The Prodigal Son

Posted on January 29, 2022 by Craig M

Viewed – 29 January 2022 Blu-ray

I’d certainly say this is a good time to be a fan of martial arts / Hong Kong cinema, with countless movies dating back to the seventies getting deluxe releases. This 1981 action-comedy stars Yeun Biao as Leung Chang, a guy who believes he’s an expert street fighter. However after getting defeated by a highly skilled local opera school actor, he learns that his rich father has been paying his opponents off for years. Therefore, Leung decides to learn the skills of the actor to finally become a true master.

I recall loving this when first watching it during my Hong Kong movie obsession in the nineties. A fun twist on the usual kung fu movie storyline; under the direction of veteran Sammo Hung, this is a well shot, impressively choreographed movie with several memorable encounters and set-pieces. On this viewing I did find the focus on comedy got in the way of the action, and when the storyline turned more serious is when the movie really shined, like a night set attack on an opera school and the full-on final showdown. The plot at times was also is a bit convoluted, with an over-abundance of twists.

Support however from veteran kung fu stars like the late Lam Ching-ying (Mr Vampire) as well as Frankie Chan and a sequence involving Sammo Hung himself, and this movie still delivered a solid cast, some decent action and plenty of personality. I was however just left feeling the movie wasn’t quite the sum of its parts. I still enjoyed this and if you’re a fan of martial arts cinema – this is worth a watch. I’ve just seen better examples of the genre.

This release from Eureka Classics is fairly robust. The movie itself is in very good shape, with a lot of detail making this the best it’s ever looked. Soundtrack in original mono is still punchy with all those fighting sound effects packing a… er… punch. Extras we get both Cantonese and English dubbed soundtracks, as well as archival interviews with principle cast members, and a featurette about the martial arts style Wing Chun. There is also two commentaries, one from Frank Djeng & Bobby Samuels, and another from Mike Leeder and Arne Venema, which really make this release worth picking up. We also get a detailed booklet and a poster featuring newly commissioned art work. Not too shabby. This release is also a double feature with Sammo Hung vehicle ‘Warriors Two’, which I may also check out at some stage.

Verdict:

(the movie) Good

(the Blu-ray) Recommended

Drunken Master

Posted on August 2, 2021 by Craig M

Viewed – 01 August 2021 Blu-ray

As a fan of Jackie Chan, you’d think I’d have seen the movie that had a hand in launching him as a bankable star, after years under the shadow of Bruce Lee. Yet I’d never got around to it until now. This 1978 Kung-fu comedy has Chan as ‘Wong Fei Hung’ (the same Chinese folk hero played by Jet Li in Once Upon a Time In China), who as a martial arts student gets disgraced and thrown out of his school after bad behaviour. Soon he comes under the guidance of ‘Beggar Po’, a drunken master who teaches Chan a secret style of Kung Fu, leading him to face a hired killer who threatens his former master.

This energetic, knock about action-comedy is a lot of fun. There is a fight nearly every scene, and they’re all shot expertly and brilliantly choreographed showcasing genuine skill, ability and invention. The story may be simple but this benefits a movie with such a focus on fight after fight, and with famed kicker Hwang Jang-Lee as the central villain, I was having a ball.

The comedy is at times juvenile and only mildly amusing and sometimes can fall flat. Yet with some great martial arts on display, Chan proving a likeable lead and a simple story that just flows … I had a great time with this.

The Blu-Ray from Eureka’s Masters Of Cinema collection boasts a very sharp image that’s nicely detailed. The audio however in mono DTS Master Audio is rather basic with slightly echoey dialogue – but it’s clear enough. Extras include several interviews, one with Jackie Chan himself. There’s also a detailed booklet, commentary, a deleted scene and a trailer. Not too bad.

Verdict:

(the movie) Recommended

(the Blu-Ray) Good

The Young Master

Posted on February 22, 2021 by Craig M

Viewed – 22 February 2021 Blu-ray

Hong Kong Theatrical Cut

It’s strange how one remembers some movies. It turns out this is a completely different movie than what I thought I’d watched a numbers of years back. That movie was Dragon Lord and not this 1980 break-out hit for Jackie Chan and his first with studio Golden Harvest. Despite my mistaken identity I chose to settle into this regardless. Chan plays a martial arts student who’s school is involved in a Chinese dragon dance contest and loses when his brother fakes an injury only to join the rival school and win the contest. Disgraced by his former master, Chan’s brother is outcast. Chan himself whilst attempting to locate his brother gets mistaken for a man who helps free a local criminal and has to prove his innocence. This leads on to a final confrontation with said criminal who turns out to be a martial arts master.

The story is rather convoluted, feeling patched together, like how scenes can follow on from one another and feel unconnected like there are bits missing. Yet coming to this I wasn’t expecting a great story, but was hoping for good action … and well, in this respect the movie delivers. There’s a decent bunch of kung-fu encounters, including a fun fight involving benches, a street brawl with Chan disguised as an old man, and an extended final encounter that’s particularly exhilarating. The kung-fu is shot expertly too, brilliantly edited and with great camera work that showcases the skill on display. It’s of the dance-like style of fight choreography but I still appreciated it. Casting, with an appearance by Chan regular Yuen Biao (Wheels On Meals) is good too with a few recognisable faces, and Hwang In-shik as the main villain is one hell of a fighter. Just a shame the plot is so all of the the place, as an easier to follow story would have added a great deal of substance. As it stands, watch this for the brilliant martial arts on display, not so much the story.

This special edition release from 88 films comes in deluxe packaging, has a detailed booklet, a poster, art cards, specially commissioned cover art, and several versions of the movie – the ‘theatrical Hong Kong cut’, a slightly shorter ‘export cut’, and a third version called the ‘extended export cut’ – with restored 2k transfers, restored audio in dubbed English or original language with subtitles (the export cut is English dub only). Add to this plenty of extras, with interviews, featurettes, alternate scenes and two commentaries. Great stuff for collectors. Maybe not one of Chan’s best – but still worthwhile for kung-fu fans.

Verdict:

(the movie) Good

(the Blu-ray) Recommended

Police Story

Posted on August 24, 2018 by Craig M

Viewed – 22 August 2018 Blu-ray

A few years ago I was heavily into all things Hong Kong Action Cinema and explored not only the movies of the legendary Jackie Chan but everything from John Woo to Tsui Hark and Jet Li. I got pretty burnt out it has to be said but occasionally I’ll revisit that interest when I see one of the classics get the Blu-ray treatment. This 1985 action comedy has Chan as rule-breaking super-cop Ka-Kui, who following a successful raid on a shanty town to capture a notorious drug dealer, finds himself looking after a witness (played by genre queen Brigitte Lin).

This 1985 movie, the first in the long-running series … was a huge hit and won awards in it’s native land whilst helping turn Jackie Chan into the superstar we all know him as. Watching this movie now, whilst well structured and very entertaining throughout, seems to lean a little too heavily towards comedy with drawn-out scenes devoted to silly gags and comical situations involving his girlfriend (Maggie Cheung) and often bumbling co-workers. Thankfully when the action does kick in it’s terrific, showcased in three varied scenes that prove without a doubt why Chan’s so respected, not just as a martial artist but also as a choreographer and daredevil with his unique brand of environment-using stunt work. Influences from the likes of Buster Keaton are obvious and even all these years later, watching him is mesmerising. Not exactly the greatest action movie Chan’s ever done or even his best movie but it’s still a classic for what it set in motion.

This UK Blu-ray from Eureka! Is presented as a double feature box set with Police Story 2 and boasts a detailed booklet as well as a wealth of extra features. We get three cuts of the movie (the original release, the Japanese extended cut & a shorter American home video cut), behind the scenes featurettes, archive interviews, a brief over-view of Chan’s stunt wok, deleted scenes and trailers. The movie itself is in decent shape, with a 4K re-mastered image that whilst boasting nice detail and vibrancy, some darker scenes suffer from a smudgy, overly dark appearance. The soundtrack is good though with both 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio soundtracks presented in English dubbed and Cantonese subtitled, although the movie’s age means those surrounds are barely used. Overall, solid treatment for a movie that’s still a great deal of fun.

Verdict:

(the movie) 3.5 /5

(the Blu-ray) 3.5 /5

The Foreigner

Posted on January 3, 2018 by Craig M

Viewed – 02 January 2018 Netflix

I used to be, and probably still am a big fan of Jackie Chan, and have at one time or another seen a great deal of his back catalogue. In subsequent years I’ll admit he’s gone off my radar even though I realise he still makes movies. Yet this latest caught my eye as it had been granted a cinema release at one stage and good word of mouth. Chan plays Quan, a local Chinese restaurant owner living in London who unfortunately witnesses a bombing outside a shop where his daughter goes, leading to her death. Vowing to track down those responsible, he soon latches onto Liam Hennessey (Pierce Brosnan) who’s former links to the IRA may prove invaluable.

You could call it Chan’s version of all those copy-cat Liam Neeson thrillers we’ve seen of late and has echoes of Taken. Chan may not be the most compelling of actors and his grasp of English is still hit and miss … but he’s a likeable presence and well, can still kick ass and defy gravity even in his sixties. Pierce Brosnan however completely steals the show as a not so subtle take on former Sin Fein leader Gerry Adams, and his spot-on Northern Ireland accent brings a level of authenticity to proceedings. Also it was interesting having the backdrop of the IRA troubles and director Martin Campbell (Golden Eye) delivers a realistic and thrilling movie with plenty of action and intrigue.

I’s a shame then that really, it hasn’t much going for it we haven’t seen dozens of times before. It’s engaging and mostly well acted especially from Brosnan, but it’s sense of deja-vu mares what is otherwise a solid thriller, and one certainly more convincing and gritty that I’d normally expect from Chan.

Verdict: 3 /5