Review for Fist Of Legend: Ultimate Edition

Introduction

Hot on the heels of Kill Zone, the second collaborative release between Cine Asia and Dragon Dynasty comes to the UK, and this title has been a long time in coming. We now get Fist of Legend: The Ultimate Edition. I'm usually wary about adding the Ultimate Edition suffix to Cine Asia titles, as often they are the only editions released in the UK, which makes it all a pointless hyperbole. But there has been a Fist of Legend release in the UK, courtesy of Buena Vista several years ago, an unpleasant non-anamorphic, dub only version of the film that is hardly the sort of thing to appeal to collectors of kung fu cinema. It's the same version that has been shown on TV broadcasts several times over the past few years, the same version that I have started to watch, and then had to switch off because the dub was so excruciating. It's a crying shame, as Fist of Legend is reputed to be one of Jet Li's finest action films, made at the height of his powers back in 1994. This modern remake of the classic Fist of Fury finally gets the release it deserves, anamorphic with original language audio courtesy of Cine Asia, a two-disc release with the Bey Logan commentary. It's also released on Blu-ray on the same day.


It's 1937 and tensions are high across South East Asia, especially with Japan beginning to dream imperialist dreams, and throw its weight around its territories and beyond. But it is the economic superpower in the region, which is why Chen Zhen is at a prestigious Tokyo university, learning about the modern world, and putting up with jingoistic students who wish to promote their vision of racial purity. It isn't the growing hatred that makes him go home to Shanghai though, it's the news that his kung fu master Huo Yuan Jia has been killed in a match with the head of a rival Japanese dojo. His desire is simple, to return home, pay respects to his master, then show the Japanese that the Chinese will no longer tolerate their arrogance by giving them a good kicking. It's never that simple though. It becomes all too clear that the man reputed to have bested Huo Yuan Jia is wholly incapable of such an act, and there's something far more sinister going on. Worse, Chen Zhen's return throws the Jing Wu Men School into turmoil, especially as he brings a modern approach to kung fu that doesn't sit well with the new master, Ting-an, son of Huo Yuan Jia. It becomes even more complicated when Chen Zhen's Japanese girlfriend Mitsuko follows him to Shanghai, and they become victims of prejudice from both sides.

Picture

Fist of Legend gets a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer, and a pleasant film to PAL transfer at that. The image is clear and sharp throughout, with good colour balance showing the excellent production design to good effect. You can't get away from the fact that it's a 15 year old film, so there is some grain prevalent, and a smidge of print damage and age, but certainly not immediately noticeable. It does contrast with the opening credits, which appear to have been created especially for this release by Dragon Dynasty, and they are a whole lot cleaner, sharper, and CGI. Of course the whole point of this film is the kung fu, and the action sequences are stunning, choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping (who else), and brilliantly shot. They are also much more grounded for a film of this period, and wirework is thankfully kept to a minimum.

Sound

You have a choice between DD 5.1 English, and DD 2.0 Cantonese and Mandarin, with optional English subtitles. Watch the Cantonese version, as it best portrays the central story arc of the confrontation between the Chinese and Japanese, simply because the characters speak the language appropriate to their nationality, Cantonese and Japanese. The Mandarin track has all the characters speaking Mandarin, and the same can be said of the English track. The English dub wasn't quite as excruciating as I remember, and I get the feeling that Dragon Dynasty created this dub specifically for this release, replacing the original English dub with something more palatable. Certainly, the music has been re-scored by Stephen Edwards to take advantage of the 5.1 soundstage, and is markedly different from the original score. Bey Logan notes in the commentary that we should have the choice of both scores for the English dub, but in the UK we only get the re-scored audio. It's also worth noting that the English dub makes the ending of the film different from the original language versions.

Extras

Both discs get animated menus, but the only extra on disc one is the Bey Logan audio commentary. Of course if the film wasn't enough to convince you to buy the disc, this commentary certainly is, jam packed as always with pertinent information about the film and the Hong Kong film industry, delivered in an entertaining way, with clarity and erudition.

Disc 2 is devoted to extras of course, and the most substantial of which is the Interview Gallery.

The Man Behind the Legend lasts 36 minutes, and is a detailed, English language interview with the film's director, Gordon Chan, although it is subtitled if you require. In it he talks about how to remake a classic, and takes us through the process of bringing Fist of Legend to the screen. There are some choice anecdotes as well.

Brothers in Arms is a 23-minute interview with Chin Siu-Ho, who played Ting-an in the film. He talks about his career and the film.


The Way of the Warrior lasts 30 minutes and offers an insight into the career of Kurata Yasuaki, who here also talks about making the film, and bringing the action movie ethos back to Japan.

You can see more of this in The School Of Hard Knocks, 27 minutes in Kurata's Action School, where the film stars of tomorrow are trained.

Finally in this section, A Look At Fist Of Legend offers the insight of director Brett Ratner, and critic Elvis Mitchell, who offer their takes on the Jet Li movie.

There are 5 deleted scenes on this disc, running to 5 minutes in total, presented in Mandarin, and subtitled in English and I guess Japanese. The infamous opium scene is here as well.

Finally there are two trailers in a Trailer Gallery, the original and the Dragon Dynasty one.

Conclusion

I've never seen Fist of Fury; in fact for all the Hong Kong movies that I have seen, the only Bruce Lee film I ever saw was Enter the Dragon, and I have to admit that I didn't much care for it. It was an early case of the actual film not living up to the hyperbole and legend that had at that time deified Bruce Lee. So I can't exactly compare Fist of Legend and tell you if it is worse or better, if it is a respectful homage or shameless retelling. I can tell you this though, I watched Fist of Legend and had an absolute blast, it's one of the best kung fu actioners I have seen in a long time, relentless and brutal in its action scenes, inventive and eye-catching in its choreography, yet backed up with an engrossing story, and sensitive performances. If there were a quintessential kung fu movie, the one film that you could use as a gateway drug to a new and unexplored genre, then this would be it.


At first glance the story seems typical kung fu, with the master of a kung fu school slain by a brutal and unscrupulous rival, and the star student having to exact a just and righteous vengeance upon him. Add to that period setting, and the convenient villainy of Japanese overseers well on their way to imperialist expansionism, and you could have a kung fu movie that follows the template of so many others that have come before and since. The most recent such film I saw was Ip Man, which saw Bruce Lee's own master standing up to those dreaded Japanese devils, and beating them at their own game with honour and justice at heart. But Fist of Legend muddies the waters when it becomes clear that Chen Zhen's master didn't die in honourable combat, but was instead murdered. It makes things even more ambiguous, when it turns out that not all the Japanese are devils, Chen Zhen's girlfriend is Japanese, and he has a respectful relationship with her uncle, the martial artist Funakoshi. By the same token, not all of the Chinese are saints, there's betrayal afoot in the Jing Wu Men school, the school's students aren't altogether tolerant of the new ways of fighting that Chen Zhen has learned in Japan, and their disdain for Mitsuko lies rooted in a bigotry that permeates all sides of Shanghai's society.


The film also backs this up with some sensitive performances from all involved, and there are layers and depths to the characters here that your usual kung fu movie simply wouldn't even consider. This is evidently the film that put Jet Li into the global stratosphere, and the way that the character navigates a path between two antagonistic worlds is brilliantly portrayed. But there is strong support, especially from Chin Siu-Ho as Ting-an, who is initially pleased to see his friend's return, but who gradually becomes more and more unsettled as it becomes clear that he may lose grip of the school that he inherited, trying to uphold the old ways when Chen Zhen's modern approach to martial arts seems to work better. I also love Kurata Yasuaki as Funakoshi, something of a Yoda-esque figure in Chen Zhen's life, similarly trying to stay aloof of the antagonism between the two cultures, but having to deal with it nonetheless.


Of course the big draw of this film is the action. Yuen Woo Ping choreographs the fight sequences, and in an era where action was becoming more balletic, enhanced with wire-fu, and increasingly stylised, Fist of Legend keeps it significantly more grounded, literally so, with few wires in evidence, and punches and kicks not only connecting, but doing damage as well. Apparently there is plenty of homage to Fist of Fury, but this is pure Jet Li action, he's certainly not aping any other actor's style here. If you come to this film for the fight sequences, you will be more than satisfied by the time the movie ends, and the astounding thing is that they managed to keep all the story, character development, and nuance, and have the film jam packed with fights as well. Fist of Legend is a must-own movie, regardless of what you may think about kung fu flicks. It's one of those rare movies that transcend its genre.