The Fearless Hyena – 88 Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong/South Korea, 1979
Director: Jackie Chan
Writers: Jackie Chan, Lo Wei
Cast: Jackie Chan, James Tien, Dean Shek, Chan Wai-lau, Yam Sai-koon, Lee Kwan

Release Date: August 10th, 2020
Approximate running time: 97 Minutes 47 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 15 (UK)
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese, DTS-HD Alternate Mono Cantonese with Japanese "Crazy Monkey" Music Cues, DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD 5.1 English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region B
Retail Price: £14.99 (UK)

"In this directorial debut, Jackie plays Lung, a talented fighter but prefers to spend his time loafing around and picking fights, despite orders from his grandfather (James Tien) not to fight. Unknown to him, a brutal general (Yam Sai Kun) has been slaughtering all the people from his grandfather’s clan. When the general recognizes Lung’s style of kung fu during one of his street fights, he hunts down Lung’s grandfather and kills him.

A grieving Lung plans his vengeance and is aided by crippled kung fu master who imparts to him a new kind of “emotional kung fu”. Mentally and physically ready, Lung finally seeks out the wicked general to see justice done." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.75/5

Here’s the information given about the transfer, "New 2K Restoration from the Original 35mm Negative ."

The Fearless Hyena comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 26.8 GB

Feature: 25 GB

Though the source used for this transfer is in very good shape, there are a few moments where the black levels are not as convincing as they should be. The colors look very good, the image generally looks crisp, and compression is strong.

Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono Cantonese, DTS-HD Alternate Mono Cantonese with Japanese "Crazy Monkey" Music Cues, DTS-HD Mono English), 4/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 English)

This release comes with four audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese, a DTS-HD alternate mono mix in Cantonese with Japanese "crazy monkey" music cues, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, and a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English. Fidelity-wise, the three mono tracks are similar; dialog always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. Range-wise, ambient sounds are well-represented, and fight scenes sound robust. The 5.1 track does a good job spreading out the original mono source. Included are removable English subtitles for the Cantonese language tracks and removable English subtitles for Cantonese text when watching the English language tracks.

Extras:

Extras for this release include reversible cover art, Hong Kong theatrical trailer (4 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), Japanese theatrical trailer (3 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Japanese with removable English subtitles), Japanese TV spot (14 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Japanese with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Hong Kong cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema.

Summary:

The Fearless Hyena was the directorial debut of Jackie Chan, who had just established himself as one of the premier actors working in martial arts. He had just starred in Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow, Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin, and Drunken Master. And though Jackie Chan would go on to make some of his most celebrated films in the 1980s, The Fearless Hyena has many of the elements that are synonymous with Jackie Chan’s most celebrated films.

The narrative revolves around Lung, a gifted martial arts fighter who is constantly getting into trouble because of his mischievous behavior. His grandfather warns him not to fight because he does not want strangers to see their families' fighting style. Lung's inability to stay out of trouble gets the attention of someone from whom his grandfather has been hiding.

The Fearless Hyena sees Jackie Chan once again portraying a mischievous character. Also, when it comes to the fight scenes, Jackie Chan often employs his trademark slapstick fighting style, and his character is a master of disguise, dressing up as a woman and a crossed-eyed simpleton. There is also a moment where his character's silly behavior is backed by an all-too-familiar song, Henry Mancini’s Pink Panther theme.

The narrative follows well-traveled ground in martial arts cinema. It is yet another revenge-themed martial arts film where the protagonist must improve their skills to be able to achieve their revenge. And what The Fearless Hyena lacks when it comes to plot, it more than makes up for with an abundance of fight and training sequences. That said, the fight scenes are excellent. Ultimately, The Fearless Hyena is a very satisfying blend of martial arts and humor.

The Fearless Hyena gets a good release from 88 Films that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and an informative audio commentary, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer