New Fist of Fury


One of two competing sequels to Bruce Lee’s 1972 Hong Kong classic, New Fist of Fury (1976) has a bit more legitimacy by bringing back the same director (Lo Wei) and several supporting characters.  But it’s biggest claim to fame today is the casting of Jackie Chan in his first major role in a widely released motion picture.  Of course, this was during the thick of the Clones of Bruce Lee era in which Jackie was only one of many being groomed to take over the martial arts crown.  Which means the tone of the film is a far cry from what he’d later be known for.

 

Forced to flee to Taiwan, members of the Jingwu martial arts school find the Japanese occupation is just as insufferable as it was in Shanghai.  The local community is either too scared or corrupt to put up much of a fight, until the death of a respected kung-fu master rallies the rebels to form a new school.  Ah Lung (Chan), a petty thief, is inspired to join up and defend his honor against the cocky Japanese students one fight at a time.

 

In the martial arts movie scorecard, New Fist of Fury is more memorable for what it doesn’t do than anything it does particularly well. Despite casting Chan in the same quick-tempered martyr role as Bruce Lee in the original, director Lo Wei rarely forces him to imitate Lee’s signature style.  In fact, for most of the film Chan plays the same bumbling, accident-prone character he’d develop into an international brand.  But when the chips are down and the plot hits its third act, things get serious.  Chan is all business as he takes on his overconfident Japanese foes including the merciless daughter of the reigning dojo champion.

 

Speaking of supposed weaker sex, Wei’s film gives its female characters a much higher profile.  It’s a nice change of pace from their roles in the original, which dropped them into the story simply to be defended.  The theatrical release runs a full two-hours and incorporates the same anti-colonial theme that resonated so strongly the first time around.  But truth be told, it’s a bit “been there done that.”  The 1980 re-release excises a full quarter of this material, coming in at a brisk hour and 22 minutes.  Depending on one’s mood, it’s a toss-up which is better. 

 

Arrow Video’s Limited-Edition Blu-ray comes from a new 2K restoration and includes both versions accompanied by two commentary tracks, a video essay comparing the film with Fist of Fury Part 2, multiple audio options, collector’s booklets and double-sided fold out poster.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tormented

Image
The west coast always struggled to create a creepy atmosphere on screen.  All that southern California sunshine just doesn’t lend itself to ghostly apparitions or gothic castles.  But  Tormented  (1960) gives it a good try, staging its opening scene in an abandoned lighthouse where blackmail turns into murder - and one cover up leads to another.  Director Bert I. Gordon, better known for his giant-sized - but low-budget - monster movies, works well at this level, turning in a film that delivers small scares but perhaps his most  professional finished product. Tom Stewart (played by genre regular Richard Carlson) is a fairly successful jazz pianist whose impending marriage to Meg Hubbard (Susan Gordon) will put him in an entirely new tax bracket.  Trouble is his old flame, Vi (Juli Reding), isn’t taking this lying down.  After  allowing  her to fall to her death in the opening scene, Tom is haunted by disembodied visions of his ex-lover who refuses to go quietly into the afterlife.  And
Read more

The Cat and the Canary

Image
My favorite directors have always been showoffs:  Hitchcock, DePalma, Spielberg (when he’s feeling frisky) and gonzo auteurs like Sam Raimi.  There’s just something about their cinematic ambition, constantly reminding the audience that, yes, there actually  is  someone behind the camera calling the shots.  And that directorial discontent shines through even in the early days of the medium, such as Paul Leni’s 1927 adaptation of  The Cat and the Canary .  While the rest of the industry was still learning the basics of visual language, Leni fills his frame with tracking shots, POVs and dramatic lighting that set the standard for every spook show to come!  Gathered for the reading of the last will and testament of eccentric recluse Cyrus West,  the potential heirs meet up in his decrepit mansion to discover who will inherit the estate and family jewels.  Predictably there is some petty jealousy when young Annabelle West is named the sole beneficiary…that is, if she can be proved sane afte
Read more

Impulse

Image
William Shatner, for all his ego and arrogance, always seemed comfortable being the butt of a joke.  His career outside of the  Star Trek  franchise was a bumpy road of corny TV shows and enjoyable B-movie dreck.  But he never delivered anything less than 100% “Shatner!”  Like 1974’s  Impulse , a regional drive-in quickie directed by William Grefé ( Stanley, Mako: Jaws of Death ) that casts the once and future Captain Kirk as a psychologically troubled con man whose childhood trauma leads to a string of murdered women.  After dumping the body of his last victim in a Florida canal, Matt Stone (Shatner) is on the prowl for another financial windfall, this time using a phony investment scam to entice Ann (Jennifer Bishop) into a romantic relationship.  But when Ann’s daughter, Tina, is witness to the murder of his business associate (Harold “Chop Top” Sakata), Matt has to clean up his tracks and speed up his escape plan.  That includes silencing Tina…and whoever else gets in his way.   Ta
Read more