Review of Fist From Shaolin

Introduction

Before I start, a plea. Apologies if you`ve read this before, but maybe the repetition might make someone listen.

Can any DVD company who have rights to martial arts films, and who aren`t called Hong Kong Legends, please transfer all those rights to the aforementioned Hong Kong Legends effective immediately. Nobody does it better than Hong Kong Legends, although perhaps because nobody is trying. But if you won`t try, then don`t do it at all. The reason for this rant will become clear in a moment.

Right then, on with this DVD.

Another tale about Chinese folk hero, Wong Fei Hung, who must once more help the oppressed masses fight against the evil drugs trade and evil foreign forces.

Video

A not as bad as I was expecting anamorphic 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer. It`s a lot better than any of the other catalogue titles that I`ve looked at recently, but it still has some dirt and dust on the print. It`s not up to the standards of the aforementioned Hong Kong Legends, but it`s the best Soulblade/Dragon DVD so far.

Audio

A pair of rather below average DD2.0 soundtracks, one in the original language, the other a terrible English dub. And already there`s a problem, because if you want to avoid the ridiculous dub, you want to listen to the original language. But unless you speak it you`re stuck, as there aren`t any subtitles on the disc. Absolutely criminal!

Features

A few extras too. There are some very bad quality clips of training sequences (these are sub-home video quality, but have some novelty value perhaps) and a couple of minutes of a fight sequence.

There are also trailers for other DVDs (including the mad Shaolin Wooden Men) as well as this film.

Conclusion

Probably the most watchable Soulblade/Dragon DVD so far, mostly due to the fact that the print isn`t so badly damaged. It`s a shame that there`s no subtitle track for the original language, as this would be easier to listen to than the nasty dub.

The film itself is just about worth watching as are most Wong Fei Hung films. There are a few good fights and it trots along at a reasonable pace. There are a few bad comedy scenes, but the fights are just enough to keep you interested.

A shame then that this DVD is not as good as it could have been. The picture is ok, but could have been better. The sound is a bit below average, but the lack of subitles is a massive problem. The extras are really novelty value only.

If you can`t find anything else to watch, you could pick this up at a bargain price, but only if you liked dubbed soundtracks.