Does anyone know if there is a release of this movie with the original Chinese track and english subs? I'm sick of watching it with the dubbed english track.
Meglos
09-01-04, 02:59 PM
No idea. But if you look hard enough, ebay can be your friend. I got a Region 0 copy there...
eXcentris
09-01-04, 03:12 PM
The French CE has an english 5.1 dub but only has french subs on the cantonese track.
Liquid Death
09-01-04, 04:50 PM
I know there's a Region 0 Uncut DVD of Fist of Legend out there - I reviewed it for DVDTalk and hkflix.com used to sell it...
cultshock
09-01-04, 06:08 PM
There was a Chinese release, but it's out of print, and from what I've heard, it's quality wasn't very good. The French release is supposed to look great, but like eXentris said, no English subs. I'm playing around with the idea of buying the French one anyway, and trying to make a copy with English subs added by me. Sounds like a fun little project (then again, I wouldn't be at all surprised if someone has already done that).
leemik
09-03-04, 01:33 PM
The french release is pretty good.. It's 16:9 enhanced and looks great.. However no english subs and you can't remove the french subs if you choose a different language(ie cantonese).. but of course if you rip it to another DVD you can remove the forced subs :)
--mike
Breakfast with Girls
09-03-04, 01:37 PM
Originally posted by JamMasterJay
Does anyone know if there is a release of this movie with the original Chinese track and english subs?
I wish. I for one think it's superior to the original Fist of Fury (which is still a great movie, though). Here's a comparison I found online.
SUMMARY/KEY NOTES
- Korean, American & UK have all been cut drastically, dialogue re-dubbed and soundtrack re-scored which rules them out.
- Spanish R0 is uncut but cropped and has no original soundtrack.
- Speedy VCD is slightly cut (only very slightly, in the scene where Billy Chow breaks the Japanese guy's back), slightly cropped but has original soundtrack.
- MIHK VHS is slightly cropped (cropped the sections where the original burnt-in subtitles should be) but has English subtitles
- French SE is anamorphic, slightly cut (only very slightly, the epilogue was cut), uncropped and has the original soundtrack but has no English subtitles and French subtitles are forced when watching the Cantonese soundtrack..
- Ritek is has an non-anamorphic extended cut with English subtitles, but is in Mandarin only.
- Mei Ah VCD is uncut, uncropped and has the original soundtrack but is out of print.
CONCLUSION
- Avoid Spanish, American, UK & Korean releases at all cost.
- The best version of Fist of Legend on DVD right now is the French SE, but that's only if you understand Cantonese or don't care about subtitles or you can read French.
- If you can't understand Cantonese, but need a version on DVD with English subtitles, get the Ritek DVD.
- If you can source the Mei Ah VCD (OK quality) or the HK Laserdisc (better then VCD quality), well done, that is the best version with English subtitles, original aspect ratio and original soundtrack.
- If you have no other choice, then either get the Speedy VCD (quite poor quality) or get the MIHK VHS (which is slightly cropped but still watchable).
FINAL WORDS
- If you understand Cantonese, or can read French, get the HK Video release.
- If you don't, and rely on English subtitles then get, (in order of best to worst): HK Laserdiscs, Mei Ah VCD, MIHK VHS, Ritek DVD or Speedy VCD.
- Another thing you could do is 'rip' out the HK Video DVD's audio and video, and then authorise your own English subtitles in, using a DVD-R/W drive on your PC.
Breakfast with Girls
09-03-04, 01:52 PM
By the way, it's a similar deal for Drunken Master II. I ended up buying the somewhat difficult-to-find Thakral (mainland China) release. Even it is not perfect, as it's presented in 1.85:1 whereas the film is actually 2.35:1, and the transfer isn't spectacular.
Breakfast with Girls....that kind of info and breakdown is exactly what I need on DVDs these days, one of note especially needing this objective info is HERO. I'm sick and tired of people giving subjective opinion-infused information over and over and over again in huge long threads. The 'best release' differs from people with certain needs preferences. Where did you find this compiled information for Fist of Legend, and do they (or YOU) do this for other releases?
Buy: