One Armed Boxer Blu-ray Review
“One Armed Boxer” delivers non-stop action.
Directed by, written by and starring Jimmy Wang Yu, 1971’s Golden Harvest martial arts film “One Armed Boxer” revolves around a feud between a criminal syndicate (The Hook Gang) led by Mr. Chao and a martial arts school (Ching Te) where a talented student named Tien Lung is training. After a series of brawls which ends in The Hook Gang’s defeat, Chao recruits 10 expert fighters in different martial arts styles from various regions. The deadly fighters wipe out the school leaving only Tien Lung left alive (albeit badly injured and missing one arm). Tien Lung undergoes painful new training but becomes more skilled than ever. Now, he has his sights on seeking revenge against Chao and the fighters.
“One Armed Boxer” comes out swinging in the opening minutes and never lets up. Unlike some martial arts movies, Jimmy Wang Yu never bogs down this feature with romance, subplots, intricate drama or what have you. Instead, he wisely focuses on a feud story that, while basic, is focused. It’s a simple story and it works here because it’s all about the tension between the two factions and, more importantly, the fighting. And what fighting there is. More often than not, this movie is loaded with all-out brawls including a wild climactic showdown between Tien Lung and the 10 fighters which includes everything from a one finger walk, a fighter who inflates himself, bomb tossing, a bridge tussle, and plenty of blood. If you love martial arts action, it really doesn’t get any better than the wonderfully choreographed fight sequences here.
Going back to Jimmy Wang Yu, the man positively excels in his triple duties here. He wrote a tight script, delivers thrilling action from behind the camera, and is one heck of a martial arts star in front of the camera. Even with one arm behind his back, he makes the fighting look so effortless. His speed and physicality is sure to wow viewers.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 2.35:1 1080p. How does it look? The Blu-ray disc has been given a 2K restoration from the original elements by Fortune Star. Despite the presence of a few defects, this is another high quality remastered print.
Audio Track: 1.0 DTS-HD MA Lossless Mandarin Mono, Alternate Mandarin 1.0, and English 1.0. How do they sound? Sadly, the audio is a little rough. The Lossless Mandarin is surprisingly the lowest quality track. The alternate Mandarin track has more oomph to it. The English dub is really muted, but is serviceable.
Extras:
* Image gallery
* A booklet featuring credits, photos, restoration notes, and essays by author David West and film critic Simon Abrams.
* Alternate English credits
* Hong Kong theatrical trailer, US TV spot, US radio spot and a 34 minute Jimmy Wang Yu trailer reel
* A 41 minute 2001 Jimmy Wang Yu interview
* A solo commentary by Frank Djeng featuring all sorts of factoids.
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