To Kill a Mastermind – 88 Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1979
Director: Sun Chung
Writer: Ni Kuang
Cast: Wang Lung-Wei, Teng Wei-Hao, Sek Gong, Yuen Wah, Yuen Bun, Luo Sheng, Luo Jun, Mang Ding-Goh

Release Date: September 9th, 2024 (UK), September 10th, 2024 (USA)
Approximate Running Time: 99 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: 15 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: LPCM Mono Mandarin
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: £16.99 (UK), $34.95 (USA)

"BE CAREFUL: no-one’s safe as long as the evil kung-fu masters of the Qi Sha clan terrorize the land. Can they be stopped? The authorities have placed a spy in their ranks, but the clan – and their mysterious, unknown leader – won’t go down without a fight. Or several..." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "HD transfer from the original negative".

To Kill a Mastermind comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 25 GB

Feature: 24.8 GB

The source is in excellent shape; flesh tones look correct, colors are nicely saturated, black levels are strong, image clarity and compression are solid, and the image looks organic. That said, there are some moments where the image looks soft; this appears intentional.

Audio: 4.25/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Mandarin with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds clean, clear, balanced, and robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a stills gallery with music from the film playing in background, reversible cover art, 4 collectable art cards (limited to the first pressing), and a slipcase (limited to the first pressing).

Summary:

Sun Chung directed the film To Kill a Mastermind. His other notable films are Big Bad Sis, The Avenging Eagle, The Deadly Breaking Sword, Human Lanterns, and City War.

There are eight members of the Seven Deadly Kills Legion; one of them is the mastermind. And when someone starts killing them, they turn on each other, wondering which one of them is a traitor. That said, despite making for some really good martial arts moments, it takes a leap of faith to believe one man could outsmart so many exceptional fighters.

To Kill a Mastermind dives right in with a brutal opening sequence where prisoners are offered a chance at freedom in a fight to the death. Unfortunately, for them, their opponents are three highly skilled assassins, and one by one each prisoner is quickly disposed of, one of them even loses their head. This bloody introduction does a superb job setting the tone for what follows.

Though narrative is action-heavy, that is not to say that characters are not fully fleshed out. And when it comes to pacing, things move along quickly; rarely are there moments to catch your breath. That said, the narrative does lose some of its potency when you rewatch it, since you know who the mastermind is.

The most surprising aspect of the cast is that it does not have big-name actors; that said, there are several second-tier ones anyone familiar with 1970s martial arts cinema is sure to recognize. Fortunately, when it comes to the performances, none of the cast disappoints; the actor who portrays “The Mastermind” delivers the most memorable performance.

As mentioned before, the action sequences take center stage, and when it comes to their execution and inventiveness, they deliver in spades with the best being saved for an epic knockdown drag-out finale. Ultimately, To Kill a Mastermind is a highly entertaining adrenaline ride that stands out as one of the better films made by Shaw Brothers in the late 1970s.

To Kill a Mastermind gets a strong audio/video presentation from 88 Films, recommended despite its lack of contextual extras.

Written by Michael Den Boer