The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 22, 2022

People have understandably long made fun of the way one Ed Wood handled the passing of his featured (some might argue his only) marquee star in Plan 9 from Outer Space, though it should probably be pointed out that Bela Lugosi had actually died before Wood started that particular film, and Wood, thrifty guy that he was, simply decided to insert leftover footage he had of everyone's favorite erstwhile Dracula into the "classic" that became Plan 9 from Outer Space. There have been a number of high profile productions where stars actually died during production, including such well remembered efforts as The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), Saratoga (Jean Harlow), Furious 7 (Paul Walker), The Crow (Brandon Lee), and perhaps most horrifyingly given the circumstances, Twilight Zone: The Movie (Vic Morrow). Add to that list The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter, which had to recover from a devastating car accident during production that injured several cast members and led to the eventual demise of co-star Alexander Fu Sheng.

The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter is just one of several properties that dealt in some way with figures from China's ancient past who may have been actual real life characters, but whose lives and exploits have attained an air of myth and/or legend about them, as Tony Rayns gets into in his appealing comments on the film included on this disc as a supplement. The so-called Generals of the Yang Family had in fact already provided at least some of the plot machinations in a previous Shaw Brothers effort, The 14 Amazons from 1972, which focused on a certain "female empowerment" angle that (again, as Rayns and commentator Jonathan Clement discuss) may be alluded to in this film, but which is never really explored in any depth.

Instead, this film concentrates on the two brothers who survived the massacre of the Yang Family, so-called "fifth son" Yeung Dak (Gordon Liu), and so-called "sixth son" Yeung Chiu (Alexander Fu Sheng). Both brothers are understandably traumatized by what they've been through, but they deal with their grief and shock in manifestly different ways. Dak hies himself to a monastery where he attempts to become an adept in the titular fighting style. Chiu, on the other hand, is pretty much off the rails from the get go, a slave to his outsized emotions and prone to manic episodes which at least provide plenty of opportunity for some visceral action sequences.

Two women figure prominently in the story, including the brothers' surviving sister Yeung Kei (Kara Hui), and the boys' mother Se Choi-fa (Lily Li), and there's a kind of somber aspect to the family dynamics in the wake of the tragedy which has befallen them and which continues to ripple out, especially evident in Chiu's inability to deal with things. As some of the supplements get into (and which won't be overly detailed here in deference to divulging any spoilers), there was originally a dramatic sequence planned for the end of the film which would have probably provided by Liu and Fu Sheng a great showcase, but, alas, it was not meant to be.

The film nonetheless rather deftly elides the fact that one of its focal stars didn't make it through the production alive. As Tony Rayns in particular mentions, audiences may not have been in the mood for such a serious effort serving as a veritable eulogy for Fu Sheng, and The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter wasn't all that successful when it was originally released. Time has been rather kind to the film, though, and it serves as a properly elegiac swan song not just for Fu Sheng, but for the whole filmmaking monolith that the Shaw Brothers built over the course of so many years.

The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:

The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with its original Cantonese, Mandarin and English mono mixes. Every effort has been made to present this film in its original and complete version using the best materials available.

The original 35mm picture negative was scanned in 2K resolution at L'Immagine Ritrovata Asia and restored at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna. The film was graded at R3Store Studios, London. This new restoration has used the entire film negative without resorting to the practice of "frame cutting" resulting in the loss of film frames at each negative splice point.

The mono mixes were remastered from the original sound negatives at L'Immagine Ritrovata. Additional sound remastering was completed by matthew Jarman / Bad Princess Productions.

All original materials were made available from the Hong Kong Film Archive via Celestial Pictures.

This is one of the healthier looking transfers of a Shaw Brothers production that I've reviewed, with a nicely robust palette and mostly organic looking grain field helping to make this an enjoyable viewing experience. The emphasis on reds and blues sprinkled rather liberally throughout the production really keeps things popping a lot of the time, and outdoor material in particular looks really gorgeous more often than not. Fine detail on everything from symbols emblazoned on fighting poles to the often sumptuous fabrics of costumes is typically excellent. There are some passing rough moments in some of the darker scenes, where crush can momentarily intrude and the grain field can start to look pretty gritty (see screenshots 17 through 19 for a few examples). As with virtually every Shaw Brothers production I've personally reviewed, there are some anamorphic oddities that enter the mix, with both squeezing and stretching noticeable in different parts of the frame at various moments.

The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter features DTS-HD Master Audio Mono tracks in either Cantonese, Mandarin or English. I frankly didn't notice a whale of a lot of difference between the Cantonese and Mandarin tracks in terms of overall mix and/or amplitude, but the English language track can sound a bit muffled and tamped down when compared to either of the Chinese tracks. All three tracks have rather brash high ends which may actually be a tad painful to some listeners at their most hyperbolic. I personally found the Cantonese track to be the overall best balanced and most full bodied. Dialogue, score and (sometimes goofy) effects are rendered without any major problems. Optional English subtitles are available.

The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary by Jonathan Clements


• Tony Rayns on The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter (HD; 22:54) is another informative analysis by the always erudite Rayns.


• Interview with Gordon Liu (HD; 20:06) was filmed by Frederic Ambroisine in 2004. Subtitled in English.


• Interview with Lily Li (HD; 32:43) was filmed by Frederic Ambroisine in 2004. Subtitled in English.


• Interview with Yeung Ching-Ching (HD; 32:09) was filmed by Frederic Ambroisine in 2004. Subtitled in English.


• A Tribute to Fu Sheng (HD; 6:12) was produced by the Shaw Brothers as a short which played before screenings of The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter in some markets. This was sourced from a German dubbed telecine, the only known surviving element. Subtitled in English.


• Alternate Opening Credits (HD; 4:04)


• Trailer Gallery

  Theatrical Trailer (HD; 4:15)

  
  

  Digital Reissue Trailer (HD; 1:09)

• Image Gallery (HD)

Additionally Arrow provides its typically well appointed insert booklet, and packaging features a slipcover along with a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Marc Aspinall.

The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tony Rayns suggests that audiences simply weren't in the mood to see one of their favorite actors die in a film when he had already really died, which may have kept The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter from receiving the attention it merited but didn't fully receive at the time of its release. Hopefully, this new Blu-ray from Arrow will help to ameliorate that situation. Technical merits are generally solid, and as usual with an Arrow release, the supplements are outstanding. Recommended.