Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

The World of Drunken 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.

Jackie Chan's international star rose considerably higher in the wake of Drunken Master, and while there's absolutely no doubt that this film was fashioned with an eye toward the rather outsized box office returns that film manifested, as evidenced by this film's very title, there is actually at least one other connection to the well remembered Chan comedy outing. As commentators Frank Djeng and Michael Worth get into, while Yuen Siu-tien's appearance in the film is more or less a cameo utilized as a bookending element, he's on hand here putatively once again as Beggar So. In a kind of cinematic bait and switch, though, Yi-Min Li (billed as Lee I. Min) takes over the role for the bulk of the film.

The story here is obviously modeled on Chan's breakthrough success, with drinking and fighting receiving equal billing, so to speak, and in fact with at least one fight coming to an abrupt end when the opportunity to drink wine arises. There's once again an almost comical surplus of supposed fighting styles, but at least this time it's obviously being played for laughs. There's an almost elegiac quality to things in that the flashback that fills up the bulk of the running time is a shared memory between longtime friends and combatants, Beggar So and Fan Ta-pei (Jack Long).

The World of Drunken Master Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The World of Drunken Master is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka! Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. As with the first two films in this set, The World of Drunken Master features a presentation that is frequently kicking on all cylinders in terms of palette reproduction, and once again this transfer is really beautifully saturated, something that's aided and abetted by Kuo's preference to shoot things outside. The bright lighting of so many scenes also tends to support nice fine detail levels. There can be a just very slight bluish undertone to a few darker scenes, something that can make blacks tilt slightly toward purple territory. Grain resolves naturally almost all of the time, with just a few moments looking a bit gritty (see screenshot 10). This is another presentation where some of the lenses utilized introduce some kind of odd anamorphic effects which can make things look squeezed in various parts of the frame (not necessarily only toward the edges).

The World of Drunken Master Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The World of Drunken Master features LPCM Mono in Mandarin, Cantonese or English. My standard operating procedure is to toggle between tracks as I listen/watch, and in this case there really aren't any huge differences between the three, perhaps surprisingly. All three come close to distorting in highest amplitudes, as in the opening fanfare and music, and later a few isolated sound effects, and all three have the same boxy, overly reverberant ambience that can make dialogue, music and effects all sound kind of "hollow". All of this said, dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The World of Drunken Master Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng and Michael Worth

The World of Drunken Master Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you've never seen the Jackie Chan classic that obviously sparked this film, you'll probably find The World of Drunken Master more enjoyable. If you have seen the well remembered Chan film, this will probably strike you as an amiable enough Xerox approximation. Technical merits are generally solid for those who may considering making a purchase.