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The Chinese Boxer
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - 88 Films Review written by and copyright: Eric Cotenas (25th January 2022). |
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The Film
 Exiled from his village as troublemaker years before, Tiao-Erh (King Boxer's Hsiung Chao) turns up at the local martial arts school and demands to see Master Li (The Sharp Fists of Kung Fu's Mien Fang). In the master's absence, Tiao-Erh provokes the students into a fight and seriously wound several with Japanese karate. Master Li fights him off, but Tiao-Erh returns with Japanese fighters – lead by Kitashima (The 36th Chamber of Shaolin's Lieh Lo) – and they slaughter Master Li and virtually all of the students. The only survivor is Lei Ming (The One-Armed Boxer's Jimmy Wang Yu) who has been secreted while healing by Hsia-Ling (Tiger Killer's Ping Wang), Master Li's daughter and the girlfriend of Lei Ming's best friend Ta-Lung who was also killed. During the months of Lei Ming's recovery, Tiao-Erh takes over the gambling den while Kitashima and his men train more fighters at the school. Recalling that Master Li said it would take hands like iron for a Chinese boxer to defeat Japanese karate, Lei Ming takes that quite literally in order to avenge his classmates and restore order to the village. Boasting a familiar Hong Kong martial arts plot in which Chinese martial arts are tied to religion and developing the mind and body of a good citizen while Japanese martial arts in contrast are depicted as more aggressive with the only aim being to kill, The Chinese Boxer was the feature directing debut of actor Jimmy Wang Yu who had become a star for Shaw Brothers with films like Cheng Cheh's The One-Armed Swordsman. Made three years after the aforementioned film, The Chinese Boxer not only distinguishes itself with considerably bloodier violence – including several eye-gougings, gut-jabbing, and a decapitation – it also anticipates the increasingly unsavory sexual violence of the eighties Shaw Brothers films with a scene in which Tiao-Erh rapes the wife (Intimate Confessions of a Courtesan's Ling Chiang) of a gambler (Six Assassins' No Tsai) accused of cheating, leading to a double suicide. The use of body doubles is quite obvious in the scene, but the unpleasantness of the sequence is exacerbated by the rhythmic "insertion" of those shots into an already intensely-staged sequence. On the other hand, the film boasts some impressive sequences like an attempt by Japanese swordsman to ambush Lei Ming in a labyrinth of tall reeds, as well as the final duel set in the snow which looks as if it may have inspired a similar set-piece in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Volume 1. Wang Yu would part ways with the Shaw Brothers and go over to Golden Harvest where he would follow this film up with The One-Armed Boxer and The Master of the Flying Guillotine.
Video
Released theatrically in the AIP-offshoot Hallmark Releasing as "Hammer of God", The Chinese Boxer has been available in the United States on PD labels, but the only English-friendly DVD was a Hong Kong DVD by IVL with a 5.1 track featuring different music and effects. Simply credited as an "HD remaster from the original 35mm camera negatives" – possibly the same master as the Japanese Blu-ray from Paramount – The Chinese Boxer is one of the better-looking Celestial remasters of a Shaw property in recent memory – especially compared to some of the earlier ones 88 released just in the UK – with jolting splatters of red, rich golden credits lettering, and generally good detail. One of 88 Films' first dual-territory releases - the UK edition is identical - the disc is coded for both Region A and B.
Audio
Mandarin and English LPCM 2.0 mono options are offered, and the former is recommended because it sounds clear while the voice casting on the latter is a bit stilted (in terms of performances and an attempt to match the mouth movements of the actors who are also dubbed on the Mandarin track). Optional English subtitles are included and newly-translated.
Extras
The film is accompanied by an audio commentary by film journalist Samm Deighan who discusses Hong Kong martial arts films as innovated by Cheng Cheh – including a departure from the more fantastic wuxia to the martial heroes genre that John Woo would further innovate in his transition from martial arts to action and crime films – Wang Yu's lack of professional training in martial arts, and his acrimonious departure from Shaw Brothers after his directorial debut. "Open Hand Combat" (17:29) is an interview with journalist David West who also distinguishes the new waves of Chinese martial arts films, Wang Yu's reputation for brawling, and the anecdote about utilizing his rumored triad connections to extract Jackie Chan from his contract with Lo Wei who supposedly had gangsters sabotaging one of Chan's Golden Harvest productions. He also describes Wang Yu's films as embodying "staunch masculinity" – eschewing romantic subplots for a lone hero – and "glorious nihilism." In "Wong Ching at Shaw" (13:44), the actor discusses doing stunt work in both Taiwan and Hong Kong, working at a production company with his brothers and gaining an understanding from both sides of the camera for staging stunts, and working with Wang Yu and Cheng Cheh. The disc also includes the "Hammer of God" U.S. theatrical trailer (2:01), the Hong Kong theatrical trailer (4:03), an English-language export trailer (3:08), and a US TV spot (0:31).
Packaging
The disc comes with a reversible cover featuring with brand-new artwork from R.P. "Kung Fu Bob" O'Brien & Original Hong Kong poster artwork, and the first pressing includes a slipcover with brand-new artwork from R.P. "Kung Fu Bob" O'Brien, a double-sided A3 foldout poster, and a booklet featuring "Hong Kong's Famous Fight Life'" by Andrew Graves.
Overall
Jimmy Wang Yu develops literal hands of iron in his directorial debut The Chinese Boxer, and he would need them to break away from Shaw to pursue his own brand of "staunch masculinity" films.
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