10kbullets

New Fist of Fury: Limited Edition – Arrow Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Hong Kong, 1976 (Original Cut), Hong Kong, 1980 (Re-edited Cut)
Director: Lo Wei
Writer: Lo Wei
Cast: Jackie Chan, Nora Miao, Han Ying-chieh, Chan Sing, Luk Yat-lung, Yim Chung, Suen Lam, Cheng Siu-siu

Release Date: August 29th, 2023
Approximate running times: 2 Hours 5 Seconds (Original 1976 Cut), 82 Minutes 40 Seconds (Re-edited 1980 Cut)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Versions)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese (Both Versions), DTS-HD Mono English (Both Versions), DTS-HD Mono Mandarin (Original 1976 Cut), DTS-HD Mandarin Alternate Mix (Original 1976 Cut)
Subtitles: English, English SDH (Both Versions)
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $39.95

"Shanghai, 1910. With the Jing Wu martial arts school in shambles and pressure from the Japanese armies to suppress a Chinese uprising after Chen Zhen's martyrdom, Chen's fiancée Li Er (Nora Miao, reprising her role from Fist of Fury) escapes to Japanese-occupied Taiwan to hide at her grandfather's school. Despite her attempts to lay low, she runs afoul of karate master Okimura (Chan Sing, The Iron-Fisted Monk), who plans to take over all of the Chinese-run schools in Taiwan. Amidst all of this, a young aimless thief, known only as Ah Long (Jackie Chan), befriends Li Er after unknowingly stealing the nunchaku once yielded by the late Chen. Will he give into his fears, or will he learn the martial arts of Jing Wu and fight alongside Li Er against the Japanese?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.5/5 (Both Versions)

Here’s the information given about the transfer, "New 2K restoration from the original negatives by Fortune Star."

New Fist of Fury comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 46.4 GB

Feature: 25.3 GB (Original 1976 Cut), 15.9 GB (Re-edited 1980 Cut)

The sources used for these transfers look exactly like the sources 88 Films used for their transfers. The sources for both versions have been cleaned up and are in good shape. Despite the colors looking very good, the black levels are not convincing; at times they look grayish. The image generally looks crisp, and compression is very good.

Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono Cantonese, DTS-HD Mono Mandarin, DTS-HD Mono Mandarin Alternate Mix), 3.75/5 (DTS-HD Mono English - Original 1976 Cut, DTS-HD Mono English - Re-edited 1980 Cut)

The original 1976 cut comes with four audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese, a DTS-HD mono mix in Mandarin, a DTS-HD mono mix in Mandarin (alternate mix), and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Included are removable English subtitles for the Cantonese and Mandarin language tracks and removable English SDH for the English language track.

The re-edited 1980 cut comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Included are removable English subtitles for the Cantonese language track and removable English SDH for the English language track.

The Cantonese and Mandarin language tracks sound more robust than the English language tracks. Dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. It should be noted that all tracks have some dialog in Japanese. Both tracks sound clear, balanced, and robust when they should. That said, the English language tracks have some sibilance issues.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery (25 images - stills/posters/other promotional materials), Hong Kong theatrical trailer (3 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), English language trailer (3 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a new video essay by Bentley comparing New Fist of Fury to the rival sequel made simultaneously, Fist of Fury Part II titled Duelling Furies (7 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng and Michael Worth, co-directors of Enter the Clones of Bruce Lee for the original 1976 cut, an audio commentary with action cinema expert Brandon Bentley for the re-edited 1980 cut, reversible cover art, a double-sided fold-out poster (limited to first pressing), and a booklet (limited to first pressing) with cast & crew information, an essay written by Jonathan Clements, an archival retrospective article written by Brian Bankston, and information about the transfers.

Other extras include a Chen Zhen trailer reel of sequels and reboots.

Summary:

New Fists of Fury was directed by Lo Wei, a director who greatly benefited from his lead actors, Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Though "New Fists of Fury" is billed as a successor to "Fist of Fury," a film also directed by Lo Wei, the result is two films that could not be further apart. And nowhere is this more clear than when it comes to the tone of New Fists of Fury.

Though there is no denying Jackie Chan’s abilities as a martial artist, at this point in his career he had yet to establish his persona. He would be brought in as an attempt to be the next Bruce Lee, which has failed every time it has been attempted. That said, considering what he was given to work with Jackie Chan, this is actually one of New Fists of Fury’s bright spots.

Aside from Lo Wei, New Fists of Fury shares actors Han Ying-chieh (The Big Boss) and Nora Miao (The Way of the Dragon) with Fists of Fury. That said, they are both very good in their roles. Another performance of note is Chan Sing (The Iron-Fisted Monk) in the role of the lead villain, a Japanese martial artist named Okimura.

On the surface, though, New Fists of Fury has all of the elements necessary to be a successful film. Somehow the sum of the parts doesn't come together. And nowhere is this more clear than when it comes to a slow-moving narrative. That said, at least when it comes to the fight scenes, for the most part, they are very good. Ultimately, New Fists of Fury is a pedestrian martial arts film that would have fallen into obscurity if it were not for Jackie Chan.

New Fists of Fury gets a good release from Arrow Video that comes with two versions of the film and informative extras, recommended.