88 Films have released another special edition Blu ray of a Jackie Chan classic from a new 2K remaster, The Young Master and its probably one of their finest releases yet.
Jackie plays ‘Dragon’ who undertakes a mission to find his missing brother, and gets into plenty of scrapes along the way – not least being mistaken for a criminal that the authorities are very keen to put behind bars…
While the plot may be a bit meandering at times it is enlivened greatly by the fantastic action scenes throughout the film. Fights with a fan, swords and even using benches lead up to a fantastic extended battle with Hapkido master Hwang In Sik who plays the main villain of the film.
This transfer on the Blu-ray is from as fantastic 2K remaster, and it really shines with bright colours and solid picture stability. The film has never looked this good since its initial cinema screenings.
We are given 3 different cuts of the film spread across two discs, the original Hong Kong Theatrical cut (106 minutes), The International export Cut (90 minutes) and the extended Export cut (99 minutes), release specifically in Japan. Audio wise the HK cut of the film has original Cantonese mono, English 5.1 dub and Cantonese mono Home Video Mix. The International Export Cut has the original English dub, The extended export cut has English dubbed mono.
Extras are really where this release shines. Inside the fantastic box set is a 80-page perfect-bound book featuring 3 new essays + selected archive materials. Jackie Chan – The Early Years: From Stuntman to Superstar by William Blaik (Fighting Spirit Film Festival), The History of Martial Arts on Video by Tim Murray and Fan-Tastic! Jackie Chan Begins Again by James Oliver. All three are great reads with well researched facts about the film and its history. Also in the book are some rare and great pictures.
You also get a double-sided poster and a reproduction of 6 lobby cards. Other extras are an audio commentary by Brandon Bentley, Audio Commentary(on the Export Cut) with HK cinema aficionados & game producers Audi Sorlie & Chris Ling, Rick Baker on The Young Master, The Art of the Cut: Editing of The Young Master, Extended Fight Scenes: reconstructed and previously unavailable, “The Cut Master” A collection of rare deleted, extended, and alternate footage, Jackie Chan Interview, The Master: An Interview with master Whang In Sik, NG (no good) shots, and a series of trailers from around the world.
It is really great to see so much rare and cut footage a lot of which has never been seen before as well as some great interviews from a few years ago.
Overall this is a superb release with everything a fan of the film could ask for and any fan of Jackie Chan should buy this while they can.
FILM : 8.5 PICTURE: 9 AUDIO : 9 EXTRAS : 10
