Well, I decided to NetFlix The One Armed Swordsman (never seen it before... sad, I know), and being the DVD extras masochist I can be at times, I decided to watch the interviews with David Chute and Andy Klein as I figured they'd probably have something a smidgen more relevent to say than they would in their commentary. But, while I was getting ready to press the menu button to get out of this extra, I saw something interesting... clips from a Fortune Star remastered One Armed Boxer. I read that they had the rights to it, but didn't know that it had already been restored. Here are the caps from it:
Keep in mind, these are from an interlaced video clip, so they're probably softer than they'll be in the final transfer. On top of this, they even have a US TV spot of the film, under its US release title of "The Chinese Professionals" (complete with the US/UK theme from The Big Boss!):
Wonder if DD will smack somewhere on the cover "The prequel to the cult classic Master of the Flying Guillotine!"
Yeah, I have the same non-restored, non-anamorphic, improperly converted PAL-to-NTSC transfer, so this is a welcome release... now, if only we knew WHEN this was coming out.
This actually reminds me of some of the older HKL releases that would show clips from then unreleased DVDs, like when they showed clips from Dragon Lord on the Young Master DVD, well before it was actually released. I've yet to see the other SB DD DVDs (wow, too many initials), but I wonder if any other clips from upcoming DD discs show up.
I won't lie... I've only watched this dubbed, even though I have the multi-lingual DVD. Just like Master of the Flying Guillotine, this is one of those few films I've actually enjoyed more dubbed than subtitled. I think I'll have to pop it in tonight and actually watch it subtitled for once... especially if it has music from Shaft
Yeah, MOTFG was riddled with music from Neu! and Kraftwerk... and some Tangerine Dream... no wonder Eastern Eye needed to make a new score for the R4 DVD!
I'm fairly certain I read it was a remastered print. Even with this clip, I could tell it was a proper NTSC (unlike the non-remastered Joy Sales Fortune Star discs) transfer, as it displayed average NTSC interlacing (3 "progressive" frames, two 2 visibly interlaced on a computer monitor). Plus, even in the short clip, I didn't see any print damage.
DD has it. I was dealing with a company that wanted it a while back. Many of the new transfers have been done for quite some time, this among them. FYI, there's never been an uncut version of this film released on video. It was cut by HK censors prior to its original release and that is the version we've seen on video all these years. It would be great if they could release it fully uncut.
Linn wrote:DD has it. I was dealing with a company that wanted it a while back. Many of the new transfers have been done for quite some time, this among them. FYI, there's never been an uncut version of this film released on video. It was cut by HK censors prior to its original release and that is the version we've seen on video all these years. It would be great if they could release it fully uncut.
Yeah, I've read that this was part of the "early 70s chopping block" in Hong Kong, alongside of (and most infamous) The Big Boss. Unlike TBB, I've never read what was actually cut from OAB. Wonder if Wang Yu himself has an uncut print... hmm...
Ivan Drago wrote:Anyone notice Jackie Chan in the dojo scene?
When DIDN'T Jackie pop up in some dojo scene in the early 70s? Okay, so maybe doubling for Suzuki in the end of Fist of Fury doesn't QUITE count as a dojo... but it was in Suzuki's office, which was just meters away from his dojo