6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A country boy undergoes rigorous training under a kung fu master in order to avenge his grandfather.
Starring: Jackie Chan, James Tien, Dean Shek, Kun Li, Tien-chi ChengForeign | 100% |
Martial arts | 45% |
Action | 16% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Cantonese: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Jackie Chan's "The Fearless Hyena" (1979) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critic Frank Djeng and vintage trailers for the film. In Cantonese or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Fearless Hyena arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The release is sourced from a recent 2K master that was struck from the original camera negative. The overall quality of the visuals is better than those seen on the My Lucky Stars release. Indeed, during close-ups and wider panoramic shots delineation and depth are more convincing. However, there are areas with noticeable fluctuations that are not introduced by the original cinematography. During the most obvious fluctuations, grain becomes powdery and begins to pulsate. The dynamic range of the visuals is not optimal either. (You can see an example here). Color balance is stable. However, ideally, saturation levels should be better. Several ranges of supporting nuances should be expanded as well. Image stability is very good. There are no distracting age-related imperfections. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There are three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Cantonese LPCM 1.0, Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and English Dolby Digital 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
I must mention right away that the English track is very poor. However, this is how it was created. It features horrendously exaggerated dubbing, often mixed with awful mumbling, and amateurish sound effects that can be quite annoying. So, you will have to choose one of the Cantonese tracks. The original Mono track is not bad, but it has some of the overdone dynamic contrasts/effects that were very popular on older Hong Kong martial arts and action films. The 5.1 track has better clarity in some segments, but its dynamic balance is very, very uneven. While testing these tracks, I did not encounter any distortions or dropouts to report in our review.
If Tsui Hark, or someone with similarly wild imagination, had been allowed to script the final act -- starting with the emergence of the three dressed in blue fighters -- right now The Fearless Hyena would be considered a cult genre film. I understand why Jackie Chan switches to safe mode there, but there is so much that he does earlier to prepare for something different that ultimately it feels like an opportunity was missed to genuinely surprise with an out-of-left-field resolution. Still, The Fearless Hyena is a very solid directorial debut, and a much better film than some of the big classic martial arts films. This release is sourced from a recent 2K master and is included in Jackie Chan: Emergence of a Superstar, a four-disc box set. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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