The Chinese Connection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

The Chinese Connection Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 15, 2016

One of the funniest private messages I’ve ever received in my tenure here at Blu-ray.com came from our site administrator, who simply sent me a nice picture of a train wreck when Shout’s Bruce Lee: The Legacy Collection had to be recalled and then even that recall turned out to have an audio issue on Fist of Fury (those wanting to revisit this bit of Blu-ray drama can read “updates” in the main review and the Fist of Fury review, since this is the only time in my recollection that I had to actually take original reviews offline and re- do all of them once the recall happened, and even then I wasn’t finished). In a sign that could be seen as either bravery or foolhardiness, Shout! is now revisiting two of the Lee films in that set, offering new 4K transfers culled from the original camera negatives.

For my thoughts on the film, please see our original Fist of Fury Blu- ray review.

The Chinese Connection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Chinese Connection is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.34:1. As I've stated repeatedly in my reviews of re-releases, I've attempted to duplicate (or at least come close to) the first ten screenshots in our original Fist of Fury Blu-ray review so that those interested can do their own compare and contrast rather than depend on my faltering descriptions. (Note that the Fist of Fury Blu-ray review also contains screenshots from the recalled version--see the video section of that review for details). In virtually all areas we discuss in our reviews this new release is a clear upgrade over the first (second?) Shout! release, with a much more natural looking palette and better suffusion all around, though there are still some relatively slight variances in densities and color space. This is especially noticeable in flesh tones, which don't have the sallow brown look they did in the older version. Grain also resolves better and both general and fine detail levels are noticeably improved. While midrange shots can still lack detail, close- ups provide much better sharpness and clarity than in the previous release.

The Chinese Connection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The following audio options are available on the disc:

• Original Mandarin Mono (Dolby Digital 2.0)
• Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Cantonese Mono (Dolby Digital 2.0)
• Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• English Mono (Dolby Digital 1.0)
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

With the exception of the fact that the English Mono track is now one channel instead of a two channel mono mix, the audio on this release is as described in our original Fist of Fury Blu-ray review. As I discussed (confessed?) in our Forum when the error regarding the duplicate Cantonese track was discovered on the re-release, I'm obviously no Chinese language expert, but it does sound like the Mandarin track is different than the Cantonese track this time around.

The Chinese Connection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This release ports over the same supplements detailed in our original Fist of Fury Blu-ray review.

The Chinese Connection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bruce Lee fans may have felt that they had been body slammed when the Legacy collection encountered such a string of problems, but this new edition of The Chinese Connection may help to salve any lingering wounds. As I mentioned in our original Fist of Fury Blu-ray review, the film is predictable and more than a bit silly at times, but it's also exciting and a lot of fun. With nicely improved video, The Chinese Connection easily comes Recommended.