Walk Like a Dragon Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Walk Like a Dragon Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 17, 2025

James Clavell's "Walk Like a Dragon" (1960) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films. The only bonus feature on the release is an exclusive new audio commentary recorded by critic Toby Roan. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Tell her she is free to go now.

James Clavell’s Walk Like a Dragon works with interesting material that could have transformed it into a special western. However, it seriously mismanages the tone of the story that emerges from it. It is because it routinely forces its characters to behave as if they are in one of those educational WWII films the likes of Billy Wilder and Fritz Lang directed. They recite speeches and work extra hard to ensure that the audience knows who the morally superior among them are and why they should emerge victorious at the end, effectively transforming the events that have brought them together into a meaningless theater.

But Walk Like a Dragon works with material that has little black and white and a whole lot of gray. This is what makes it interesting. It has characters whose moral superiority (or inferiority) remains quite elusive. They can tell, too. As a result, the scripted speeches they recite frequently sound completely out of sync with the events unfolding around them and quickly damage their integrity. Admittedly, some of these speeches were likely unavoidable, but they could have been significantly toned down, and several crucial events could have been staged better to preserve their integrity.

The following text appears after the opening credits: “California in the 1870s was rough and violent. Men were plentiful, but women were scarce. So girls were secretly and illegally imported from China and sold as slaves. They were used, but were scorned and isolated. This is a story of those times… It happened.” Then, somewhere in San Francisco, cowboy Linc Bartlett (Jack Lord) stumbles upon a slave auction and purchases Kim Sung (Nobu McCarthy), a Chinese girl who has recently reached America. Shortly after, much to the surprise of Cheng Lu (James Shigeta), another recent Chinese immigrant who has quickly fallen in love with the girl, Linc declares that Kim is free to go and pursue the American dream.

But because Kim does not speak English and views Linc as her rightful ‘master’, she begins following him, and so does Cheng. Linc reluctantly agrees to have Kim, but only if Cheng explains to her that she is as free as every other woman in the Old West. Back home, Linc then introduces Kim to his shocked mother (Josephine Hutchinson), who quickly warms up to her and initiates her transformation into a young lady. As Kim learns enough English words to communicate how she feels about a range of different things around her, including her ‘master’, Linc falls in love with her and decides to marry her. The news spreads like fire through the local community and shortly after sends Linc on a collision course with Cheng.

In Walk Like a Dragon, racial tension is, for obvious reasons, a major theme, but the Old West is not instantly depicted as a place overpopulated by bigots and defined by simplistic contrasts. Indeed, all characters, including Kim, have prejudices that skew their judgments, and as the big ones are gradually eliminated, they are humanized. In other words, the Old West that emerges is not a place where good and bad characters mingle, but the imperfect home of imperfect human beings pursuing different dreams. Unfortunately, the significance of this humanization is quickly overwhelmed and eventually rendered irrelevant by the previously mentioned speeches that these characters are forced to recite, which inevitably change their personalities. For example, once Kim learns enough English words and reveals to Linc’s mother her desire to be his wife, Cheng is quickly remodeled into a virtuous warrior whose determination to reclaim her ultimately makes him appear exactly like the bigots he supposedly wishes to save her from. Similarly, Linc, having vigorously defended Kim’s right to be free, refuses to defend her at the most crucial moment in her life because someone else who looks like her supposedly knows what is best for her. The finale insists that these developments are justified because the characters are unlucky to be in America not yet ready for the future they desire, but this is not true. Two-thirds of the story they are part of is about them proving over and over again that the prejudices of their opponents are not as strong as their desire to live their lives as they wish.

Clavell collaborated with cinematographer Loyal Griggs, who several years earlier had earned an Oscar statuette for his contribution to the classic western Shane.

Walk Like a Dragon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Walk Like a Dragon arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films.

The release introduces a gorgeous new 4K restoration of Walk Like a Dragon, completed at Paramount Pictures. On my system, the entire film looked virtually flawless, boasting visuals with frequently striking delineation and depth. However, it is probably worth mentioning that there isn't any outdoor material with stunning panoramic vistas or nighttime footage with tricky darker nuances and shadows. Density levels are excellent. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Grain is nicely and evenly exposed. The grayscale is very convincing, too. All blacks and grays look healthy and lush, while the different range of white nuances are wonderfully balanced. I did not notice any distracting age-related imperfections. The encoding is very good, though a few small optimizations probably could have been introduced. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Walk Like a Dragon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

If previously there were any age-related anomalies, it is impossible to tell now because the lossless track sounds great. All exchanges are clear, sharp, and stable. There is good music throughout the film that creates some decent contrasts, but dynamic intensity is modest, which is to be expected. The upper register, where older films reveal weaknesses, is solid.

Walk Like a Dragon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Toby Roan. It offers plenty of information about the production of Walk Like a Dragon, the casting choices that were made and the careers of the principal actors and director James Clavell, and the style of film.

Walk Like a Dragon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Walk Like a Dragon works with interesting material that is rarely encountered in American westerns. However, its management makes it virtually impossible not to see its characters as actors acting parts and reciting scripted speeches, which is unfortunate because for a short period of time it seems like they will be effectively humanized. I still think that it is a film worth seeing, so hopefully the excellent 4K restoration that was prepared for it at Paramount will soon be made available in America. RECOMMENDED.