Rating: 
Summary: Great Transfer, Great Commentary
Review: Yes, I was surprised when I saw this film and every 5-10 minutes the characters suddenly switched from Chinese to English and back again. At first I thought they were trying to rub it in and tell that "Hey, we know English so try learning our language for once." After the drugs, er, I mean jolting effects of the language switch wore off I got used to the fact that the language doesn't matter when watching a good Jackie Chan film. Really, it's not the dialogue most people care about anyways, it is the action. All in all, "Drunken Master" wasn't the best J.C. film I've seen nor the worst ("Twin Dragons" takes the honor for worst). What I liked most about this DVD other than a very impressive transfer of the film, we get a very engaging audio commentary where the speakers (sorry that I can't think of names but they both are authors and experts on Hong Kong films). The men are very interesting and offer a lot of information on the specifics of "Drunken Master", Jackie Chan, and Hong Kong action films as well. This commentary and the one on "Once Upon A Time In China" are two of the most interesting I've heard when it comes to learning the history of H.K. films. As a novice on Hong Kong action cinema, I appreciate that we not only get to see these essential films but to hear the back story as to their making. I do wish that all of the great titles that came out from American companies showed the proper care when it came to preserving their original running times without edits or dubbed tracks (Disney, I'm talking to you) but hopefully in time we can get the respect Hong Kong films deserve and get if nothing else, decent DVD editions of films like those of Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, and the countless other H.K. figures that we admire.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Release, but with a few problems...
Review: Finally, one of Jackie's best movies comes to DVD in the US. This version is supposedly uncut but I really cant say since I saw it for the first time quite a while ago and I can't remember. Picture quality is great for a film of its age, especially an HK film (many old HK films are very poor quality because of bad storage conditions) and the sound is about as good as it could be. As has been stated here before, the Cantonese audio track sometimes switches back to english for a few lines which is quite annoying. But seriously, 5 minutes of English dialogue doesnt ruin the whole movie. Overall, I'd say that this is a pretty high quality DVD release except for the audio problem and the lack of any real extras (aside from the awesome full length commentary by Ric Meyers and Jeff Yang). However, for the best version of this movie on DVD check out the Hong Kong Legends version or wait for their 2-disc Platinum release(!)
Rating:
Summary: One of JC's Best Films, but I HATE this DVD's newer Eng dub!
Review: DRUNKEN MASTER is one of Jackie Chan's all time greats (the film itself is a 5 star film, only this DVD gets a 3 star rating). He plays a naughty little rascal named Huang Fei Hung (yes, the same character Kwan Tak Hing made famous in a series of nearly 100 films and later by Jet Li in the ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA series of films) who's sent by his father to the famous Sam the Seed (the old Drunken Master himself, Simon Yuen) to learn discipline. Huang Fei Hung can't take the torturous training and runs away, but after getting beat up and humiliated by a wicked kicking Master (he burns the kid's pants, badmouths his father's kung fu, and makes him crawl between his legs like a dog) he quickly repents and begs Sam the Seed to take him back. The film is a delightful mixture of kung fu, comedy, and drama with enough dazzling displays of martial arts and acrobatics to keep viewing fresh time after time. My gripe with this DVD is that the English language track is NOT the wonderfully fun one released previously on VHS featuring those loveably familiar English dubbed kung fu movie voices of the 1970s-80s. Some people hate those English dub jobs and will always prefer the original Chinese language tracks (which fortunately ARE on the DVD with choice of subtitles), but there are those of us who also enjoy watching the old English dubbed versions for their sheer camp value and cartoon-like energy. Those same voices (found on almost all exported kung fu films of that time period) have become like family members (the ones you want to have visit!). The voice actors then may have switched roles from picture to picture, not ALWAYS voicing the same onscreen actors as you saw and heard them do before, and they may not have been of Royal Shakespeare Company standard, but they always brought with them a smile of recognition and often livened up otherwise dull proceedings. Some simply don't like English dubs. "The words don't match their mouths and it's always the same voices!" Well, guess what? That's the case even in the original language. The Chinese tracks are almost always dubbed in afterwards by actors other than the ones onscreen. Sure they may come a little closer to matching the lips since the actors words are closer to the words dubbed in later, and some of the voice artists may be familiar with and try to sound similar to the real actor, but it's still nowhere near to perfect lip-synching. Even when the audio is recorded live in synch-sound, the English subtitles still differ from the actual words spoken due to the complex nature of translation (and by golly, what do you do if you're eating, and don't catch all the words during the dialogue driven portions of the film while you're looking at your plate?). For myself, I will admit that there IS something about original language tracks and subtitles that DOES work better for the more serious pictures as they lend a kind of authenticity and intelligence to the viewing experience (after all we are forced to READ during them which IS a scolarly endeavor, isn't it?), but for the comedy laden kung fu flicks of the 70s and 80s it's nice sometimes to just sit back and relax to the goofy sounds of the old English dubs. The voice-over actors of HK films of the 90s and today just don't cut the mustard. Most sound like second rate actors trying to sound like first rate actors, the result being a bore. The old dubbers may have been third rate actors, but at least they were having fun and the voices they chose matched the pictures. There's nothing more enjoyable, or appropriatly matching in sound and sight, than the old voices used for the weasel characters of Dean Shek or the interpreter found in FISTS OF FURY (aka THE CHINESE CONNECTION). Back then the villains sounded like creeps, the good guys sounded like heroes, the rascals sounded like wiseguys, and the big guys sounded like Bullwinkle! After all of that then, this DVD release of DRUNKEN MASTER does NOT feature the original English dub and its loveable voices of the 70s. It has a newer, unimproved English track, and quite a bit of the dialogue is different as well. The English dub here is simply NO FUN. Maybe whoever redid the track wanted it to sound less cartoon-like and more natural, but you can't voice a comedy using serious voices that don't match the comedic energy of the performers onscreen! The old crew had that energy (and even the times that they lacked it was fun, too, because when they lacked it back then, boy, they REALLY lacked it!). The remastered DVDs of SNAKE AND CRANE ARTS OF SHAOLIN, FEARLESS HYENA, and DRAGON FIST all contain those wonderfully voiced original English dubs (as well as the original Cantonese or Mandarin track depending on the film). Why was DRUNKEN MASTER, one of the GREATEST kung fu movies ever, not treated the same? Were they trying to give it a new respect after the success of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON? They should have realized that DRUNKEN MASTER already HAS respect here, and in part because of the wonderful sense of fun found in the original English dub. I wish those old actors would get more credit for bringing such wonderfully guilty pleasure to so many fans.
Oh, and for those wanting to know more about the film itself, it contains Simon Yuen's defining performance as the charismatic old Drunken Master, Yuen Wo Ping's masterful direction using action and comedy to propel the story along, one of Hwang Jang Lee's most villainous performances and some of the greatest kicking abilities ever displayed onscreen, and a young Jackie Chan's complete devotion to character, pushing his body and comedic talents to the limits. Watch it in Chinese with subtitles on this DVD and then listen to Ric Meyers' wonderful commentary, but for English dub lovers I HIGHLY recommend finding a copy containing the original English dubbed version and watching that version over this one.
Rating: 
Summary: The Original Drunken Master!!
Review: The original Drunken Master finally arrives on dvd in all its glory. With an Anaphormic widescreen format this version can't miss. I actually give this release 4 1/2 stars due to a couple minor problems I find with the dvd. Fisrt off, JC's voice dubbing is absolutely criminal. It's terrible dubbing at it's worst. (I know most of you kung-fu fans like the original languages, but there are some of us who like to watch the movie in English!) Also, I found the audio to be a little on the poor side. Even for a kung-fu movie. It wasn't terrible, but not as good as my many other kung-fu dvd releases. As far as the movie goes, it's simply top drawer. JC is in excellent form here, drunken fist and without drunken fist. Good kung-fu from all players. Especially JC's eight drunken gods and Si Ho (the drunken teacher). Also, some interesting snake and crane from JC in the beginning. Overall, this is a must have for any fan of kung-fu or JC. Constant action, great fight choreography, decent story and great Jackie slapstick comedy. Don't let this one go!
Rating:
Summary: This started it all for me
Review: This movie was made in 1978 i was only one year of age but 25 years later I have found were Kung Fu really began.With fight chor. and directed by the great Yuen woo Ping and staring Jackie Chan it is flawless.This has more fights than any movie ive ever scene and they are all terriffic,its worth mentioning that i believe what makes the movie is Yuen woo Pings father whos name is Yeun Hsiao Tieng,he plays a drunken master and Jackies Mentor he's also his mentor in another movie i recommend Snake in the Eagles Shadow where he also plays Jackies mentor.The comedy is great and not stupid like alot of asian comedy/kung Fu films.An instant and long runnig classic!
Rating:
Summary: I just love this movie
Review: In spite of the fact that this movie is now about 25 years old, it is one of my favorite Jackie Chan movies. I love Jackie Chan and I can't really get enough of watching drunken boxing kung fu style - there are many other styles beautiful to watch, but this one I find the most entertaining. The Legend of the Drunken Master has more wild action, but I prefer the original Drunken Master. I also very much appreciate the kung fu training segments - makes you want to follow along and train along with Jackie.
Rating:
Summary: 2nd best old kung-fu movie of Jackie Chan
Review: "Drunken master", the Jackie Chan movie I thought is not his best, in terms of old kung-fu flicks. Snake in the eagle's shadow take the honor. In spite of it, the movie is better than most old kung-fu movies, because it has a higher budget allocation & big movie star, that is Jackie Chan. Hence, the movie turn out with a high production quality, decent story, andvery, very exceptional kung-fu fight scenes. The fight scenes, in fact is much better than seen on the movie Snake in the eagle's shadow. For examples, Jackie training sequences using the drunken kung-fu, his fight with the stick master is sensationally choreographed, his first encounter with Hwang Jang Lee, the main antagonist where he was completely humiliated, and his last fight again vs. Hwang Jang Lee, this time using his drunken kung-fu. What really goes to Drunken master is about the high quality value of the kung-fu fights , and they are indeed beautiful to watch. But, Snake in the eagle's shadow is really Jackie's best kung-fu movie ( including his more modern action movies or kung- fu movies like Rumble in the bronx and plice story), it has a better overall quality & really, really has the best story in all of kung-fu movies. It is touching, moving, nostalgic & dramatical in terms of it's genre, with more-than- average kung-fu fights. Overall, a good DVD to own, just rank below Snake in the eagle's shadow in terms of his best movie !
Rating:
Summary: Classic Kung Fu
Review: The fight scenes are great for a 'classic' Kung fu movie. The collaboration between Woo Ping Yuen, Jackie Chan, and Simon Yuen were great. I didn't much care for the poor dubbing.
Rating:
Summary: Bravo
Review: This was great! Even though this is an old movie, form way back then, it's funny and great at the same time. There's so much figting that it made my head spin. I can't wait to watch it again and again.
A must for a Jackie Chan fan.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Chan, Classic DVD
Review: Quite possibly the most important Kung-Fu comedy of all time, Drunken Master sealed Jackie Chan's super-stardom in history forever. In the film, it's quite obvious that he had much more freedom and control over the creative aspects, mainly in the character he played (a very different version of the much revered Chinese hero Wong Fei-Hung) and the Kung-Fu choreography itself. With him and director Yuen Woo Ping being very young at the time, they really let the creative juices flow. The DVD itself is quite impressive. The picture is incredibly clear and sharp, by far the greatest version of the film available in North America. Columbia Tri-Star must've recognized the overall value of the film, and thus decided to leave it uncut. The extras are pretty decent as well, although they're no where near as good as those available in the European HK Legends series DVDs. Now onto an aspect that many people have found rather bothersome. The DVD comes with both Cantonese and English soundtracks, with a list of subtitles as far as the eye can see. The English dubbing is actually rather charming, with the camp level just good enough to appreciate. Fei-Hung and Sam Seed are both memorable characters in the film, and thank God that the dubbing didn't ruin the atmosphere. The Cantonese track on the other hand, is quite poor. The music and voices have a scratchy quality to them. But the worse part is that the track is incomplete. For about a total of 15 minutes of the movie, the Cantonese track is cut-in by the English track. Most probably due to the poor conservation of HK films, Columbia Tri-Star has tried their best to gives us a complete experience. All in all, this DVD version of Drunken Master is worth owning. The positives heavily outweigh the negatives here, and if you're a Kung-Fu fan, let alone Jackie Chan fan, then it should be your duty to own this DVD.
|
