Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

The Postman Fights Back Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 19, 2023

It's kind of funny in a way that this film is called either The Postman Strikes Back or The Postman Fights Back, depending on where it was released, since that might make it seem like it's a sequel to The Postman, and in fact both films feature protagonists who are couriers of sorts, attempting to work in a distressed, corrupt environment. Suffice it to say The Postman Fights Back hails from 1982 and Hong Kong and is set in early 20th century China, and so predates the Kevin Costner epic (?) by some considerable time in more ways than one.

In a supplemental interview included on this disc, director Ronny Yu talks about growing up loving Hollywood Westerns, especially those involving characters like Pony Express riders. In that regard, this tale's "mail" deliverer Ma (Leung Kar-Yan) does his traveling on foot, though it's actually the "replacement" invention for horseback riding, namely transcontinental trains, that may be threatening Ma's future career trajectory. When he receives a somewhat mysterious assignment, and also either willingly or unwillingly attracts a ragtag bunch of misfits who serve as his putative cohort, Ma finds himself embroiled in some unexpected political intrigue, and the film actually begins with a brief history lesson of China's roiling political climate during that period, though to suggest this is a fact based narrative would be off the mark.

There are some pretty spectacular fight sequences in the film, notably a climactic showdown between Ma and a villain who can shoot flames from his gloves (apparently with a little help from gunpowder), but this is actually not that much of a martial arts extravaganza as it is a vignette driven narrative that features a pretty consistent supply of physical humor courtesy of characters like Ma's ostensible helper, explosives expert Bu (Fan Mei- sheng). Those who read credits will already recognize the name of Yuen Woo-ping (listed as a Production Supervisor, though his contributions are clarified in the commentary tracks), and in that regard Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's Chow Yun-Fat is also on hand as another member of Ma's team.

The Postman Fights Back Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Postman Strikes Back is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. This release doesn't sport an insert booklet, and there's no technical information provided on the back cover, so I'm kind of assuming Fortune Star provided the master, and it's actually in really healthy shape most of the time. A lot of the outdoor material in particular pops nicely, and detail levels are appropriately tactile in terms of things like costume fabrics. There are some kind of curious passing degradations in the image, including some scenes where brightness seems a bit boosted, leading to a kind of milky haze overlaying the imagery, but then also some rather brief passing shots where clarity is considerably diminished and grain noticeably chunkier. On the whole, though, this is a great looking presentation that should appeal to genre fans.

The Postman Fights Back Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Postman Strikes Back features various audio options depending on which cut is chosen. The Hong Kong cut offers a Cantonese track in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono, while the Export Cut features English tracks in either DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono, with the latter kind of interestingly offering an alternate score. The Cantonese track has some noticeable background noise and just a hint of crackle on things like the Golden Harvest masthead, and some of the music can sound a bit tinny, with the track offering somewhat limited range that is probably more noticeable with regard to music than voiceover or dialogue. The English 5.1 track definitely opens up both score and effects, but it has what I consider to be an overly phased sound. I actually preferred the English 2.0 Mono track in terms of overall fidelity, and it's really interesting one way or the other to toggle back and forth to listen to how scoring choices were made. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Postman Fights Back Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Hong Kong Cut (HD; 1:30:28) and Export Cut (HD; 1:28:38) are accessible under the Select Cut option on the Main Menu.


• Interview with Chow Yun-Fat (HD; 7:16) is in English and offers some brief comments about things like working with John Woo.


• Interview with Leung Kar-Yan 1 (HD; 7:43) is subtitled in English.


• Interview with Leung Kar-Yan 2 (HD; 9:19) is subtitled in English.


• Interview with Ronny Yu (HD; 8:11) is subtitled in English.


• Ronny Yu Phat Samurai Interview (HD; 12:38) features Preston (Phat Samurai Guy), Ronny Yu and Frank Djeng in a Zoom like discussion. In English.


• Original Hong Kong Trailer (HD; 4:00)


• Stills Gallery (HD; 2:07)


• Commentary with Director Ronny Yu and Hong Kong Film Expert Frank Djeng is accessible as an audio option under the Hong Kong Cut submenu.


• Supplementary Commentary by Frank Djeng is accessible as an audio option under the Hong Kong Cut submenu.


• Commentary with Stephan Hammond is accessible as an audio option under the Export Cut submenu.

Additionally the keepcase features a reversible sleeve and encloses a folded mini poster (printed on cardstock rather than glossy paper). Packaging features a slipcover.

The Postman Fights Back Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's some positively goofy stuff on the sidelines of this enterprise (which kind of interestingly was evidently filmed in Korea), which may help to distract from a pretty familiar main through line. While this isn't an action heavy enterprise, it's often quite charming on its own merits, and this Blu- ray offers generally secure technical merits (I'd say video a bit more than audio), and appealing supplements. Recommended.