Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.0

The Old Master Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 18, 2022

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Cinematic Vengeance: 8 Kung Fu Classics from Director Joseph Kuo.

The hits (and/or kicks, smacks and whacks) keep on comin', with this set from Eureka! Entertainment following releases like Shawscope Volume One from Arrow and a number of offerings from 88 Films like The Chinese Boxer and Disciples of Shaolin in my review queue. The big difference between those films and the ones featured in this huge collection is that these were the handiwork of one Joseph Kuo, a name which may frankly not be all that familiar even to lovers of the "kung fu" genre. Kuo was, as they say, a "multi-hyphenate" who frequently wrote, produced and directed his films, which tended to be independently financed far, far away from the riches and "studio system" of facilities like the Shaw Brothers. As commentator Frank Djenge mentions on more than one disc, that meant Kuo often tried to film outside, where he didn't have to pay for things like sets, which can give these films a kind of distinctive ambience at times. According to the press sheet Eureka! sent with the (check) discs, seven of the eight films in this set are making their worldwide debuts on Blu-ray.

In some ways The Old Master is the one outlier in this set of Kuo outings, not necessarily because it may or may not offer "traditional" Wuxia or other martial arts wonderment, but in that it's placed squarely in contemporary times, and takes place in San Francisco. The film may offer some real interest for trivia buffs in that it offers a substantial role to Jim-Yuen Yu, playing Grandmaster Wan. Yuen-yu was a man who, as the fun commentary by Mike Leeder and Arne Venema gets into, was himself a "master" who taught any number of notable martial arts celebrities.

Unfortunately, there's simply not enough here to warrant much other interest, and even the supposed fight scenes are often lackluster. Stabs at humor are made, including a trip to a disco and a supposed "star-crossed" romance between Wan and a (how to put this delicately) hefty American woman. Leeder in the commentary just flat out states the film is not exactly stellar in any department, but the casting of Jim-Yuen Yu, as obviously contrived as it is, may pique fans' curiosity.

The Old Master Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Old Master is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka! Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. While I'm scoring this a bit lower than some of the others in this set, I frankly have to state that I think part of what I noticed with regard to this presentation is due to a probably rapid shooting schedule where little things like, you know, getting shots in focus may not have been properly attended to. Therefore, if you scroll through the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review, you'll see some relatively blurry moments, and in fact a lot of this presentation simply doesn't have the general clarity that the better looking transfers in this set do. The palette is once again nicely suffused, with some really nice looking primaries (notably red and blue, which really pop excellently throughout the film). Grain resolves naturally throughout the presentation.

The Old Master Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Old Master offers LPCM Mono audio in either Mandarin, Cantonese or English. I toggled between the three tracks as I watched/listened, and my advice is to stick with the Cantonese track on this disc. Both the Mandarin and English tracks have a noticeable low frequency hum which doesn't afflict the Cantonese track, and the Cantonese track is generally much better balanced, with better amplitude than either the Mandarin or (especially) the English track. As with virtually all of the films in this set, the overall sound is boxy and very reverberant, giving sound effects in particular a "hollow" ambience. While even the hum can't really obliterate the clarity of dialogue, the Cantonese track probably offers the clearest overall audio. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Old Master Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Mike Leeder and Arne Venema

The Old Master Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's actually maybe just a little sad that Jim-Yuen Yu was used for this film, with an emphasis on the word "used", since there seems to be a clear decision to cash in on his celebrity, despite the fact that he's not much of an actor and, probably at least due in part to his age, doesn't even seem to be partaking in many of the fight scenes (pay attention to how many are shot from behind Grandmaster Wan, so as to not show his face). Technical merits are okay, if improvable, for those who may be considering making a purchase.