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New VOD Title from RiffTrax…19 Replies to “New VOD Title from RiffTrax…”Commenting at Satellite News
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wait whuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut
Not bad but would have preferred them to do BLACK BELT ANGELS instead…
I may have said this before, but I did not know this film was public domain.
I’m pretty sure the only Lee movie that isn’t PD is Enter The Dragon. The rest have been released by a ton of different companies, and you’re pretty much required to do the research to try to figure out what releases to get. Hong Kong Legends out of the UK put out some sterling releases about a decade ago, far better than what Fox offered here in the US.
(When this popped up on my FB feed yesterday, I had two reactions: one, the same as our NJ resident above and two, a good solid NO WAY.)
I LIKE IT VERY MUCH. Watched it last night–it’s another strong outing for our fearless threesome. I like that they are branching out and trying new genres. Blaxploitation, kung-fu, cheeseball 80’s action…can’t wait to see what’s next! I hope they do more cheesy 50’s and 60’s sci-fi. They haven’t tackled one of those since Plan 9 (I think). Another goofy sword and sandal movie would be awesome too. Outlaw (of Gor) is coming out soon and that is clearly a huge fan favorite. Many posts I’ve seen here over the years have proven it.
Got a little sidetracked there. Loving the momentum. Keep the releases coming!
Firstly, if you grew up in my generation, you know this film as Chinese Connection, and you may know another film as Fist of Fury. It’s a long story, but the long and short of it is that the titles were swapped when the films were distributed in the United States, which has led to much confusion since then. I’m sure there’s lots of additional information on Wikipedia and IMDb. This particular print is pretty good; it doesn’t seem to be some poorly sourced PD version or anything like that. Anyway, if you haven’t seen Fist of Fury before, you should know that it’s actually a very good film, although it can seem silly to the unitiated. There are some odd moments, for sure, but you also have to understand that Hong Kong cinema valued (and to a certain extent still does) different elements of film than we do. Understand that there’s a lot at work here besides fighting, like some sharp social commentary that influenced entire genres for decades after this was released.
Secondly, as a Bruce Lee fan, I thought the riffers didn’t quite have enough respect for the subject this time around, and I don’t say that often. There’s only so many times you can giggle at Lee’s mannerisms before you should just realize that that’s Lee and you can take it or leave it. There were also a few culturally insensitive remarks this time around. I don’t know if you’d call them offensive per se, but sometimes the guys can betray their lack of knowledge on the subject by saying certain things. When the guys stay away from the Japanese–Chinese stuff, they get in plenty of good zingers. There’s a good deal of energy on this track, especially near the beginning, making me wonder if everyone had just had their coffee or something.
Favorite riff:
“Jokes aside, punching someone in the face while you’re not even looking at them is pretty much the coolest thing anyone can do.” — Mike
This “Fist of Fury” was known as “The Chinese Connection” in the U.S. and was released in 1972.
[If anyone cares, and to supplement BC’s reply above: In 1971, Bruce Lee’s film originally known as “The Big Boss” in Hong Kong was released as “Fists of Fury” (note the plural) in the U.S. That title did so well and the Hong Kong distributors liked it so much, when Lee’s next film came out, they called it “Fist of Fury,” which meant a new title had to be chosen for the U.S. release. They went with “The Chinese Connection.” Yeah, it’s complicated and it sucks.]
So this RiffTrax version is the one that you may have known as “The Chinese Connection” before. If you get a chance to see this in Mandarin with English subtitles (there’s a UK box set that has this version) you should. It’s actually quite a good movie for the genre; unsurprisingly, the version dubbed into English and slightly edited for the English market was about as disrespectful as you could get.
The print RiffTrax has looks pretty nice, though, better than all those grainy pan ‘n’ scans we used to have to suffer through. Honestly, I would have rather they went with “Return of the Dragon” because Chuck Norris, but I’ll watch this, no question.
Whelp, I tried to edit my last response but it didn’t go through, so I’ll just add here that (a) I basically repeated some of what BC said, and I apologize, and (b) like BC, I’m a Bruce Lee fan, so I’m a little concerned after hearing him say there are some troubling riffs.
I am not a fan of this genre, so I will not be purchasing this one. I hope those who do enjoy “kung fu” movies do. :)
I don’t know, Davey…
I would think Game of Death would be a better target for them. It’s the one cobbled together long after Lee’s death, with dodgy body doubles, and a voice actor who sounds nothing like him. In one mindblowingly bad scene, a still photo of Bruce’s face is pasted over someone’s head!
http://youtu.be/1bAdMrMxMm0
And I didn’t know the youtube link was going to embed itself like that. Sorry if it’s a no no!
I have no care for this genre of film, but I like when Rifftrax riffs it.
I also love 60’s & 70’s films for riffing. Riffed kung fu movies are funny to me, but sword & sandal movies I can’t stand even if riffed. Like that Film Crew movie ‘Giant of Marathon’ – I still haven’t been able to watch it all the way through. Most of the time the riffing can get me through any movie, but sword & sandal movies are the one exception to that for me.
I’ll get this one, I always laugh at these riffed kung fu films. I’m still debating the ‘super mario brothers’ one though. I’m not part of the videogame-movie generation. I still think it will be funny though, so I’ll probably get that eventually.
@12 – That could be an interesting discussion (what genre can’t you stand even if riffed). I don’t care for kung fu movies, or blacksploitation, but I love the riffing. On the other hand I hate most fantasy or allegory type movies. I couldn’t get through either Lord of the Rings Rifftrax that I had bought. I’m debating the Super Mario Brothers too.
@10 (GornCaptain)
Thing about “Game of Death is that, while the movie itself is a mess, the opening title sequence makes it look like we’re about to see the greatest James Bond movie that could ever be made anywhere.
Still, I figure “Black Belt Jones” might be a better fit for RT.
I hope they take on some of the really terrible Brucesploitation stuff, like “Clones of Bruce Lee” which has I think half a dozen Lee impersonators.
@14: Mr. Morgan, you’re correct on both counts.
Jim Kelly in all his epic fro-ness would be fun.
AND that intro is snazzy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azba3joHlUc
@14 The opening was done by Maurice Binder, who created all the classic 007 title sequences. ;)
@17 (GornCaptain)
With great theme music by John Barry, 007’s resident composer.
what rifftrax should do next:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pehsws6QYEo