In which some very nimble fingers pluck out a man’s eyeballs from their sockets!
King Boxer remains a powerhouse of hard-hitting kung-fu action. It is, at once, a full force blast of cinematic energy that hits you square in the jaw. This iconic movie, released in the early 1970s, takes no prisoners as heads are lopped off, hands are broken, and well-timed karate chops split foreheads.
Thanks to the rich and colorful production of Shaw Brothers Studios and the wonderful performance from the always reliable Lo Lieh as Chi-Hao, a once promising martial arts student who finds himself in a bit of a jam when some local thugs cripple him, Asian cinema becomes popular around the world.
Yes, even in the United States, where it inspired everything from comic books to television shows, and became the originator of staple in many, many different forms of entertainment: the tournament movie.
Directed by Chung Chang-Wha and written by Chiang Wang, King Boxer is influential in a number of ways. The film, which would go on to serve as inspiration for the Kung Fu series in America, is all about the ultra-violence and several sequences are far bloodier than many expect from Shaw Brothers, especially at the dawn of the 1970s, yet cinematographer Wang Yung-lung highlights the action and the blood with a number of great tracking shots, perfecting the use of slow-motion for impact, and makes sure everyone sees the results.
It is this film, known here as Five Fingers of Death, which caused a bit of a sensation, topping the box office, becoming the inspiration for Marvel Comics’ Iron Fist, and helped pave the way for Bruce Lee, whose first film was just months away from completion. It was a new kind of martial arts film - a basher for the ages - and Western audiences gobbled the hand-to-hand combat as if it were Saturday morning cereal.
Filmed at the famed Movietown lot - the Shaw Brothers’ huge, privately-owned studio on the outskirts of Hong Kong - King Boxer is punctuated by a huge martial arts tournament in which one student (Lo Lieh) is targeted by some rivals, overcomes his initial defeat and heals from the wounds, then shown the Iron Fist technique, which is visually highlighted by his glowing red hands and auditorily with the use of the Ironsides’s television theme song (yes, the same one Quentin Tarantino uses in Kill Bill) - and sweeps the floor with a whole lot of bad guys, including a young Bolo Yeung (Bloodsport), and returns to kick a whole lot of ass. It is exactly what you want from a martial arts movie, which is why so many people put it at the top of their lists.
King Boxer, packaged alongside The Boxer from Shantung and Chinatown Kid, is now on blu-ray thanks to Arrow Video’s release of SHAW BROTHERS PRESENTS | THE BASHER BOX. All the films feature 2K scans from 4K transfers, new sub-titles for better accuracy, and are filled with hours upon hours of special features.
Don’t forget the principles of our profession! Scoop up King Boxer right now!
Home Video Distributor: Arrow Films
Available on Blu-ray - October 24, 2023
Screen Formats: 2.35:1
Subtitles: English; English SDH
Audio: Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono; English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; 3-discset
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
This triple bill of redemption and revenge kicks off in 1972 with Korean director Chung Chang-wha's King Boxer, the film that established kung fu cinema as an international box office powerhouse when it hit Stateside cinemas under the title Five Fingers of Death. From there we see Chang Cheh, arguably Shaw's most prolific director, helm the blood-soaked brutality of The Boxer from Shantung and Chinatown Kid, the latter set on the streets of San Francisco.
Video
Presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, King Boxer is beautifully presented on 1080p from Arrow Video. Interiors are strong. Colors pop throughout, but it is the blood effects - burning bright in the transfer - which seal the deal on this one. It’s full of great atmosphere thanks to the quick-footed script and looks visually eye-popping due to the 1080- upgrade. Black levels are strong throughout, bringing out nice details in both the loud and quiet moments of this epic adventure. The tracking shots are glorious to behold in 1080p. Blacks are solid and shadows maintain their lines. Even the costumes are noted stitch by stitch.
Audio
Fans of the genre get uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono tracks, plus Cantonese mono for the film.
Supplements:
Get ready to duel to the death with these supplemental items!
Commentary:
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See Special Features for the breakdown.
Special Features:
Get ready to duel to the death with these supplemental items!
Disc One - King Boxer
- 2K restoration by Arrow Films from a 4K scan of the original negative
- High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
- Restored uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio
- English subtitles for the Mandarin audio, plus English hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub
- Commentary by David Desser, co-editor of The Journal of Japanese and Korean Cinema and The Cinema of Hong Kong
- Appreciation by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
- Interview with director Chung Chang-wha, filmed in 2003 and 2004
- Interview with star Wang Ping, filmed in 2007
- Interview with Korean cinema expert Cho Young-jung, author of Chung Chang-wha: Man of Action, filmed in 2005
- Cinema Hong Kong: Kung Fu, the first in a three-part documentary on Shaw Brothers' place within the martial arts genre produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003, featuring interviews with Jackie Chan, Jet Li, John
- Woo, Sammo Hung, Gordon Liu, Lau Kar-leung, Cheng Pei-pei, David Chiang and many others
- Alternate opening credits from the American version titled Five Fingers of Death
- Trailers
- Image gallery
Disc Two - The Boxer From Shantung
- 2K restoration by Arrow Films from a 4K scan of the original negative
- High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
- Uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio
- English subtitles for the Mandarin audio, plus English hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub
- Interview with star Chen Kuan-tai, filmed in 2007
- Interview with assistant director John Woo, filmed in 2004
- Interview with star David Chiang, filmed in 2003
- Conversation between stars Chen Kuan-tai and Ku Feng, filmed at a Shaw Brothers reunion in 2007
- Trailers
- Image gallery
Disc Three - Chinatown Kid
- 2K restoration of the 115-minute International Version from original film elements
- High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
- 90-minute Alternate Version
- Uncompressed original Cantonese audio for the International Version, with English subtitles
- Uncompressed original English audio for the International Version, with optional hard-of-hearing subtitles
- Uncompressed original Mandarin audio for the Alternate Version, with English subtitles
- Commentary on the International Version by Terrence J. Brady, author of Alexander Fu Sheng: Biography of the Chinatown Kid
- Select scene video commentary by co-star SUSAn Shaw from 2021
- Elegant Trails: Fu Sheng, a featurette on the actor produced by Celestial Pictures in 2005
- Trailers
- Image gallery
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Composite Blu-ray Grade
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MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 104 mins
Director: Chang-hwa Jeong
Writer: Yang Chiang
Cast: Lieh Lo; Ping Wang; Hsiung Chao
Genre: Action | Drama
Tagline: The Martial Arts Masterpice
Memorable Movie Quote: "The students here must be on their toes. You have to be prepared for the unexpected."
Distributor: Shaw Brothers
Official Site:
Release Date: March 31, 1973 (United States)
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: October 24, 2023
Synopsis: As two martial arts schools prepare for an important tournament, one school's master is a dishonorable man, and to ensure his son wins the title, he hires three Japanese samurais, who target the rival school's best fighter.
