Review by Leonard Norwitz
Studio:
Theatrical: JCE Movies Ltd.
Blu-ray: Tai Seng Entertainment (Hong Kong)
Disc:
Region: ALL
(as verified by the
Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player)
Runtime: 1:41:01.000
Disc Size: 35,236,539,172 bytes
Feature Size: 30,169,012,224 bytes
Video Bitrate: 26.99 Mbps
Chapters: 20
Case: Standard Blu-ray case
Release date: May 19th, 2009
Video:
Aspect ratio: 2.4:1
Resolution: 1080p
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Bitrate:
Audio:
LPCM Audio Chinese 6144 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 6144 kbps /
16-bit
DTS-HD Master Audio Chinese 2811 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 2811
kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Chinese 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Vietnamese 384 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 384
kbps
Subtitles:
Feature: Traditional & Simplified Chinese, and English.
Bonus: English
Extras:
• Behind the Scenes – in SD (45:02)
• Making of – SD (10:02)
• Cast Interviews (56:28)
• Trailers & Promo
The Film:
Internationally renowned action choreographer Yuen Wo Ping,
famous for his action direction in Matrix and Kill Bill,
lends actor-turned-director Stephen Fung a helping hand in
House of Fury, a film produced by international super star
Jackie Chan. This second title by Stephen Fung is a tribute
to the Kung Fu films of the Bruce Lee era and, more
recently, those of Jackie Chan. House
of Fury was chosen as the opening film for the 29th Hong
Kong International Film Festival.
House of Fury stars award-winning actor Anthony Wong, Hong
Kong's hottest actor and Kung-fu fans Daniel Wu, martial
arts actor-director Wu Ma (best known for his Chinese Ghost
Story), and Gillian Chung of Twins, whose knack for action
sequences makes her a rising kung-fu princess to be reckoned
with! Co-starring fellow Twin Charlene Choi, House of Fury
has combined the greatest cast and crew! - YesAsia.
Movie: 5
From the opening scenes in which veteran dramatic actor
Anthony Wong shows off some moves I didn't know he had, I
expected more from this spoof of classic kung-fu movies. Its
high-energy action sequences are clever and amusing. They
are grounded in a certain degree of realism, thanks to the
master, Yuen Wo Ping, and in director Stephen Fung's hands,
they are sly and silly by turns, leaps and bounds.
Unfortunately, the script - about a chiropractor whose tales
about his life as a secret agent strike his teenage children
as boring exaggerations, until he is kidnapped - lacks
coherence, even for a slim comedy such as this. There's
Michael Wong, who plays the villain: he is incapable of a
convincing line reading – in either language, since he
speaks both Cantonese and English badly. His son, played by
then fifteen year old Jake Strickland, is his secret weapon.
His way with a stick is one reason that makes this movie
worth watching. He displays unusual confidence for one his
age, not just in his martial arts abilities, but his deadpan
acting style. The sparring between the sibs (Stephen Fung
and Gillian Chung) is nicely matched, and accounts for much
of the fun. Daniel Wu lends some serious prettiness to the
male cast, but he is wasted – the actor, not the character -
and then forgotten – the character, not the actor. - LN
Image:
8/8
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the
Blu-ray disc.
The first number indicates a relative level of excellence
compared to other Blu-ray video discs on a ten-point scale.
The second number places this image along the full range of
DVD and Blu-ray discs.
I imagine this Blu-ray is quite some ways better than
anything we've seen before on home video. The image has
considerable range – both in terms of color and contrast.
Noise is unobtrusive in the darker scenes and shadow detail
is very good. I was aware of no distracting DNR, edge
enhancement or other artifacts that might get in the way.
Blacks are solid, and high values manage to maintain
integrity. Those pesky wires that help the actors do their
stuff have been neatly disposed of.
CLICK EACH
BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio & Music:
7/7
I was surprised to find the uncompressed audio mix for the
default Cantonese track to be quite satisfying. The music is
spacious and the martial arts effects have some variation to
them instead of the one-strike fits all approach of older,
traditional kung-fu.
Operations:
7
The English subtitles, which are displayed clearly and not
too large within the frame, are relatively free of spelling
and grammatical errors. I listened only briefly to the
English dub and was not able to tolerate the insult. Even
though there's no indication such on the menu, if you click
on the first of the cast interviews you will find that it
automatically goes into Play All mode with chapter skips for
each actor.
Extras:
5
Considering the sort of movie this is, Tai Seng has provided
a few tasty extra features for fans. The 10-minute "Making
of" segment centers around famed fight choreographer Yuen Wo
Ping and how he works with the cast. The five cast
interviews take 10-12 minutes each. The actors talk about
their characters and their participation in the movie,
working with the two directors – the usual stuff. We meet
Daniel Wu, Gillian Chung, Josie Ho, Michael Wong, and the
man of the hour, Stephen Fung. but we miss the perspective
of the ubiquitous Anthony Wong. Best of the three bonus
features is the 45-minute "Behind the Scenes" featurette,
which is perhaps more a making of look at the proceedings
than the so-named segment. All of these have English
subtitles and look pretty good in 480p, 4:3 format, except
for the cast interviews which are in widescreen.
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Bottom line:
6
Fung is like Chow in his love and respect for the old
movies, but he isn't nearly as whacky or inventive and he
lacks a coherent approach to character. I imagine kids will
like these film. The violence is not worrisome. The image is
better than acceptable, though not stellar. Audio is very
good – much better than Shaw Brothers chop-socky. At the
moment, the price is only $16.99 at Amazon.com.
Leonard Norwitz
June 28th, 2009
