"A battle between 'Shaolin Buddhist Fist' the 'Thunder Kick' and the 'Silver Cannon Fist' styles brings lots of action and excitement in this one of a kind Monk against Monk Martial Arts full length feature. A climatic showdown of secret Shaolin style techniques, featuring one of the greatest Kung Fu Masters, Dragon Lee is sure keep you riveted to your seat, from the first exciting scene, right to the action packed final battle".

I've heard a lot of positive things about this film, one of them being one of the best films Dragon Lee starred in. By chance I saw this movie in a clearance sale in a DVD rental store, and decided to give it a try. I was fully aware about the reputation of DVD publishers Beverly Wilshire Filmworks/Telefilms International though, but at a mere $2.99 USD there was no way I was going to pass up the opportunity to get it.

Picture quality

Anamorphic widescreen in the aspect ratio of approximately 1.78:1, taken directly from a washed out VHS source (there are thin VHS lines that appear from time to time). There are two major glitches throughout the film, but there are not quite horrendous as some others I've seen (Story Of The Dragon from the same company comes to mind). There are two permanent black bars at the top and the bottom of the screen put together on purpose, perhaps to stabilize the picture a little bit. Overall, the film is serviceable, but I wish the image was sharper and more colorful.

Sound quality

Presented in Dolby Digital Mono 2.0. The sound quality is almost parallel to the picture quality.

The Film

In spite of the wonderfully hyped description on the back cover, I have to say this is one of best Dragon Lee films I've ever seen. The choreography is great, the fights are long, plentiful and never boring or repetitive. Dragon Lee reminds me a little of Jackie Chan in some comedy bits. Hwang Jang Lee is as good as ever, with his powerful and fast kicks, demonstrating once more why he's acknowledged as one of the greatest onscreen leg fighters in the world.

Extras

No extras, not even an interactive menu, but chapter skipping is possible. The movie just plays.

Packaging

The packaging of all Beverly Wilshire releases are one of the worst I've seen for commercial release. At least some of the other budget DVD companies put a lot more effort to make their cover designs look good, but this company apparently does not. With that being said, I have to say that this is one of their better presentations, which isn't saying much. It gives the film the wrong impression of being bad or ultra cheap, but it is not the case. The cover is not that bad, but the spine, the back cover and the fonts they used are cheap looking, not to mention their logos.

Conclusion

One of the best Dragon Lee films, with plenty of quality fights, but a below average DVD presentation. Apparently this is the only DVD company that has released this film in the U.S. so if you are eager to get this film, don't hesitate.

RATINGS

Film 8/10
Picture Quality 4/10
Sound Quality 5/10
Packaging 4/10
Overall Disc Score 5/10

Review by Ed San. © 2004