The DVD Dissection: Dragon Immortal (10 Feature Film Collection)
Posted by Chad Webb on 01.29.2009
I have been to Hell, and returned to tell the tale. Ladies and gentleman....I present the best of Bruceploitation.
Featuring:
Bruce Le
Bruce Lai
Dragon Lee
Bruce Thai
Jack Lee
Bruce Li
DVD Release Date: January 27, 2009
Total Running Time: 900 minutes
Unrated
The History
Perhaps you remember that hilarious scene from Wayne's World 2 when Mike Myers and James Hong fought one on one. It basically mocked old-school martial-arts films as both Myers and Hong suddenly had dubbed voices, used extravagant kung-fu techniques, and were accompanied by exaggerated sound effects. Now that it rings a bell, know that every single film I am about to review is exactly like that scene, only these casts and crew are serious. Welcome to my review of Dragon Immortal....read on if you dare!
First, we should discuss Bruceploitation, when it started, why, and so forth. It goes without saying that Bruce Lee was Hong Kong's most famous action star in the early 70's. The Hong Kong action cinema scene was shocked when he died in 1973. When Enter the Dragon became a box office success, many studios feared that any martial-arts film without his name in the billing would not be successful. This prompted some studios to take advantage of Lee's international fame by making movies that vaguely sounded like Lee vehicles, starring actors who changed their stage names to ones that sounded like Bruce Lee, like Bruce Le or Bruce Li.
The marketing grew extremely confusing as some movies were billed as genuine Bruce Lee films when in fact they were not. This worked very well for awhile since Lee's legitimate films such as The Big Boss and Fist of Fury were not released in China until after his death. The world demanded more of the fallen legend, and some were easily fooled when this garbage arrived. The genre was quite competitive. As many as 15 different actors utilized alternate Bruce Lee names and were hired by various studios. One had the name Bronson Lee, which is uber cool. Jackie Chan was even promoted as the next Bruce Lee since he had performed stunts in a few of Lee's films. He was in one film called New Fist of Fury.
Bruceploitation can be divided into three categories. This set explores all three. The first was simply recycling storylines from old Bruce Lee films like Re-enter the Dragon and so on. The second category consisted of stories that tackled Bruce Lee's life and mysteries like They Call HIm Bruce Lee below. The third and final were just the craziest sort of tales one could conjure. One of the critically acclaimed Bruceploitation flicks, The Dragon Lives Again has Bruce battling James Bond, among a dozen other famous characters (Popeye and Clint Eastwood to name a few), in hell. Sadly, it is not available on this set.
Though it is still not totally gone, the demise of Bruceploitation, or rather the near fatal wound, can be credited to Jackie Chan, who rose to stardom with Snake in the Eagle's Shadow and Drunken Master. He would be the new king of Hong Kong cinema. During Chan's reign, the Lee imitators would develop their own personalities, but keep the stage name in tact. The films would become heavy on comedy. Today, this period is often satirized, most famously by Sammo Hung in the 1978 film, Enter the Fat Dragon. This set covers 3 decades of Bruceploitation.
Before you read on, a couple things need to be made crystal clear. All of these films are bad beyond your wildest dreams. Do not look at my more positive ratings and think I've gone nuts (although that is possible). I enjoy bad movies, hence some of these were tolerable in a "so bad it's good" sort of manner. Also, the cast and crew specifics, the title names, the character names, etc. are definitely not all correct. Many of the actors and directors used pseudonyms, and if you wanted to observe the flaws of IMDB, look no further than this set, since they have very skeptical information on most of the efforts.
Amazing as it may seem, these 10 films barely scratch the surface of Bruceploitation. Some filmmakers devoted their entire career to imitating Bruce Lee storylines. I believe that some of the folks involved with these atrocities wanted whole-heartedly to make a film honoring Bruce Lee, in addition to pleasing his fans, no matter how zany it sounds. They failed. All of these crap on his legacy, but this should be obvious. However, others just clearly wanted to exploit his name, and one can pick those offerings out of the pile. If you are a die-hard Bruce Lee fan, this set will not make you happy, and I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking that, but if you appreciate the kung-fu genre, its ups and downs, then rummaging through the trash for the one or two quirky gems might not be so bad. Personally, I can't wait to move on with my life. I truly have seen the bottom of the barrel, and it is ugly.
The Films
They Call Him Bruce Lee (1979)
Written/Directed By: Francis (Jun) Posadas
This little gem just happened to be the movie that commenced my viewing of this set. The plot revolves around a book that the real Bruce Lee apparently wrote, called "Ninjitsu Fighting Techniques". How clandestine. The contents can be damaging to certain dojo's secret styles, and one in particular named Tom (great villain name) will do anything to obtain this book. It lies in the possession of the real Bruce Lee's right hand man ( Jack Lee a.k.a. some dude who wears a white suit). He goes out of his way to train Rey (Rey Malonzo), for whatever reason, probably as extra aid since he knows that Tom is after the book. One day he up and decides to give the book to Rey (in broad daylight), and now Tom pursues him instead, along with his annoying friend Tito. What follows is a series of fight sequences and a lame love story with a woman named Nita. I am only guessing on her name since this has no subtitle options.
No one is actually called Bruce Lee in the story, but the central actor in the final battle is wearing one of Lee's signature yellow sweat suits. I think he is Jack Lee, but who knows? Other than that, Rey's bedroom is filled with real Bruce Lee posters. The fight sequences are pretty unmemorable; except for maybe the final segments where we finally see Tom get down and dirty. Tito the irritating buddy of Rey is a baffling character. Rey saves him at one point, and like a disease, he never goes away. He is a "player", but if this is true, I feel sorry for any female coming across his path. He also frequents a local eating establishment, and I kid you not, the chef utters this line: "May herpes infect their toes!" Academy Award winning material folks. The only other thing I forgot to mention was that one woman is named Santa, yes, that is a fact. The dubbing here is distracting as some people are exaggerated to an unnecessary level. By the way, this was made in the Philippines, by a bad director still around today.
Final Rating = 4.0/10.0
Bruce vs. Snake in Eagle's Shadow
Information on this is sparse, and literally limited to the opening credits, and anyone familiar with this type of cinema knows that credits are not a priority in the budget. The title in the credits says "Bruce Against Snake in Eagle's Shadow", but the DVD displays what I listed in bold. Either way, YouTube had no clip to display. Sorry.
The plot centers on Tong Long (or Tang Lung), another cool guy in a white suit. We catch up with him immediately fighting, and then he boards a boat, catches a pickpocket that resembles Danny Partridge, and proceeds to become entangled with 2 girls: Ming Chu and Wei Lin. They belong to separate families who own pearl beds in the water. One family seeks control of both. We can identify them because one set of pearl workers wears red, and the other wears blue. It turns out that someone has betrayed the family Tong Long protects, and they must find out who.
If the film above was bad, this is ten times worse. I mean, come on, they are feuding over pearl beds, and the only pearl I actually spotted was on some guy's ring. Not one fight scene is satisfactory, and no one is named Bruce. Of course the main character is the impersonator, but this title means absolutely nothing to the premise. The kung-fu styles are not mentioned. The pearl bed workers consist of some of the ugliest women to ever step foot on the planet. Viewers will witness just as many cat fights with them as they do martial arts, and that is a problem. Some of these women look suspiciously like men, and it makes me want to vomit. One scene has a chase in a tower, and a superb fight sequence could have occurred there, but it lasts two seconds. This also began the process of inserting mainstream American themes to these putrid movies. For instance, this incorporates a James Bond-like theme in EVERY SINGLE scene transition. And any martial arts movie where the rights to a property and a girl are decided over a round of yahtzee is certifiably atrocious.
Final Rating = 1.5/10.0
Clones of Bruce Lee (1977)
Directed By: Joseph Velasco
This story begins with the "real" Bruce Lee dying in the hospital of heart failure. Agent Collins of the SBI (Special Branch of Investigation) places a call to Professor Lucas, who extracts cells from Lee in order to create clones. The project is a success and Bruce Lee #1 (Dragon Lee), #2 (Bruce Le), and #3 (Bruce Lai) are born. I should mention the Professor has full control over them. They are divided into teams and sent on missions. First, #1 is sent to a movie studio to bust a gold smuggling producer named Chai Lo. The second mission has #2 and #3 dispatched to Thailand where a mad scientist named Dr. Nye is busy generating Bronze soldiers. He is also using his drug money for some biological weapon. The point is, he needs to be stopped right? Following these missions, Professor Lucas orders the clones to fight each other. The Professor's nurses take it upon themselves to show the clones his true intentions.
This is a hilarious film, and if you like movies so bad they're kind of fun, this is for you. I could write a detailed review on just this, but I must confine my comments. Let's start with how each of the clones looks different, and how not one is reminiscent of Bruce Lee (except in profile). I guess this helps when a secret organization is making them undercover agents. This contains a beach scene where, for no reason, a group of women rub suntan lotion on one another, frolic in the water, and accost some skinny guy while #2 and #3 look on in Speedo’s (one is bright pink and I am dead serious). Poor Bruce is spinning in his grave. The battles with the Bronze soldiers are terrific (in a bad way) and of course metallic sound effects are utilized. The way the clones kill them is weird enough to make David Lynch jealous. Dr. Nye is one of the greatest bad villains in history with a nude harem at his command. While the clones resemble Lee in appearance, and one is closer than the others, they become difficult to tell apart during the fights. The fights by the way are surprisingly adequate. I actually appreciated the three mini-storylines instead of one giant boring rehashing. I would discuss the plot holes and inconsistencies, but I only have so much time. You also have Bolo (from Enter the Dragon), a bulky man who pops up in almost every 70's kung-fu flick. Director Joseph Velasca holds nothing back for this insanely silly experiment of bizarreness, and it is one of the memorable efforts (sad but true) of this set. I agree with one critic who referred to this as the Hong Kong equivalent to Plan 9 from Outer Space.
Final Rating = 6.0/10.0
Fist of Death (1982)
Directed By: Chia Chun Wu
This film is structured as if Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee were in the film together as stars. Of course, Chan was in Lee's films before he was famous, but that is not the intention here. The actor's name is Jackie Chang, and the Lee impersonator is Tong Lung, or as the credits say "The famous Korean fighter who finished the Game of Death after Bruce Lee's Death." Ok, sure. The plot begins with two rival schools, the Chin Wu School, and the YMCA. Yes, everyone calls it the YMCA, yet the shorts say YMGA. Whatever. Some guy is attacked by the Ching Wu thugs looking for some kind of document and eventually the master of the Ching Wu School is killed by someone. Perhaps the YMCA, since it is written on the knife? The long lost brother Bruce returns to find his master dead, and vows revenge, while his brother is immediately jealous of Bruce's popularity. Meanwhile, Chin Ling (aka Jackie) is a rickshaw driver who saves a chick from some goons, so she repays him by buying him some shiny new clothes, getting him the worst haircut ever, and letting him move in with her. Must be nice. So everyone wants this document, and when both masters are killed from both dojos, one dude with a cheesy mustache and wig turns out to be the orchestrator behind it all. Jackie and Bruce must defeat him together.
Oh geez. Well, the fights in this one weren't nearly as terrible as the others, but the plot is incredibly nonsensical, and things happen for virtually no reason whatsoever. The enigmatic document has a list of YMCA members and some sort of map. Sounds like a vital piece of paper (note sarcasm). One of the main villains has a right hand man that resembles the Asian version of Anton Chigurgh. Jackie ends up having sex with the woman he saves, and it quite possibly the most boring exchange of bodily fluids in the history of cinema. I've seen my fair share of porn, and this will cause the opposite of arousal. And even though "Jackie's" character name is Chin Ling, the chick he sleeps with refers to him as Rick? Don't ask me. You also have planted lamp gas, and some sort of cruel torture involving bamboo up the fingernails. The carriage battle was cool since it involved throwing food, and the casino fight was ok as well. This was just a standard confusing kung-fu film until the primary villain comes out of nowhere more than halfway through the film. He is revealed after he exits the bathroom. That was a bad #2 I guess. All of a sudden, he has the ability to teleport and burrow underground like the monsters from Tremors. Does this mean Jackie and Bruce are done for? You'll have to check out the set to see! I know all of you will.
Final Rating = 3.0/10.0
Bruce Lee's Deadly Kung-Fu (1977)
Directed By: Wah Chan and Chang Chee
In another exciting storyline, a lowly waiter and his dimwitted buddy try to live peacefully in San Francisco. Unfortunately, one day at work some American thugs give them a hard time, so Bob (as this Lee imitator is called) beats them up, and they then run back to their hideout to regroup. Bob (Bruce Li) and his pal are blacklisted from getting employed though. What follows is a series of the same fights. Basically, the American villains are defeated, and they then run away and get someone else to help. Midway through the proceedings, Bob is persuaded to start a martial-arts school, which he does in what seems like a matter of minutes. He even has a right-hand man in Chin Chu Leo, another man who serves no purpose. We are subjected to Bob's wise teachings every now and then, until of course the Americans ruin everything. At one point, the opposing clan's boss offers Bob a spot in their organization, but what kind of a movie would this be if he accepted? More original for one, but I digress...
Bob is called Bruce in one scene, and Mr. Lee in another, thoroughly perplexing the viewer as to what his real name is. If that wasn't enough, one of the villains is named Bob, and they face each other, thus creating the Bob vs. Bob match we've all been pining for. No joke, one of the villains is named "The San Francisco Iron Fist Man." And here I thought Bastion Booger was a weak character name. Another moment has the theme to "Come on Ride the Train" playing, which is just odd in a variety of ways. One line stood out as particularly strange from the hero Bob, "I don't care if he's Charlie or Lassie, just get him out of here" as he tries to steer away some goons. Other than that, this film has the least amount to pick on. The final string of fights are intriguing, however, the extremely dated hairstyles of the Americans is distracting. One assault involves a group of horses, which was funny to watch. This contains more fight scenes than silly plot, which is fine by me. The duel between Bruce Li and Hwang Jang Lee (Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, Drunken Master) was interesting for loyal followers of the genre. Although this is still really bad (the American martial-artists are incredibly goofy looking), parts were actually tolerable.
Final Rating = 6.0/10.0
Bruce Against Superman (1975)
Directed By: Chia Chun Wu
Obviously this is the title that will grab most people's attention, but please, for the love of God, do not go out of your way to watch this hoping to see Clark Kent or the red and blue suit. Bruce Li is Kato, assistant to the Green Hornet, and in the opening scene Kato is seen wearing the chauffeur's uniform in full. Can we spell copyright infringement? The Green Hornet, who wears bright-red, is absent until the end, and even then he sports a nasty beard and looks out of shape. The plot involves Dr. Ting, who has a secret formula that will end world hunger (it involves extracting albumen from petroleum apparently). After a gratuitous scene of Ting's daughter Alice swimming naked, Ting is kidnapped. Kato and his friend chase the bad guys, although it should be noted the pronunciation of Kato sounds suspiciously like "Carter." The baddies work for a guy named Tiger, and he enlists the help of Superman and his henchman. It should be noted that the artwork on the poster says "Supermen", but the box clearly says "Superman." Whatever.
I don't even know where to start with this steaming pile of dung. There are a couple chase scenes, one in a car, one in a rickshaw, and another on foot. All are mind-numbingly dull to the point where water torture would be a blessing. Because this deals with the Green Hornet, the film employs cheesy scene transitions reminiscent of the old Batman series. Superman, if you want to call him that, wears a black suit with white horizontal stripes across the chest. He has a molester mustache, a hysterical bouffant hairdo, and a wimpy white cape. Yes, this is supposed to be Superman. He is the villain mind you, but don't think he is going to hunt Kato for free. Oh no. He is being paid with $100,000, 10 hot girls, and a truck full of booze! After all, why shouldn't Superman get some perks? Among the numerous "riveting" sequences is a cat fight involving Alice, the use of a slingshot as a weapon in an ambush (they were stupid in middle school), and lots of fun with Superman's henchman who wear red-clown/monkey type masks and use discs as weaponry? You also have an attempted rape and a white guy with really bad sideburns. Calling this movie hilariously awful has traces of a compliment. I cannot accurately describe how truthfully horrifying this film is. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and cry some more. The fights are barely passable I suppose with nunchuck action and all, but most of the kung-fu in this set is awkward. You just have to decide what level of awkward it is. And Superman's powers begin and end with extravagant leaps into trees. Not really super is he? Watching this is a surreal experience, and I have no clue how to rate it.
Final Rating = 2.5/10.0
Chinese Gods (1976)
Directed By: Chih Hui Chang
The word trippy springs to mind when thinking about this little ditty. This is an animated film, but do not picture Japanese anime in your head. This is Chinese animation, and if you ever wondered before why the country is not famous for animation, this is a prime example. I can't even describe the storyline accurately since much of what transpires is perplexing. If not for an external review on IMDB, I would not have the slightest clue as to some of the names. Basically, it follows King Chow, an evil tyrant who does wicked things to his people, including burning at the stake. Yes, we see this in a cartoon. South Park eat your heart out. The Gods notice that the people are suffering, so they send wise old man Chang Chi Na down to clean up the mess. What happens after this would take pages for me to make sense to any of you. Chang Chi Na eventually gets more help from the Gods, and King Chow gets help of his own with various demons. A side-plot concerning the Duke of Si is intermingled as well.
So how does Bruce Lee factor into this tale filtering fantasy through animation? He shows up during the last 15 minutes (with a magical third eyeball) and beats the hell out of everyone. Sorry for the spoiler alert, but trust me, I have yet to scratch the surface of this film, and there are loads left uncovered. But anyway, yes, that is all. We know it is Bruce Lee because his sole line of dialogue is "Yip" or perhaps other cliché martial-arts sounds. This is a demented piece of work that should never be shown to children with hopes that they become introduced to Bruce Lee. They will be scarred for life by snake pits, cannibalism, shattering teeth, hot oil torture, and some awesome demons that spit daggers. I didn't even mention the animal morphing, wind monsters, guitar torture, and various assassins. I felt dirty after watching this one. It makes no sense, and pretty much smashes together images so we are distracted by the animation enough to forget that the plot is puzzling. I would have been mesmerized, but was too busy being disturbed instead. As a fan of strange animation, this was somewhat cool, but for anyone else, they will turn this off 10 minutes in.
Final Rating = 5.0/10.0
Bruce's Fist of Vengeance (1984)
Directed By: Bill James
This recycles some of the elements from They Call Me Bruce Lee as it deals with Jack Lee protecting a book that was entrusted to him by the late Bruce Lee. In this case, the book has secret Jeet Koon Do techniques. Jack flies to Manila from Hong Kong to enter his friend Peter's (Bruce Le) martial-arts tournament. Jack sees Peter defeated by his arch-rival Miguel. Jack gives Peter the book to keep and learn from, but Miguel wants it as well, and he sends his thugs to retrieve it. Instead, Jack and Peter's girlfriend Miriam are kidnapped, and will not be freed until the book is delivered to Miguel.
The whole secret book shtick is wearing thin I think. In this highly stinky turd of a movie, Bruce Le begins a tournament fight wearing white pants, suddenly changes to black pants in mid-battle, and ends the fight back in his white pants? Sure, it could happen. One scene has Bruce Le being tied up in the form of a pretzel, and unfortunately I saw angles of his body I wished I hadn't. An overly long sequence has Peter on a date, which consists of cockfighting. Yes, it is illegal and inhumane, but it makes such a fabulous way for the audience to sympathize with our hero. The final battle between Miguel (a crappy name) and Peter is so long that pulling my hair out would be more entertaining. And since the kung-fu quality is horrible, the battle is agonizing. However, the dubbing was surprisingly better, though far from perfect. Ken Watanabe is listed on the credits, and that had me slightly excited, but if he was there, he was impossible to spot.
Final Rating = 2.0/10.0
Powerforce (1983)
Directed By: Michael Mak
Our movie begins with a Rocky-esque training montage with our main character, Jack Sargeant, who is busy completing a sweaty workout. Princess Rawleen (Mandy Moore...no, not the singer) hails from the country of Mongrovia. Her right hand man, General Marushka (James Barnett), has teamed with a terrorist named Mr. Sly. They want to kidnap the princess, and get a hold of her country's chrome ore so they can overcharge makers of nuclear weapons and reactors. Rawleen stays with two friends in Hong Kong in the meantime: Richard, who offers her cocaine, and then drops the subject for the rest of the film, and Elana. Rawleen is accompanied by her secretary Eva and security chief Max Leon. Rawleen's virginity is a hot button topic, and she is kidnapped by a big bunch of ninjas. Jack Sargeant (Bruce Baron) is called in by his boss, named Trouble, to find the princess. Sergeant must team with a group called Dragonforce in order to save her.
Just wow, is all I have to say about this one. Sargeant must meet a contact for weapons to use during the excursion. His contact is named Ah Chu (to verify his identity, the pass code is sneezing). Ah Chu works at the Good Fu-king Flour Company. I'm not making this up I swear. Sargeant takes no weapons, but Ah Chu mentions a "double nothing guy from England" who is a good customer. Nice. Ninjas are hired to kidnap the princess, and they wear bright orange, similar to hunters. Now, I could be crazy, but hunters want to be seen so as to avoid being shot by accident. Last I checked, ninjas are NOT supposed to be seen. Maybe things have changed. Sargeant gets hit by a poison throwing star at one point, and to cure this infection, the Bruce Lee wannabe uses a cobra snake to suck the poison out. I did not make this up. The music is very wonky (to borrow a Hayhurst term). It ranges from cheesy inspirational 80's to classical strings, and then touches on a playful sitcom sound. At one point, they use acupuncture and shave the princess' head and hypnotize her. The fact that her head is not shaved, and her hair is pulled back would be obvious to an infant. Everyone takes this film way too seriously, especially Bruce Li. The title baffles me. The organization is called Dragonforce, not Powerforce. The latter name is not mentioned once. Someone put me out of my misery...please...I beg of you.
Final Rating = 1.5/10.0
Bruce Lee's Ways of Kung-Fu (1982)
Directed By: Godfrey Ho
I have mentioned a few times in this review how confusing the plots can be. None were more incomprehensible than this was. Many of the characters names were not spoken until midway through the film or later. The joy commences at the Castle of the Devil's Disciples, led by Kong Tien, who is protected by his 18 "beautiful" girls that are masters in various styles of kung-fu. Dragon is our hero, a wuss who wants to kill Kong for the death of his father. At the same time, an unnamed martial-arts master sends his two students to kill Kong as well. Dragon is captured and beaten to oblivion by the women during his first attempt to kill Kong. However, he saved by one of the them because of a mysterious pendant he has that she sees. It turns out some other wandering fighter, the female who saved Dragon, and Dragon himself all have pieces of this pendant.
So much transpires in this film that makes no sense because only a handful of people possess names. The girls use weapons like fans, tapestry's, and darts that fly out of the walls. One tangent has Dragon traveling to a master called White Cloud, who has been recently blinded by sharp nails from Kong henchman. If this is not enough, a comedy duo joins the fray, consisting of a Jackie Chan look-alike with a wart and a husky Asian man who dresses like a Native American and acts like he's mentally challenged from too many hits in the head with a hammer. This all happens, trust me. The costumes are so loud and flashy that it makes my eyes sore. The music is oddly epic in sound, which does not mesh for one second with the plot. I love how the hero always becomes a master of kung-fu after he was an imbecile weakling...in the span of a day. In this case, we don't even get a training montage for proof! The girls do this trademark group kick that resembles a maneuver the Rockers might have performed back in the WWE. Another scene has men flying through the air all of a sudden, and then we have a cave undertaker and a coffin maker who pop up to aid our hero Dragon, who is listed on the credits as Bruce Lei, but on IMDB as Dragon Lee. Oh, and the sound effects were executed by a retard on cocaine as whenever someone walks one step, we gets 10 foot sounds. Having trouble following along? Imagine what it was like to watch.
Final Rating = 1.0/10.0
The Video
Each picture transfer is atrocious. They are all worn with jumping frames, speckling, snow, distortion, ghosting, and bad use of recording controls. I suppose many of these emanated from tape masters, so shoddy video is not unusual. Many of the titles are panned-and-scanned, and the artifacting during the action scenes make it difficult to discern what is happening. During Chinese Gods, the video reverts back to the DVD menu. Can we get someone who understands the switches? The Clones of Bruce Lee, Fist of Death, Bruce Against Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, Bruce Lee's Deadly Kung Fu, The Story of Chinese Gods, and Bruce Lee's Ways of Kung-Fu (1982) are all 4:3 panned-and-scanned, while They Call Him Bruce Lee, Bruce's Fist of Vengeance, and Power Force are full frame, but nothing is spotless I assure you. Bruce Lee Against Supermen the best picture-wise, a 16:9 enhanced widescreen transfer.
The Audio
The audio is weird. If your normal volume level is 25 out of say...50, occasionally the music and dialogue will come booming through the speakers as if you have a theater quality sound system, despite the fact that the level is 25. Other times, the casts are hard to understand, since distortion, fuzziness, and distortion are commonplace. This contains no subtitles and no juicy surround sound tracks. I'm not surprised, and you shouldn't be either. The absence of subtitles is annoying since they would have eliminated any confusion of character names. The audio, like the video, is poor....enough said.
The Packaging
Dragon Immortal - 10 Feature Film Set is distributed in a standard black keep case with a separate holder inside that houses two discs overlapping each other. 2 of the discs are obviously dual sided, while one is not, and it displays the cover artwork. The artwork on the cover, and on the menus, is of the legitimate Bruce Lee, thus continuing the ploy to fool the buyer that these films actually star Bruce Lee. How they get away with it is beyond me. The menus are as simple as can be with the chapter listing of both films on the main screen.
The Extras
None. What did you expect?
The Films: 3.0/10.0
The Video: 2.5/10.0
The Audio: 2.5/10.0
The Packaging: 6.0/10.0
The Extras: 0.0/10.0
The 411: So upon finishing this set, my life has changed permanently. I gained 10 pounds, my eye twitches, I speak as if my voice was dubbed, I hear noises in my head, and I'm pretty sure I am no longer engaged. All the energy in me as a moviegoer has been drained and I have recurring headaches. This should come with a stamp that says “Viewing may require medical treatment.”. This set is approximately $15, and if you like bad movies, for a cheap price, I would recommend this as a curiosity only. Of course it goes without saying that you need to enjoy kung-fu films A LOT. A handful were satisfying if you like movies that are so excruciating they're humorous. I only wish The Dragon Lives Again could have been included because that, combined with Clones of Bruce Lee would make this well worth the money. The technical specifications are horrendous, and this contains no bonus features, but that is to be expected. Bruceploitation was not a sunny period for Hong Kong cinema, but 1% of it was adequate. If you do decide to purchase/rent this, know that I warned you of its awfulness, so do not send me hate mail, or hunt me down. Good night, and good luck!
