Legend of a Fighter

Like the legendary figures of the Wild West, Chinese folk heroes such as Wong Fei Hung and Fok Yun Gap have proven popular subjects for cinema, being both pre-sold to audiences yet with plentiful scope for imaginative film-makers and performers to provide their own unique interpretations.

Previously incarnated memorably by Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury and later brought to life by Jet Lee in Fist of Legend, this 1980 entry from the Yuen film-making dynasty presents Fok Yun Gap as a proto-nationalist figure on a quest to modernise his country.

Stock footage of battlefields establishes the scene: It is the cusp of the 20th century and the very existence of China is under threat from foreign imperialists.

These broader concerns, however, matter little to the young Fok Yun Gap (Yuen Yat Chor). Rather, he is more bothered that his own father, who operates a traditional martial arts school, will not teach him. Master Fok considers his son a weakling, fit only to study calligraphy and other scholarly pursuits.

Fok's enigmatic new calligraphy teacher, the Japanese Chiang Ho San (Kurata Yusuaki) takes pity on his student and secretly instructs him in the martial arts. Ho San also has his own agenda, which he keeps hidden from his student and employer: He is here to covertly learn all he can about Master Fok's secret style.

Years pass. Ho San has returned to Japan and Fok (now played by Leung Kar Yan) has become a formidable fighter in his own right.

One day a challenger comes to the school, seeking to prove the superiority of his style. Master Fok is now an old man, barely able to fight. Fok steps into the fray to save the family honour and shows sagacity and magnaminity in victory, telling his opponent that he need not cripple himself as he had vowed. What good would it do and whom would it benefit, besides the enemies of China? A surprised and grateful Master Fok hands over control of the school to his son, who changes the school's policy to a more inclusive one, opposed to the internecine conflicts of the past.

As news of Fok's prowess spreads he fights and wins a duel with a hitherto unbeaten Russian boxing champion, thereby demonstrating that the Chinese people are not weaklings.

Then a Japanese martial artist challenges him. Fok is again victorious but his opponent, unable to accept his defeat and the concomitant loss of face, commits seppuku. When news reaches his homeland the dead man's father compels his best martial artist, Fok's former tutor Ho San, to challenge Fok to a death match…

Yuen Woo Ping's direction is decent. He keeps the film moving at a rapid pace and handles the numerous action sequences well, increasing the impact of the fights by judicious editing and zooming while also knowing when to stand back and let the performers – including many of the Yuen family – showcase their styles unadorned by such filmic trickery.

There are also some nice Drunken Master style comedy training routines, as where Ho San teaches Fok martial arts moves in the guise of calligraphy.

The decision to use two different performers to portray Fok detracts somewhat, however, as one does not get such a solid sense of the character's maturation from callow youth to wise master.

This said, both Leung Kar Yan and Kurata Yusuaki deliver strong performances, investing their final scenes together with a tragic gravitas uncommon in low budget kung fu entries, both characters in a sense victims of western imperialism and, in Ho San's case, of his own nation's desperate "anything you can do, we can do better" response to it.

Image quality on this Region 2 DVD from Hong Kong Legends is something of the proverbial curates egg. Legend of a Fighter is presented anamorphic and has clearly benefitted from the restoration work that has been undertaken, with little damage evident. Unfortunately the picture also has a somewhat soft, almost slightly out-of-focus look to it. Perhaps this isn't HKL's fault – it may be indicative of Hong Kong film-making practices at the time – but did detract somewhat from my enjoyment.

Theatrically the film was released in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio, but has been cropped here – due to print damage, perhaps – to 1.77:1. While making it harder to assess the director's compositional abilities and use of the frame, the film doesn't seem to suffer unduly as a result.

Both the Mandarin and English language tracks, while only stereo, are clear and clean, with good balance between the dialogue, music and effects levels. This is another case where you are better watching the film in its original language with subtitles, as the English dub is laden with unconvicing profanities throughout. Matters are not helped by the protagonist's name, which makes much of the dialogue sound akin to "Fok you you fucking fuck".

Unusually for HKL the disc does not include a feature length commentary track. Perhaps resident commentator/expert Bey Logan is not particularly enthusiastic or knowledgeable about the film – certainly there's little about it in his otherwise comprehensive Hong Kong Action Cinema tome.

What we do get are new interviews with Yuen Woo Ping and Leung Kar Yan; the original theatrical trailer, featuring some scenes absent from the film itself; biographies; a series of production stills, and the now-traditional trailer gallery showcasing other product from the label.

A worthwhile curio for the enthusiast.