Fists of Fury & The Chinese Connection: Anamorphic? (1 Viewer)

[Daryl L]

I decided to replace my old video tapes of Bruce Lee's movies Fists of Fury & The Chinese Connection with DVD's. I want the Anamorphic Widescreen versions if they make them. I found both released by two studios, Fox and Goodtimes but not sure if either of them are anamorphic or just letterboxed. Could someone please let me know? Much appreciated.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

There are foreign versions which are anamorphic, are you region free?

 

[Jeff Adkins]

If you are region-free, get the Hong Kong Legends versions out of the UK which are anamorphic. If not, then get the Hong Kong releases which are coded for all regions but not anamorphic and sell for about $6 each. In either case, get these in Cantonese and ditch those English dubs!! Avoid the Fox releases at all costs!

Jeff

 

[Jeff Jacobson]

Didn't they also change the names of these movies in the American versions?

 

[chris larralde]

Next year will be the 30th anniversary of his death.

I wonder if Fox has anything planned. I'd love to get these anamorphic as well.

 

[Daryl L]

The reason I asked this is because DVDEmpire lists the GoodTimes studio releases as Widescreen Anamorphic and the Fox releases only as Widescreen.
Unfortunately I use a 3 year old RCA DVD player which I'm pretty sure is not region free so I'm stuck getting Region 1 or All Region discs.
Jeff Adkins
As for as getting the Cantonese versions, unfortunately I don't speak or understand Cantonese and I read so slow the reading subtitles cause me to miss the movie. :frowning:
Jeff Jacobson
If I'm not mistaken Fist of Fury is the USA title for the original titled The Big Boss. I'm not sure about The Chinese Connection but I think it was originaly titled Fist of Fury. Yep it's odd what the US does.

 

[James_M]

Fists of fury is really called The Big Boss.
Chinese connection is really called Fist of Fury.
Don't even think about buying the disgusting FOX and goodtimes dubbed version of these Bruce Lee classics. If you're PAL compatible and region free, the British Hong Kong Legends discs are the way to go as they are anamorphic, digitally remastered, with some nice extras. If not, I'd definitely recommend the HK import of Fist of Fury DTS. It's not anamorphic but it's widescreen, DD 5.1, DTS, R0 and has a bunch of nice extras, including the dub for you weak people! It's a little pricey but it's worth it. Check out my review of it: http://www.asiandvdguide.com/reviews...ffurydts2.html
You can buy it at http://www.dddhouse.com it's all in HK dollars so this site should be helpful too: http://www.xe.net/ucc/
I believe the FOX ones are not anamorphic. But the goodtimes one is. But DON'T get them!!! I'm telling you, it's a mistake!!!!

 

[Daryl L]

Thanks James. Unfortunately I'm not PAL compatable either. I'm behind on DVD technology.

 

[James_M]

Then get Fist of Fury DTS. The only downside is it not being anamorphic. Everything else is good. Bey Logan's commentaries are really good.

 

[Glenn_Jn]

I originally bought the Good Times version of Chinese Connection which was absolute s**t (anamorphic or not!!). So I got the Media Asia version which wasn't much better. Then when HKL finally did their restoration work on all three films I was finally able to see them the way they were meant to be seen. Beautiful. OK there are still a few flaws but compared to what the other versions look like, they look almost new.
Are the new Fox "remasters" the same as the HKL "restorations" ?
As far as the dubbing issue. It always makes me laugh when I hear people say ignore the awful "english dubbed versions". The majority of these chinese movies are dubbed anyway in English or Chinese and the Chinese versions (mandarin or cantonese) are rarely dubbed by the original actors anyway. So what's the difference? At least with the English dubs you don't have to spend half the film reading the dialog.
Also the Chinese version of The Big Boss (Fists Of Fury in US) has different music than the English version. At one point they use parts from Pink Floyds "Dark Side Of The Moon" on the Chinese version. Though I'm a big Floyd fan, I still think the score for the English version is better.

 

[Jeffrey Gray]

I can't offer any advice, except (this hasn't been mentioned yet) STAY AWAY FROM THE MADACY DISC. The Madacy disc is not only a terrible print and a terrible transfer, but, unlike all the other discs, it's also in PAN-AND-SCAN. So definitely avoid buying it (or anything else with "MADACY" on the box). But you already knew that...I just wanted to point it out to anyone who didn't.

 

[Matthew Brown]

The director intended for the movie to be watched a certain way. This is how I want to see it. Subtitles are perfectly acceptable. The attitude that these movies should be dubbed in English is what stops American companies from releasing Asian films with their original soundtracks. If the movie was originally released with a horrible Cantonese dub then that's how I will watch it.

Matt

 

[James_M]

Exactly, redubbing over the original dub is notoriously innaccurate to it's true intent anyway. Normally, subtitles are more accurate to the movie's actual dialogue. English dubs always have to compromise content to match the mouth movements. Even the best dubs will either add or subtract content. I can't think of anything more natural than to listen to a movie that's in it's native language anyway. Even if it's not the actor's voice, it's what's truely meant to be spoken.

 

[Dmitry]

FOX non-anamorphic transfer is much better than Goodtimes anamorphic. If you're down to choosing between the two, go with FOX. Otherwise, look at the suggestions above and get one of the original language ones.

 

[Glenn_Jn]

In reply to Matthew Smith & James_M..

if you are going to be purist about it ("the director intended for the movie to be watched a certain way"?...how the hell do you know that?) it IS a well known fact (Bey Logan points this out in one of the commentaries) that Hong Kong Kung Fu movies were never intended to be seen outside of Asia. So by watching them in the US you are already going against the directors wishes. I don't know about modern HK films but back then the dubs were done by the studios (Golden Harvest/Shaw Bros etc) themselves using English actors (in some cases non-actors) living in HK. So why would they do that? As far as losing "content" during the dub...come on, these are Kung Fu movies for christsake. It's hardly Shakespeare in any language.
I first started going to te cinema to watch BL movies in '74. By the time the stopped showng them (78-79) I had seen all 4 at least 80-90 times each. Since they came out on video that number has risen to well over a couple of hundred times. And I have never watched them in the original language. The only REAL reason to watch a BL movie is to see him in action. The dialog is unimportant. I know for me and most the friends that I saw these films with, from the early days, the bad dubbing just added to the charm that these movies have.
If you prefer to watch the dubbed cantonese version go ahead. But don't pretend you know what the director wanted you to watch or hear. Are all those people around the world who watch American movies dubbed into their own language going against the directors wishes? I doubt it. I'm sure most cases the directors priority is for you to watch their movie.

 

[Daryl L]

Here's what I ran accross at the www.HKFlix.com site. It apears the British Hong Kong Lend versions are listed as UK Versions. Since I'm not PAL or Region 2 compatable those are not an option.
I'm guessing the Hong Kong Import version is by Mega Star? If so The Big Boss(Fists of Fury) version is Out of Print leaving the Universe Version my other option and says what I quote below.

URGENT NOTE: We highly recommend the Universe version of this DVD over the Mega Star version. The Universe DVD features the same beautiful 2.35:1 widescreen transfer as the Mega Star DVD, but offers 5.1 sound, additional trailers, more subtitle options (9 languages!), and nice cast information (all for the same price or less). The subtitles look a little different on the two versions, but both are extremely legible and aesthetic at all times.

The only Mega Stars version of either available is Fists of Fury(The Chinese Connection)Special Edition DTS.
Fists of Fury aka The Chinese Connection
The Big Boss aka Fists of Fury

 

[Jeff Kleist]

These films were originally presented in Cantonese and in a certain aspect ratio. The orignal length and scene order is the original length and scene order

Any other presentation is WRONG.

 

[Matthew Brown]

So in this respect, it's OK to alter a movie from its original format?

The altering of the soundtrack is not part of the movie watching experience.

Matt

 

[Robert Crawford]

Please, let's get back on track with the topic of discussion and leave the personal references alone. Thank you.
Crawdaddy

 

[Glenn_Jn]

I care about dialog when it matters. Watching Bruce Lee fight doesn't require dialog.

I've never felt the need for "personal attacks". I was just responding to the points you guys made that's all.

Matthew, I think you will find the the majority of American films that are released across the world are dubbed. Virtually all my Region 2 DVD's (150+) have at least 1 or 2 dub tracks. Usually French or German.

There seems to be a double standard around here when it comes to "original integrity". People say the directors vision is the only thing that matters and everything should be left the way the director intended. But when Spielberg or Lucas the DIRECTORS decide to change their own work people start crying about it. If people care that much about what the director wants, they should be happy to go along with any changes they want to make.