The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter – Arrow Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1984
Director: Chia-Liang Liu
Writers: Chia-Liang Liu, Kuang Ni
Cast: Chia-Hui Liu (Godron Liu), Sheng Fu, Lily Li, Kara Wai, Ching-Ching Yeung, Lung-Wei Wang, Chia-Liang Liu

Release Date: April 5th, 2022
Approximate Running Time: 99 Minutes 39 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese, DTS-HD Mono Mandarin, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $39.95

"Loosely based upon the legendary Yang dynasty chronicled in Chinese folklore, the film starts as a family patriarch and all but two of his sons are brutally wiped out in a bloody battle with a rival family. One surviving son (Fu Sheng) returns to his mother and two sisters, driven mad with grief; the other (Gordon Liu) escapes and joins a nearby monastery while in hiding. Once he learns his sister (Kara Hui) has been captured by their enemies, however, the warrior-turned-monk realizes he must renounce his peaceful ideals in order to mount a rescue mission and avenge his family." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "The original 35mm picture negative was scanned in 2K resolution at L’Immagine Ritrovata Asia and restored at L’Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna. The Film was graded at R3Store Studios, London. This new restoration has used the entire film negative without resorting to the practice of “frame-cutting” resulting in the loss of film frames at each negative splice point."

The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.7 GB

Feature: 28.2 GB

This is a solid transfer that looks noticeably better than this film’s previous home video releases. Colors are nicely saturated, image clarity and black levels are consistently strong, and there are no issues with compression.

Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono Cantonese, DTS-HD Mono English), 3.75/5 (DTS-HD Mono Mandarin)

This release comes with three audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Mandarin, a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Though all audio tracks sound clean, clear and balanced. There are some instances where the Mandarin language track sounds echoey. This release comes with English subtitles for Mandarin and Cantonese language tracks, English SDH subtitles for the English language track, and a second English subtitle track for Cantonese text and signs.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery (54 images-stills/posters/home video art/other promotional materials), theatrical trailer (4 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Mandarin with burnt-in English and Cantonese subtitles), digital reissue trailer (1 minute 9 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Mandarin with removable English subtitles), alternate opening credits under the title The Invincible Pole Fighter (4 minutes 4 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a short film titled A Tribute to Fu Sheng commemorating the late actor that played before early screenings of The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter, presented via a German-dubbed telecine (the best available copy) with English subtitles (6 minutes 12 seconds, Dolby Digital mono German with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actress Yeung Ching-ching (32 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Chinese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actress Lily Li (32 minutes 43 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Chinese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Gordon Liu (20 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Chinese with removable English subtitles), an appreciation by film critic and historian Tony Rayns (22 minutes 54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary by Jonathan Clements, author of A Brief History of China, reversible cover art, a limited-edition slipcover (limited to first pressing) and a twenty-four page booklet (limited to first pressing) with cast & crew information, an essay titled Wolves at the Door written by Terrence J. Brady and information about the restoration.

Summary:

The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter opens with an explosive action set piece that features pole and sword fighting that culminates in bloodshed. This action set piece and the ones that follow are exceptional. With each subsequent action set piece, topped by the last one with their jaw-dropping acrobatics and inventiveness, the most memorable action set piece is saved for the finale. In this sequence, Yang Wu-lang, the 5th brother, arrives with a wheelbarrow full of bamboo rods that he uses as projectile weapons.

despite the fact that the plot is yet another tale of vengeance. The result is an exhilarating film that succeeds for two reasons: its action set pieces and the performances of its two leads, Chia-Hui Liu (Gordon Liu) in the role of Yang Wu-lang, the 5th Brother, who becomes a Shaolin monk, and Sheng Fu in the role of Yang Liu-lang, the 6th Brother, who’s overcome by madness after witnessing his father and brothers' deaths. Sheng Fu's The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter would mark his final film. He would die tragically in a car accident while making this film. 

Besides the action set pieces, other standout sequences include a scene where Yang Wu-lang, the 5th Brother, who’s determined to become a Shaolin monk, shaves his head and then takes the incense candles, which he then uses to burn six dots on the top of his head, and a training sequence with Yang Wu-lang, the 5th brother, and Shaolin monks. Ultimately, The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter is a fast-paced action extravaganza that ranks as one of the best martial arts films ever made.

The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter gets an excellent release from Arrow Video that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of extra content, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer