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 below) with The 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.

Video looks almost exactly the same - duplicate light scratches and only a slight shift in color/contrast that would be imperceptible for most viewers. Since it appears to be the same source I suspect it is the 1080P transfers which are very similar with the nod to the Shout! Factory., Both have a green hue. The video quality is not as strong as The Big Boss with a few inconsistencies - duller colors and has less depth. I expect it may look the worst of the 4 1080P in the Legacy Collection but not a fault of the dual-layered transfer.

Again, The US Blu-ray offers multiple audio options. In my viewing I listened to the Mandarin 5.1 - the bump seemed adept (and not too fake) but I was appreciative to have the original mono as an option - although it might have benefited to have it in lossless (LCPM).

The Blu-ray disc is region 'A' with optional English subtitles (not always complete - seem précised at times.)

Extras have another commentary by Hong Kong film expert Mike Leeder and duplicates The Big Boss with trailers, TV Spots, Stills Gallery, an Alternate Title Sequence and Alternate Ending for Fist of Fury. Plus we get a new 1/2 hour piece Remembering Fist of Fury and a duplication of the 10-minute interview with Yuen Wah as also found on the Kam & Ronson.

Although the 1080P video is almost duplicate of the Asian Blu-ray the Shout! Factory wins in audio (more options including original) and extras. I hope to finish a comparison of Way Of The Dragon, from the Legacy Collection, soon...

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ADDITION Kam & Ronson Blu-ray - August 2009: This shows the boosting of the DVDs. It doesn't look as strong as The Big Boss but this may be due to the best available Fortune Star HD print source. It's a bit hazier and less smooth but this may be more inherent than the fault of the transfer which appears to be technically solid. It shows a lot of grain at times. Overall the image is a bit darker and has a definite green bias - which may, again, be accurate.

Following suit with The Big Boss there are some healthy audio options for the Blu-ray - as far as lossless we get Cantonese DTS-HD Master 7.1 at 2434 kbps 7.1, or a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 at 1820 kbps. There is also a 5.1-EX in both Mandarin Chinese and Thai DUBs. These also seems less dynamic than The Big Boss tracks but serviceable in maintaining the mood. There are rather small white, often précised. optional English, traditional Chinese or Thai subtitles and my Momitsu can verify that this is indeed region 'A'-locked.

Only a 10-minute, optionally subtitled, interview with Yuen Wah where he talks about the intense training for the films and Bruce Lee's potential successors. Again it pales in comparison to the value of the Bey Logan commentary.

It's tough but if I was forced to only choose one - I'd get The Big Boss on Blu-ray first. Fist of Fury doesn't seem to have benefitted as much from the move to HD, although, I have to admit, the film does look, and sound, better than I've ever encountered before. That alone, may be enough for Bruce Lee fans.

Gary Tooze

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