Hand of Death

Even hardcore martial arts fans will admit that not every film is worth watching.  With the sheer amount of product pushed out from Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest at the height of the kung-fu craze, quite a few lesser efforts slipped through the cracks, many serving as a training ground for new talent on the way up.  So even if the final product – like 1976’s Hand of Death - is aggressively average, there’s bound to be some novelty when it comes to the talent involved.  Names like John Woo, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung are sure to attract interest.  But put them all in the same film and you’ve got yourself some must-see viewing!

 

Yet another showcase for the mythical shaolin brotherhood, here a monk, Yun Fei, is sent to exact vengeance on a ruthless warlord, Shih Shao-Feng, who’s made a long list of enemies throughout the province.   Yun Fei assembles a team of talented fighters to defeat Shao-Feng and his eight deadly bodyguards while escorting a rebel spy to safety.

 

Written and directed by John Woo, who doesn’t show any real affinity for the genre, Hand of Death (aka Countdown in Kung Fu) is a paint-by-numbers hero’s quest whose side characters are much more interesting than its lead.  Jackie Chan’s mysterious blacksmith, Yang Wei’s reluctant swordsman and Sammo Hung’s sympathetic henchman all have an edge on the one-note protagonist played by Doran Tan.  Fans looking for some auteurist tendencies might pick up on the male bonding aspects of the story (a Woo trademark) but it’s not yet ready for prime-time.

 

Neither are Woo’s fight scenes, which are cut together in undramatic fashion; that is until Jackie Chan gets his moment to shine in the big finale.  An early speaking role for the future Hong Kong star, Chan makes the most of his screen time, providing an invigorating boost and (SPOILER) earning himself an honorable death.  Sammo Hung is saddled with a ridiculous set of false teeth and too few moments to make an impression.  While Hand of Death can’t really stand on its own, as a launching pad for future action icons you’d be hard pressed to find anything else quite like it.

 

Arrow Video’s Blu-ray features one of those 2K restorations that look every bit as good as a 4K Ultra-HD presentation.  It’s simply stunning image quality.  Extras include a new interview and commentary track, archival featurettes, alternate credits, a collector’s booklet and fold-out poster.       

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