Kung Fu Rascals: Collector's Edition – Visual Vengeance (Blu-ray)

Release Date: USA, 1992
Director: Steve Wang
Cast: Steve Wang, Troy Fromin, Johnnie Saiko, Les Claypool, 'Evil' Ted Smith

Release Date: October 22nd, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 102 Minutes 21 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $34.95

"When their village is threatened by an ancient dark lord known as The Bamboo Man, a master thief and his two sidekicks steal a map and set off on a quest to find the only superpower in the land big enough to save their home and rid the world of evil. But these Rascals will have to kick, punch and fart their way through every ninja, monster and mutant in sight before they can restore peace." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 1.5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Director-supervised SD master from original tape elements".

Kung Fu Rascals comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42.5 GB

Feature: 16 GB

There is only so much that can be done with a transfer source from SD tapes.That said, I don’t see any other release ever looking better than this one.

Audio: 2.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a Dolby Digital mono mix in English with removable English SDH. Though the audio sounds clear and balanced, don’t expect anything range-wise.

Extras:

Extras for this release include Kung Fu Rascals Visual Vengeance trailer (1 minute 5 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), Kung Fu Rascals original trailer (3 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), behind the scenes image gallery with music from the film playing in the background, stills gallery with music from the film playing in the background, complete Film Threat Video #6 behind the scenes article, a short film titled Code 9 directed by Steve Wang (13 minutes 20 seconds, 1.33:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), original Kung Fu Rascals Super 8 short film directed by Steve Wang (34 minutes 50 seconds, 1.33:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), Behind The Scenes Video Diaries (56 minutes 55 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an interview with Chris Gore titled Distributing Kung Fu Rascals on VHS (11 minutes 40 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview titled Steve Wang and Les Claypool III Meet Again (10 minutes 12 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview titled The Reunion of the Three Rascals (16 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a documentary titled The Making of Kung Fu Rascals (112 minutes 25 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with director Steve Wang, actors Johnnie Saiko,Troy Fromin, Ted Smith and composer and actor Les Calypool III, an audio commentary with Kung Fu Rascals superfans Justin Decloux and Dylan Cheung, reversible cover art featuring original VHS art, 'Stick your own' video store sticker sheet, a folded mini-poster, a 2-Sided Insert, a 12-page mini comic book (first pressing only), and a limited-edition slipcase (first pressing only).

Other extras include trailers for The Nine Demons, Furious, and Born a Ninja.

Summary:

Steve Wang directed Kung Fu Rascals. He is also known for directing The Guyver, Guyver: Dark Hero, and Drive.

The Kung Fu Rascals are the only hope for restoring the villager, besieged by evil, to its former glory.

Kung Fu Rascals devotes some time to exposition but is predominantly action-driven. Fortunately, the surprisingly strong martial arts sequences are Kung Fu Rascals’ greatest asset. That said, at 102 minutes in length, there are a few lulls, and the narrative would have benefited from tightening up.

The most surprising aspect of Kung Fu Rascals is how effectively it uses humor, especially in regards to martial arts stereotypes. Also, when it comes to the performances, it's hard not to get caught up in the cast's enthusiasm. Despite its lack of polish, Kung Fu Rascals delivers in the one area where it matters the most; it's a fun film that does not take itself seriously. Ultimately, Kung Fu Rascals is an ambitious do-it-yourself film that somehow succeeds despite its shortcomings.

Visual Vengeance gives Kung Fu Rascals its best home media release to date; this is as good as it will ever look or sound, and it comes with a ridiculous amount of extras, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer