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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka "The Big Boss' or 'Tang shan da xiong" or "China Mountain Big Brother" or "Fists of Glory" or "Tong saan daai fong" )
directed
by Wei Lo
Hong Kong 1971
NOTE: Criterion's Blu-ray Boxset of Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits [ 7 Blu-ray Set ] is compared HERE
Bruce Lee's big screen break came in director Lo Wei's The Big Boss, a wildly successful kung-fu film that made the legendary screen icon into a powerful box-office force! Chang Chow An (Bruce Lee) is a reluctant warrior who promises his mother to leave his violent days behind him. Chang goes to live with his uncle and gets a job at the local ice factory. But something is amiss at the factory. Chang's co-workers begin to mysteriously disappear, and Chang himself is distracted by the evil "Big Boss", who uses power, money and women to direct Chang's attentions elsewhere. But when Chang learns once and for all that the Big Boss is a bad man, it's time to let the dragon out of the bottle! It all comes down to knock-down kung-fu showdowns featuring Bruce Lee's trademark power and charismatic flair! Known to American audiences as Fists of Fury, The Big Boss is required viewing by anyone who considers themself a Bruce Lee fan. |
Posters
Theatrical Release: October 3,1971 (Hong Kong)
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
Hong Kong Legends (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL vs. Fortune Star (Ultimate Collection) - Region 3 - NTSC vs. On Air Video (Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL vs. Kam & Ronson Region 'A' Blu-ray vs. Shout! Factory (The Bruce Lee Legacy Collection) - Region 'A' Blu-ray |
Big thanks to Ole Kofoed and and Henrik Sylow for the DVD Screen Caps!
1) Hong Kong Legends (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT 2) Fortune Star (Ultimate Collection) - Region 3 - NTSC - SECOND3) On Air Video (Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) Kam and Ronson - Region 'A" Blu-ray - FOURTH5) Shout! Factory - Region 'A" Blu-ray - RIGHT
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Box Covers |
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Thinking of buying from YesAsia? CLICK HERE and use THIS UPDATED BEAVER PAGE to source their very best... |
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Distribution |
Hong Kong Legends Region 2 - PAL |
Fortune
Star Region 3 - NTSC |
On Air
Video Region 2 - PAL |
Kam & Ronson Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Shout! Factory Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Bruce Lee on Blu-ray |
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Runtime | 1:36:01 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:39:28 | 1:36:01 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:39:40.975 | 1:40:14.508 |
Video |
2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
2.30:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
2.31:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 28,799,314,141 bytes Feature: 28,185,747,456 bytes Video Bitrate: 27.99 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 41,641,315,914 bytesFeature: 28,586,182,656 bytesVideo Bitrate: 28.83 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate:
Hong Kong Legends (Special Collector's Edition)
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Bitrate:
Fortune Star (Ultimate Collection)
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Bitrate:
On Air Video (Collector's Edition)
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Bitrate: Kam & Ronson
Blu-ray
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Bitrate: Shout! Factory
Blu-ray
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Audio | 2.0 Dolby Digital Cantonese Mono, 2.0 Dolby Digital English Mono (Dub) |
2.0 Dolby Digital Cantonese Mono, 5.1 Dolby Digital Cantonese / Mandarin, DTS Cantonese / Mandarin |
2.0 Dolby Digital English Mono (Dub) |
DTS-HD Master Audio Chinese 2578 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 2578
kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1
/ 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit) Dolby TrueHD Audio Chinese 1848 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 1848 kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1-EX / 48 kHz / 640 kbps) Dolby Digital EX Audio Chinese 640 kbps 5.1-EX / 48 kHz / 640 kbps Dolby Digital EX Audio Thai 640 kbps 5.1-EX / 48 kHz / 640 kbps |
Dolby Digital Audio Chinese 192 kbps 2.0 / 48
kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB DTS-HD Master Audio Chinese 2222 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2222 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB DTS-HD Master Audio English 2086 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2086 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio Chinese 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB DTS-HD Master Audio English 1566 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1566 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) |
Subtitles | English, Dutch, None | Traditional, Simplified, English, None | Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, None | English, Chinese, Thai, None | English, None |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Hong Kong Legends Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
Chapters 30 |
Release Information: Studio: Fortune Star Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date: April 29, 2004 Chapters 21 |
Release Information: Studio: On Air Video Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 30 |
Release Information: Studio: Kam & Ronson
1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 28,799,314,141 bytes Feature: 28,185,747,456 bytes Video Bitrate: 27.99 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details: Chapters 20 |
Release Information: Studio: Shout! Factory
1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 41,641,315,914 bytesFeature: 28,586,182,656 bytesVideo Bitrate: 28.83 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details: Trailers (17:25) US TV Spots (1:15) Alternate Title Sequence (4:45) Alternate Finale (:43) Return to Pak Chong: The Big Boss Revisited (9:26) Bruce Lee: The Early Years - Interview with Gene Lebell, Martial Arts Legend, Stuntman Supreme (13:51) Interview with Tung Wai (2:37) Rare Scene Extensions (2:22) Bruce Lee vs. Peter Thomas (2:27) Stills GalleryBlu-ray Release Date: October 22nd, 2013 Custom Blu-ray Case (see photos below) Chapters 12 |
Package Shout! Factory - Region 'A' Blu-ray
Comments |
The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. NOTE: Criterion's Blu-ray Boxset of Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits [ 7 Blu-ray Set ] is compared HERE NOTE: The entire Legacy Blu-ray collection is reviewed HERE. ADDITION Shout! Factory Blu-ray - September 2013: This is the first Blu-ray of the 4-Blu-ray 7 DVD Bruce Lee Legacy Collection being released by Shout! Factory. It is a large book-style package (see photos above) with TThe Big Boss, Fist Of Fury, The Way Of The Dragon and Game of Death in 1080P. We hope to cover the entire set by later this week. As for The Big Boss - it is very similar technically, both dual-layered, with almost the exact same feature file-size and bitrate but the Shout! Factory appears to improve greatly in color balance - notably skin tones which are significantly cooler than the Asian Blu-ray. It looks quite strong in motion and this 1080P certainly seems the best transfer to date with impressive detail in close-ups and consistent contrast. Shout! Factory offer multiple audio options:
I sampled each but stayed with the lossless 'Mandarin' surround that had some crisp martial arts cracks and snaps. To be honest I didn't remember significant differences with the Kam & Ronson 7.1 but will revisit that before covering the entire Bruce Lee Legacy Collection. The 'rare' dub was amusing but I only listened for a few minutes. There are optional subtitles (sample below) and the Blu-ray disc is region 'A'. I enjoyed the new commentary by Hong Kong Film Expert Mike Leeder although I probably preferred the Bey Logan one from the Hong Kong Legends DVD edition. Whoever mixed Leeder's commentary hasn't made it easy to hear the man speak - it's echo-y and the sound is shallow but he does give solid information - very worthy of Bruce Lee fans. There are plenty of other supplements including 17.5 minutes of trailers, US TV Spots, an alternate Title sequence and alternate finale (running only :43 seconds). We get Return to Pak Chong: The Big Boss Revisited lasting 10-minutes and Bruce Lee: The Early Years - Interview with Gene Lebell, Martial Arts Legend, Stuntman Supreme for shy of 15-minutes. We get the same interview with Tung Wai on the Asian Blu-ray (with English subtitles), a scant 2-minutes of 'Rare Scene Extensions' and a piece entitled Bruce Lee vs. Peter Thomas. lastly there is a stills gallery. I should note there appears to be plenty more extras in the package and I hope to indulge in them in the next couple of days. This is a huge package and am pleased the first film, The Big Boss, seems the definitive transfer for this specific film and from what I have seen of the other 3 Blu-rays of the Legacy Collection - they seem adept too - but we will compare as we are able. The first Blu-ray disc is very positive for the package. *** ADDITION Kam & Ronson Blu-ray - August 2009: Everything appears to improve with the new 1080P Fortune Star sourced transfer but skin tones warm up quite a bit. It's hard to be positive which colors are most accurate but the Blu-ray advances quite handily in other areas with stronger detail via the higher resolution - actually, everything is tighter. We can state the validity of the transfer at 1080P. The dual-layered image looks pretty decent in motion. It's quite smooth, clean with a shade of depth. Despite it looking somewhat thick at times, it's vastly ahead of the DVDs. It's nice to see a bit of consistent grain. As far as the visual aspect goes this appears to look better than Fist Of Fury - also released on Blu-ray by Kam & Ronson. Not unlike many Asian DVDs - there are some healthy options for the Blu-ray - as far as lossless we get Cantonese DTS-HD Master 7.1 at 2578 kbps 7.1, or a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 at 1848 kbps. There is also a 5.1-EX in both Mandarin Chinese and Thai DUB. On the two HD audio options there is some range - perhaps more than one might expect. I eventually settled on the TrueHD but it was more a personal choice than feeling it was technically superior. The effect sounds of the fighting sequences sound reasonably crisp and explosive upon impact. Sometimes almost beyond the compatibility with the video. There are rather small white, often prιcised. optional English, traditional Chinese or Thai subtitles and my Momitsu can verify that this is indeed region 'A'-locked. The 2.5 minute interview with Tung Wai (optionally subtitled) isn't much of an extra but it's all we are getting. He talks about his first meeting with Bruce Lee. It's good, if far too short and looks incredibly insignificant compared to HKL's Bey Logan commentary. I suspect Bruce Lee fans will want to indulge - depending on your system the HD image can be a fairly big jump. Overall it looked solid and probably the best the title has ever appeared for home theater usage. The audio has some buoyancy and may surprise but it would have been great to have more supplements. Gary Tooze
***
The extras on the On-Air is the same as the other Bruce Lee releases from them - a pretty good Bruce Lee documentary (written by Phillip Dye and released by Passport International Productions according to the end credits) and the "Enter the Dragon" spoof "A Fistful of Yen" from the John Landis / Zucker /Abrahams movie "The Kentucky Fried Movie", here presented in open matte (see last captures). I haven't listened to the HKL Bey Logan commentary, but it should be at the usually high quality. We can hope that 20th Fox will re-release the movie in region 1 with improved picture quality but until then I can only recommend to buy the HKL disc, and if you can find the On-Air disc cheap (I paid 25 DKR = $US 4) you can buy it to get the documentary. -Ole Kofoed The picture
of the Fortune Star DVD simply is beautiful. No cropping, crisp detail and
natural colour scheme, this is the best presentation of his films yet. . -Henrik Sylow |
Recommended Reading in Chinese/Hong Kong/Taiwanese Cinema (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
Memoirs from the Beijing Film Academy
by Zhen Ni, Chris Berry, Ni Zhen |
Zhang Yimou: Interviews (Conversations With
Filmmakers) by Frances Gateward |
Chinese Films in Focus: 25 New Takes by Chris Berry |
Wong Kar-Wai: Auteur of Time (Bfi World Directors) by Stephen Teo |
China into Film: Frames of Reference in
Contemporary Chinese Cinema (Envisioning Asia) by Jerome Silbergeld |
New Chinese Cinemas
by Nick Browne |
Once Upon a Time in China : A Guide to Hong Kong,
Taiwanese, and Mainland Chinese Cinema by Jeff Yang |
Chinese Film Theory by George S. Semsel |
Women Through the Lens: Gender and Nation in a
Century of Chinese Cinema by Shuqin Cui |
Tsai Ming-Liang by Tsai Ming-Liang |
Check out more in "The Library"
DVD Menus
(Hong Kong Legends (Special Collector's
Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT vs. Fortune Star (Ultimate Collection)
- Region 3 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. On Air Video (Collector's Edition) -
Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)
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Kam and Ronson
Blu-ray
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Shout! Factory - Region 'A' Blu-ray
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Subtitle Sample - Shout! Factory - Region 'A' Blu-ray
S
creen Captures
1) Hong Kong Legends (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Fortune Star (Ultimate Collection) - Region 3 - NTSC - SECOND3) On Air Video (Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) Kam and Ronson - Region 'A" Blu-ray - FOURTH5) Shout! Factory - Region 'A" Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Hong Kong Legends (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Fortune Star (Ultimate Collection) - Region 3 - NTSC - SECOND3) On Air Video (Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) Kam and Ronson - Region 'A" Blu-ray - FOURTH5) Shout! Factory - Region 'A" Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Hong Kong Legends (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Fortune Star (Ultimate Collection) - Region 3 - NTSC - SECOND3) On Air Video (Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) Kam and Ronson - Region 'A" Blu-ray - FOURTH5) Shout! Factory - Region 'A" Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Hong Kong Legends (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Fortune Star (Ultimate Collection) - Region 3 - NTSC - SECOND3) On Air Video (Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) Kam and Ronson - Region 'A" Blu-ray - FOURTH5) Shout! Factory - Region 'A" Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Hong Kong Legends (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Fortune Star (Ultimate Collection) - Region 3 - NTSC - SECOND3) On Air Video (Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) Kam and Ronson - Region 'A" Blu-ray - FOURTH5) Shout! Factory - Region 'A" Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Hong Kong Legends (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Fortune Star (Ultimate Collection) - Region 3 - NTSC - SECOND3) On Air Video (Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - THIRD 4) Kam and Ronson - Region 'A" Blu-ray - FOURTH5) Shout! Factory - Region 'A" Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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More
Blu-ray Captures
1) Kam and Ronson - Region 'A" Blu-ray - TOP 2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A" Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Kam and Ronson - Region 'A" Blu-ray - TOP 2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A" Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Kam and Ronson - Region 'A" Blu-ray - TOP 2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A" Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Kam and Ronson - Region 'A" Blu-ray - TOP 2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A" Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Kam and Ronson - Region 'A" Blu-ray - TOP 2) Shout! Factory - Region 'A" Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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Report Card:
Image: |
Shout! Factory Blu-ray |
Sound: |
Shout! Factory Blu-ray |
Extras: | Shout! Factory Blu-ray |
Box Covers |
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Thinking of buying from YesAsia? CLICK HERE and use THIS UPDATED BEAVER PAGE to source their very best... |
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Distribution |
Hong Kong Legends Region 2 - PAL |
Fortune
Star Region 3 - NTSC |
On Air
Video Region 2 - PAL |
Kam & Ronson Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Shout! Factory Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Bruce Lee on
Blu-ray
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Gary Tooze
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Many Thanks...