Fist of Fury Blu-ray

(aka "Jing wu men" or "The Chinese Connection" or "The School of Chivalry" or "The Iron Hand" )

directed by Wei Lo
Hong Kong 1972

The raw, powerful fighting skills of Bruce Lee have never been so potently portrayed as in Fist of Fury (a.k.a. The Chinese Connection)! This classic tale of a student avenging his master's death rises to higher cinematic levels thanks to its charged setting of 1908 Shanghai, when Japanese-Chinese tensions were at their most explosive. Chen Zhen (Bruce Lee) arrives back in Shanghai to attend the funeral of his master, famed boxer Ho Yuan Chia, founder of the Ching Wu Martial Arts School. Days later, the grieving school receives an anti-Semitic message from the Japanese Association, and Chen Zhen storms over to vent his pent-up fury. His actions spark a power struggle in Shanghai, which is further complicated by the shocking revelation that his master was poisoned! Flying fists and flailing bodies are the result of Chen Zhen's righteous fury in Fist of Fury, an emotional and exhilarating kung-fu drama that showcases Bruce Lee at his absolute best!

***

A film from the Shaw Brothers' reliable action unit of director Chang Cheh (obviously relieved to be away from costume heroics) and acting duo Ti Lung and David Chiang, that turns out to be one of the funniest and most invigorating of their output: a spoofy foray into the gangster-controlled world of Thai boxing (it was partly shot in Bangkok), mock heroism, and a sub-Pimpernel search for a missing brother. Good use is made of locations, the ringside boxing sequences, and some well-handled street fighting.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

Theatrical Release: March 22, 1972 (Hong Kong)

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Comparison:

Fortune Star (Ultimate Collection) - Region 3 - NTSC vs. Hong Kong Legends (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL vs. Kam & Ronson Region 'A' Blu-ray

Big thanks to Henrik Sylow and Ole Kofoed for the DVD Screen Caps!

(Fortune Star (Ultimate Collection) - Region 3 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Hong Kong Legends (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers

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Distribution

Fortune Star

Region 3 - NTSC

Hong Kong Legends
Region 2 - PAL

Kam & Ronson

Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Bruce Lee on Blu-ray


The Big Boss	Fist of Fury	Way of the Dragon	Enter the Dragon

Runtime

1:45:56

1:41:56 (4% PAL speedup)

1:46:10.363

Video

2.30:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 8.65 mb/s
NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s

2.43:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 5.68 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 31,042,297,249 bytes

Feature: 29,732,499,456 bytes

Video Bitrate: 27.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes

Bitrate:

Fortune Star (Ultimate Collection)

Bitrate:

Hong Kong Legends (Special Collector's Edition)

Bitrate:

Blu-ray

Audio

2.0 Dolby Digital Cantonese Mono, 5.1 Dolby Digital Cantonese / Mandarin, DTS Cantonese / Mandarin

5.1 Dolby Digital Cantonese / 5.1 Dolby Digital English Dub

DTS-HD Master Audio Chinese 2434 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 2434 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit)
Dolby TrueHD Audio Chinese 1820 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 1820 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

Subtitles

Traditional, Simplified, English, None

English, Dutch, None

English, Chinese, Thai, None

Features

Release Information:
Studio: Fortune Star

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 2.30:1

Edition Details:
• Limited Edition (10,000)
• Each box marked by little 'silver' platter
• Menus available in both English and Chinese

DVD Release Date: April 29, 2004
Digipack

Chapters 21

Release Information:
Studio: Hong Kong Legends

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 2.43:1

Edition Details:
• Commentary by Bey Logan
• Interview with Max Lee (18:36)
• Interview with Tony Liu (13:17)
• 4 photo galleries (production, stills, posters, lobby cards..)
• Trailers (Orginal Hong Kong + HKL's own)
• Biography of Bruce Lee - audio / text (21:13)
• Info of other HKL titles

DVD Release Date: February 19, 2001
Keep Case

Chapters 30

Release Information:
Studio: Kam & Ronson

1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 31,042,297,249 bytes

Feature: 29,732,499,456 bytes

Video Bitrate: 27.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Edition Details:
• Interview with Yuen Wah (9:39)

Blu-ray Release Date: August 6th, 2009
Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 20

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc.

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 pr�cised. 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

****

ON THE DVDs: In terms of image, Fortune Star shows more image and is sharper. The colour schemes differ: Fortune Star has the eastern "greenish", while HK Legends is "western".

Fortune Star has the original mono track, which is the one to chose. The 5.1 tracks have the added rear speaker sounds, which, at least on the Fortune Star, sound inserted.

In terms of extra, HK Legends win by default. A wonderful commentary by Bey Logan, two interviews and a bio.

- 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	Women Through the Lens: Gender and Nation in a Century of Chinese Cinema by Shuqin Cui	Tsai Ming-Liang by Tsai Ming-Liang

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DVD Menus

(Fortune Star (Ultimate Collection) - Region 3 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Hong Kong Legends (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

Kam and Ronson Blu-ray