New Fist of Fury (新精武門) is a 1976 live-action theatrical Hong Kong film directed by Lo Wei and written by both Lo Wei and Pan Lei. The film stars Jackie Chan, Nora Miao, Han Ying-chieh and Tong Yim-chan. It was theatrically released in July 1976 for Hong Kong and published by Lo Wei Motion Picture Co. Ltd and Fortune Star.
Background:
“A sequel to the 1972 Bruce Lee classic, New Fist of Fury was the first in a series of Lo Wei productions to showcase the talents of future megastar Jackie Chan. A betrayal forces the surviving members of Chin Woo School to flee Shanghai and seek refuge with estranged family in Japan-occupied Taiwan, where the locals of Lukang live at the hands of their oppressors who vie for martial and political domination.”
Plot Synopsis via 88 Films, November 2020
Last year, 88 Films released a number of Jackie Chan films from many decades ago back to the UK on Blu-ray with the best presentation possible. We saw the likes of Sammo Hung’s Dragons Forever, Jackie Chan’s The Fearless Hyena and Chen Chi-Hwa’s Shaolin Wooden Men. Wrapping up the year of 2020 was Lo Wei’s New Fist of Fury which is an interesting addition because of the film’s history.
Before New Fist of Fury was made, director Lo Wei released Fist of Fury in 1972 with Bruce Lee as the main actor and was also his second kung fu related role after 1971’s The Big Boss. While the film was a commercial success for both the director and actor, sadly Bruce Lee passed away in 1973. Regardless, Lo Wei continued to provide a sort of continuation or sequel to the 1972 film with 1976’s New Fist of Fury. Taking over the main role from Bruce Lee was Jackie Chan, which at the time he performed under the stage name ‘Sing Lung’. Since then, both Lo Wei and Jackie Chan worked together for films including To Kill With Intrigue, Spiritual Kung Fu and Dragon Fist.
Jackie Chan’s filmography spans many decades, with many roles in the martial arts Hong Kong films to starring in Hollywood films during the late 90s to 00s. In recent years, many of the films he starred or directed have been restored for the current generation. New Fist of Fury was released in the UK before during the VHS era under Trans-Global Pictures and on DVD via Cine Asia and Hong Kong Legends.
First Edition Contents:
88 Films follows a trend similar to Arrow Video and Eureka Entertainment where they offer a first print edition that includes an o-card slipcase and a couple of physical extras to go with the package.
New Fist of Fury comes with a slipcase and booklet made exclusively for this release. This style is similar to 88 Films’ previous titles like Dragons Forever and Heart of Dragon.
The SRP is £24.99 and has 3000 unit print run. Once the print run is out of stock, they’ll re-release the film without the O-card slipcase, folded poster and post cards.
Physical Contents:
- Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring unique artwork by R.P. “Kung Fu Bob” O’Brien
- Booklet Notes by Bruce Lee Historian and Martial Arts movie reviewer for Martial Arts Illustrated and World of Martial Arts magazines Andrew Staton
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: 88 Films
Released: 30th November 2020
88 Films has presented New Fist of Fury on a single Blu-ray disc with two different cuts of the film, similar to other Hong Kong releases as the film had been presented differently depending on the theatrical distribution or territory.
The film is presented with a 2K restoration of the original 1976 cut restored from the original 35mm camera negative in 2:35:1 aspect ratio, running at 120 minutes length. The 1976 cut is available to watch with Mandarin audio with English subtitles and the English dub. Also included is the 1980 cut which was re-edited, running at 83 minutes length, and is available to watch with Cantonese audio with English subtitles and the English dub. Like previous 88 Films releases, the disc also contains a variety of audio commentaries and trailers.
The Audio Commentaries available include one from Asian cinema expert Brandon Bentley and artist / Hong Kong cinema expert R.P. “Kung Fu Bob” O’Brien, and another from Hong Kong cinema expert Andrew Staton.
The white subtitles are unlockable during playback, and the regions are locked to B for Blu-ray.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | Cantonese, English, Mandarin |
| Audio | Original 1976 Cut Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio Mono English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono Re-edited 1980 Cut Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio Mono English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 2:35:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | B |
| Subtitles | Original 1976 Cut English Re-edited 1980 Cut English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 1 BD-50 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
- Audio Commentary for 1976 cut by Asian cinema expert Brandon Bentley and artist / Hong Kong cinema expert R.P. “Kung Fu Bob” O’Brien (Dolby Digital 2.0 audio)
- Audio Commentary for 1976 cut by Hong Kong cinema expert Andrew Staton (Dolby Digital 2.0 audio)
- Hong Kong Trailer
- English Trailer
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
New Fist of Fury is available to order through multiple retailers across the United Kingdom. The first print edition will sell out pretty fast like 88 Films’ other Jackie Chan titles. Both Amazon UK and the official 88 Films website will be the best option to secure a copy. Once sold out, a regular standard edition will be available.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills. Due to current global situations, shipping restrictions may apply.)
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