The Crippled Masters – Film Masters (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Taiwan/Hong Kong, 1979
Director: Law Chi (Joe Law)
Cast: Thomas Hong Chiu-Ming (Jackie Conn), Shun Chung-Chuen (Frankie Shum), Chen Mu Chuan

Release Date: July 23rd, 2024
Approximate running time: 91 Minutes 28 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English, Dolby Digital Mono English, DTS-HD Mono Mandarin
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $24.95

"The plot revolves around two men, one who has lost both arms and the other who has lost both legs, as they seek revenge against the villainous master who crippled them. Throughout the film, they undergo rigorous training, mastering their unique fighting styles. As both men hone their skills, they encounter various challenges and adversaries, including other martial artists and the master's henchmen. Along the way, they form a deep bond and develop innovative techniques that capitalize on their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Newly restored in 2K from from 35mm original archival elements".

The Crippled Masters comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.3 GB

Feature: 26.1 GB

Anyone who has suffered from all of the mediocre releases for this film will find this new transfer a revelation. The restoration feature also gives you a clear idea of how bad the cleaned-up source looked. That said, flesh tones look healthy, colors look very good, image clarity is strong, and black levels fare well. Also, compression is very good, and the image retains an organic look.

Audio: 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono English)

This release comes with three audio options: a DTS-HD mono mix in English, a Dolby Digital mono mix in English, and a DTS-HD mono mix in Mandarin. For this review, I focused on the DTS-HD mono mix in English. That said, I did sample the Mandarin language track, which is in great shape; unfortunately, no English subtitles are provided for this audio track. The English-language track sounds clean, clear, and balanced; range-wise, the fight scenes sound very good. Included are removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (4 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Mandarin with burn-in German subtitles), a 2024 recut theatrical trailer (3 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), The Crippled Masters Before and After Restoration Comparison (2 minutes 21 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a documentary about martial arts films distributed in the U.S. titled Kings of Kung Fu: Releasing the Legends (30 minutes 48 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH), original raw scan presentation of The Crippled Masters (91 minutes 33 seconds, 2.35:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), Kung Fu Film Theater Compilation from Something Weird (18 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English and Mandarin, no subtitles), an audio commentary with Will Sloan and Justin Decloux of The Important Cinema Club, and a 16-page booklet with a forward written by Philip Elliott Hopkins, and an essay titled The Crippled Masters written by Lawrence Carter-Long.

Kung Fu Film Theater Compilation has these trailers: The Soul of Bruce Lee, The Game of Death!, Black Samurai, The Star, the Rouge, and the Kung Fu Kid, Fists of Vengeance, Wang Yu, King of Boxers (The Screaming Tiger), The Martial Mates, and Yakuza Deka: The Diamond Trap. All the trailers are in English, except Wang Yu, King of Boxers (The Screaming Tiger), which is in Mandarin.

Summary:

Directed by Law Chi (Joe Law), whose other notable films are Thunderbolt, The Golden Triangle, and Amsterdam Connection.

The narrative revolves around two cripples, one without arms and the other without legs. They join forces against a hunchback villain who is the cause of their deformity.

Though the premise is your standard martial arts revenge movie, the result is anything remotely conventional. And nowhere is this clearer than the premise—two crippled fighters who together make one complete fighter—is perfectly executed. And despite there being other martial arts films where two fighters join forces against an unbeatable villain, once again, the way this is used in The Crippled Masters sets it apart from similar themed films.

The Crippled Masters opens with a gruesome introduction where one character has their arms chopped off. Later on, another character has acid poured on his legs. That said, none of the other carnage comes close to these two moments. Also, a hunchbacked and disfigured character serves as the main villain.

When it comes to the performances, it is really a three-man show: Thomas Hong Chiu-Ming (Jackie Conn), Shun Chung-Chuen (Frankie Shum) as the two crippled masters, and Chen Mu Chuan, the hunchback villain. That said, the power of their performances does not lie in the lines they say; instead, it is the action sequences where they shine the most.

From a production standpoint, The Crippled Masters does a great job with its resources. The well-executed narrative moves with good momentum and climaxes with a solid finale. Also, the fight scenes are inventive, especially when it comes to how the three main characters used their deformities. Ultimately, The Crippled Masters is an oddity that is a must-see if you're a fan of 1970s classic martial arts cinema.

Film Masters gives The Crippled Masters its best release to date, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer