Disciples of the 36th Chamber

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka 'Pi li shi jie')

Directed by Chia-Liang Liu
Hong Kong 1985

Fong Sai Yuk's uninhibited arrogance toward a Manchu lord forces him to seek refuge in a Shaolin temple. Although abundantly trained in the martial arts, he is no match for Master San Te, the creator of the 36th Chamber of Shaolin. Exhausted by his frequent defeats, Fong seeks to escape his prison and crosses paths with a governor, who rewards him with a yellow robe granting immunity from any Manchu. But what are the governor's true intentions? Will Fong feed his foolish ego and betray the Shaolin Temple?

Poster

Theatrical Release: July 18th, 1985

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DVD Review: Weinstein - Region 1 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Weinstein - Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:33:21
Video	2.35:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.64 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Audio	Mandarin (mono) DUB: English (mono)
Subtitles	English (SDH), Spanish, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Weinstein Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by Bey Logan DVD Release Date: December 7th, 2010 Keep Case Chapters: 20

Comments:

Another good remake following closely in the high quality vein of 36th Chamber of Shaolin. Released by under the 'Dragon Dynasty' label (Weinstein) - generally a strong DVD production company for these classic Kung Fu/martial arts/wuxia titles.

This is a pretty decent single-layered transfer from Weinstein with a bit of banding noticeable. I haven't seen any other DVDs of the film but I'll assume the source is consistent (Celestial Pictures). One thing - there are times when things look out of ratio - you may even notice it in the captures below. It didn't overly effect my viewing but it does seem odd - like some sort of anamorphic distortion. Colors and detail are very good (skin tones are a bit orange) with a shade of noise. Overall a watchable presentation but not perfect.

Audio gives flavors of original, post-sync'ed, mono or, an untested, English DUB (also in mono). The whiplash sound effects surrounding acrobatics frequently sound as if they have some separation. I have no strong complaints with the, presumably faithful, audio rendering - there are optional subtitles.

Luckily we have another excellent commentary from Hong Kong Cinema expert Bey Logan - the go-to guy for these things. He is his usual informative-self filling the length of the film with his vast knowledge - including intricate production details and minutia on the cast. There are no other supplements - but none could top this commentary anyway.

An easy choice for fans of the genre - this is a prime example of one of the better examples of this cinema. Along with the commentary it makes for a solid package for those, even remotely, keen.