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To Kill with Intrigue
[Blu-ray 4K]
Blu-ray ALL - United Kingdom - 88 Films Review written by and copyright: Eric Cotenas (22nd July 2024). |
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The Film
 Fortress maiden Qian-qian (The Killer Meteors' Yu Ling-Lung) slips away from the birthday celebration of her master Jinfeng (The One-Armed Boxer's Ma Chi) for an assignation with his son and heir Lei (Operation Condor's Jackie Chan); however, he rejects her when she tells him she is pregnant and she runs off into the night. Returning to his father's home Lei behaves boorishly with his father's esteemed guests and they take their leave. Jinfeng demands an explanation only for Lei to present him with a severed hand tattooed with a honey bee which tells him that the "Killer Bee Gang" have come to exact revenge upon him for trying to wipe them out fifteen years before. Jinfeng implores his son and wife (The Sword's Chiang Ching-Hsia) to leave along with his servants, but they all remain loyal to him and end up perishing along with him in the ensuing massacre with the exception of Lei who barely survives. Lei swears revenge on the Killer Bee Gang's leader Ding Gan Raan (A Touch of Zen's Hsu Feng), but she questions Lei's loyalty to his father and his notions of good and evil when she reveals that she was only a child when her father tried to kill her and permanently scarred her face. Ding Gan Raan decides to spare Lei and let him live his life always looking over his shoulder for her to return and finish the job. Qian-qian, meanwhile, is rescued from bandits by handsome Jin-chuan (The Double Crossers' Shin Il-Ryong) who claims to be a friend of Lei's who promised him to protect her. Jin-chuan has a hard time believing Lei would have treated Qian-qian so poorly but when he visits Jinfeng's fortress he discovers it reduced to ashes and tells Qian-qian that Lei is most likely dead; whereupon, Qian-qian has no other option but to accompany Jin-chuan on his journey. Lei, on the other hand, has been trying to find Qian-qian and himself has a hard time believing anything bad of Jin-chuan when he is assaulted by the Exorcist Trio hired by the Fourth Brother (The Battle for the Republic of China's George Wang Chueh) of the Dragon Squad to retrieve Jin-chuan who disappeared with a shipment of gold they were escorting for the Governer. The remaining duo plan to execute Lei for killing one of their own in self-defense but Fourth Brother saves Lei and nurses him back to health. Lei is indebted to Fourth Brother but eager to put distance between them due to the debt he owes Jin-chuan; that is, until the Exorcist Duo and the their gang attack the Dragon Squad and Lei once again nearly dies defending them, whereupon, Ding Gan Raan intervenes and spirits Lei away to her hideout promising that she alone can cure him of the poison the gang has used on him. Ding Gan Raan hopes to torment Lei with revelations about what has become of the Dragon Squad and what has become of Qian-qian and Jin-chuan; however, she finds herself falling for the fiercely loyal Lei and makes him pay a steep price for the freedom to repay his debts and find his true love. One of the later collaborations between Chan and his first mentor producer Lo Wei (Fist of Fury) who was trying to launch him as the next Bruce Lee, To Kill with Intrigue is also one of the more lavish-looking of their productions, seemingly taking some cues from the works of King Hu along with his star Feng. Apart from the production values and some good wuxia wire stunt work, however, it is quite obvious here why Chan wanted to break away from Lo Wei for Golden Harvest. What should be a simple revenge plot is needlessly convoluted by too many characters with unclear motivations, and Chan is not only not allowed to inject any humor or even cheekiness into his flat characterization but also spends much time unconscious or weak while his few fight scenes are less interesting or exhilarating because he is supposed to be less powerful than most of his enemies, only gaining ability and supernatural strength late in the film by way of Feng's character who only just manages to give dignity to a character who must become lovesick for Chan even though he desires another. The overlong film even drags through what should be an exciting final showdown between Chan and the most duplicitous of his rivals. Fortunately, The Drunken Master and Snake in the Eagle's Shadow were just around the corner, forcing Lo Wei to push out a number of shelved finished collaborations onto the market and finish others by dodgy means (Fearless Hyena II anyone?). 
Video
To Kill with Intrigue was one of a number of Chan films pushed onto the market in the wake of Chan's more popular successes and one of the more readily-accessible films once the martial arts theatrical boom in America wound down with a VHS through All Seasons Entertainment and that center-cropped master reissued on VHS in the ninties by Simitar Entertainment followed by a DVD. Fortune Star's anamorphic remaster hit DVD in the U.S. and U.K. the latter cropped to 1.78:1 with English-dubbed audio only pretty much as soon as it was available. Upscaled versions of the SD master turned upon Blu-ray in and Japan while 88 Films debuted a new 2K scan for their in 2018 the same master popped up in Shout! Factory's U.S. The Jackie Chan Collection Volume 1: 1976-1982 set last year while their new 2160p24 HEVC 2.35:1 Dolby Vision HDR widescreen 4K UltraHD/1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen combo along with the single-disc Blu-ray edition come from a newer 4K master. Framing is more or less the same, but the new master is more vividly colorful even in SDR on the Blu-ray with popping reds and rich greens from the opening fireworks to the costumes and dιcor, as well as clearer detail that allows one to assess the superior production value of this compared to other Lo Wei productions of the period (note the marble pattern on the tile floor of the Jinfeng house in the opening). The film in 4K and remastered 1080p sadly looks so much better than some of the Chan films that actually are better. 
Audio
The 2018 Blu-ray offered Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS 1.0 mono options as well as a later Cantonese dub in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo (presumably created for the Fortune Star SD master) this is one of the Hong Kong productions that were still shot and post-dubbed in Mandarin as the industry was transitioning to productions in Cantonese and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS 1.0 options. The new editions have pared things down a bit with both the Hong Kong Mandarin mono mix in LPCM 2.0 and the Japanese theatrical mono Mandarin mix also in LPCM 2.0 mono on the commentary, it is explained that the name "Qian-qian" is slang for "penis" in Japanese so the name was redubbed for Japanese release along with the later stereo Cantonese dub in LPCM 2.0 and the classic English dub also in LPCM 2.0 (in 16-bit unlike the other 24-bit tracks). Any of the mono tracks, Mandarin or English, will suffice compared to the Fortune Star gimmicky 5.1 upmixes, and they all sound clean enough given the original mixes which were not up to the level of the film's visual polish. Optional English subtitles are provided not only for the Hong Kong Mandarin track but also the Japanese Mandarin and Cantonese dubs.
Extras
New to this edition is an audio commentary by Hong Kong film expert Frank Djeng & F.J. DeSanto in which they note the atypical qualities of this Lo Wei/Jackie Chan production while also feeling that it should be a better film than it is. Despite the wuxia fighting, Djeng notes that the Korean title translated as "New Big Boss" as yet another attempt to make Chan into a new Bruce Lee. In Japan, however, the film was not released until after Chan joined Golden Harvest so the Japanese title translated as "Jackie Chan Fist" or "Dragon Fist". Djeng discuss the novel source and how condensing the long work into a feature led to some confusion about the story while DeSanto observes that the atypical look Chan has in this film long hair and braids rather than his bushy Beetles do and the costumes seem to be physically-constraining to both his fighting ability and physical acting in general, and observe some visible frustration on Chan's part with Lo Wei in spite of attempts to sneak in some humor. "From the Lo Wei Vaults (16:59) features alternate footage from the Korean versions of The Killer Meteors and Snake & Crane Arts of Shaolin, but none from the feature presentation or discussion of how the Korean version differs.  Ported from the 2018 edition is "Intriguingly Jackie" (20:04), an interview with Hong Kong cinema expert Rick Baker who discusses the British release history of Chan's films, particularly up north where he grew up as an adolescent, he was more interested in the martial arts film than the blue sex films with which they were often double-billed the popularity of Chan's post-The Drunken Master films then and the retrospective appeal of his older Lo Wei productions, as well as some context on that fraught collaborative relationship. The disc also includes a Hong Kong theatrical trailer (4:17), the Japanese theatrical trailer (2:08), a Japanese teaser (0:50), a Japanese TV spot (0:14), the vastly different Japanese credit sequence (1:41) which gets off to a livelier start, a lobby card gallery (1:25), and a behind the scenes stills gallery (1:53). 
Packaging
Both the 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray combo and Blu-ray editions come with a reversible sleeve featuring new artwork by Robert "Kung Fu Bob" O'Brien & original the poster, while the first pressing of the former includes a double-walled slipcover with artwork by Robert "Kung Fu Bob" O'Brien, an A3 foldout poster, and a 32-page booklet with new writing on the film by David West (not supplied for review). 
Overall
In spite of an iconic-sounding title, significantly better production values for a Lo Wei Jackie Chan-era production, and the striking presence of King Hu-favorite Hsu Feng, To Kill with Intrigue is a mess of a film that muddles and draws out a simple revenge plot.
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