ADDITION: Masters of Cinema 4K UHD (June 2024): Masters of Cinema have released King Hu's "The Valiant Ones" to 4K UHD. It is described as "presented in Dolby Vision HDR from a 4K digital restoration of the original negatives gifted by director King Hu to the Hong Kong Film Archive". The package consists of one 4K UHD disc. The 2160P image, with an atmospheric bitrate, is heavy but gorgeous - exporting rich black levels, strong primary colors, occasional depth and impressive detail in close-ups. There is a consistent texture and the restoration is impressive leaving a clean, enjoyable HD presentation. Being King Hu - it is beautiful.  

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

NOTE: 58 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages to date: Mute Witness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Narc (software uniformly simulated HDR), Peeping Tom (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dr. Terrors House of Horrors (software uniformly simulated HDR), High Noon (software uniformly simulated HDR), Picnic at Hanging Rock (Criterion) (software uniformly simulated HDR), I Am Cuba (no HDR), The Demoniacs , The Nude Vampire (software uniformly simulated HDR), Nostalghia (no HDR), Werckmeister Harmonies (no HDR), Goin' South (software uniformly simulated HDR), La Haine (software uniformly simulated HDR,) All Ladies Do It (software uniformly simulated HDR), Old Henry  (software uniformly simulated HDR), To Die For (software uniformly simulated HDR), Snapshot (software uniformly simulated HDR), Phase IV (software uniformly simulated HDR), Burial Ground (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dark Water (software uniformly simulated HDR), Fear and Desire (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dr. Jekyll and the Werewolf (no HDR), Paths of Glory (software uniformly simulated HDR), Southern Comfort (software uniformly simulated HDR), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (software uniformly simulated HDR,) The Wages of Fear  (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Roaring Twenties (software uniformly simulated HDR), Universal Classic Monsters Limited Edition Collection (software uniformly simulated HDR), Scarlet Street (software uniformly simulated HDR), eXistenZ (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (software uniformly simulated HDR), Conan the Barbarian (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Django (no HDR), Lone Star  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspect Zero (software uniformly simulated HDR), Count Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Full Circle - The Haunting of Julia (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Warriors  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (software uniformly simulated HDR), Blackhat (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mark of the Devil (software uniformly simulated HDR), Barbarella (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Last Picture Show (software uniformly simulated HDR).  

On their 4K UHD, Masters of Cinema use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original Mandarin language. "The Valiant Ones" is filled with various types of martial arts conflicts; swords, knives, arrows, hand-to-hand, foot-to-face etc.. They export imposing whiplash cracks with occasional grunts sounding crisp but authentically flat. The score is by Yun-Dong Wang (only film credit) and supports the film fairly subtly in the background. Masters of Cinema include optional English subtitles - and is, like all 4K UHD, region FREE, playable worldwide.

There are plentiful extras on the 4K UHD disc - starting with a new commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival, producer on Enter the Clones of Bruce) who we have heard on on commentaries for Blu-rays of Beach of the War Gods, Taxi Hunter, The Skyhawk, Magic Cop, Angela Mao: Hapkido & Lady Whirlwind, Knockabout, and many more. Frank is the "go-to" guy for wuxia cinema and provides great historical context around the film restoration, the plot and King Hu, discussing the performers, being shot in Hong Kong, the props, etiquette, dialogue details and providing a wonderful all-around discussion of the merits of the film. We also get 24-minutes of Tony Rayns – a new interview with the critic and Asian film expert on The Valiant Ones, a lot on Hu, his moving to Hong Kong, early work as an actor, moving to Taiwan and more. He's always excellent. Tsar of All Wuxia is a new 22-minute video essay by David Cairns (Shadowplay) who starts with a quote from the critic Andrew Chan; "The Wuxia films of King Hu expand and contract before our eyes, an illusion built from their impossibly nimble shifts in scale, speed and perspective pivoting on fight scenes that seem constructed at the molecular level. His cinema is designed to be, first and foremost, a formalist's revelry..." and discusses the editing of Hu's "The Valiant Ones" , the director's feeling about Kung Fu etc. The Life of a Lucky Stuntman is a brand new 20-minute interview with stuntman Billy Chan and My Father and I is a new 26-minute interview with actor Ng Ming-choi. Memories of Hu is a 2003 archival interview with Roger Garcia (Hong Kong International Film Festival Society) by Frédéric Ambroisine. It runs 26-minutes. There is another archival interview with actress Hsu Feng (who plays the silent Wu Re-shi in "The Valiant Ones") by Ambroisine for over 1/4 hour. Lastly is a brief 2016 interview with actor Ng Ming-choi by Ambroisine. The package has a limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Grégory Sacré (Gokaiju) plus a collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Jonathan Clements (A Brief History of Japan: Samurai, Shogun and Zen: The Extraordinary Story of the Land of the Rising Sun.)

King Hu's "The Valiant Ones" takes place during the Ming Dynasty circa 16th century. This is often considered Hu’s last pure wuxia masterpiece and involves an exceptional ensemble cast of chivalrous martial artist heroes penetrating and defeating imbedded groups of pirates (including intimidating-ly pale Sammo Hung) who are encouraged by corrupt officialdom. The frequent and punctuating fight scenes are highly enjoyable with sharp editing (frames intentionally dropped) and a flurry of choreographed expertise juxtaposed by shots of rich dense forests, open coastal horizons and majestically formidable mountains capes. "The Valiant Ones" may have the best finale of any wuxia film I have ever seen - certainly the most fatalistic. Hu captures our heroes exceptional skill-sets, unflinching ethically selfless code and realistic mortality without extensive character development. Masters of Cinema's 4K UHD gives us this absolute treasure in the best possible home theatre a/v format with commentary, David Cairns video essay, interviews - including Tony Rayns - plus a booklet. I loved this one. Our highest recommendation.

Gary Tooze