Kung Fu Connection - 4 Movies

Rating:
Summary: Fine Films, but less than fine DVD transfer
Review: I picked up this 2 DVD set ... The films, while not well known to me, made fine additions to my budding kung fu DVD collection.

The picture quality of the transfers is actually pretty good, appearing to have come right off the film reel, although you run into some scratchy segments, especially in Kung Fu, the Invisible Fist. My chief gripe is that the picture frames, originally in widescreen, were merely cropped, not re-formatted. So you have some of the action and/or actors disconnected from the soundtrack. During the essential action, though, this is rarely--if ever--a problem. By the way, the snap case cover pictures relate to nothing on the DVDs themselves inside the case.

I won't go into a film-by-film review at this time (I haven't watched all four movies all the way through yet), but suffice to say that the films in the collection don't lack for sufficient action. Enough action to keep you watching through each film in a single sitting. All-in-all, "old style" kung fu cinema at its best.

For the price (you can get the collection at ..and overall content and quality of the films, I give a 5-star rating, but deduct one star for the mindless cropping of the frames.

***Update***
(1)Kung Fu, The Invisible Fist
Good Chinese (kung fu) versus Japanese (karate) action with lots of fights. Classic scene: before the final showdown: "They call me the Hungry Tiger." "They call me the Crazy Dragon." The last fight scene is admittedly a little long and drawn out, with fighters still standing after absorbing multiple death-dealing blows, but who cares as long as the fists and feet keep flying (and the Chinese guy wins)!

(2)Militant Eagle
Story set in old China. A classic tale of loyalty, intrigue and betrayal.

(3)Blind Fists of Bruce
Great action and storyline all the way through. Bruce Li acts winsomely and fights convincingly in this story of a local banker who learns kung fu and takes back his lost fortune and reputation from the town thugs. This will be one of my favorite KF flicks of all time! The final fight scene is a classic.

(4)Dragon Lee vs. the Five Brothers
O.K., aside from the flagrant Bruce Lee-aping quips. The film still manages to offer lots of good action and a decent story.