{"id":26943,"date":"2023-08-30T00:10:47","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T07:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=26943"},"modified":"2023-08-30T00:10:47","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T07:10:47","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-new-fist-of-fury-1976","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=26943","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: NEW FIST OF FURY (1976)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This Blu-ray title from Arrow Video is now available for\npurchase.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the late 1960s, actor\/martial artist Bruce Lee was making a big name for himself, appearing as Kato in the popular US TV-series The Green Hornet <\/em>and doing numerous guest spots on other programs. Of course, he was eyeing bigger projects and got his chance in Hong Kong, starring in The Big Boss<\/em> (aka the confusingly named Fists of Fury<\/em>). His second lead appearance was in Fist of Fury<\/em> and the film was a massive success worldwide. Of course, one imagines that producers immediately wanted a sequel, but there were a couple of obstacles in their path. Later that year, Warner Bros. produced and released the huge hit Enter the Dragon<\/em>, securing Lee\u2019s spot as a Hollywood star. The other major issue was both the passing of Lee and the fact that Chen Zhen, who was his character in Fist of Fury<\/em>, didn\u2019t survive the original movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless, these problems didn\u2019t stop a pair of Hong Kong\nproduction companies from trying to cash-in with unofficial sequels. The 1976\nfollow-up Fist of Fury Part II<\/em> dismisses some of the original characters\n(including Zhen\u2019s unnamed love interest, who commits suicide at the start of\nthe picture) and details the exploits of Lee\u2019s character\u2019s brother seeking\nrevenge. The other title came during the same year from Fist of Fury<\/em>\ndirector Lo Wei. New Fist of Fury<\/em> (1976) told an entirely different\nstory with a new lead who would himself soon become a major star\u2026 Jackie Chan.\nArrow Video is now presenting this movie on Blu-ray with a sharper image\nquality (specifically, a 2K restoration) and plenty of extras that certainly\nhelp newbies understand how the film came about and its unique place in movie\nhistory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The original was set at the beginning of the 20th<\/sup>\ncentury and involved its protagonists fighting against the rule of the Japanese\noccupiers who had taken control of their region. After the events of the first\npicture, the female lead now goes by the name Mao Li-Er (Nora Miao). She and\nher brother Sampo (Chiang Kim) choose to escape their home and sneak out of the\ncountry. They arrive in Taiwan to stay with their grandfather and then set out\nto start a martial arts academy, but also find that this land is under the\ncontrol of the Japanese. While making their way through customs, the late\nZhen\u2019s nunchaku (or nunchucks) is stolen by Taiwanese thief Ah Lung (Jackie\nChan). Once he learns who the weapon belonged to, he regrets his act. Despite\nan aversion to fighting, the young man decides to help out Mao Li-Er and help\nher and her academy square off against nasty Japanese Karate master Okimura (Chan\nSing) who wants to control all schools in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Blu-ray boasts an upgraded picture and two very\ndifferent versions of the film. One is the original Hong Kong version that runs\n120 minutes. It wasn\u2019t a success and so, once Chan hit the big time, director\nLo Wei recut the film down to 82 minutes and the picture was rereleased. This\nversion also failed to attract a large audience at the time, but as the years\nhave passed interest has grown. It\u2019s largely because the movie featured Chan\u2019s\nfirst starring role (he did take the lead in one earlier picture, but it wasn\u2019t\nfinished or released until much later).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s fascinating to watch, if only to see Chan start to find\nhis footing as a leading man. This title is far more serious that his later\nworks, but the artist does add a few humorous winks and nudges that help the\nmovie get past some overly somber passages. An accident involving the use of\nZhen\u2019s weapon earns a laugh, and there are plenty of impressive moves during\nthe climax that boast brief creative bursts of fight choreography he would\nlater become famous for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The lengthier cut features more character moments and some\nimpressive establishing shots. Viewers get to see Li-Er\u2019s escape by boat to\nTaiwan during a foggy morning, which is beautifully shot. The villain and his\nfemale henchperson get a stronger introduction and there are a couple of scenes\nhere and there that do help viewers understand the plot. Alas, there\u2019s also a\ngreat deal of extraneous material. Despite being a martial arts film, Lo Wei\nhas no issue with long shots following characters as they leave and enter\nrooms. Some bits are unnecessary and some of the dialogue scenes are\noverextended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Truthfully, this review actually found the shorter version\nmuch zippier, but also very confusing. The movie simply starts with Ah Lung in\nTaiwan and doesn\u2019t deliver any backstory on Mao Li-Er that sets up the\ncharacter. And the same goes for Okimura, who is more intimidating in the\noriginal edition. A version featuring portions of these sections and a few more\ndetails and establishing shots would have resulted in a bigger scale, cleaner\nnarrative and the ideal cut of the movie (which probably would have run about\n95-100 minutes).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But, as mentioned, there\u2019s still plenty of fun stuff here as\nwe watch Chan start to get comfortable and form his own onscreen identity. The\ndisc comes with some great bonuses that are very informative. There are film\nhistorian commentaries on both cuts of the movie (from martial arts cinema\nexperts Frank Djeng & Michael Worth, as well as action film historian\nBrandon Bentley) and the details provided really clarify some of what was going\non behind the scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They talk about Chan and how he had virtually given up on\nbeing an actor at this point in his life, making ends meet as a construction\nworker in Canberra, Australia. He was coaxed back to star in this film, and\nwhile it wasn\u2019t a hit, it did earn him attention in the industry and really\nstarted his career. They also mention his performance and how it differs from\nlater starring roles, as well as the actor\u2019s disagreements with director Lo Wei\n(whom he would work with again on a few occasions). Chan\u2019s big fight at the end\ninvolves a female henchperson and they note that it marks one of the few times\nthe actor has squared off against a woman. They all also note some story\nproblems, particularly the strange decision by Mao Li-Er to move from an\noccupied section of China to a nation completely controlled by the Japanese,\nnot to mention the picture\u2019s jarring close. It\u2019s all very informative and\nengaging to listen to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There\u2019s also an excellent visual essay comparing New Fist\nof Fury<\/em> to Fist of Fury Part II<\/em> and noting all of the similarities\nand differences between them. The consensus of the piece is that both pictures\nhave their pluses and minuses and they serve as almost a multi-verse\nsplintering from the original film. Additionally, there is a still section and\na very fun trailer gallery that includes previews not only for the pictures\nmentioned in this article, but the various remakes that have been made over the\nyears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who purchase the disc will also receive an illustrated\ncollector\u2019s booklet with new writing on the picture. New Fist of Fury<\/em> is\nfar from perfect, but it has some great moments and it is enjoyable to watch\nthe first cinematic steps of a major worldwide action star. Anyone who\nappreciates the work of Chan or Hong Kong film should get a kick out of this\nnifty Blu-ray release from Arrow Video.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Blu-ray title from Arrow Video is now available for purchase. In the late 1960s, actor\/martial artist Bruce Lee was making a big name for himself, appearing as Kato in the popular US TV-series The Green Hornet and doing numerous guest spots on other programs. Of course, he was eyeing bigger projects and got his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":26947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[107,1836,2923,3067,3073,3608,7625,7626,10133,10393,11936,13303,14713,14714,14715,15025,15922,18035,19518,22742],"class_list":["post-26943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-107","tag-arrow-video","tag-blasts-from-the-past","tag-blu-ray","tag-blu-ray-review","tag-bruce-lee","tag-fist-of-fury","tag-fist-of-fury-part-ii","tag-jackie-chan","tag-japanese-occupation","tag-kung-fu","tag-martial-arts","tag-new-fist-of-fury","tag-new-fist-of-fury-blu-ray-review","tag-new-fist-of-fury-review","tag-nora-miao","tag-period","tag-sequel","tag-taiwan","tag-thief"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26943\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}