Review of Fist of Fury

Introduction

It`s been quite a while since I last saw a copy of Fist of Fury. Sitting down to watch it again I could still remember some scenes (like Bruce as the telephone engineer), but was eager to see this new fully uncut version of the film. Those "nice" people at the BBFC have finally decided that watching scenes featuring nunchaku (there are lots of spellings of this word, and that`s my preferred one) will not turn us all into deadly ninja assassins.

And if you`ve only ever seen the cut version, then you`ve missed quite a lot and will definitely want to see this new uncut version for yourself. How does this DVD measure up though?

Video

An unbelievably good 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer with an incredible lack of dirt and scratches. Why can`t every old film look this good? It really is a joy to behold, particularly if you`ve only ever seen a TV broadcast or scuzzy VHS copy.

It`s not perfect, as there are some minor fluctuations in colours/contrast now and again, but these are forgivable as the rest of it just looks so good. I can`t really say any more - just watch it to see how good it is.

An interesting thing to note is that the film was shot entirely on studio sets.

Audio

We are presented with two DD5.1 soundtracks, both of which are technically "dubbed", since the film was recorded silent. You can choose between Cantonese and English, and as ever I chose Cantonese with English subtitles turned on.

As you would expect this is not a reference soundtrack. That`s not to say that it`s bad, just that most of the action is centred around the centre channel, with other channels being used sparingly for the odd atmospheric sound (like the weather) and also for elements of the score. Thankfully, the sound is free of crackles, pops and hiss.

Features

Another excellent selection of extras.

Let`s start with the now customary Bey Logan audio commentary, which is insightful and interesting as ever. An essential listen for any fan of this film.

Next up we have an interview section, with two interviews - one featuring Max Lee and the other Tony Liu - both are interesting to watch. You can read their biographies before watching too. Speaking of biographies, there`s an animated one for Bruce but it features that annoying voiceover man.

You can also navigate through several photo galleries featuring some rare shots from George Tan.

We also have a selection of trailers, a new one made by HKL, along with the long original trailer. There are also trailers for other discs from Hong Kong Legends.

Conclusion

As with the other Bruce Lee titles from Hong Kong Legends, any fan is definitely going to want this disc for the uncut footage and the commentary. Add to that the fact that the video quality is excellent given the source material and you have a winner. The sound is good too, given the quality of the original soundtrack.

Many Bruce Lee fans probably already have this title in their collection, but if you were undecided then just go out and buy it now. That goes for any fan of martial arts films too since the film itself is simple but brilliant.

In summary, an excellent film on an excellent disc.