Fist of Legend (Dragon Dynasty) (Gordon Chan, 1994)

Region 1 Genius Products (USA)
NTSC, 1.85:1 16x9 enhanced
103 minutes
Audio: DD 2.0 stereo Cantonese Chinese; DD 2.0 stereo Mandarin Chinese; DD 5.1 English
Subtitles: Optional English, English SDH, Spanish
Extras: audio commentary by Bey Logan; deleted scenes; The Man Behind the Legend; Brother in Arms; The Way of the Warrior; The School of Hard Knocks; A Look at Fist of Legend with Elvis Mitchell and Brett Ratner; trailers

Released: 2 September 2008
slim double keepcase

More than a decade before he played the famous martial artist Huo Yuanjia in Fearless, Jet Li played Chen Zhen, a fictional character based on one of Huo’s real-life students, in Fist of Legend. Fist of Legend itself is a re-make of Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury (aka The Chinese Connection). All of these movies feature lone Chinese warriors who fight against Japanese invaders who want to conquer China.

Due to historical reasons, it is understandable why local productions in Hong Kong and Taiwan portrayed the Japanese as villains. Yet, Fist of Legend and Fearless as well as movies such as Heroes of the East also attempt to create balance by introducing sympathetic and morally good Japanese. These movies find much to admire about Japanese society and culture, and sometimes, the hero even falls in love with a Japanese woman.

Watching these movies inspires complex emotions. I readily admit that I feel embittered about Japanese atrocities in China during the 19th and 20th Centuries. I pump my fists in the air when Jet Li and Gordon Liu destroy every Japanese chode in sight. Yet, as a neat freak, I enjoy the cleanliness and simple lines that dominate Japanese environs. Also, as corny as “love conquers all” may be, it is rather comforting watching Chinese and Japanese characters grow fond of each other, overcoming the hostilities that their compatriots feel. (It’s interesting to note that these mixed-culture couples always feature a Chinese man and a Japanese woman. Perhaps an academic study can be initiated regarding the reasons for such gender delineations.)

Fist of Legend has a solid story about love, loyalty, brotherhood, and philosophical outlooks. It also has some of the best fight scenes in the “realistic brawler” genre. Fist of Legend is so beloved that many of its sequences inspired moments in other movies, including Kiss of the Dragon. In both movies, Jet Li wears all black and walks into a room filled with people practicing martial arts. Li beats up everyone before fighting a “big boss”.

Video:
Although Fist of Legend was made during the 1990s, it looks worse than some of the Dragon Dynasty titles that were first released back in the 1970s and 1980s. This is due in part to the fact that the movie has not been restored as the others have, and this is due in part to the fact that the master source was probably used to strike many, many prints. The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen image is often grainy and dirty, and there are numerous instances of print damage. Some work was done to re-tune the colors to eye-pleasing levels, but some shots still have faded colors. The picture is certainly watchable and a vast improvement upon previous DVD incarnations, but don’t expect a pristine viewing experience.

Audio:
You get a choice if you want to watch the movie with Chinese-language dialogue--DD 2.0 stereo Cantonese or DD 2.0 stereo Mandarin. The Cantonese track is actually a mixture of Cantonese and Japanese (spoken by the Japanese characters). The Mandarin track has Mandarin for everyone, including the non-Chinese characters. From a technical point of view, the tracks have limited dynamic range, and the dialogue sounds dubbed and distant from the rest of the audio elements (which is true of movies shot in Hong Kong during this period). There are some moments with stereo separation courtesy of music and sound effects cues, but the main thing here is whether or not you can hear the actors’ voices. You can, and that’s good enough.

You can also watch the movie with a DD 5.1 English dub. Optional English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles support the audio.

Extras:
--Disc 1--
Upon loading, the disc plays previews for other movies.

The main extra is yet another informative, entertaining audio commentary by Bey Logan. Although I’ve listened to Logan several times by now for these Dragon Dynasty releases, I still think that he’s an engaging speaker. This is remarkable because he’s usually flying solo for these commentaries.

--Disc 2--
The movie runs a brisk 103 minutes, so ardent fans will be very interested in viewing the Deleted Scenes. These were probably taken from a print that circulated in Taiwan due to the use of Mandarin rather than Cantonese for the dialogue. The print quality is pretty bad, though they provided additional glimpses into several characters’ backgrounds.

Next up are several excellent interviews and featurettes. “The Man Behind the Legend” is an easy-going chat with director Gordon Chan talking about the movie and his surprise at the movie’s worldwide reception.

“Brother in Arms” is another interview with Chin Siu Ho, who appeared opposite Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh in Tai Chi Master.

“The Way of the Warrior” is an in-depth interview with Kurata Yasuaki, who talks about his long career as a Japanese action star in Hong Kong movies (such as Heroes of the East).

In “The School of Hard Knocks”, Kea Wong (who played Jubilee in some of the X-Men movies) hosts a visit to a stunts school operated by Kurata Yasuaki. The best part of this featurette is when Kurata explains why samurai swords are placed on the left or the right of someone who’s sitting down, how to draw and sheathe a samurai sword, etc.

“A Look at Fist of Legend with Elvis Mitchell and Brett Ratner” is the most-useless extra in this set. Elvis Mitchell just keeps repeating himself and even mis-analyzes the movie. Brett Ratner sounds like a goofy fanboy.

Finally, there are two trailers for Fist of Legend.

--Miscellaneous--
You also get an insert advertising other DVDs as well as a cardboard slipcover.