Dragon Lord: Deluxe Limited Edition – 88 Films (UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1982
Director: Jackie Chan
Writers: Jackie Chan, Edward Tang, Barry Wong
Cast: Jackie Chan, Mars Cheung, Hwang In-shik, Tien Feng, Paul Chang, Wai-Man Chan, Fung Hak-on, Corey Yuen, Mang Hoi, Chiu Chung-san  

Release Date: February 23rd, 2026
Approximate Running Times: 96 Minutes 6 Seconds (Hong Kong Theatrical Cut), 90 Minutes 54 Seconds (English Export Cut), 103 Minutes 2 Seconds (Extended Cut), 110 Minutes 39 Seconds (Hybrid Cut)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10 (Hong Kong Theatrical Cut, English Export Cut, Extended Cut, Hybrid Cut)
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono Cantonese (Hong Kong Theatrical Cut, Extended Cut, Hybrid Cut), LPCM Mono English (Hong Kong Theatrical Cut, English Export Cut), DTS-HD 5.1 English (Hong Kong Theatrical Cut)
Subtitles: English (All Films)
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region B (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: £35.00 (UK)

"The story follows childhood friends Lung (Jackie Chan) and Ngau (Mars), whose carefree days of dodging schoolwork and stirring up mischief take a dangerous turn when they stumble into a ruthless gang smuggling priceless Chinese artifacts out of the country." - synopsis provided by the distributor

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

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Brand-new 4K restorations in 2.35:1 aspect ratio from the original 35mm camera negatives."

Dragon Lord, the Hong Kong theatrical cut and the English export cut come on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 86 GB

Feature: 61.6 GB (Hong Kong Theatrical Cut), 57.5 GB (English Export Cut)

This disc uses seamless branching for the two versions.

Dragon Lord, the extended cut and the hybrid cut come on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 83.6 GB

Feature: 64.8 GB (Extended Cut), 18.1 (Hybrid Cut)

Dragon Lord, the Hong Kong theatrical cut and the English export cut come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 44.9 GB

Feature: 30 GB (Hong Kong Theatrical Cut), 28.3 GB (English Export Cut)

This disc uses seamless branching for the two versions.

Dragon Lord, the extended cut and the hybrid cut come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.6 GB

Feature: 27.3 GB (Extended Cut), 18.1 (Hybrid Cut)

This is another significant upgrade from 88 Films. Flesh tones look healthy; colors are nicely saturated; contrast, black levels, image clarity, and compression are solid; and the image always looks organic.

Audio: 4.5/5 (LPCM Mono Cantonese - Hong Kong Theatrical Cut, LPCM Mono Cantonese - Extended Cut, LPCM Mono Cantonese - Hybrid Cut, LPCM Mono English - English Export Cut), 4.25/5 (LPCM Mono English - Hong Kong Theatrical Cut), 4/5 (LPCM Mono Cantonese Home Media Release - Hong Kong Theatrical Cut, DTS-HD 5.1 English - Hong Kong Theatrical Cut)

The Hong Kong theatrical cut comes with four audio options, a LPCM mono mix in Cantonese from the film's theatrical release, a LPCM mono mix in Cantonese from a previous home media release for the film, a LPCM mono mix in English, and a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English. There are about five minutes in Cantonese with English subtitles when watching the mono-English language track. All of the tracks sound clean, clear, balanced, and robust when they should. The theatrical Cantonese track sounds fuller than the home media release Cantonese track. Included are removable English subtitles for the Cantonese language tracks and simplified English subtitles for the Jianzi match.

The English export cut comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English with removable English subtitles for Cantonese text.

The extended cut comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Cantonese with removable English subtitles.

The hybrid cut comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Cantonese with removable English subtitles.

These three tracks sound excellent. Dialogue always comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced and robust when they should.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc with the Hong Kong theatrical cut and the English export cut include a Hong Kong theatrical trailer (4 minutes 13 seconds, DTS-HD mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an English-language theatrical trailer (1 minute 31 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), a behind-the-scenes teaser (5 minutes 21 seconds, DTS-HD mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Wong In-Sik titled The Master Returns (11 minutes 52 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor/stuntman Mars Cheung titled The Fall Guy (29 minutes 46 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Louis Sit titled The Insider (9 minutes 38 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with assistant director Angie Chen titled Dragon Lord Titbits (12 minutes 17 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Mars Cheung, he discusses Dragon Lord, and an audio commentary with East Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and F.J. DeSanto for the Hong Kong cut.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc with the Hong Kong theatrical cut and the English export cut include a Hong Kong theatrical trailer (4 minutes 13 seconds, DTS-HD mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an English-language theatrical trailer (1 minute 31 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), a behind-the-scenes teaser (5 minutes 21 seconds, DTS-HD mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Wong In-Sik titled The Master Returns (11 minutes 52 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor/stuntman Mars Cheung titled The Fall Guy (29 minutes 46 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Louis Sit titled The Insider (9 minutes 38 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with assistant director Angie Chen titled Dragon Lord Titbits (12 minutes 17 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Mars Cheung, he discusses Dragon Lord, and an audio commentary with East Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and F.J. DeSanto for the Hong Kong cut.

There are no extras on the 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs with the extended cut and the hybrid cut.

Other extras include reversible cover art, a collectible double-sided poster, a rigid slipcase, an O-ring slipcover, and a 40-page perfect-bound book with cast & crew information, an essay titled About the Film written by Thorsten Boose and Will Blaik, an essay titled Keeping up with the Jianzi written by C.J. Lines, an essay titled Young Master in Overdrive written by Andrew Heskins, and an essay titled The Last Dragon written by David West.

Summary:

An aristocrat's son, known for his troublemaking and disregard for his martial arts lessons, stumbles upon a gang of thieves planning to steal artifacts from the townspeople.

After parting ways with Lo Wei and before his breakthrough with Project A, Jackie Chan’s early 1980s output was uneven. Two films from this era stand out: The Young Master and Dragon Lord. Although the latter began as a sequel to The Young Master, it eventually morphed into its own entity. The thing that links these two films is that they are period-set kung fu films. While these were the films that initially rose Jackie Chan to prominence, Dragon Lord would see him move away from period-set kung fu films in favor of a modern setting.

Jackie Chan's role in Dragon Lord feels all too familiar, portraying a mischievous character who doesn't take his martial arts lessons seriously. His character arc transitions from an irresponsible individual focused solely on chasing girls and having fun with friends to someone who must quickly enhance his skills when confronted with an obstacle. He delivers another exemplary performance in the role of Lung, in which he is able to show off his impeccable comedic timing.

Throughout his career, Jackie Chan has been paired with another actor, and in Dragon Lord he teams up with Mars Cheung, who portrays Lung’s best friend, Ngau. Anyone familiar with 1970s and '80s martial arts films is sure to recognize Mars Cheung, a frequent collaborator of Jackie Chan. While Mars Cheung is most known for his work as a stuntman, Dragon Lord is one of few times he’s given a substantial role, and his chemistry with Jackie Chan makes the moments they share the most memorable.

Once Jackie Chan decided to take a more active role in his films, there was a massive jump in the quality of the action set pieces. While some martial arts actors tend to have a niche and excel in it, Jackie Chan consistently strives to surpass himself with every new action sequence. The action sequences in Dragon Lord are inventive, with many occurring in situations not typically associated with martial arts cinema, particularly a Jianzi match.

Although the premise covers familiar ground, there are enough surprises along the way that things never get predictable. Another strength of Dragon Lord is how well it balances comedy and action. Ultimately, Dragon Lord is a highly entertaining film that is unjustly underrated and a must-see for fans of martial arts cinema from the 1970s and 80s.

Dragon Lord gets a definitive release from 88 Films. 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