Wake in Fright: Limited Edition – Arrow Video (4K UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: Australia/UK/USA, 1971
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Writer: Evan Jones
Cast: Donald Pleasence, Gary Bond, Chips Rafferty, Sylvia Kay, Jack Thompson, John Meillon, Nancy Knudsen

Release Date: June 29th, 2026 (UK), June 30th, 2026 (USA)
Approximate Running Time: 108 Minutes 21 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: 18 (UK), R (USA)
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £29.99 (UK), $49.95 (USA)

"John Grant (Gary Bond, Zulu), a bored schoolteacher working in the remote outback, stops overnight in the frontier mining town of Bundanyabba on his way back to Sydney for the Christmas holidays. After he loses all his savings in a bad gambling bet, Grant finds himself marooned and swept up in the vortex of a succession of hard-drinking, hard-living and crude men led by Doc (Donald Pleasence, Halloween) who threaten to make him just as crazy, drunk, and violent as they are." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “The film was restored and made available by Umbrella Entertainment in conjunction with the Wake in Fright Trust. The original camera negative was scanned in 4K by the National Film and Sound Archive and graded and restored by ROAR Digital in Melbourne, Australia.” 

Wake in Fright comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 93.1 GB

Feature: 76 GB

The source looks excellent. Flesh tones and colors look correct, and contrast, black levels, image clarity, and compression are solid, and the image always retains an organic appearance.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. The track sounds clean, clear, and balanced, and the ambient sounds and the score are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a stills gallery with music from the film playing in the background, a US TV spot (31 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a US theatrical trailer (2 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a restoration trailer (1 minute 26 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), Chips Rafferty obituary by Ken G. Hall (3 minutes 27 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), Who Needs Art?, a 1971 TV segment with behind-the-scenes footage (5 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a 2009 TV report on the rediscovery and restoration of Wake in Fright (6 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digtal stereo English, no subtitles), alternate scenes from an international version titled Outback (10 minutes 40 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival audio interview with director Ted Kotcheff, conducted by Paul Harris (130 minutes 27 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio interview with composer John Scott, conducted by music historian Daniel Schweiger (15 minutes 30 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with Ted Kotcheff titled Yer Mad, Ya Bastard! (12 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor Jack Thompson from Not Quite Hollywood (6 minutes 50 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a Q&A with Ted Kotcheff from the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival (45 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), The Filmmaker and the Film Buff, a discussion between Philippe Mora and Paul Harris (20 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), The Cinema’s Great Squeaky Bald Git, an appreciation of actor Donald Pleasence by film historian Kim Newman (14 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Sounds of the Outback, a previously unreleased interview with sound editors Keith Palmer and Eddy Joseph (14 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with the director of photography Brian West titled Take in Fright (20 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a featurette tracking down the film’s Broken Hill locations titled Return to the ‘Yabba (49 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with Ted Kotcheff and editor Anthony Buckley, an audio commentary with Peter Galvin, author of The Making of Wake in Fright, reversible cover art, a slipcover (limited to the first pressing), and a 44-page booklet (limited to the first pressing) with cast & crew information, an essay titled All the Little Devils are Proud of Hell written by by Jay Slater, an essay titled Terror in the Yabba written by Paul Lê, an essay titled Come and Have a Drink, Mate written by David Michael Brown, an archival writing titled On the Kangaroo Hunt written by Ted Kotcheff, an archival writing titled Lost & Found written by Anthony Buckley, and information about the transfer.

Other extras include a trailer reel of Australian films helmed by overseas filmmakers titled Foreign Visions of Local Stories (38 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles). The trailers are The Overlanders, Bitter Springs, A Town Like Alice, The Siege of Pinchgut, The Sundowners, They’re a Weird Mob, The High Commissioner (Nobody Runs Forever), Age of Consent, Walkabout, Sunstruck, Sidecar Racers, The Pyjama Girl Case, The Earthling, and The Coca Cola Kid.

Summary:

Ted Kotcheff directed Wake in Fright. Other notable films he directed are The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Fun with Dick and Jane, North Dallas Forty, Split Image, Rambo: First Bood, Uncommon Valor, and Weekend at Bernie’s. Wake in Fright is an adaptation of Kenneth Cook’s novel of the same name.

A schoolteacher on an overnight stay in a frontier mining town loses all of his money gambling. Now broke and with nowhere to go, the townfolks take him in and expose him to their excessive drinking and hard living. Desperate to get out of town, the schoolteacher is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Wake in Fright is a film about choices. The narrative revolves around a man named John Grant, who ventures out into Bundanyabba instead of going straight to bed and catching a flight to Sydney in the morning. While exploring Bundanyabba, a policeman befriends him, but his generosity quickly becomes annoying. John tries his luck at two-up, a gambling game the locales play, and he becomes reckless when he starts to win. Resentful of the onerous terms of his employment, he sees a way to quickly earn the cash he needs to pay off his bond. John’s luck quickly runs out; he loses all of his money and now finds himself stranded in a place he loathes.

Wake in Fright is an unflinching portrayal of Australia's Outback. Most of the characters live a carefree life where they spend most of their time drinking. Trapped and with nowhere to go, John embraces the locale's way of life and becomes engulfed in their excesses. While there is nothing outwardly sinister about any of the characters, Wake in Fright is extremely effective at getting under your skin. That said, so much of Wake in Fright’s mood comes from the barren location Broken Hill, which is a character unto itself.

All around, the performances are excellent, especially Gary Bond’s portrayal of John Grant. He delivers a remarkable performance that perfectly conveys John’s prejudices and anxiety about his future. Another performance of note is Donald Pleasence's (Halloween) portrayal of a vagrant alcoholic doctor. That said, there is an authenticity to all of the performances that greatly aides the story that unfolds.

The visuals and John Scott’s (Symptoms) do a superb job of heightening the mood. In the case of the former, it simply lets the performances be the focal point, while the latter accentuates key moments. For a film that has many unsettling moments, none stand out more than the kangaroo hunting scene that contains genuine footage of kangaroos being shot. To say these moments are brutal would be an understatement. Ultimately, Wake in Fright is an aptly titled film that has not lost any of its potency.

Wake in Fright gets a definitive release from Arrow Video. Highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer

School on Fire: Hong Kong Cinema Classics – Shout! Factory (UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1988
Director: Ringo Lam
Writer: Nam Yin
Cast: Sarah Lee, Damian Lau, Fennie Yuen, Lam Ching-ying, Roy Cheung

Release Date: August 4th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 102 Minutes 58 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10 Dolby Vision
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese (Theatrical), DTS-HD Mono Cantonese (Uncensored)
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $44.98

"A young schoolgirl, Yuen Fong, becomes caught in a tragic stranglehold of triad activity after she testifies in court over a triad beating. When this news reaches the triad leader Brother Smart, Yuen Fong must pay him protection money for what she has done as events begin to escalate." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD, Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "4K scan from the original camera negative. Restored by Shout! Studios in 2026."

School on Fire comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 70.8 GB

Feature: 70.5 GB

This is another solid transfer from Shout! Factory, the source looks excellent. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic appearance.

School on Fire comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40.7 GB

Feature: 28.2 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 5/5 (Both Tracks)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese (theatrical mix) and a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese (uncensored mix). Both tracks sound excellent; dialogue always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should. Included are English subtitles for both tracks. It should be noted that subtitles and audio can only be chosen via the audio setup menu, and they cannot be turned off while watching the main feature.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an audio commentary with film historian Frank Djeng.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer (4 minutes 41 seconds, DTS-HD mono Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), extended and uncensored footage (4 minutes 5 seconds, DTS-HD mono Cantonese with burnt-in English subtitles), an interview with Hong Kong film critic James Mudge titled Back to the Classroom (18 minutes 51 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), an interview with executive director Raymond Lee titled Raymond Lee Remembers School on Fire (12 minutes 44 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with actress Fennie Yuen titled Fiery Thoughts (29 minutes 47 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), and audio commentary with Frank Djeng.

Other extras include a slipcover (limited to the first pressing).

Summary:

Ringo Lam directed School on Fire. He rose to prominence in Hong Kong cinema in the latter part of the 1980s after directing films like City on Fire, Prison on Fire, and Full Contact. He made three films in Hollywood with Jean-Claude Van Damme, and unlike most of his contemporaries, he has also managed to stay active in Hong Kong cinema.

A young girl’s life spirals out of control after she testifies against a triad whose beating led to one of her classmates' deaths.

After years of making films that were assigned to him rather than his true desires, he had his breakout with City on Fire. From there he would make two more “Fire" films: Prison on Fire and School on Fire, each more violent and political than the previous. While not a traditional trilogy, the thing that is central to these three films is how they revolve around characters who are part of or victims of organized crime.

While Ringo Lam has never shied away from injecting special commentary in his films, School on Fire is his most overtly political film. Upon its release, School on Fire was censored in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The only uncut version of School on Fire is the Tai Seng VHS video release from Rainbow Audio & Video Co. That said, Shout! Factory for this release has reinstated all censored dialogue, while the censored footage only exists on VHS, and it is included as an extra.

What sets School on Fire apart from other 1980s Hong Kong crime films is how it depicts law enforcement and criminals. Where other Hong Kong crime films from this era made a clear distinction between these two, School on Fire shows the police in a more negative light. That said, another way that School on Fire goes against the grain is how it does not glamorize the criminals.

The performances are outstanding, especially Fennie Yuen's (Swordsman) portrayal of Yuen Fong, a schoolgirl caught in the triads' crossheirs. She delivers a remarkable performance that is the heart and soul of School on Fire. Though not a name as recognised by Western audiences like Chow Yun-fat, Roy Cheung was central to Ringo Lam’s film from City on Fire to Prison on Fire II. He portrays a triad boss, and he delivers an intense performance that dominates every moment he’s in. Another performance of note is Lam Ching-ying (Mr Vampire) cast against type in the role of detective.

The opening setup grabs your attention and from there an escalation of violence effectively builds to a bloody justice-served finale. There is an authenticity to the violence; it feels more spur-of-the-moment than cinematic. When discussing School on Fire, Lowell Lo’s (The Killer) outstanding mood-reinforcing score should not be undervalued. Ultimately, School on Fire is an intense crime drama where everyone is at the top of their game and everything falls into place perfectly.

Shout! Factory gives School on Fire an exceptional release that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of insightful extras. Highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Red Sorghum – Whole Grain Pictures (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: China, 1988
Director: Zhang Yimou
Writers: Chen Jianyu, Zhu Wei
Cast: Gong Li, Jiang Wen, Ji Chunhua, Teng Rujun

Release Date: July 14th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 94 Minutes 17 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono Mandarin
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"Shandong, China, late 1930s. A girl named Jiu'er is sent by her parents to marry an old man who owns a failing sorghum wine distillery. When the old man dies under mysterious circumstances, Jiu'er must take over the business... and her tenacity quickly gains the love and support of the rough but kind distillery workers." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Red Sorghum is presented in a new HD remastered version for the first time in North America."

Red Sorghum comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 43.1 GB

Feature: 26 GB

The source looks excellent, the flesh tones look correct, the colors are nicely saturated, the image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Mandarin with removable English subtitles. The track maintains excellent quality, with clear dialogue and well-represented ambient sounds.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a US Blu-ray trailer for Red Sorghum (1 minute 17 seconds, LPCM mono Mandarin with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with Chinese film historian Tony Rayns (55 minutes 10 minutes, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), a video essay by film historian Jonathan Clements titled Red Redemption (13 minutes 31 seconds, LPCM stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Mandarin film clips), an audio commentary with Michael Berry, a professor of Asian Languages and Cultures at UCLA, and trailers for other films released by OCD Media.

Summary:

Red Sorghum was Zhang Yimou's directorial debut. Zhang Yimou is the most prominent Chinese filmmaker of his generation. Zhang Yimou's notable films are Red Sorghum, Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern, To Live, The Road Home, Hero, and House of Flying Daggers.

A young woman named Jiu'er is forced to marry an old man with leprosy who owns a wine distillery. When the old man dies a few days after they are married, Jiu'er takes it upon herself to keep the distillery open.

The story that unfolds takes place in a rural village in Shandong province during the Second Sino-Japanese War. While Red Sorghum is Jiu'er’s story, it is not told by her; it is narrated by her grandson. The opening setup does an exceptional job drawing you in by fleshing out its main characters, and from there the conflict-driven narrative effectively builds momentum to its tragic finale.

Gong Li would make her film debut in the role of Jiu'er. While in college, Gong Li was discovered by Zhang Yimou, with whom eight more films would be worked on together. Gong Li delivers a remarkable performance that foreshadows where she would go as an actress. Another performance of note is Jiang Wen (Let the Bullets Fly) in the role of Yu, a man who Jiu'er falls in love with. Yu is an impulsive character who often loses his temper.

Red Sorghum is a beautifully photographed film, especially moments where everything is bathed in red. The visuals take full advantage of the rural landscapes, and the way the camera moves greatly enhances the mood. For all of its beauty, Red Sorghum is also a film that has moments that are difficult to watch. The most notable are the scene where Jiu'er is raped by a masked man (Yu) and a scene where Japanese soldiers force a butcher to skin alive captured Chinese communist soldiers. Ultimately, Red Sorghum is an outstanding film that has not lost any of its potency.

Whole Grain Pictures gives Red Sorghum an excellent release that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a trio of exemplary extras. Highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Operation Scorpio – 88 Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1992
Director: David Lai
Writers: Barry Wong, David Chan
Cast: Chin Kar-lok, Lau Kar-leung, Won Jin, May Lo, Fung Woo, Victor Hon, Frankie Chin, Steven Yuen

Release Date: August 10th, 2026 (UK), August 11th, 2026 (USA)
Approximate Running Time: 100 Minutes 17 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 15 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: LPCM Mono Cantonese, LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: £20.00 (UK), $29.95 (USA)

"A young man learns martial arts from two masters of opposing styles; he then combines them to take on the local gangster's son, who is a master of the deadly Scorpion Style." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "2K restoration from the original negative."

Operation Scorpio comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 46.2 GB

Feature: 30.3 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4.5/5 (LPCM Mono Cantonese), 4/5 (LPCM Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options, a LPCM mono mix in Cantonese and a LPCM mono mix in English. Both tracks sound clear and balanced and ambient sounds are well represented. That said, the Cantonese-language track sounds more robust than the English-language track. Included are removable English subtitles for the Cantonese-language track and when watching the English-language track there are English subtitles for a song and text that are Cantonese.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery (stills/posters), an English-language theatrical trailer (1 minute 52 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), a Cantonese language theatrical trailer (3 minutes 30 seconds, DTS-HD mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), English-language opening and closing credits (2 minutes 14 seconds, DTS-HD mono), an archival interview with actor and martial arts choreographer Lau Kar Leung (17 minutes 46 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Won Jin (20 minutes 7 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Korean with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with Chin Kar Lok (18 minutes 12 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), Won Jin Audition Reel (2 minutes 44 seconds, DTS-HD stereo), a sneak peek at Jump Senior, directed, produced, written, choreographed, and starring Won Jin (2 minutes 3 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), five scene-specific audio commentaries by Won Jin in Korean with removable English subtitles, an interview with Won Jin titled Scorpion in Seoul (65 minutes 52 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Korean with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with Paul Bramhall, reversible Sleeve, an O-Ring slipcase (limited to the first pressing), and a 36-page booklet (limited to the first pressing) with an essay titled Lau Kar Leung: The Grandmaster of Kung Fu Cinema written by Johnny Burnett, an easy titled Operation Seoul: The Journey to Interview Won Jin written by Paul Bramhall, and Kung Fu Bob Presents Animal Styles.

Summary:

David Lai directed Operation Scorpio. He’s known for Possessed, Possessed II, Women on the Run, and Heaven and Earth.

A young man who dreams of being a martial arts hero combines the two fighting styles of his two teachers, creating a new style that he employs against a gangster's son who mastered the deadly scorpion style.

Operation Scorpio takes the familiar blueprint: a novice who dreams of being a martial arts expert, who through sheer determination archives his goal. The protagonist, Fei Yu Shu, has the right intentions but constantly gets into trouble for avoiding his responsibilities. What makes his journey more interesting than similar themed martial arts films is that he has two teachers with contrasting fighting styles that he melds into one style. That said, one of his teachers' styles relies on brute force while the other relies on control.

All around, the cast are excellent in the roles, especially Lau Kar-leung (Drunken Master II) in the role of master Lo, the most feared killer in the underworld, who’s been hiding as a cook. He also worked as the martial arts choreographer on Operation Scorpio. Chin Kar-lok (Full Throttle) is cast in the role of Fei Yu Shu, and he convincingly moves from novice to the martial arts expert. Another performance of note is Won Jin’s portrayal of Sonny Wang, who’s character has mastered the deadly scorpion style.

While the narrative does an excellent job fleshing out characters and setting the foundation, the main attraction is the action set pieces. The most notable action sequences are the ones where Sonny Wang showcases his scorpion fighting style. That said, all of the action sequences are overflowing with inventiveness and outstanding stuntwork. Ultimately, Operation Scorpio is a highly entertaining martial arts film that serves as a time capsule for the type of films that Honjg Kong used to make.

Operation Scorpio gets an excellent release from 88 Films that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and informative extras. Highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Stoner – 88 Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1974
Director: Huang Feng
Writers: Huang Feng, Ni Kuang
Cast: Angela Mao, George Lazenby, Betty Ting, Hwang In-shik, Joji Takagi, Sammo Hung Kam-Bo

Release Date: August 11th, 2026
Approximate Running Times: 114 Minutes 58 Seconds (Hong Kong Version/Malaysian Version), 106 Minutes 9 Seconds (Export Version)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Versions)
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono Mandarin (Hong Kong Version/Malaysian Version), LPCM Mono English (Export Version)
Subtitles: English (Hong Kong Version/Malaysian Version)
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"Someone's flooding Australia with designer drugs and Sydney's toughest cop, Joshua Stoner - George Lazenby (On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Queen's Ransom) - has travelled to Hong Kong to find out who. He's not the only one on the hunt - Taiwanese super-cop Li (Angela Mao, the first lady of kung-fu) is also on the case; between them, the mob is in big trouble." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5 (Hong Kong Version/Malaysian Verson, Export Version)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "2K restoration from the original negative."

Stoner comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 44.6 GB

Feature: 32.6 GB

The sources look excellent; flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, compression is solid, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4.25/5 (Both Mandarin Audio Tracks), 3.75/5 (LPCM Mono English)

The Hong Kong version comes with two audio options, a LPCM mono mix in Mandarin and an alternate LPCM mono mix in Mandarin for the Malaysian version. Both tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced, and action sequences sound robust when they should. Included are removable English subtitles for the Mandarin tracks. The export version comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English with removable English subtitles for text in Mandarin. The track sounds clean, clear, and balanced. That said, it is not as robust as the Mandarin tracks.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery with music from the film playing in the background (stills/posters), a theatrical trailer (4 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Mandarin with burnt-in English subtitles), an alternate title sequence from the Malaysian version (1 minute 41 seconds, Dolby Digital mono), an interview with Kim Newman on Stoner titled Kangaroo Kung Fu (15 minutes 40 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with Frank Djeng and Michael Worth, reversible cover art, a double-sided foldout poster, and an O-card slipcase (limited to the first pressing).

Summary:

Huang Feng directed Stoner. He’s known for The Shaolin Plot, Naked Comes the Huntress and his nine collaborations with Angela Mao.

An Australian cop investigating a new deadly drug becomes personal when his sister overdoses. From there he travels to Hong Kong, looking to take down those responsible for his sister's death.

Stoner originally began as The Shrine of Ulitmalte Biss, and it was supposed to be Bruce Lee’s next film after Game of Death. The Shrine of Ulitmalte Biss would have paired Bruce Lee with Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba; it was the first of three films George Lazenby made for Golden Harvest. After Bruce Lee’s death, The Shrine of Ulitmalte Biss would morph into something completely different with Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba dropping out and Angela Mao being added to the cast.

While Stoner has most of the elements that one expects from 1970s martial arts films, the result is a film that leans heavily into exploitation elements, notably T&A. Another clear influence is the spy film genre, which is not a surprise since George Lazenby did portray James Bond. That said, despite Hong Kong cinema’s long history of successfully mixing genres, Stoner is not as effective in this regard.

Angela Mao (Lady Whirlwind) and George Lazenby (On Her Majesty's Secret Service) deliver solid performances, but they truly excel during action sequences. That said, the loss of Bruce Lee and Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba is devastating and impossible to overcome. Sammo Hung Kam-Bo (The Magnificent Butcher) is cast in yet another evil henchman role before he had his breakout as a leading man.

The opening setup does a good job setting the foundation; unfortunately, the narrative that unfolds has trouble building any momentum. While the narrative is not without its issues, the action sequences for the most part are solid. Ultimately, despite its shortcomings, Stoner is a film that can be a lot of fun if you're in the right frame of mind.

Stoner gets a first-rate release from 88 Films that comes with a strong audio/video presentation, two versions of the film and informative extras. Recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer