The Fate of Lee Khan Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The Fate of Lee Khan Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 20, 2019

King Hu's "The Fate of Lee Khan" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive selected scene commentary by critic Tony Rayns; new video essay by critic David Cairns; and vintage trailer for the film. In Mandarin or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The new 2K restoration of King Hu's film The Fate of Lee Khan was first released on Blu-ray in the United States via Film Movement. For an in-depth analysis of the film, please see Neil Lumbard's review of this release here.

The Fate of Lee Khan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Fate of Lee Khan arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release is sourced from the same 2K restoration that Film Movement accessed for the North American release of the film. While not perfect, it is the only restoration of a King Hu film that has emerged to date that actually has good organic qualities.

First things first: The color grading job was done by someone that attempted to deliver proper primaries and healthy ranges of nuances. (Take a look at the 4K restoration of Dragon Inn to see how bad tings can get). The end result still reveals some inconsistencies, but the overall color balance is vastly superior. For example, this restoration retains some proper whites, reds, and blues, which often coexist with the type of proper blacks and grays that are needed to support a filmic dynamic range. As a result, depth and clarity also benefit tremendously, as they should when a restoration is done right. Additionally, a lot of the darker footage boasts pleasing shadow definition, though this is the one area of the new restoration that could have been managed even better because occasionally black crush sneaks in as well. The important point that needs to be underscored here is that the very distracting digital flatness that is present on the awfully color graded 4K restorations of the other King Hu films that were recently released on Blu-ray is avoided. Image stability is excellent. Finally, there are a few wider shots that could appear slightly out of focus (see the the footage from the inn around the 01:02:02 mark). However, you don't have to worry about them because they are not a byproduct of poor digital work. These fluctuations are inherited from the elements that were scanned during the restoration process. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Fate of Lee Khan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Mandarin LPCM 1.0., Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and English LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

I viewed the entire film with the Mandarin Mono track, but then tested the English Mono track and was quite impressed. The English track is very wild, and believe me, I am not exaggerating. It is hilarious and actually very nicely mixed. The Mandarin and English tracks have been fully remastered and are very healthy. If you notice some unevenness or spiked up dynamic levels on the Mandarin track, such as the ones that emerge during the big fight around the 01:40:00 mark, don't worry because they are of the original soundtrack. There are no technical issues.

The Fate of Lee Khan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for The Fate of Lee Khan. In Mandarin, with optional English subtitles. (4 min).

• The Name of the Game is Go: - a new video essay by critic David Cairns that examines the film's visual style and the conflicts that are at the heart of its story. There are additional comments about the evolution of Kin Hu's work as well. In English, not subtitled. (19 min).

• Commentary - selected scene commentary by critic Tony Rayns.

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring new and archival writing on the film.

The Fate of Lee Khan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This recent 2K restoration of The Fate of Lee Khan is the only restoration of a King Hu film that I have seen to date that actually has proper organic qualities. There are still some small inconsistencies with the color grading that could have been avoided, but the end result is dramatically better than the 4K makeovers that L'Immagine Ritrovata delivered for Dragon Inn and A Touch of Zen. The Fate of Lee Khan is an entertaining, if slightly predictable, period action film, and I think that fans of King Hu's work will be happy to have it in their libraries. RECOMMENDED.