Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		3.5

The Big Boss 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 12, 2023

Note: This version of this film is available on Blu-ray as part of Arrow's Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest 4K set.

In the vein of Everything Everywhere All At Once, could it be that Arrow Video and Shout! Factory are actually "each other" in alternate universes? Of course that's said in jest, but considering the following facts. Arrow has given martial arts fans holiday presents of a kind for two years running with Shawscope Volume One and Shawscope Volume Two, and Shout! is now starting to trot out their own collections with Shaw Brothers Classics: Volume One, Shaw Brothers Classics: Volume Two, and Shaw Brothers Classics: Volume Three. There's also a corollary if reversed situation in that Shout! released Bruce Lee: The Legacy Collection years ago and now Arrow is following suit with its own collection, all of which may give credence to my obviously whimsical proposition. (For purposes of this obviously joking comparison, we're just going to flat out ignore Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits from Criterion, as well as any number of other releases in various regions that have come out through the years.) As Bruce Lee fans in particular will probably know, the Shout! release of Lee films was afflicted with so many problems that it was actually recalled (more than once, kind of humorously), resulting in me having to revisit some of the films several times as Shout! attempted to remedy various problems (I got a downright hilarious private message from our site administrator at one point with this hilarious photo of a train wreck when the second or third recall was announced). One can only hope that the Arrow release doesn't encounter that series of unfortunate events (I'm hoping against hope we would know by now if it had any major issues), but it's another really stunning collection from the label, with generally secure technical merits and some outstanding supplements, along with some handsome deluxe packaging.

For my thoughts on the film, please see my The Big Boss Blu-ray review of the Shout! release. That review also provides an opportunity to compare screenshots and see how supplements stack up between the releases. This is one of a couple of examples in the Arrow set where the packaging kind of collides with how our database works. There are two separate DigiPacks in the set devoted to The Big Boss, the first one offering the 99 minute 1983 version of the film (along with alternate versions), and the second featuring the 110 minute Mandarin Cut.

The Big Boss 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from Arrow's 1080 presentation of the film.

The Big Boss is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.35:1. I've excerpted both some general and specific comments about the transfer included in Arrow's beautiful hardback book included with this release:

The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, The Way of the Dragon, Game of Death and Game of Death II have been exclusively restored for this collection by Arrow Films. The original feature film elements have been used as the primary source materials for this work, but extensive searches and investigations were also undertaken to locate and identify additional film and audio material sin order to restore original logos, credits, cut scenes and reconstruct alternate release versions.

The Big Boss is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with Mandarin, Cantonese and English mono audio. The original 35mm camera negative, conformed to the 99 minutes 1983 re-release version, was scanned and restored in 4K resolution at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna. The film underwent additional picture restoration was graded in SDR, HDR10 and Dolby Vision at Silver Salt Restoration, London. In addition to this, a 4K scane of a 1971 35mm exhibition print was made available to Arrow by Fortune Star Media for the restoration of the 100 minute Mandarin Cut, and select portions of an American 35mm exhibition print were scanned in 4K by UCLA Film Archive. Further conforming of these 35mm elements to create the Mandarin Cut and two alternate English language versions was undertaken by Arrow Films, with restoration and grading by Silver Salt. All audio mixes were remastered from the best quality materials available by Bad Princess Productions, London, with the exception of the "original" English dub of the film for the 'English Export Cut' viewing option, conformed by Will Offutt and Arrow Films.

The 4K presentation of The Big Boss on Disc One is often a very inviting viewing experience, while perhaps understandably the increased resolution of this format may only help to expose some of the deficits of the version offered on Disc Two. As I mentioned in my review of Arrow's 1080 presentation, the palette is very frequently nicely suffused, and while I wouldn't really argue that HDR and/or Dolby Vision has significantly changed tonal values, things do look at least marginally more suffused in this version. The same overall darkness I noted in the 1080 presentation (at least when compared to Shout!'s version) is also evident here, and if there's one minor recurring qualm, it may be that shadow detail is not more noticeably improved. Grain can look just a little dirty at times, but resolves tightly for the most part. The Mandarin Cut just can't overcome some of the inherent issues with the cobbled together material, but should certainly still be enjoyed at least by completists. My score is 4.25.

The Big Boss 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is a veritable glut of audio choices on the two discs featuring different versions of the film, but the basic options are Mandarin, Cantonese and English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono. There are some noticeable differences if you toggle between them, not necessarily just the fact that they can have different music, but also with regard to overall mixes and especially how bright and/or full bodied they can sound. To my ears, the Mandarin track was the best balanced, though I'd argue the English track had a bit more presence in the high end. Dialogue, effects and score(s) are all presented without any major issues. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Big Boss 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One

• Commentaries

  Commentary by David Desser

  
  

  Commentary by Brandon Bentley

• Alternate Versions

  English Export Cut (HD; 1:40:27) is a "newly assembled reconstruction" that occasionally features Mandarin with subtitles, and other moments with burnt in subtitles.

  
  

  US Theatrical Cut (HD; 1:39:53) is also a "newly assembled reconstruction" and has occasional burnt in subtitles.

• Return to Thailand (HD; 41:58) is a fun visit to locations hosted by Matt Routledge.


• Deleted and Extended Scenes (HD; 18:13) feature footage thought lost for decades from the sole surviving print of the Mandarin theatrical release.


• The Not Quite Biggest Boss (HD; 8:25) offers Brandon Bentley's review of footage that is still missing.


• Archive Interviews are subtitled in English:

  Lau Wing (HD; 44:41)

  
  

  Tung Wai (HD; 2:45)

• Bruce Lee vs. Peter Thomas (HD; 2:27) offers Brandon Bentley again discussing Thomas' score.


• Alternate Credits Sequences

  Japanese Release Credits (1974) (HD; 1:41)

  
  

  US Theatrical Re-Release (1978) (HD; 1:33)

  
  

  Alternate English Credits (HD; 1:45)

• Trailer Gallery

  HK Theatrical Trailer (Mandarin) (HD; 3:48)

  
  

  HK Theatrical Trailer (English) (HD; 2:50)

  
  

  UK Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:47)

  
  

  UK Super 8 Trailer (HD; 4:08)

  
  

  US Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:35)

  
  

  US TV Spots (HD; 1:16)

  
  

  HK Re-Release Trailer (Cantonese) (HD; 2:25)

  
  

  Before The Big Boss (HD; 5:59) is an assortment of trailers released after Lee's death for efforts like The Green Hornet.

  
  

  The Big Boss Part II (HD; 3:40)

• Image Galleries

  Publicity Stills and Lobby Cards (HD)

  
  

  Behind the Scenes (HD)

  
  

  Posters and Video Art (HD)

Disc Two (The Mandarin Cut)

• Axis of English: The Hong Kong Dubs (HD; 29:18) is an interesting piece by Will Offutt focusing on the voice actors who provided performances for the English language versions of some of the Lee films.


• The Mandarin Cut: Unrestored (HD; 1:49:12) is a "raw scan" of the last known surviving print of the Mandarin version.

The Big Boss 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'm sure there are ardent Bruce Lee fans who think this film deserves a higher score than what I've given it, but even taking my idiocy into account, this is a superb release that offers an almost overwhelming number of versions of the film and additional excellent supplementary content. Technical merits are generally solid, and The Big Boss comes Recommended.