輩
1981
獨臂刀 / Dú bì dāo | 88 Asia Collection #15
1967
合氣道 / He qi dao / Lady Kung Fu | Eureka Classics
1972
The Deadly Mantis / Tang lang / 螳螂 / 88 Asia Collection #32
1978