The Story: The ruthless Chings have overthrown the Ming empire, scattering Ming Patriots across the land, including the Ming princess (disguised as a boy) and her guardians carrying the will of the former emperor and the emperor's jewels. However, the Chings are guarding every town, not letting anyone leave with out being inspected. The Princess narrowly escapes capture. One of her protectors (cameo by Carter Wong- Shaolin Kung Fu Mystagogue, Big Trouble in Little China) takes on an army of Ching soldiers, not even stopping when he takes two spears to the gut, and he is only defeated by the deadly White Haired Fox, Ching Prince (Chang Yi- Eagles Claw, Bells of Death, The Victim). The Princess and her lone protector make their way to Ti Long (Bruce Li-Kung Fu Avengers, New Game of Death ) a Ming sympathizer and escort business owner (no not that kind of escort- the bodyguard kind), who agrees to escort them to safety where they can plot and use the emperors will and wealth against the Chings.

To help find the princess, the Chings have employed Shao Kang and his army of bandits who are spread throughout the countryside, and almost immediately Ti Long finds himself defending the princess from their attacks. He decides he needs a little more help, so they seek out his sister (Judy Lee- Queen Boxer, Lady Constable, Iron Monkey Strikes Back ), who is working at a restaurant in a nearby town. Unfortunately the restaurant owners, a former girlfriend of Ti Long and her new husband, a greed driven and underhanded couple, discover the secret of Ti Long's companions. The Chings are alerted once again, and Ti Long, his sister, and the princess are on the run, with the added threat of the restaurant owners, aligned with the bandits and Chings. They devise an interesting way to hide the jewels (a way that will probably upset animal rights activists), and make their way to a teahouse in the middle of nowhere.

The teahouse is an ambush spot, where they are taken captive and eventually must escape the clutches of the evil pursuers, only to run into an army of Chings and the deadly Ching prince. It becomes an all out deadly melee between the opposing sides, Ti Long, his sister, and friend, (also getting a little help from a scruffy transient) trying to defend the future of the Ming rebels, the Ming Princess and fortune, against the bandits, the Chings and deadly Ching Prince.

The Film: Revenge of the Patriots (1977, aka. The Ming Patriots, Bruce Lee's Big Secret) is a solid, story driven kung fu film. It is not a flashy martial style movie, or a film that focuses on some form, stunts, or weaponry. It is not a Bruce Lee styled 'invincible hero' film. It's not a Gordon Liu training film. Revenge of the Patriots is a desperate chase adventure, where every blow is deadly and painful, and the heroes do not come out of a battle unharmed. The heroes are beaten from location to location, barely slipping out of capture, their dogged enemies never giving up and around every turn. There are slight touches of humor and the seemingly unstoppable fighter, devices one is used to in kung fu films, but overall it is fairly devoid of many such clichés. While there may be no great spectacle to the action (choreographed by the legendary Lui brothers), it is a refreshing change of pace from the outlandish action, making Patriots sort of a more straightforward action film. There are touches of Spaghetti Western in the score, and the direction has some neat flourishes- like when the White Haired Fox is introduced, slowly dismounting his horse, casually removing his hat and cape while walking forward, never taking his eyes off his opponent, not the least bit intimidated, deadly cold and menacing. Usually it is the stars that make a film, but in this case the story and direction take the reigns and make this film an interesting adventure.

But, that is not to say they film doesn't have its stars. No, it is filled with classic martial stars, from Carter Wong, to Chang Yi, Wai Man Chan, Judy Lee, and Bruce Li. Probably the two most interesting characters are the transient Ol' Wheelie, who fights is a style I would call, Coward Fu, slipping punches, ducking, hiding, maneuvering his way out of danger, expertly, and able to attack if he wants to, all while looking frightened. But, perhaps best of all, Judy Lee gets to take a kick butt female role, something that was fairly rare in the classic days of kung fu. No wimpy or dainty kung fu for her, she is all dagger throwing, kicking- punching , badness. And, with a good set of villains, from the dumb but deadly bandits, to the greedy husband and wife, to the stock white haired main villain, to the virtuous heroes, it is a nice cast of characters all around.

I really enjoyed Revenge of the Patriots. Sure, it is nice to see the wacky wild chop socky films, the crazy weapon fighting, or the superhuman hero, but this very straightforward film was a welcome deviation. It may not have some of those wild or amazing moments that imprint themselves on your brain, but as a whole, it is so well executed and paced, it is a welcome addition to a kung fu fans film collection.

The DVD: Ground Zero presents another Region 0 addition to their extra packed and budget minded Hidden Chambers Collection. Revenge of the Patriots is a "lost" kung fu film, and this presentation marks the first time Ground Zero has tried their hand at restoration. Sadly, this is an amateurish and sloppy restoration job, full of many glaring problems, the least of which is sloppy editing.

Picture- Compiled from at least three sources I can see (a sharp, strong colored print, a print with severe blemishes, and a print that is well worn, very soft, and washed out) it switches between them quite obviously. It becomes an annoying distraction, as within one scene, you will go through several changes in quality, from a good looking shot, to one with decay all over it. An attempt was made to matte the picture in widescreen, but the ratio seems off, stretched and cramped, at times almost like a square tv print was crammed into widesceen. I never thought I would say 'restoration' is a bad word, but in this case, it is, because the people behind the restoration, and especially Ground Zero for approving it, have a long, long way to go and should perhaps rethink their restoration careers. It would have been far preferable, to maybe release two cuts of the film, find the two best sources, ones obviously differing from each other in content, and release it like that.

Sound- Likewise, the English dub, 2.0 mono sound suffers severely, not only does the picture quality change from source to source, but so does the sound quality. It goes from muted quiet, to blasting loud between scenes, so obviously its like turning a cd player volume from 5 to 10. Overall, no matter which source, the sound has quite a bit of hiss and distortion to it, much to the detriment of the cool soundtrack and dialogue.

Extras- Aside from the film, itself, being good, the extras help lessen the blow of the lackluster, amateur presentation. First the usual Wu Tang stuff, like music video, interview, and audio soundbite. Then the Temple of Knowledge section, a brief Q&A with two martial practitioners. Ground Zero commercial and weblink. 18 Fatal Previews , 20 mins of fight clips from eighteen films (including Snake Strikes Back, Shaolin Vs Lama, and Mysterious Footwork just to name a few) . And then, the good stuff- Cast and Crew bios, featuring bonus fight film footage (once again, unspeciafied what films, which is a major peeve) and interviews with the films stars- Bruce Li, 5 fights (roughly 9 mins) and a 2 min interview- Chang Yi, 5 fights (12 mins)- Judy Lee, 4 fights (9 mins) and 2 min interview- Chen Hui Min, 5 fights (10 mins) and a 5 min interview- and finally Carter Wong, 5 fights (around 8 mins) and a 2 ½ min interview in which he is wearing a Self Defense for Women t-shirt. Also, before the film begins you get two trailers, a first for Ground Zero, finally tacking on some trailers for the feature.

Once again, Ground Zero presents a strange problem. In terms of presentation, as a reviewer, I have to tell most people to skip this DVD. However, for die-hard, old school kung fu fans, because of the great extras and rarity of the film, they may want to pick it up, but be forewarned of the poor quality.