7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A Chinese immigrant working at a Thai ice factory has sworn to an oath of nonviolence. When he discovers that the factory's ruthless higher-ups are running a secret heroin ring and offing their own workers, his commitment to pacifism is put to the test.
Starring: Bruce Lee, Maria Yi, James Tien, Marilyn Bautista, Ying-Chieh HanForeign | 100% |
Martial arts | 50% |
Drama | 36% |
Crime | 29% |
Action | 16% |
Thriller | 7% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region B (A, C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Note: This version of this film is available on Blu-ray as part of Arrow's Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest 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.
The Big Boss is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p 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.Wow. If the above information doesn't give some immediate insight into the general care that has been afforded these films, let my italicized exclamation serve as a summary comment about not just the amount of material that has been assembled here, but how gorgeous it frequently looks. Even a cursory comparison to the Shout! release shows how much better suffused this is, as well as somewhat darker overall, which may help to elevate the perception of richly saturated color. But detail is also improved across the board, even if it's the palette that keeps the eye consistently engaged. Grain is tightly resolved. There are still a few instances of age related wear and tear, and as evidenced by screenshots 11 through 14 from the Mandarin Cut, interpolated sequences in that version in particular can look pretty shoddy, though for understandable reasons given the fact that there's evidently only one known surviving print of that version.
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.
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.
Disc One
- Commentary by David Desser
- Commentary by Brandon Bentley
- 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.
- Lau Wing (HD; 44:41)
- Tung Wai (HD; 2:45)
- Japanese Release Credits (1974) (HD; 1:41)
- US Theatrical Re-Release (1978) (HD; 1:33)
- Alternate English Credits (HD; 1:45)
- 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)
- Publicity Stills and Lobby Cards (HD)
- Behind the Scenes (HD)
- Posters and Video Art (HD)
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.
唐山大兄 / Fists of Fury
1971
唐山大兄 | Táng shān dà xiōng | Fists of Fury | Limited Edition
1971
唐山大兄 | Táng shān dà xiōng | Fists of Fury | Limited Edition
1971
唐山大兄 / Táng shān dà xiōng / Fists of Fury
1971
(Still not reliable for this title)
精武門 | Jīng wǔ mén | The Chinese Connection | Limited Edition
1972
猛龍過江 | Měng lóng guò jiāng | Return of the Dragon | Limited Edition
1972
死亡遊戲 | Limited Edition
1978
死亡塔 / Sǐ wáng tǎ / Tower of Death
1981
警察故事 / Ging chaat goo si | Eureka Classics
1985
導火綫 / 导火线 / Dǎo Huǒ Xiàn / Dou fo sin | Ultimate Edition
2007
警察故事續集 / Ging chaat goo si juk jaap | Eureka Classics
1988
その男、凶暴につき / Sono otoko, kyōbō ni tsuki
1989
激突! 殺人拳 / Gekitotsu! Satsujin ken
1974
殺破狼 / SPL: Kill Zone / Saat po long
2005
2009
皇家師姐 / Huang jia shi jie / Police Assassins | Eureka Classics
1985
用心棒 / Yôjinbô
1961
Lung zang fu dau / Lóng zhēng hǔ dòu / 龍爭虎鬥 / 50th Anniversary 4K w/40th BD
1973
特警屠龍 / Dak ging to lung
1988
The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter / 五郎八卦棍 / Wǔ láng bā guà gùn | 88 Asia Collection #25
1984
精武英雄
1994
給爸爸的信 / Kap ba ba dik sung / My Father is a Hero | Eureka Classics
1995
2010
逆襲! 殺人拳 / Gyakushū! Satsujin ken
1974