Night of the Juggler: Limited Edition – Transmission Video Distribution (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1980
Director: Robert Butler
Writers: Rick Natkin, William W. Norton
Cast: James Brolin, Cliff Gorman, Richard S. Castellano, Julie Carmen, Linda Miller, Abby Bluestone, Dan Hedaya, Mandy Patinkin

Release Date: December 8th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 100 minutes 50 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: 15 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £24.99 (UK)

"A young girl is kidnapped in broad daylight in Central Park by a murderous psychopath (Cliff Gorman, All That Jazz), who plans to demand a huge ransom for her return, mistakenly believing she is the daughter of a wealthy property developer. Unfortunately for him, she’s actually the daughter of Sean Boyd (James Brolin, True Grit), a devoted dad and grizzled ex-cop who will stop at absolutely nothing to get her back, even if it means taking out the kidnapper, his enemies in the NYPD, and the entire scuzzy underworld populating the mean streets of 1970s New York…" - synopsis provided by the distributor

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

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Night of the Juggler was restored in 4K resolution by Trimuse Entertainment. The original 35mm camera negative was scanned by Filmscan in Munich using the MWA Flashtransfer Vario 5K Scanner and restored using HS Art Diamant Film Restoration Software. Additional color grading was performed using DaVinci Resolve 20, and audio restoration was performed using RX 11. The film is presented in both Dolby Vision HDR (UHD) and SDR (Blu-ray)."

Night of the Juggler comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 61.2 GB

Feature: 60.8 GB

The source looks excellent; it features an exemplary encode from Fidelity in Motion, and this release corrects the error that is still present on Kino Lorber’s release. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Night of the Juggler comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 44.6 GB

Feature: 29.6 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English with removable English SDH. The audio sounds excellent; dialogue always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds and the score sound robust.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an audio commentary with film historians Kim Newman and Sean Hogan.

The Blu-ray disc extras include a stills and poster gallery (17 images), a theatrical trailer (1 minute 51 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a locations featurette with journalist/filmmaker Michael Gingold and production associate Chris Coles titled The Meanest Streets (28 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a video essay by Daniel Kremer, author of Sidney J. Furie: Life and Films titled Pandemonium Reflex: An Inquest into Sidney J. Furie’s Night of the Juggler (14 minutes 1 second, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a video essay on the depiction of New York in 70s and 80s exploitation cinema by Howard S. Berger titled Fun City Limits: Fear & Loathing in Hollywood's NYC (28 minutes 34 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Julie Carmen titled The Sweet Maria (14 minutes 21 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor James Brolin (13 minutes 50 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with Kim Newman and Sean Hogan.

Other extras include a pull-out poster, six lobby-card-style postcards, an O-card slipcover, a removable OBI strip, leaving packaging free of certificates and markings, and a 40-page perfect-bound booklet with cast & crew information, an essay titled Psychotic Reactions, NYC Style written by Glenn Kenny, an essay titled “Another Goddamn New York Day” Night of the Juggler’s Street Map of the Vigilante Genre written by Barry Forshaw, an essay titled Turning up the Heat with William P. McGivern written by Travis Woods and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Although Robert Butler is credited with directing Night of the Juggler, Sidney J. Furie (The Entity) directed about ⅓ of the film.

A man who mistakes a girl for the daughter of a millionaire abducts the daughter of a former police officer who now works as a truck driver.

There is something about 1970s and early 1980s cinema that other eras rarely match. Films of the 1970s and early 1980s had a grittiness to them that enhanced their realism, while cinema from Hollywood’s Golden Age and of the last 40 years features metropolitan landscapes that look too clean. Case in point: Night of the Juggler, a film shot in actual New York locations a decade before the city got cleaned up and made more family-friendly.

Night of the Juggler has two storylines at play, which collide for an explosive finale. The first of these is a kidnapper, who's angered that his once beautiful childhood neighborhood is in decline, and he blames a wealthy real estate developer. The other revolves around a father and daughter who are making plans for her birthday. Things for them go awry when the kidnapper mistakes her for another girl, and her only hope for a safe return is her father, who uses his skills as a former police officer to navigate the city.

All around, the cast are outstanding in their roles. James Brolin (The Amityville Horror) is cast in the role of Sean Boyd, the father, and he delivers the best performance of his career. There is so much going on with his character: a bitter divorce and a former job where he made enemies with co-workers he turned in for breaking the law. While his main focus is rescuing his daughter, his past actions are constantly presenting obstacles. The other performance of note is Cliff Gorman’s (The Boys in the Band) portrayal of Gus Soltic, the kidnapper.  Although he makes many mistakes along the way, it is his determination that keeps him one step ahead of Sean and the law.

An initial setup introduces the characters; then the rest of the narrative is essentially a lengthy chase and race against time. The narrative is driven by the father's and the kidnappers' determination, and the police, who eventually get involved, never find a solid footing. The action sequences are particularly impressive, especially the extended scene in which the father pursues the kidnapper, primarily on foot, after his daughter has just been abducted. Ultimately, Night of the Juggler is an exemplary crime film whose antihero protagonist comes from the same mold as Taxi Driver's Travis Bickle.

Transmission Video Distribution gives Night of the Juggler its definitive home media release. Highly recommended.

Note: This edition is limited to 5000 copies.

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

Descendant of the Sun – Vinegar Syndrome Archive (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1983
Director: Chor Yuen
Writers: The Shaw Brothers Creative Group
Cast: Derek Tung-Sing Yee, Cherie Chung, Ku Kuan-Chung, Lung Tien-Hsiang, Yang Chi-Ching, Wong Lik, Ai Fei

Release Date: December 2nd, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 92 Minutes 13 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $49.98

"Shek Sang has quite a dilemma. Born inside a glowing rock and discovered by a meager carpenter who raised him, he became aware of his otherworldly powers early on. When he defeats a pack of soldiers forcefully rounding up laborers, he finds a way into the Princess's compound to escape being hunted down. The Prince Regent, eager to realize his secret Intelligence Nation agenda of slaughtering any baby he deems unintelligent, is plotting to kill his niece, the Princess, in his quest for power and a nation of pure intelligence. Now, aware of the evil danger threatening the Princess, yet unable to divulge to her his true identity, Shek Sang plays the role of a lowly houseboy and bird-trainer for her parrot. As the Prince Regent discovers an equally powerful Evil Baby with which to challenge Shek Sang, and the Princess falls in love with his alter ego, a reckoning is looming." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release’s transfer, "Newly scanned and restored in 2K from its 35mm original camera negative."

Descendant of the Sun comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 32.1 GB

Feature: 25.3 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, and image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction. That said, some of the special-effects-heavy moments are not as strong as the bulk of this transfer.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese with removable English subtitles. Dialogue comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise this audio track sounds excellent.

Extras: 

Extras for this release include an interview with action director Yuen Bun on Hong Kong stuntwork titled The Master of Action (19 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), a video essay by film historian Samm Deighan titled Shaw Brothers Fantasy in the 1980s (16 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with Asian cinema historian Frank Djeng, reversible cover art, a bottom-loading VHS-inspired slipcase, a double-sided poster, and a 40-page perfect-bound book with an essay titled It’s a Mallard, It’s a Crane, It’s SB-Man! written by John Charles, an essay titled Descendant of the Sun: A Kaleidoscopically Colorful Wuxia Fantasy written by Tom Cunliffe, and an essay titled Descendant of the “Huh?”: Hammer, Chor Yuen, and Weird Wuxia written by Keith Allison.

Summary:

Chor Yuen directed Descendant of the Sun. He is known for Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan, Killer Clans, The Magic Blade, Sentimental Swordsman, and Clans of Intrigue.

The heavenly realm sends a magic baby with superpowers to Earth after an evil demon destroys it.

Descendant of the Sun is a Shaw Brothers Wuxia film that liberally borrows from the Superman mythos. The narrative revolves around a heroic protagonist whose home (the heavenly realm) is destroyed, and as the last descendant, he’s sent to Earth as a baby and raised by a carpenter. While the protagonist's foes are mostly from the earthly realm, similar to Superman, he encounters a villain who had trapped herself and has freed herself. The protagonist is also a master of disguises, similar to Clark Kent and Superman, making it difficult for characters to distinguish between his alter egos.

The 1980s saw a shift in focus for the Shaw Brothers to adapt to the current market trends, and another area of change was an influx of new talent headlining their films. Derek Tung-Sing Yee (Buddha’s Palm) is cast in the role of the hero Shek Sang, and he delivers a strong performance that excels when it comes to the physicality of the role. His character has immeasurable power, can float through the air, and uses his hands and feet to fight instead of weapons.

Cherie Chung (An Autumn's Tale) is cast in the role of a princess whose uncle is trying to kill her and assume the throne. Unfortunately, her character is mostly ceremonial, and she’s given little to do outside of a few speeches. A performance of note is Ku Kuan-Chung (Opium and the Kung-Fu Master), who portrays evil baby Mo Ying, a formidable foe for Shek Sang, who shoots lasers out of his palms that make people explode. That said, the performances are best described as serviceable.

While the Superman similarities do lead to a lot of predictability, this is not a deal breaker since Descendant of the Sun is more concerned with spectacle than exposition. The action set pieces are overflowing with moments that defy logic and gravity. When it comes to their execution, unfortunately they are not as polished as Shaw Brothers Wuxia from the 1960s and 70s. That said, the production design is solid, and it does a superb job creating believable fantasy landscapes. Descendant of the Sun’s score features a music cue that sounds like the main cue for John Williams’s score for Superman. Ultimately, Descendant of the Sun is a fun time waster that leaves no lasting impression.

Descendant of the Sun gets an excellent release from Vinegar Syndrome Archive that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras. Recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Hong Kong New Wave Essentials – Shout! Factory (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Hong Kong, 1988 (Painted Faces), Hong Kong, 1990 (The Story of My Son), Hong Kong, 1985 (Women)
Directors: Alex Law (Painted Faces), Johnnie To (The Story of My Son), Stanley Kwan (Women)
Cast: Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Lam Ching-ying, Cheng Pei-pei, John Shum, Wu Ma (Painted Faces), Damian Lau, Cheng Pak-Lam, Huang Kun-Hsuen, Lee Sze-Kei, Ng Man-Tat, Lam Suet (The Story of My Son), Cora Miao, Chow Yun-fat, Cherie Chung, Elaine Jin (Women)

Release Date: December 16th, 2025
Approximate Running Times: 112 Minutes 31 Seconds (Painted Faces), 78 Minutes 20 Seconds (The Story of My Son), 95 Minutes 6 Seconds (Women)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (All Films)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese (All Films)
Subtitles: English (All Films)
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $45.99

Painted Faces: "Long before the world discovered Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, they were members of a children's Peking opera troupe. Painted Faces is the colorful story of the adolescent years of Jackie, Sammo, and others who grew up to transform Hong Kong cinema." - synopsis provided by the distributor

The Story of My Son: "Li Tzu-liang (Damian Lau) is newly widowed and leading an impoverished life with two young sons (Huang Kun-hsuan and Cheng Pak-lam). He attempts to make a fortune gambling at the horseracing track but is subsequently debt-laden even as more heart-wrenching events begin to unfold." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Women: "A woman (Cora Miao) joins the carefree 'Spinsters' Club' when she discovers her husband (Chow Yun-fat) is having an affair. Despite the seemingly happy front that her 'sisters' put on, underneath it all each of them secretly yearns for a man in their lives. When her repentant husband begs forgiveness, she is forced to decide on what she truly wants." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5 (All Films)

Painted Faces comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 44.3 GB

Feature: 29.2 GB

The Story of My Son comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 24.3 GB

Feature: 20.3 GB

Women comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 41 GB

Feature: 24.7 GB

All three films are in excellent shape; flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity and compression are solid, black levels are strong, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4.25/5 (All Audio Tracks)

Each film comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese. The Story of My Son includes some dialogue in English, while Women features some dialogue in French. All audio tracks are free of distortion or any background hiss; dialogue comes through clearly and ambient sounds are well represented. Included are English subtitles that can only be removed via the audio setup menu.

Extras:

Extras for Painted Faces include two theatrical trailers (5 minutes 33 seconds, DTS-HD mono Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with film historians John Kreng and Ric Meyers titled Brush Strokes: A Look Into Painted Faces (11 minutes 29 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), an interview with film critic David West titled A Formidable Face, in which he discusses Sammo Kam-Bo Hung (20 minutes 31 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with screenwriter Mabel Cheung titled Painted Provocations (28 minutes 44 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with film historians Frank Djeng And F.J. DeSanto.

Extras for The Story of My Son include a Celestial rerelease trailer (1 minute 20 seconds, DTS-HD mono Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with John Kreng and Ric Meyers titled The Story Behind My Son (12 minutes 41 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), and an audio commentary with James Mudge, veteran Hong Kong film critic at EasternKicks.

Extras for Women include a Celestial rerelease trailer (1 minute 29 seconds, DTS-HD mono Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with John Kreng and Ric Meyers titled Jade Vases (11 minutes 30 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), an interview with academic and author Lin Feng titled Hong Kong Romance (15 minutes 32 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), an interview with academic and author Victor Fan titled Female Problems (22 minutes 57 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), an interview with actor Fung Chi Fung titled A Woman's World (21 minutes, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with James Mudge.

Summary:

Painted Faces: The story revolves around Master Yu, who operated a Beijing opera school. His students included notable figures such as Jackie Chan, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Yuen Biao, Yuen Qiu, Yuen Wah, and Corey Yuen.

Painted Faces was the directorial debut of Alex Law, who would only direct two other films, Now You See It, Now You Don’t and Echoes of the Rainbow. He’s more known for his work as a screenwriter; his notable credits are The Illegal Immigrant, An Autumn’s Tale, Eight Tales of Gold, and Beijing Rocks.

Painted Faces is just as much an autobiographical account of Master Yu and his Peking opera school as it is an origins story for Jackie Chan and Sammo Kam-Bo Hung. In the case of the latter, he appears in Painted Faces in the role of Master Yu, the man who trained him. That said, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, who was one of Master Yu’s best students, is central to the story that unfolds; a child and teenage version of himself are portrayed by two actors.

People most remember Master Yu's school for his seven most celebrated students, whom they refer to as the Seven Little Fortunes. Although Painted Faces features Jackie Chan, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, and Yuen Biao prominently, it does not feature the other four little fortunes. That said, the lack of screentime for the other little fortunes does not lessen Painted Faces' overall impact.

Painted Faces is unflinching in its depiction of the harsh and grueling training Master Yu put his students through. The narrative is engrossing; it does a superb job holding your attention by showing the characters' ups and downs. The most poignant moment is a scene where a former student of Master Yu badly hurts himself doing a dangerous stunt and he has a nervous breakdown. That said, the cast are all excellent in their roles, especially Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, who pays tribute to his mentor. Ultimately, Painted Faces is an exemplary biographical drama about some of Chinese cinema’s most significant stars.

The Story of My Son: Debt overwhelms a widower with two sons following his wife's death. When he is unable to repay the money he borrowed from a loan shark, his life spirals further out of control.

Johnnie To directed The Story of My Son. His other notable films include All About Ah-Long, Running Out of Time, The Mission, Fulltime Killer, PTU, Breaking News, Thrown Down, Election, Election 2, and Exiled.

The Story of My Son is a Hong Kong remake of Luigi Comencini's Misunderstood. While it retains the core elements of the original—a father, two sons, a grieving family, and the father and older brother concealing the mother's death from the youngest son—it also recreates several moments from Misunderstood.

While Johnnie To is most known for his action/crime films, he’s actually a versatile filmmaker who excels in any genre he’s worked in. Case in point, The Story of My Son, a drama about a man whose choices have put him and his two sons in danger. The protagonist is a proud man, who refuses help from his father-in-law, and instead of fleeing Hong Kong, he stubbornly remains. Although The Story of My Son is a film that fits firmly into the melodrama genre, there are moments where it veers into the crime film genre.

All of the cast are excellent, especially Huang Kun-Hsuen (All About Ah Long), who portrays the protagonist's eldest son. He tries to keep his family together as things spiral out of control and many of his actions lead to conflict with his father. Damian Lau (Royal Tramp) delivers a sympathetic performance in the role of the father. A cast member of note is Lam Suet (The Mission), who makes his first appearance in a Johnnie To film. He’s appeared in over 20 films produced or directed by Johnnie To.

Don’t let The Story of My Son’s brevity, 78 minutes in length, deceive you. It actually covers a considerable amount of ground for its running time. The narrative is well-executed, and it does an exemplary job building momentum via a succession of tense moments that come to a head in a gut-punch climax. Ultimately, The Story of My Son is an intense melodrama that quickly grabs you and stays with you long after its conclusion.

Women: A woman attempts to start anew and move on from her husband, who left her for another woman after having an affair.

Women is Stanley Kwan’s directorial debut. His notable films include Love Unto Waste, Rouge, Center Stage, Red Rose White Rose, and Hold You Tight.

The further I explore the filmography of Stanley Kwan, the clearer it is that he’s a filmmaker who’s more interested in his characters than in creating stylized visual moments. Women is a richly textured film that centers on a woman at a crossroads. The protagonist's discovery of her husband's infidelity sets everything in motion. Although she still loves her husband, his infidelity deeply wounds her, and his inability to walk away from his mistress adds further insult.

Instead of wallowing in her sadness, the protagonist makes her son the main focus. She also finds comfort and happiness in a core group of women who have suffered a similar betrayal. While the narrative sees her making attempts to reconcile with her husband, its ultimate power lies in how she retains agency over her life.

Women is a different kind of role than what Chow Yun-fat is now known for; it was made a year before his breakout film, A Better Tomorrow. Although he delivers a solid portrayal of a man unable to acknowledge his faults and mend the relationship he’s damaged, the main draw of Women is Cora Miao (Boat People) in the role of the protagonist, Liang Bo-Er. The narrative is told entirely from her character's viewpoint, and she delivers a remarkable performance. Another performance of note is Cherie Chung (Once a Thief) in the role of the mistress.

From a production standpoint, Women is a film that far exceeds the sum of its parts. The narrative does a superb job drawing and holding your attention as it builds to a bittersweet finale where the protagonist and her husband come to a compromise. At this point in his career, Stanley Kwan’s direction is solid, notably evident when it comes to his instincts. Ultimately, Women is an emotionally charged melodrama that never delivers a false note.

Shout! Factory’s Hong Kong New Wave Essentials is a solid release that gives each film a strong audio/video presentation and informative extras. Highly recommended. 

Written by Michael Den Boer