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Hero – 88 Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong/China, 1997
Director: Corey Yuen
Writer: Jeffrey Lau
Cast: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Yuen Biao, Jessica Hester Hsuan, Wah Yuen, Tak Yuen, Valerie Chow, Corey Yuen

Release Date: July 5th, 2022
Approximate Running Time: 92 Minutes 24 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono Cantonese, LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: $29.95

"When brothers Ma Wing-jing (Taksehi Kaneshiro) and Ma Tai-cheung (Yuen Wah) flee their impoverished homeland to seek their fortune in Shanghai, they at first find more grinding penury when they are forced to work as lowly coolies, however Wing-jing soon becomes embroiled in the seedy world of big city triads and his once insignificant life becomes an arrogant lust for power." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “HD transfer from the original 35mm negative.”

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

Disc Size: 30.1 GB

Feature: 27.2 GB

The source used for this transfer looks great. Colors are nicely saturated, the image looks crisp, and black levels are strong. Also, though this transfer has some organic qualities, there are a few moments where there appears to be some digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4/5 (LPCM Mono Cantonese), 3.75/5 (LPCM Mono English)

This release comes with two audio options: a LPCM mono mix in Cantonese and a LPCM mono mix in English. Both audio tracks sound clean, clear and balanced. The Cantonese language track sounds more robust than its English language counterpart. Included with this release are two subtitle options: English for the Cantonese language track and a second English subtitle track for Cantonese text and a song.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a English language theatrical trailer (3 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), Hong Kong theatrical trailer (2 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), alternate shots from Taiwanese version (21 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Mandarin with burnt-in English and Cantonese subtitles), an audio commentary with Asian cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema, reversible cover art, a double-sided foldout poster, a limited edition slipcover and a twenty-four page booklet with an essay titled Do We Need Another Hero? written by Andrew Graves.

Summary:

The Hero was directed by Corey Yuen, whose notable films include Yes, Madam!, Righting Wrongs, So Close, and The Transporter. Though Hero is a remake of The Boxer from Shantung, the result is a film that stands well on its own. Also, Hero can be seen as a heroic bloodshed take on The Boxer from Shantung.

Though the opening setup is similar to The Boxer from Shantung, after the initial setup, there are an ample number of new elements that anyone familiar with The Boxer from Shantung is sure to be surprised by a few of these new elements. Another area where Hero sets itself apart from The Boxer from Shantung is when it comes to the outcome of its epic finale.

The Hero features a solid cast who are all great in their respective roles, especially Yuen Biao (Knockabout) in the role of Tam See, a crime boss who mentors the protagonist. It is cool to see Yuen Biao play a role that goes against the good guy type characters that he’s known for. Other performances of note are Takeshi Kaneshiro (Fallen Angels) in the role of the protagonist, a character named Ma Wing-jing, and Tak Yuen (The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter) in the role of Yeung Seung, a ruthless crime boss who’s determined to eliminate all of his competition.

When discussing Hero, one of its greatest assets are its fight sequences, which are inventive and at times bloody. Also, the two most memorable fight scenes see Tam See and Ma Wing-jing take on dozens of assassins, many of whom are wielding an ax or other weapons. Besides the fight scenes being brutal and bloody, they also deliver moments that will wow you.

It's not easy to live up to The Boxer from Shantung, a film that’s considered one of its most genre-defining films. And though Hero uses The Boxer from Shantung as its starting point, to simply write it off as an exceptional martial arts film as a remake would be doing it a great disservice.

Hero gets a first-rate release from 88 Films that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and an informative audio commentary, recommended.