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Legend of The Red Dragon
Columbia/Tri-Star // R // February 12, 2002
List Price: $19.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Jet Li's 1994 adventure is directed by Jing Wong and Corey Yuen, who has gone on to be the martial arts choreographer in Li's "Romeo Must Die" and "Kiss Of The Dragon". While those two films contained a few impressive moments (especially "Dragon"), neither really brought the level of action that Li's previous martial arts provided. Films like "Twin Warriors" and "Legend of Red Dragon" (which was originally called "New Legends of Shaolin") do not only provide action, but there's an additional level of creativity to the stunts that's often remarkable; it often seems as if the actors can do the impossible. The level of choreography during some of these films is stunning; I can only imagine the planning that went into several of this film's more intense sequences.
Li plays Hung Hei-Kwun who, at the begining of the film, rides into his village to find his entire clan has been killed. His son is the only one left; after barely escaping from the first of the film's many fight sequences, the two head out on a journey. Eventually, Li and his grown-up son (the fantastic Tse Miu) are hired to guard a rich man who who comes in contact with a mother/daughter team of con artists. Together, they must save five children who have pieces of a map leading to hidden treasure tatooed on their backs. That, and defeat an evil warrior and lots of other bad guys. In other words, there's enough plot to be interested, but the constant - and occasionally spectacular - fight scenes are the main draw. The performances aren't half bad, either: Li is engaging as usual, and the kids are terrific not only at the martial arts, but they're actually very funny, as well. While this isn't the most remarkable martial arts film that I've seen, it was entertaining, fairly well-acted and the action came at a brisk pace.
Warning: The film is R-rated for violence and would be scary for kids.
The DVD
VIDEO: The back of the box for Columbia/Tristar's "Legend of the Red Dragon" contradicts itself - the bottom of the box states that the film has been altered from it's original aspect ratio, while the specs on the back of the box list it as 1.85:1. While it's pleasing that the picture is actually presented in its original aspect ratio, this is unfortunately a non-anamorphic presentation. Considering a fair amount of these martial arts films seem to not be in the greatest condition, this 1994 picture actually looks decent. Sharpness and detail are lacking, as the picture remains noticably soft throughout, although some scenes look more well-defined than others.
Problems are definitely noticable, but I've seen martial arts films from the same time period look worse. Specks, marks and other print flaws are noticable on a fairly frequent basis, but there are scenes that are free of such problems. The second half of the film also looks consistently cleaner. Edge enhancement is present occasionally, but only in very light amounts. No pixelation or other problems were seen. Colors could look bold, but slightly smeary at times and subdued at others. Overall, this is a decent presentation.
SOUND: In a move that will likely dissapoint many fans, Columbia/Tristar only presents the dubbed English versions of this film in both 5.1 and 2.0 editions. While the studio has tried to present both the dubbed and original language editions of many of their martial arts releases, for some reason they were not able to here. As for the dubbing, it's certainly not the worst dubbing that I've ever heard.
The 5.1 soundtrack delivers what one would expect from the material. Some minor surround effects were occasionally heard, but these effects sounded artificial. The majority of the action takes place in the front speakers and remains fairly crisp and clear.
MENUS: Columbia/Tristar has provided an animated main menu, complete with background music and clips from the film.
EXTRAS: Trailer, cast/director filmographies, photo gallery and bonus trailers ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Meltdown", "Gorgeous" and "The Prisoner").
Final Thoughts: "Legend Of Red Dragon" is a fast-paced film with some moments of really terrific action. Columbia/Tristar's DVD is a bit of a dissapointment in a few areas, but those looking for an entertaining martial arts film should check it out.
Note: Although I haven't compared the two, amazon.com also offers the original "New Legend Of Shaolin" DVD at this link: DVD
Jet Li's 1994 adventure is directed by Jing Wong and Corey Yuen, who has gone on to be the martial arts choreographer in Li's "Romeo Must Die" and "Kiss Of The Dragon". While those two films contained a few impressive moments (especially "Dragon"), neither really brought the level of action that Li's previous martial arts provided. Films like "Twin Warriors" and "Legend of Red Dragon" (which was originally called "New Legends of Shaolin") do not only provide action, but there's an additional level of creativity to the stunts that's often remarkable; it often seems as if the actors can do the impossible. The level of choreography during some of these films is stunning; I can only imagine the planning that went into several of this film's more intense sequences.
Li plays Hung Hei-Kwun who, at the begining of the film, rides into his village to find his entire clan has been killed. His son is the only one left; after barely escaping from the first of the film's many fight sequences, the two head out on a journey. Eventually, Li and his grown-up son (the fantastic Tse Miu) are hired to guard a rich man who who comes in contact with a mother/daughter team of con artists. Together, they must save five children who have pieces of a map leading to hidden treasure tatooed on their backs. That, and defeat an evil warrior and lots of other bad guys. In other words, there's enough plot to be interested, but the constant - and occasionally spectacular - fight scenes are the main draw. The performances aren't half bad, either: Li is engaging as usual, and the kids are terrific not only at the martial arts, but they're actually very funny, as well. While this isn't the most remarkable martial arts film that I've seen, it was entertaining, fairly well-acted and the action came at a brisk pace.
Warning: The film is R-rated for violence and would be scary for kids.
The DVD
VIDEO: The back of the box for Columbia/Tristar's "Legend of the Red Dragon" contradicts itself - the bottom of the box states that the film has been altered from it's original aspect ratio, while the specs on the back of the box list it as 1.85:1. While it's pleasing that the picture is actually presented in its original aspect ratio, this is unfortunately a non-anamorphic presentation. Considering a fair amount of these martial arts films seem to not be in the greatest condition, this 1994 picture actually looks decent. Sharpness and detail are lacking, as the picture remains noticably soft throughout, although some scenes look more well-defined than others.
Problems are definitely noticable, but I've seen martial arts films from the same time period look worse. Specks, marks and other print flaws are noticable on a fairly frequent basis, but there are scenes that are free of such problems. The second half of the film also looks consistently cleaner. Edge enhancement is present occasionally, but only in very light amounts. No pixelation or other problems were seen. Colors could look bold, but slightly smeary at times and subdued at others. Overall, this is a decent presentation.
SOUND: In a move that will likely dissapoint many fans, Columbia/Tristar only presents the dubbed English versions of this film in both 5.1 and 2.0 editions. While the studio has tried to present both the dubbed and original language editions of many of their martial arts releases, for some reason they were not able to here. As for the dubbing, it's certainly not the worst dubbing that I've ever heard.
The 5.1 soundtrack delivers what one would expect from the material. Some minor surround effects were occasionally heard, but these effects sounded artificial. The majority of the action takes place in the front speakers and remains fairly crisp and clear.
MENUS: Columbia/Tristar has provided an animated main menu, complete with background music and clips from the film.
EXTRAS: Trailer, cast/director filmographies, photo gallery and bonus trailers ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Meltdown", "Gorgeous" and "The Prisoner").
Final Thoughts: "Legend Of Red Dragon" is a fast-paced film with some moments of really terrific action. Columbia/Tristar's DVD is a bit of a dissapointment in a few areas, but those looking for an entertaining martial arts film should check it out.
Note: Although I haven't compared the two, amazon.com also offers the original "New Legend Of Shaolin" DVD at this link: DVD
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