Fist of Legend | Jet Li, Shinobu Nakayama | 5 stars for the movie, not the DVD

Fist of Legend | Jet Li, Shinobu Nakayama | Worth watching many times

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Fist of Legend

	Fist of Legend Jet Li, Shinobu Nakayama Dimension Films, 2000 average customer review:based on 298 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

5 stars for the movie, not the DVD

This is one of the best martial arts movies ever made. They toned down the cable work for this movie, and it is a showcase of really great martial arts. Truly a classic. But...and there is always a but...this DVD stinks. One of the hallmarks of DVDs is the ability to have a choice...what language you want to hear, do you want subtitles or not. This DVD is useless, they give you the dubbed version and no choice.

It took me a while, but I managed a few years back to track down the version from Hong Kong, with the choice of language and subtitles. I don't know if it is still possible to find, because Disney bought the rights to the Jet Li films here in the US, and blocked all sales of the international versions. But, if you can find it, I recommend it highly over this version. Still, one of the best.

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Worth watching many times

I didnt think this movie was good the first time I saw it, but it has become one of my favorite movies. The fighting is more than good because each fight is has something that makes it different. The plot to each fight is awsome and the dialogue throughout the whole movie is great. I know almost every word of this movie. I dont own many kung fu movies, but this one is probably my third favorite film.

A Martial Arts Flick With Heart And Soul!

As a loyal fan of martial arts movies, this movie is likable for Jet Li's presence alone. Not just because he's a true martial artist who's skilled at showcasing his craft on-screen, but also because he played his character very well in this movie. But wait, let me not forget to say that this movie also has a story, yes, a story that's based on meaningful historical context, and also of an unlikely couple in love.

This film is a remake of another earlier seminal Chinese martial arts film, "Fist of Fury", starring the great Bruce Lee. For those of you who are just looking for some martial arts choreographic eye candies, you'll get plenty of that in this remake. "Fist of Legend" is different from other Chinese martial arts movies though, in that it falls in the realist category, as opposed to productions like the "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". A minimal amount of wire work is used, most of the fighting stays on the ground, which has its upsides because you can tell the moves are very realistic, and I promise you, knowing some of the actors in this movie from numerous other films, I know many of them have had true martial arts training, and are not just actors who've been taught to move gracefully flying in the air. For all of you "Matrix" fans out there, you will find some of the moves used by the actors and set-ups in the film very reminiscent to the ones in the sci-fi action flick. That's because the martial arts choreographer in "Fist" is none other than Yuen-Wo Ping, who was hired as the martial arts director by the Walchowski brothers after they had seen his work. Take special notice of the fight scene between Li and karate students and master in the dojo, and the final duel scene between Li and the Japanese general. The action is simply fantastic!

Now onto the story if you've cared to read this far. Like "Fist of Fury", "Legend" is set in China in the 1930's. A period when Japanese imperialism in the Pacific was at its height, and the independence and well being of the Chinese people were truly at stake. Li's character Chen Zhen, who is a martial artist educated in Japan (ironically), emerges as a symbol of freedom and the struggle against injustice by standing up to the Japanese martial artists and military, who are clearly there to assert their dominance over the Chinese people. This was a message that was brought out in Bruce Lee's version as well, however, it's worth noting that there are several key differences between the two films. Whereas Bruce Lee's interpretation of Chen Zhen tended to be very one-dimensional --- he was basically a can of "whoop-a$$" filled with rage, ready to take down any agressors who even dares to look at him in a funny way, Li's portrait of Chen Zhen's character is one of depth and moderation. Li's Chen Zhen dislikes the Japanese imperialists, but also realizes that for China to be powerful, it must learn from others, understand its own weaknesses and combine the strenghs of others. He does this by incorporating elements of other martial arts such as boxing and karate into kung fu. Moreover, that Jet Li's love interest in the film happens to be a Japanese university student confirms that the director of this remake is promoting the message of possible understanding and reconciliation between the Chinese and Japanese people, despite all that's happened.

The only regret that I would have with this DVD is the fact that it does not include the original Cantonese soundtrack (which also has authetic Japanese dialogues in them). I personally find watching dubbed foreign films to be unbearable, but that could simply be a preference. In addition, I suspect that some elements from the original Chinese version was cut in this version, as is customary in American Hollywood style releases, in order to keep the film "short and sweet", so to speak. Other than that, I would highly recommend this film to anyone looking for a solid martial arts flick that's also got substance.

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What about the original language

One big issue I have with these new releases of the martial arts movies are the lack of the original language with subtittles. You only get the dubbed version as it seems the people who remake these things think we are dumb a$$es! or ignorant of culture and originality... This is one of Jet li good movies.... but I am told it lacks the ability to show some of the language difficulties shown in the original cantonese/japanese version which is essential to the original version and has been done no justice in this one. I bought this without checking that the original language was available so although I enjoyed the movie, I'd like the choice to play the original language!

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Good movie, but the dubbing is terrible

I remember being blown away by this film when I first saw it back when I was in college. The fights are all well done, of course, but more importantly, the entire film looks and sounds great. It's all very professional from start to finish.

However, the English language dubbing on this DVD made the film pretty much unwatchable for me. I just skipped ahead to the fight scenes and ignored the rest. With all the options avaiable to the producers of DVD's, I was shocked to find out that I was unable to turn on English sub-titles to go with the original Chinese dialog.

With Chinese dialog, I give this movie a 5, but the dubbing knocks it down one notch.

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