Most film genres have started here in the States but we by no means have a monopoly on them all. Some have been adopted by different cultures that then alter them into something completely different. One of the prime examples of this is the action flick. Over here action was for a long time a sub genre included as part of a different type of movie. You could get plenty of action in the average western or war film but it took Hong Kong to elevate action to a very specific genre of its own. With the inclusion of incredible wire work and fantastic martial arts demonstrations Hong Kong action flicks have quickly become one of the most popular formats in film today. Like any type of movies there are those that are great and others that are barely passable. If you are into this genre at all then you most likely have seen more than your share of the lesser examples of the art form. Now, thanks to Dragon Dynasty you can own on DVD one of the absolutely best action film ever, Jet Li’s ‘Fist of Legend’. Even those out there not particularly into this kind of movie will be blown away by this one. There have been several DVD releases of this film before but as any true fan will loudly tell you there were changes made. Mostly they were in the way of mistranslations of the original language for the English subtitles. With this ‘deluxe two disc ultimate edition’ from Dragon Dynasty is the only release to date that restores the original language and subtitles to the movie. Not only that but the second disc is packed to the rafters with extra material and content most have never seen before. For the die hard fan of Asian action movies this is a gem that demands to be part of their collection. For the new comer to the genre you might as well start off with what is universally acclaimed as the best.

In many ways this film pays homage to the 1972 classic ‘Fist of Fury’ which helped to make an international superstar out of Bruce Lee. It is exceptionally rare that a film as iconic as that one could be approached by one that follows but ‘Fist of Legend’ does it. Where ‘Fury’ represented the old school classic approach ‘Legend’ took the martial arts movie into a new and exciting age. Reading through the cast and crew list for this movie is like taking a university course in how to make an action film. The director is Gordon Chan who has been directing films like this since the mid eighties. He is well known for his ability to infuse an action movie with a real story. Helping out with this aspect is the fact that he co wrote the script with Lan Kay Toa and Kwong Kim Yip. Toa is a new comer to the business but Yip has been working in films such as this as an actor, producer and script supervisor for over a decade. In this case they took the basic plot from the original 1972 movie but then added their own special touch to the story. While this is a remake it was done to honor the original not replace it and that shows in every aspect of the production. One of the most important crew members of any martial arts film is the action choreographer. In this case they got the best in the field, Yuen Woo-ping. He has achieved international fame for manufacturing the best stunt work imaginable. He has not only worked in most of the best Hong Kong films around such as ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’, but he plied his craft for the groundbreaking ‘Matrix’ triolgy and both ‘Kill Bill’ movies here in the States.

The most important element of any film, especially one as intense as this is the star. The producers knew that it would take a very special individual to fill the legendary shoes of Bruce Lee. Fortunately they found such a star with Jet Li. He is now readily identified by audiences throughout the world as the action star. Li not only has the moves to make the gravity defying stunts seem natural he also is a gifted actor capable of presenting the story. It is highly unusual for a man to be a double threat in two such different fields but Li excels in both. Li has been acting in action movies for over 25 years now and has a list of credits that any actor or martial arts practitioner would give anything to posses. With over three dozen film credits to his name this film is widely regarded as his crowning performance. Not only do you get the best martial arts film possible with this film you have a chance to see the best performance ever in the field.

In the film Li plays Chen Zhen, a Chinese student in a Japanese college. At the start of the film a group of anti-Chinese Japanese marital arts students and political activist break into the classroom too expel Zhen. His teacher and fellow student Mitsuko Yamada (Shinobu Nakayama) stand up for him and defend his right to be there. When the man and girl are threatened by the thugs Zhen defends them and easily defeats the group. It turns out that the man beyond the mob is Funakochi Fumio (Yasuaki Kurata) a legendary sensei and uncle of the girl. He renounces the use of violence and is apologetic for the action. Zhen discovers that his master, Huo Yuanjia has been killed in a bout with a Japanese fighter. Zhen immediately sets off for Shanghai with Mitsuko promising to wait for him. Of course that only sets up the rest of the film which has Zhen taking revenge for the death of his master and fighting the anti Chinese sentiment among a vocal segment of the Japanese martial arts community. This is not just an action flick it is a real, emotional filled story of trust, loyalty and prejudice.

Dragon Dynasty has become the place to go for region one DVDs of Asian action films. Because of this there is no surprise that they would come up with the definitive edition of this classic movie. The film is presented in anamorphic video with a wide selection of audio options. You can choose either Cantonese or Mandarin Dolby stereo or a remixed English Dolby 5.1. For the purest there is an English subtitle track and once again it is from the original without the translation errors. There is also a second disc with extras listed below. This is one to have no matter how into the genre you happen to be. It is not only a great action film it is a great film, period.

Disc One

Commentary track with Bey Logan, Asian cinema expert

Disc Two