On September 15, 2009 Miramax and Dimension released four classic martial arts films on blu-ray for the first time. They can be purchased together as one four-pack of blu-rays or separately. All of them got brand new 1080p transfers, which in general an upgrades over previous standard DVD releases, but there are no new extras, But perhaps the biggest crime of this release is that they give us brand new lossless DTS-HD master audio tracks ON THE ENGLISH DUB of ALL FOUR FILMS!. So when you hear the much improved fight scenes, sound effects, and music, all of that high definition bliss is interrupted with some half-baked, poorly translated mockery of the film.

Most of the blu-rays do have thankfully, a 5.1 Dolby Digital track to fall back on in the original language, EXCEPT Legend of Drunken Master. Ernie Estrella has written full reviews of all four blu-rays accessed below. Each would be recommended as rentals unless you’ve never see any of them. Not because they’re not good enough movies to own outright, but they are not definitive editions by any means, and their leap to high definition should be taken with a grain of salt, or is that a grain of rice. Anywho, on to the reviews.

Full Legend of Drunken Master Blu-Ray Review (1994)

Full Hero Blu-Ray Review (2002)

Full Iron Monkey Blu-Ray Review (1993)

Full Zatoichi Blu-Ray Review (2003)

Year: 1993
Running Time: 86 minutes
Rated: PG-13
SRP:$ 39.99
Studio(s): Miramax
Release Date: September 2009

Film/Feature: B+

Iron Monkey is a twist on the Robin Hood/Zorro story where they were able to cram a younger version of Chinese folk hero, Wong Fei Hung into this relative cookie cutter martial arts film that does have some significance for HK Cinema and Martial Arts fans. First it’s directed by legendary fight choreographer, Yuen Woo-Ping. Next it’s produced by Tsui Hark who has gone on to direct his own brand of HK action films. And most of all it stars a young Donnie Yen who carved out his own slice of the Martial Arts genre and took the mantle after Jet Li began to age. It’s a fun film that’s welcoming to MA novices and the story is a simple one where the government is trying to take advantage of the poor people. The Iron Monkey (Yu Rong-Guang) robs from the government and spreads the wealth to the needy and the poor.

The government force Wong Kei-Ying (Donnie Yen) to track down the Iron Monkey or else they will hold his son, Wong Fei-Hong (Sze-Man Tsang) as ransom in exchange of bringing their elusive adversary to justice. The rest of the townspeople will not do it because they’re obviously benefitting from Iron Monkey’s efforts. Kei-Ying plays detective and discovers what the Iron Monkey is doing and enlists his aid to help free his son. What the government doesn’t know though is the fighting skill of the pint-sized Wong Fei-Hong.

Iron Monkey and films that feature Yen, tend to toe the line of the Jackie Chan and Jet Li films had in that the action is top notch, obviously with Woo-Ping at control, but they’re also not so epic that you nod off waiting for the fights. It could be argued that this did not elevate MA films to another level, but they simply don’t make films this fun, and this enjoyable very often anymore.

Video: B+

Iron Monkey gets a new 1080p encoded transfer in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Out of the four blu-rays released in Miamax’s Ultimate Force of Four series, this is one of the better video transfers. Color, detail, and blacks are all improved over the previous DVD transfer. There is still the random fleck of noise and dirt that’s still seen when looked at closely. It doesn’t take away from the overall experience, and this is by far a step up from what current DVD owners are used to but I say all this to temper the HD critical eyes out there who compare this with the average modern blu-ray.

Audio: C

If you’ve read any of my other reviews from Miramax’s Ultimate Force of Four pack, then you know where this is section is headed. If not, then Iron Monkey boasts the same boisterous upgrade of a 5.1 DTS-HD audio track as the other three in the Force of Four Pack, sadly for only the ENGLISH DUB!? I’m not going to beat a point in the ground, well, anymore than I did in my Hero blu-ray review but there is a 5.1 Dolby Digital Chinese soundtrack. It’s not nearly as spectacular as the English dub, but that insult of a dub track is just terrible and I dare you to watch Iron Monkey straight-faced when the actors are speaking. Talk about ruining the moment. The other option is a 2.0 Dolby Digital Spanish track and subtitles are available English SDH and Spanish.

Extras: D+

We get two scintillating interviews. Well no, not really, but there are two stock interviews carried over from the previous DVD release. Neither of them are memorable enough to speak well enough about them to help give the blu-ray some other attraction than the high definition transfer.

Quentin Tarantino Interview SD (9:00) gives the famous filmmaker/film geek an opportunity to share his knowledge of the genre and speak about where Iron Monkey fits into the big picture. I have to admit that I would have never discovered this film originally on VHS if it wasn’t for Tarantino’s pull to get this to the American market, I just wish it was handled with more care.

Donnie Yen Interview SD (6:00) talks about where Iron Monkey fit into his life at the time and how much martial arts were a part of his life at an early age.

Overall Shock Value: C+

For martial arts novices, Iron Monkey is a great introduction to a younger Donnie Yen who really went upward and onward from here. The story is light enough and crazy enough to grow its fan base larger than what it already is today and you could find much worse than this blu-ray release. Is it the definitive version? No. But it will do for now.

Year: 2002
Running Time: 99 minutes
Rated: PG-13
SRP: $39.99
Studio(s): Miramax
Release Date: September 2009

Film/Feature: A

For the first time on blu-ray comes Zhang Yimou’s first foray into the martial arts genre, having made a name for himself with beautiful and tragic dramas starring Gong Li (Red Sorghum, Raise the Red Lantern, Ju Dou). Hero is about a Nameless warrior (Jet Li) who plots with two other warriors, Broken Sword (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) to dethrone the King of Qin (Chen Daoming) who desires to be the first emperor of China. Two other characters help move the story along, Sky (Donnie Yen) an outlaw and first casualty of Namless, and Moon (Zhang Ziyi) who serves as Broken Sword’s apprentice. The story is told through flashbacks placed in the middle of a conversation between Nameless and the King. The assassins want China to remain separate entities, the King hopes to connect the divisions under one nation. The debate over whether or not the film supports the autocracy of China’s first emperor still rages on, and the film will split viewers one way or the other. I’m aware of that but to me this was a story more driven by love, hope and sacrifice through martial arts than it is to depict a documentarian look at history.

Hero is not the straight-forward chop-saki flick that many are accustomed to, and that too is why I like it. It a story of perspective and perception based on which character is telling the story. Yimou’s use of color is unparalleled and creates fantastical atmosphere never attached to the genre, and in Hero he gives some of the most memorable scenes ever to grace a martial arts film.

This is one export that I wished Quentin Tarantino and more specifically, Miramax had left alone, mostly because I think the film was good enough that it didn’t need to be brought over by the US studios. My hostility towards this film is from enjoying an imported DVD. After years of watching a more pure version of the film, the Miramax translation and poorly dubbed audio track irritate me to no end.

But back to what I love about this film. Martial arts aficionados love the re-match of Jet Li and Donnie Yen, filmed ten years after their first on-screen battle in Once Upon a Time in China 2. Romance fans love seeing Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung on screen again who have such great on-screen chemistry stemming from Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood For Love and revisited in 2046. And Zhang Ziyi fans will love to see her Moon character’s ass get schooled by Cheung, Leung, and Li’s characters.

I hate to use the word epic, but it’s a fitting description here. There’s tragedy, bravery, and selflessness that does battle with the emotional fire within us all when we believe in something strongly enough. That struggle is what interests me more than what historical reference Hero places the start of China as one nation in the minds of the current population. Yimou’s hope was that people would long remember specific scenes from Hero even after people forget the story. He accomplished all of that and more.

Video: A-
Hero has been brought over to high definition in a 1080p AVC-encoded transfer in 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Anyone familiar with Hero knows how beautiful this film is, and how color is a big part of the storytelling, and wow does it look great. There are not enough words to describe just how the color pops on high def. It’s important that the colors are so pronounced because they convey emotions and help tell the story in an artful, majestic way that is commonplace if you have seen the work of Zhang Yimou and cinematographer Christopher Doyle. Skip to chapter five “Jealous Fools” and you’ll see what I mean. That red is lipstick red instead of the red-orange we’re used to on the DVD. The detail is greatly improved on blu-ray. Hair, pores, the fibers in the silk or linen can all be picked out. On DVD skin tones lean towards being too yellow, and slightly dull, but boy do the colors sing here. Shadows in the drapery and clothing is all clear, and blacks are deep. This isn’t the cleanest transfer because there are still bits of dirt, artifacts, and moments of unacceptable grain that can be seen by your average videophile, but is it enough to distract you from the visual experience of Hero? No. What’s distracting is what comes next…

Audio: C
Again, Miramax took the time to give us a new 5.1 DTS-HD audio track BUT ONLY FOR ENGLISH! As an audio experience you have to love what was done with the sound. In chapter Two, the fight between Sky and Nameless shows everything the HD track can do. The spacial and atmospheric effects are really amped up. The sword fights is more resounding, you can feel the difference in weight of the weapons when they move. The “tinging” of weapons making contact ricochet around. Try chapter Three “Caligraphy” were Nameless and Flying Snow ward off thousands of arrows. This is a very active track where you can hear arrows whiz by. But then in the epic match between Flying Snow and Moon in the yellow forest, well, it’s sensory overload. You don’t miss one leaf that passes by your head… AND THEN you hear the bad dubbing whenever someone talks and it’s just so deflating.

There’s also a crazy and insultingly bad “Descriptive Audio” track too which has a Cate Blanchett-like voice who describes what is going on in between the audio, including character’s movements as if you were hearing an audio book. Then there’s a male Ralph Fiennes-like voice who reads all of the dialogue, no matter who is speaking, never changing the inflection or tone of his voice to differentiate between characters. But then even more puzzling when the actors talk, it’s the Chinese audio coming out of the actors’ mouths. Eventually the female voice does come in and recites the dialogue for female characters. It’s an aggravating track. The levels of sound effects and music cut in and out. I just can’t believe that Miramax spent money on this, but they couldn’t bother with a HD Chinese track or just couldn’t give us the Chinese cut of the film. Hero is not that difficult of a film to follow, and this Descriptive Audio track was as worthless as it gets.

Has there ever been so many options to bury the original 5.1 Dolby Digital Mandarin track in a Chinese film? It’s on there, and to have a seamless movie experience, then just listen to this track, but it’s tempting to switch back and forth with the new DTS-HD track for the fight scenes and then quickly toggle back to the Mandarin track for the dialogue. Other audio selections include are 5.1 Dolby Digital French and Spanish tracks, and subtitles are available in English, English SDH, French SDH, and Spanish SDH.

Extras: C
All of the extras are in standard definition and are what was on the original Miramax DVD. There’s no commentary and enough repetition in the main three supplements that they become exhaustive even though combined they’re under an hour. I wish there was an effort to produce something new, but I get the feeling that this Force of Four collection was all about getting it in HD, slapping a HD audio dub track and call it a day.

Hero Defined SD (24:00) Finally, I get to watch this and understand it (my import did not have English subtitles on the extras) and it is a good look behind-the-curtain on the challenges, the achievement and aim of Zhang Yimou and interviews the cast of their thoughts on making Hero.

Inside the Action SD (14:00) is a one-on-one conversation between Quentin Tarantino and Jet Li going over the progression of Li’s career in Hong Kong cinema. It’s actually a nice conversation, especially for newcomers to the genre, although it is disorganized. Someone must explain the final minutes to me, where they preview parts of the Hero Defined extra (above). Just more waste that could have been corrected.

Close-Up of a Fight Scene SD (9:00) Some notes and thoughts by the actors about the key fight scenes in the film.

Storyboards SD (5:00) A side-by-side comparison of storyboards and four fight scenes.

Soundtrack Spot SD (1:00) A commercial for the Tan Dun score.

Digital Copy Disc is a copy of the film for your laptop or portable media device. Why they just don’t give you a bonus DVD of the film I’ll never know. Oh and this digital download is only available up until 3/15/2011, so you have a wasted disc after then.

Overall Shock Value: C+
Well what’s most shocking to me is that in this day and age, and how cultured America wants to claim it is, when there’s an opportunity to do something right the first time, Disney/Miramax creates this blu-ray for the least cultured consumer. Who else is going to spend top dollar on a blu-ray but the films’ most diehard fans? This was a missed opportunity to do Hero right and get a proper HD transfer with HD soundtrack of the original film. They get it half-right here, and this is the best I’ve ever seen the film, but the other 50% of why I would want to upgrade to blu-ray is for the improved HD audio. Sorry, but that English track is an insult. I love Hero, and I love the way it looks, but Disney/Miramax, if you’re going to handle these foreign films, handle them like you handle your animated properties, otherwise hand them off to someone who does care.

Screen captures were taken from www.DVDBeaver.com