MAGNIFICENT BODYGUARDS (1978)
3-Disc Limited Edition Blu-ray
Blu-ray 3-D + Anaglyph 3-D + 2-D
Label: 88 Films
Region Code: A,B
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 103 Minutes 55 Seconds
Audio: Mandarin, Cantonese, or
English PCM MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.39:1)
Director: Lo Wei
Cast: Jackie Chan, James Tien, Siu-Lung Leung, Ping Wang, Ming Liu, Wen-Tai Li, Yasuhiro Shikamura, Fang Fang, Kuo-Chung Ching, Peng Cheng
Magnificent Bodyguards (1978), directed by Lo Wei (The Big Boss), is a martial arts quest film starring Jackie Chan (Drunken Master) as skilled fighter Lord Ting Chung who at the start of the film is ambushed on the road by bandits, resulting in an energetic bo staff fight sequence with all sort of sticks poking out at you in 3-D, managing to defeat them with ease. Afterward he is attacked by more skilled swordsmen and fares just as well, only to realize that these attacks have been orchestrated by the beautiful Lady Lan (Wang Ping, Vengeance!) who needs a skilled bodyguard to escort her very sick brother who suffers from a mysterious ailment, who is confined to a covered sedan chair. He is tasked with escorting her bother through the dangerous Stormy Mountains as a shortcut to the capital to get him medical treatment for his illness, but the area is fraught with cutthroat bandits and criminals, and the road there is sure to be treacherous. He agrees, but ditches her personal guards in favor of sidekicks of his own, choosing to go with a pair of leather tanners, the deaf deaf Zhang (Bruce Leung, Kung Fu Hustle) and Ching Wan-yiu (James Tien, Fist of Fury), as well as Lady Lan's pink-clad elite 'Twin Pearl Swordswomen'. Together they make the perilous journey through the Stormy Mountains, along the way the encounter a witch and other villains they must clash with, offering a pretty entertaining array of martial arts sequences with high-flying wire work, death-bells, and a six-fingered assassin! The 3-D effects are popping out of the screen every which way, which I thought was a blast. At a certain point Chung ends up in a snake-pit and the snakes are popping out of the screen, swords, sticks, feet and hands are coming at ya, and I love gimmicky 3-D as this one delivers plenty of it.
It also has a fun couple of twists at the end when the identity and motives of the secretive sick brother are finally revealed, you knew there was something odd about the whole situation, leading to pretty bad-ass finale. It doesn't rewrite the book on martial arts quest flicks, but I was quite entertained by the quest/revenge hybrid. Jackie Chan is pretty restrained charismatically here, he's not the Jackie Chan we'd see a few years later, but he's still charming and there are moments of humor and terrific martial arts choreography. It's not quite the Jackie Chan he'd become, though he did make his breakout flick Drunken Master this same year, but his work later with director Lo Wei was not his best work, especially compared to what he went on to achieve when he slipped out of his grasp. I've long heard that this was only a so-so martial arts quest flick, having now finally seen it, I think it's undervalued, while I wouldn't want to oversell it, all I have to say is c'mon, Jackie Chan in 3D!
Audio/Video: Magnificent Bodyguards (1978) arrives on region A/B Blu-ray from 88 Films sourced from a Brand New 2K Restoration From the Original Camera Negatives, presented in 1080p HD widescreen (2.39:1). It looks solid, very filmic with course grain, a couple of minor blemished arise, but nothing too serious. Colors generally look nicely saturated with solid black levels, some of the 3D filming process techniques leave it a bit soft and blurry looking, but overall I thought it was nicely textured and detailed. I don't currently have Real-D 3D TV so I did not watch that version, but I did watch the anaglyph 3D version and it was fun, lots of three-dimensional stuff flying off the screen at you! The 3D restoration was done by 3D Film Archive who continue to do amazing work preserving the 3D cinema legacy. Audio comes by way of English, Mandarin or Cantonese PCM 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. There's also an alternate English-dub track with alternate music cues. The tracks sound fine, a but thin and tinny in spots, but dialogue is always decipherable, and the music cues by Frankie Chan sound good, as do the stolen music cues from Star Wars, which is always a treat, I love it when you're watching these 70s kung fu flicks and you recognize a unauthorized tune or two, or three... Of the audio options I would definitely give the Cantonese and Mandarin tracks the edge, they are cleaner and more robust, but if you're adverse to reading subtitles the English dub options are just fine.
Extras come by way of a new Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto, which is a terrific pairing, the 19-min Punching Into the 3rd Dimension - James Mudge on Magnificent Bodyguards with Mudge reflecting on going back and seeing Jackie Chan in this early film was somewhat jarring, because its a film he's in but not quite a Jackie Chan film as we would come to know. He gets into the '70s 3D craze, the success of Taiwanese 3D films like Dynasty and 13 Golden Nuns the year before, and using stereoscopic 3D process developed by exploitation director Michael Findlay (Shriek of the Mutilated), who died in a tragic helicopter accident atop the Pan Am building before shooting the film. He speaks of the commercial push to shift in 3D to compete with TV, how it was difficult and slow to shoot 3D, and the barrage of 3D effects coming coming at you in this film. Mung also get into how Lo Wai discovered Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, but that he was past his prime here, painting a somewhat negative image of him, and noting his wildly uneven filmography. He also talks about where Jackie Chan's career was at the time, his frustration with working with Wai, and how his career blossomed when he was able to pry himself away from Wai.
Next, the 9-min Magnificent Bodyguards - A New Dimension in Action?- By Steve Lawson, who talks about having not seen in 30 years, and how it was a much better experience seeing it properly restored, while noting that it still meanders, but has an interesting premise, and noting the more interesting aspects of the fight sequences and the use of 3D. Disc extras are buttoned-up with a 4-min Mandarin Trailer, and the 4-min English Trailer.
The 3-disc Blu-ray set arrives in a side-loading Lenticular Rigid Slipbox that looks terrific, the original illustrated movie poster really pops in lenticular 3-D - this is easily my favorite 88 Films slipcbox so far. Inside we get an oversized keepcase featuring a Reversible Wrap, the discs inside each have unique artwork, each disc offers a different viewing option, we have Digital 3-D, Anaglyph 3-D and a 2-D option, so no matter what your set-up is at home, you're covered. Tucked away inside is a pair of old-school red-blue Anaglyph 3-D Glasses adorned with artwork from the movie poster and 88 Films logos, one of the arms is emblazoned with 'Ultimate Martial Art Action in Super 3D!'. There's also a 32-Page Illustrated Booklet with extensive writing by author Thorsten Boose.
Special Features:
- Brand New 2K Restoration From the Original Camera Negatives
- High Definition (1080p) Presentation in 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio
- 3 Disc Set including Real-D 3D, Anaglyph 3D and 2D viewing Options.
- 2.0 Cantonese Dual Mono with English Subtitles
- Classic English Dub
- Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto
- Punching Into the 3rd Dimension - James Mudge on Magnificent Bodyguards (19:28)
- Magnificent Bodyguards - A New Dimension in Action?- By Steve Lawson (8:56)
- Mandarin Trailer (3:35)
- English Trailer (3:35)
Screenshots from the 88 Films Blu-ray:
Buy it!
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