FIST OF LEGEND

Hong Kong | 1994 Directed by Gordon Chan Starring Jet Li Shinobu Nakayama Billy Chow Color | 103 Minutes | Not Rated Format: DVD (R1 - NTSC | 2-disc set) Dragon Dynasty/Genius Products

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		Review by Ryan S. Film:10 DVD:10

Even those with absolutely no interest in martial arts cinema know the name Bruce Lee. The word "legend" gets thrown around a little haphazardly but it's a term that suits Bruce Lee's current and future status, not only in Hollywood but around the world. Unfortunately, his image was shamelessly exploited after his death, culminating in the onslaught of "Bruceploitation" films of the 1970s and early '80s.

To this day, whenever someone even suggests remaking, rehashing or otherwise messing with any of Bruce Lee's work, his fans cringe, if not openly revolt. This may keep the uninitiated from viewing Fist of Legend, a reworking of Fist of Fury (AKA The Chinese Connection) from 1972. But Fist of Legend does not in any way exploit Bruce Lee, his work, or his philosophies. Far from it; it pays him great respect and is in many ways, a very warm tip of the hat to a sorely missed cinema icon.

Jet Li plays Chen Zhen, a Chinese native perusing a higher education in Japan circa 1937, when he receives word that his kung fu master has died. This compels him to return to China to pay his respects and investigate the matter personally. The decision to take his leave is not an easy one for him to make, since while studying abroad, he has caught the eye of a fellow classmate (the beautiful monster movie veteran Shinobu Nakayama). Chen arrives in Shanghai, where the Japanese military has taken up occupation of his homeland. After briefly mourning the loss of Master Hou Ting-An, he goes toe-to-toe with an entire dojo to reach the man that supposedly vanquished his mentor. When Chen has no problem wiping the floor with his opponent, he knows Hou Ting-An was not subject to a fair fight. This causes him to quite literally dig deeper, excavating his master's corpse and ordering an autopsy.

This would be more than enough of a plot for your average kung fu movie but Fist of Legend doesn't stop there. Throw in the aforementioned Romeo and Juliet-esque forbidden romance between Chen and a Japanese woman (minus the whole suicide pact thing), the jealousy of Chen's contemporaries and a twist or two and you’ll begin to get the picture. (Interestingly, Jet Li went on to portray Chen Zhen’s fallen mentor, Hou Ting-An, in Fearless [2006]. Both films are loosely based on historical figures but should be viewed for their entertainment value and should not be seen as reliably detailed biographies.)

As far as the fight choreography is concerned, the handy work of Yuen Wo Ping (The Matrix, Fearless, Kill Bill and countless others) is clearly visible. As a word of warning, you should probably leave your jaw on the floor and retrieve it when you get ready to eject the DVD. If you don't, you'll spend the majority of the film's running time picking it up only to have it drop open again, and you could easily miss something. Of course, the best choreography in the world could go to waste if not properly executed but Mr. Li is up to the task. They don't call him "Jet" Li for nothing — he is in top form here, moving as swiftly as his namesake.

Director Gordon Chan made the wise decision to leave Fist of Legend relatively grounded in reality. There are moments that defy belief but compared to "wire-fu", or Wuxia, films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and House of Flying Daggers (2004) these moments are minimal. The homage to Bruce Lee is delivered in a very subdued form. Jet's character embraces Bruce Lee's philosophies and fighting style or rather, lack of a specific fighting style. Our hero does everything from dancing around his rival in a relaxed boxing stance in one scene, to using his belt to whip and subdue his enemy in another. What is practical and effective is utilized, nothing more. Understandably, the training sequences also include some of Bruce Lee's signature moves. This is all done very tastefully and it may be lost on some, but fans will know what they are witnessing, a wink to them and to their idol.

If pressed to find a flaw with the movie, one might be tempted to criticize the initial set-up of the plot as cliché (avenging the death of a kung fu master? I've never heard that one before!) but often it seems that things that get labeled cliché are nothing more than simple truths. To attack a martial arts movie for its vengeance theme would be like attacking a western for containing showdowns at sunset. These are staples and if treated carelessly, yes, they could become cliché but in a superior film such as this, they are only elements, minor ingredients in a much larger picture.

Fist of Legend is arguably Jet Li's greatest work. Yet no matter where it falls on an individual's Top Ten list, Hong Kong film expert Bey Logan puts it best on the commentary track when he says that the movie is "unquestionably a masterpiece in the genre of martial arts cinema." Indeed, a masterpiece of action movie making and a sterling tribute to a true legend.

Dragon Dynasty's "Ultimate" edition DVD release of Fist of Legend is presented in 16x9 (1:85:1) anamorphic widescreen. The transfer is beautiful to be sure, but aficionados may notice a couple of brief moments where blurring seems out of place, implying a flaw in the print. It's worth noting that this is not the case. According to Bey Logan's commentary track, this was a rudimentary technique used before the advent of digital photography, where the camera lens was greased to disguise the use of wires. I'm happy to report that this is as pristine a print as we could possibly hope for.

The original and Dimension films theatrical trailers are included but that about does it for the standard extras — its everything else that makes this an "ultimate edition". The Weinstein Company was kind enough to give us a selection of three different audio options (not including the audio commentary track): Cantonese (2.0 Stereo), Mandarin (2.0 Stereo) and English-dubbed (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround). No matter which you choose, the sound is clear and balanced. However, the Cantonese language track has one fleeting moment of scratchy distortion. The dubbed track is a good option if you would rather just kick back and enjoy the action and, as an added bonus, it includes an entirely original score. Other than that, the audio for Fist of Legend faces a common problem for films with an international cast: no matter which soundtrack you choose, at least a few of the cast members are dubbed over, an annoyance simply because when you opt for subtitles, you want to hear the original languages. (Those subtitles, by the way, are presented in English, Spanish and English SDH for the deaf and hard of hearing. They're clear and easy to read and I only caught one small grammatical mistake.)

Logan’s commentary track might make one too many plugs for other Dragon Dynasty releases but he can be forgiven since he's particularly fascinating this time around. He brings out some really interesting cultural messages that would otherwise be lost in translation.

As is usual with Dragon Dynasty's Ultimate Edition DVDs we have an extensive interview gallery beginning with The Man Behind the Legend: An exclusive interview with Director Gordon Chan. Gordon goes into detail about what it was like working with Jet Li and chronicles some of the injuries on set. In Brothers in Arms: Kung Fu Impresario Chin Siu-ho, Li's co-star discusses his career and adds little insight into the film itself but might prove interesting for his fans. Next we have The Way of the Warrior: Japanese Action Legend Kurata Yasuaki, in which Kurata gives a candid account of what it was like being the first Japanese action star in Hong Kong cinema. He holds back nothing when discussing the racism he faced in the early days of his career and how that has subsided substantially in recent years, symbolized by the fact that he now is more frequently cast as a good guy. Fourth in the series is The School of Hard Knocks: A Screen Fighting Seminar at the Celebrated Kurata Action School. This featurette that could just as easily have been included with any martial arts film to show just a glimpse of the training involved in being a student of perhaps the most labor-intensive industry for a stunt man. Topping off the interview gallery is, A Look at Fist of Legend with Director Brett Ratner & Critic Elvis Mitchell. Brett Ratner may be an enthusiastic fan of the genre but he adds little that a well-informed viewer couldn't deduce on their own. Elvis Mitchell on the other hand, gives a more scholarly take on Jet Li's rise to fame.

When I realized Dragon Dynasty wasn't able to acquire the rights to the fully uncut version of Fist of Legend, I must admit I was disappointed. The good news is that this missing footage is included in the Deleted Scenes section of the DVD. These scenes are taken from a low-grade source with burned in subtitles, true, but they’re here. Actually, only one of the deleted scenes adds anything to the story, in that one of Chen Zhen’s counterparts is addicted to opium, explaining why he never truly excelled in the martial arts.

All told, this is an elaborate treatment of a true classic. Hands down, a must-own DVD for genre fans. 9/04/09

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