Review of Hand of Death

Introduction

One of John Woo`s first films and made during the last year of a three-year contract that he had with the prolific Golden Harvest production company, this is a swordplay film rather than the `bullet ballet` style films for which he is now predominantly known.

After an attack on the Shaolin temple in which the Abbot was killed, Yun Fei (Tao-liang Tan) embarks on a quest for revenge against the rogue student Shih (James Tien) who betrayed the temple together with Manchu officer Tu Ching (Sammo Hung). Yun Fei is joined on his mission by Tan (Jackie Chan) and Zorro (Paul Chang) who have their own motives and they also escort a scholar (John Woo), the possessor of a special map.

Credited as Wu Yu-Sheng, John Woo was a young and upcoming director in the Hong Kong kung fu scene when he directed `Hand of Death`: he was many years away from being the renowned master of `bullet ballet` gangster movies and a director of big-budget Hollywood action films. Similarly, Jackie Chan was beginning to establish himself as the heir to Bruce Lee, whereas Sammo Hung had appeared in numerous pictures - the third `brother` Yeun Biao briefly appears in the background of a fight scene.

Video

The 2.35:1 Anamorphic transfer is stunning with beautiful colour definition and contrast; the film may be 30 years old, but it looks as though it was filmed yesterday. However, the transfer does show up the dreadful day-for-night photography which was quite obviously done on the cheap and looks nothing like night time. Rather than making a good film better, the excellent transfer just accentuates the negatives, revealing technical and acting flaws.

Audio

The DD 5.1 Mandarin soundtrack is fairly unspectacular and front-loaded, there doesn`t appear to be much difference from the original mono soundtrack which is also available. As with most, if not all HKL releases, the subtitles are wonderfully clear and free from any spelling or grammatical errors.

If you don`t like subtitles then you can watch the film with a DD 5.1 English soundtrack.

Features

An audio commentary with `Mr. Asian Cinema` Bey Logan and anyone familiar with him will know exactly what to expect from the commentary. For the uninitiated, he talks at speed for the whole running time of the film, has come prepared with plenty of information which he clearly imparts.

There is also the `Forthcoming Attractions` option, which has trailers and technical information for: `New Police Story`, `Once a Thief`, `Flaming Brothers`, `King of Beggars`, `Seoul Raiders` and `Dreadnaught`.

Conclusion

A decade away from directing such films as `A Better Tomorrow` and `The Killer`, `Hand of Death` marks the humble beginnings of John Woo`s career and is, to be honest, not the greatest in his canon so the fact it`s been given the whole `Hong Kong Legends` treatment is puzzling. Boasting Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao in the cast and with John Woo at the helm, this seemingly has a lot going for it and, in parts, it does. The fight scenes which were choreographed by Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan are well done and are the highlight of the film. However, playing the part of an evil official, Sammo Hung proves to be a fine martial artist and decent actor but his ridiculous and oversized false buck-teeth remove any menace from the character and almost turn him into a figure of fun.

Despite the inclusion of the `three brothers`, the star of the film is the Korean actor Tan Tao-liang, who shows remarkable martial arts skills together with a decent screen presence. The teaming up of the young Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao shows signs of things to come from Jackie Chan and John Woo, the former shows his comedic touches that would go on to form such a central plank of his on-screen persona and Woo includes many of the themes that would dominate his later films, including brotherhood and a fight scene on a beach. Despite this, `Hand of Death` is not a Jackie Chan film, it is a film that features Jackie Chan and if you didn`t know John Woo was the director then it`s doubtful you`d identify it as a John Woo film.

This is not the greatest film ever helmed by John Woo nor the best film in Jackie Chan`s resumé, so it`s one for diehard martial arts enthusiasts rather than the casual chop-socky fan.