7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Judy Lee is out to avenge the massacre of her family by the Emperor's men and is assisted by another young woman, played by Lung Chun Erh. The two infiltrate the Emperor's court by posing as maids. Carter Wong plays a kung fu fighter sent to help Judy by the monastery where she was raised.
Starring: Carter Wong, Ling Chia, Tao-liang Tan, Hung-Lieh Chen, Yuan YiForeign | 100% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Revenge is a dish best served with gorillas that know kung fu in 1977’s “The Shaolin Invincibles.” It’s a martial arts epic from director Cheng Hou, who aims to blend hard-hitting, body-flipping, weapon-spinning acts of personal danger with a tale of vengeance involving the focus of two women looking to take down an evil emperor in an ancient land. The Taiwan production has a nice handle on physical altercations, and there’s madness at times, including the aforementioned gorillas, who bring threat and pure goofiness to an entertaining sit.
The AVC encoded image (2.35:1 aspect ratio) presentation is listed as "Preserved from the only known 35mm print in existence, featuring Mandarin language with burned-in English subtitles." Indeed, an older print is utilized here, and one that's roughed up quite a bit, exposing jumpy, distorted, and missing frames, extensive scratches and points of damage, and a little discoloration. It's not pretty, but such condition might add to the viewing experience for some, replicating the full grindhouse event. Detail reaches as far as possible, fighting focus issues, but a general sense of facial particulars and full-body action is present. Locations are passably dimensional, and interiors preserve a mild level of decorative additions. Colors are faded but not missing, with more active reds in palace rooms and costuming. Greenery is acceptable. Delineation is satisfactory.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix has defined age, but intelligibility isn't lost, with dialogue exchanges on the shrill side, but acceptable. Scoring cues are limited, but musical support is appreciable without true crispness. Blunt sound effects remain accessible.
"The Shaolin Invincibles" captures attention through action beats, and performances are committed to the mood of the picture, with Carter Wong joining the tale as an ally for Lu Szu and Liu Yu. The feature is played seriously despite outrageous acts of camp in the mix, setting out on the road to the capitol, where schemes of infiltration are hatched and secret rooms are explored. While the effort isn't thunderous when it comes to dramatic potential, it does carry some interesting severity along the way, including a climax that takes physical exposure to a plan of revenge seriously, giving viewers a closing jolt of emotion. Somehow, kung fu gorillas and sisterly love manage to coexist without throwing the whole endeavor out of whack, and "The Shaolin Invincibles" remains a compelling sit. There's big action, hard feelings, and a sense of weirdness that delivers an unusual viewing experience. It's not a radical take on martial arts cinema, but it works in ways the competition often fails to deliver. And gorillas. We need more gorillas in this type of entertainment.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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