Tai Chi Master – 88 Films (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1993
Director: Yuen Woo-ping
Writer: Kim Yip
Cast: Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, Chin Siu-ho, Fennie Yuen, Yuen Cheung-yan, Lau Shun

Release Date: October 10th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 94 Minutes 40 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: 15 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono Cantonese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region B (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: £29.99 (UK)

"Jet Li stars in this thrilling martial arts epic about two childhood friends falsely accused of cheating and expelled from their Shaolin Temple. As they grow up, their paths diverge, with one embracing the peaceful teachings of Tai Chi and the other seeking power and joining the military. Set against the backdrop of a civil war, their friendship deteriorates into betrayal, leading to a climactic showdown between the two." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD), 4.5/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Brand new 4K Remaster from the original negatives".

Tai Chi Master comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 76.8 GB

Feature: 68.7 GB

The source looks excellent; it's a massive upgrade over this film's previous home media releases. Flesh tones look healthy, color saturation is perfect, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look.

Tai Chi Master comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 41 GB

Feature: 25.8 GB

The Blu-ray uses the same source as the 4K UHD does for its transfer.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Cantonese with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds excellent; dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should.

Extras:

There are no extras on the 4K UHD disc.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), export opening credits (2 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital mono with text in English), an archival interview titled Twin Warriors with director Brett Ratner and film critic Elvis Mitchell who discuss Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh (14 minutes 32 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a featurette titled The Birthplace of Tai Chi: On Location in Chen Village (14 minutes 55 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English and Mandarin with removable English subtitles for Mandarin), and an interview with actor Chin Siu-Ho titled Nemesis (20 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles). 

Other extras include reversible cover art, a double sided poster (limited to the first pressing), a slipcase (limited to the first pressing), and a 20-page booklet (limited to the first pressing) with an essay titled A Tai Chi Masterwork written by Tom Cunliffe, an essay titled The Return of Shaolin Temple’s Prodigal Son: How Tai Chi Master Established Jet Li as a 90’s Action Icon written by Paul Bramhall, and archival images.

Summary:

Yuen Woo-Ping directed Tai Chi Master. He is also known for directing films such as Drunken Master, The Magnificent Butcher, and Iron Monkey. Tai-chi Master was released in North America under the alternate title Twin Warriors.

Two childhood friends were forced to leave a Shaolin temple after one of them offended an elder. Now, on their own, they struggle to make a living. And when one of them accepts an offer to join the government's military, this puts a strain on their once inseparable bond.

At the heart of Tai Chi Master is a story about two inseparable friends, Junbao and Chin Bo, who grew up in a Shaolin temple. Though they were inseparable, after being expelled from the shaolin temple, Chin Bo became an evil governor’s henchman, which caused a rift between the two friends. The narrative's main conflict arises from the two friends who are now on opposite sides. That said, the narrative does an excellent job setting everything up and establishing who all the main players are.

Though there is a familiarity to the story at hand, these similarities are easy to look past because of extraordinary fight scenes and exceptional performances from the entire cast, with the most surprising performance coming from Jet Li (Once Upon a Time in China). The scenes in which his character Junbao tries to deal with the betrayal of his friend Chin Bo are some of the strongest of his career.

Besides Jet Li, another performance of note is Michelle Yeoh (Yes! Madam), who portrays Siu Lin, a woman whose husband left her for another woman. In a film where every fight scene leaves a lasting impression, Michelle Yeoh’s character has the most memorable introduction. In this scene, a drunken Siu Lin confronts the woman who steals her husband, and a fight breaks out. This scene is an exceptional example of Michelle Yeoh’s martial arts prowess, in which her character uses her surroundings.

Not only is Yuen Woo-Ping the director, he was also a fight and stunt coordinator, two areas in which he’s world-renowned. When other students surround Junbao and Chin Bo at the Shaolin temple, this is a notable action set piece early in the film. In this sequence, the students stand on top of each other holding poles. In many fight scenes, the characters find themselves outnumbered. The finale provides the most impressive fight sequence: Junbao and Chin Bo fight on a net with spiked poles below them.

Though the action sequences overshadow everything else, one must not undervalue the use of humor in Tai Chi Master. That said, a lot of comic relief comes at the expense of Yuen Cheung-yan’s character, who in one scene pretends he’s dead. Ultimately, Tai Chi Master is an exceptional martial arts film, making it a must-see for fans of the genre.

Tai Chi Master gets an excellent release from 88 Films that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and informative extras, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer