THE MAN FROM HONG KONG (1975)
Label: Umbrella Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: MA 15+
Duration: 106 Minutes
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Mono 2.0 and Surround 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith
Cast: Roger Ward, George Lazenby, Jimmy Wang Yu, Frank Thring, Ros Spiers, Rebecca Gilling, Hugh Keays-Byrne
Fang wastes little time establishing himself as a no nonsense Dirty Harry-styled vigilante cop who is quite willing to break all the rules to nab the bad guys. During the interrogation of Win Chan he cracks open his skull both irking and humoring his Australian counterparts, but the strong-armed tactics illicit a confession, with the name-dropping the identity of his heroin connection, a certain Mr. Wilton. While transporting Win Chan to the Chinese consulate for extradition a sniper, played by the legendary stunt coordinator Grant Page (Road Games), takes out the drug dealer with a well-placed bullet. Funnily, both Taylor and Grosse are handcuffed to Win Chan, and their pursuit of the culprit is slowed down by his literal dead weight, leaving Fang to run down the assassin himself.
Trenchard-Smith's debut feature film is a fantastic non-stop action-romp chock full of kung-fu fights and pulse-raising stunt work that will have you giggling with delight. It's not played too seriously either, the humor is evident throughout but without resorting to being too corny for it's own sake, it strikes a great balance, leaving room for dramatic pauses like the tragic loss of Fang's most recent lover. Some of my favorite action-sequences are a furious foot chase which has a kick-ass fight in a Chinese kitchen that turns every kitchen utensil you can imagine into a weapon, it's a sequence that ends with a a flying double-kick to the chest that dismounts the assassin from a stolen motor bike. There's also fender-crunching car chase with explosions and vehicular left carnage in it's wake, plus a frenzied finale that takes place in the seventeenth story high-rise lair of the baddie, featuring Lazenby performing an unforgettable fire-stunt that both you and he won't soon forget!
The flick is well-shot by Oscar-winning cinematographer Russell Boyd (Picnic At Hanging Rock) who lensed most if not all of the Peter Weir (The Last Wave) films. His talent behind the camera give's this scrappy low-budget action flick an attractive if still raw-looking veneer. I did note that Boyd never again worked with Trenchard Smith, perhaps still sore at the director about that car door that nearly hit him during a car explosion on set! The script, also penned by director Brian Trenchard-Smith, is heavy with sharp wit and colorful dialogue, stuff that is at the same time both action-film tropey but also having a bit of fun with the source material. The script was originally titled Yellow Peril, an ironic title according to BTS, much to the chagrin of Hong Kong-based co-financiers Golden Harvest, who balked at the title, probably for the better.
The story features some fun Bond-type globetrotting and spy craft with some gorgeous exotic set-pieces and plenty of eye-popping action. I also appreciate that the action scenes are not of the quick-cut headache inducing variety, you get to see all the action play out in full view. The downside is that occasionally you will see a few punches and kicks that fall short of the intended face, but a few well-placed sound effects smooth those over. Trenchard-Smith was having quite a bit of fun both inverting and celebrating the the tropes of action and spy thrillers, including that of a white man bedding an Asian woman by having the roles reversed, with the cocksure Asian seducing not one but two white women, which might have been eye-brow raising at the time.
I am not the world's biggest consumer of kung-fu and martial arts flicks but even I can see that star Jimmy Wang Yu is absolute dynamite! The guy is not just an incredible martial arts performer, the world's biggest martial arts star before the arrival of Bruce Lee, but he has screen presence to spare. He oozes charisma and easily beds the ladies with his smooth demeanor, on top of kicking serious ass from start to finish. It was also great to see one-off Bond star George Lazenby as the kung-fu skilled baddie in the flick. He is not actually in it all that much if you add up the on-screen it's probably only a few minutes, but when he shows up he brings the thunder, eating away at the scenery with a fervor that brought a smile to my mug. It's not overplayed, I thought it was just the right amount of pulpy-menace that the film needed.
The flick also features a memorable appearance from Australian acting legend Frank Thring (Mad Dog Morgan, Howling III) as Wiltons sassy male secretary, and the sexy Rebecca Gilling (Stone) makes for a pleasing love interest for Fang. Her explosive death being the trigger that further fuels Fang's one man killing spree brings the film to an ultra-violent, ridiculous and incendiary close. Also be on the lookout for director Trenchard-Smith himself as a henchman who battles Fang at the bottom of an elevator shaft, and the lovely and freckle faced Ros Speirs (Stone) as another of Fang's Anglo-lovers.
Audio/Video: The Man From Hong Kong (1975) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment in 1080p HD framed in the original (2.35:1) widescreen aspect ratio, looking very much like the HD scan used by Twilight Time for their 2021 Blu-ray with identical grain structures, framing and color-grading. It looks solid, but it does show some minor age-related wear and tear, but generally the grain structure looks good, colors look accurate and well-saturated and the black levels and skin tones appear solid throughout. Audio comes by way of uncompressed English DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo or 5.1 surround with optional English subtitles, where as the Twilight Time release had uncompressed stereo and lossy surround. I still preferred the mono presentation this time around, I liked the directness and impact of it. The surround option offers decent use of the surrounds to fill out the score from Noel Quinlan (Edge of Darkness) and some of the action-oriented sequences, but the dialogue seemed a bit constrained which put me off of it.
Onto the extras, Umbrella always do these Ozploitation Classics releases right, and they do it again for this 2-disc set. First up is an archival 2001 Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Brian Trenchard-Smith who is joined by co-star Hugh Keays-Byrne and stunt director Grant Page via what sounds like telephone. Trenchard's commentaries are always top-notch affairs, he gets deep into the stunt work seen in the film, how certain things were achieved and how a lot of things went wrong, admitting he was young and still very much learning on the job. He also gets into the production, the Hong Kong and Australian locations and what it was like working with former 007 George Lazenby and Honk Kong action-star Wang Yu, including some difficult times with Yu.
We also get 85-minutes worth of Extended interviews from Not Quite Hollywood. In it we have interviews with Co-Stars George Lazenby, Rebecca Gilling, and Roger Ward; Writer/Director Brian Trenchard-Smith; Executive Producer David Hannay; and 2nd Unit Cameraman John Seale. We get some great stuff, Trenchard-Smith and Lazenby both get into the infamous fire-stunt incident, and its great to hear the then first-time director talking about the movies that influenced his first film, things he could have done better and should not have done at all, and what it was like working with headstrong personalities as a first-time director.
Both of those extras were previously available on the Twilight Time Blu-ray from a few years back, but here we get into some exclusive new extras combined with nifty archival stuff that I've previously not seen, but has been available elsewhere. Let's start off with the all-new 10-min Raw! Real! Quick! - An interview with legendary stuntman Grant Page who is still looking ruggedly handsome in his later years, talking unvarnished about his co-stars George Lazenby and Jimmy Wang, of how Wang's entourage "softened him up a bit" prior to his big scene with him, and the former 007 star seemed to accept that the big-time was behind him, and how a fore-stunt when wrong, in addition to pointing out how raw and fierce Australian stunt-work was, how it made for more real and authentic action films, not like todays unreal digital effects films. We also get a pulse-pounding 41-min Brian Trenchard-Smith Trailer Reel containing trailer for Arctic Blast, Absolute Deception, BMX Bandits, Britannic, Megiddo: The Omega Code 2, The Cabin, Chemistry, Danger Freaks, Day of the Panther, Dead End Drive-In, Death Cheaters, Drive Hard, Frog Dreaming,
Leprechaun 3, Leprechaun 4: In Space, The Love Epidemic, The Man from Hong Kong, Night of the Demons 2, Operation Wolverine, Out of the Body, Strike of the Panther, Stunt Rock, Turkey Shoot - it's a terrific reel and I found myself watching it on repeat while I cleaned the house just yesterday.
Also included is the 50-min The Stuntmen (1973) doc and the 75-min Kung Fu Killers (1974) TV special, both directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith as extras on this release, both of which I've heard much about but never actually seen, and they did not disappoint. The Blu-ray is topped-off with 15-min of Behind-the-Scenes Footage, a 2-min black and white Press Conference and Opening Night Newsreel Footage, a 6-min Trailers from Hell Trailer with commentary by Brian Trenchard-Smith, 2-min Alternative Trailer, and the 4-min Theatrical Trailer. Also included is the 23-track CD Soundtrack (62 min) featuring music by composer Noel Quinlan and the band Jigsaw, which includes an unused title theme song.
The 2-disc release arrives in an oversized clear flipper keepcase with a sleeve of reversible artwork featuring two artwork options on the front and back, including the alternate The Dragon Flies title, the inside sleeve features an another key artwork with the track list for the accompanying soundtrack CD. This also comes with a slipcover with unique artwork with the Ozploitation Classics branding with the spine of slip and wrap both numbered, this being number nine in the series. The Blu-ray and CD discs inside each have unique illustrated artwork as well. The CD is the first official release of the soundtrack and is limited to the first 3000 units.
Special Features:
Brian Trenchard-Smith's brand of action-packed ozploitation flicks are always my cup o' tea, he just has an eye for action that never fails to bring a smile to my face, and it's the non-stop imaginative action that keeps me coming back to this film in particular. Twilight Time's limited edition Blu-ray of The Man From Hong Kong is delightful, we get a pleasing A/V presentation and a solid set of archival extras. Keep in mind that this is limited edition so get it while you can, this is an easy recommend to any fan of martial arts action films or gonzo cop thrillers.
- NEW! Raw! Real! Quick! - An interview with legendary stuntman Grant Page
- First official release of Original soundtrack CD (23 Tracks, 62 Minutes)
- Audio commentary with Writer/Director Brian Trenchard-Smith with actor Hugh Keays-Byrne and Stunt Director Grant Page
- Extended interviews from Not Quite Hollywood with Writer/Director Brian Trenchard-Smith, Executive Producer David Hannay, cast members George Lazenby, Rebecca Gilling and Roger Ward, 2nd Unit Cameraman John Steele - and with added interview with Cinematographer Russell Boyd and 1st AD Hal McElroy (85 min)
- The Stuntmen (1973): A 50 minute documentary by Brian Trenchard-Smith
- Kung Fu Killers (1974): A 75 minute TV special featuring Grant Page and George Lazenby directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith
- Behind-the-Scenes Footage (15 min)
- Press Conference and Opening Night Newsreel Footage (3 min)
- Trailers from Hell Trailer with commentary by Brian Trenchard-Smith (6 min)
- Alternative Trailer (2 min)
- Theatrical Trailer (4 min)
- Brian Trenchard-Smith Trailer Reel (41 min)
Brian Trenchard-Smith's brand of action-packed ozploitation flicks are always my cup o' tea, he just has an eye for action that never fails to bring a smile to my face, and it's the non-stop imaginative action that keeps me coming back to this film in particular. Twilight Time's limited edition Blu-ray of The Man From Hong Kong is delightful, we get a pleasing A/V presentation and a solid set of archival extras. Keep in mind that this is limited edition so get it while you can, this is an easy recommend to any fan of martial arts action films or gonzo cop thrillers.
Screenshots Comparison:
Top: Twilight Time Blu-ray (2021)
Bottom: Umbrella Entertainment Blu-ray (2022)
Extras:
