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Master Lee's Drunkard Cinema Vol. 1
Challenge the Dragon (1974) The Needle Avenger (1976)
(aka "The Way of the Tiger" )
directed by Chan Yang Li/Liou-Xiao Ling
Hong Kong 1974
Theatrical Release: 1974 (Hong Kong)
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DVD Review: Code Red (Master Lee's Drunkard Cinema Volume 1) - Region 0 - NTSC
Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!
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CLICK to order from:
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Code Red Region 0 - NTSC |
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| Runtime | 1:24:45 | |
| Video |
2.31:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono | |
| Subtitles | none | |
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Release Information: Studio: Code Red Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 15 |
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| Comments |
Sourced from one of 21st Century Film's theatrical prints, the presentation is sometimes battered but progressive and anamorphic which is in better shape than DRAGON VS NEEDLES OF DEATH.
In one or two instances, the splice line bounces up into the frame and there are the expected infrequent vertical green scratches. |
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(aka "Long hu feng" or "Dragon vs. Needles of Death" or "Needles of Death" or "The Needle Avenger" )
directed by Kuo-heng Chung
Taiwan 1976
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In THE NEEDLE AVENGER, a young man joins a kung-fu academy but fails to fit in (probably because he skips lessons to practice his needle throwing - which begs the question why he joined the academy in the first place). He soon runs off with the master's daughter and becomes a salt smuggler. He ends up joining with the school's top fighter - his former rival - against a local mob leader. THE NEEDLE AVENGER is a fairly impoverished effort with unexciting fight choreography and coverage. The lackadaisical English dubbing (although the cast seems bland even taking that into account) and bad foley work (used along with not-so-clever cutting to convey the trajectory of the deadly needles) will probably be appreciated by bad movie aficionados but it is no neglected chop-sockey treasure. Meanwhile, in CHALLENGE THE DRAGON (aka WAY OF THE TIGER not to be confused with Bruce Lee's WAY OF THE DRAGON although I'm sure they TIGER's producers and distributors wouldn't have minded), Tang Lung protects a village from mobsters who are after their ginseng crop. Although second-billed on the disc menu (though first billed on the cover), CHALLENGE THE DRAGON is a bit more interesting than its co-feature with far more interesting and varied fight choreography (the bamboo poles scene is a highlight) and unlike THE NEEDLE AVENGER, it's got a female love interest who gets to do quite a bit of the fighting. The bad English dubbing is a bit more endearing here than in the co-feature (where it just makes things more excruciating) although still laughable. |
Poster
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Theatrical Release: 1976 (Taiwan)
DVD Review: Code Red (Master Lee's Drunkard Cinema Volume 1) - Region 0 - NTSC
Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!
| DVD Box Cover |
|
CLICK to order from:
|
| Distribution |
Code Red Region 0 - NTSC |
|
| Runtime | 1:28:03 | |
| Video |
2.31:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
|
|
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
||
| Bitrate |
|
|
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono | |
| Subtitles | none | |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: Code Red Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 15 |
|
| Comments |
THE NEEDLE AVENGER (onscreen title: DRAGON VS. NEEDLES OF DEATH) is in nowhere near pristine form but the state of the print adds to the grindhouse feel of the double bill which is appropriate since the anamorphic, progressive source is a 21st Century Film Corp. U.S. print (not surprising in itself since some of their print elements have been next to impossible to source since the company liquidated their assets - the company was acquired in name only by Cannon and given to Menahem Golan as part of his severance package). The image is sometimes distorted with columns and other vertical details leaning slightly towards the left (close-ups of characters during these scenes also exhibit distortion). One or two shots also feature some vignetting along the top edges but this may be a fault of the original photography (the scope formatting - probably 2-perf Techniscope - doesn't quite lend production value to the impoverished production).
Audio is clear but the sound is rough overall (in keeping with the print) but the dubbing and sound design is fairly crude (there are sound effects even when blows do not make contact and this is not a sync issue). The widescreen framing, progressive image, and anamorphic enhancement alone blows the previous fullscreen DVD editions out of the water. |
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Code Red Region 0 - NTSC |
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