A former International Karate Champion, Jim Kelly made a blazing screen debut with Bruce Lee in the martial-arts landmark ENTER THE DRAGON. Now as Black Belt Jones, Kelly’s fiery fighting expertise rips the screen apart in his first solo star turn, featuring Scatman Crothers (The Shining) and sultry Glory Hendry (Live and Let Die). Pop Boyd (Crothers) owns a thriving karate school near downtown Los Angeles. Unfortunately, it sits on a piece of land upon which a local mob wants to build its own “civic center”. When the gangsters’ muscling of Pop leads to tragedy, Black Belt Jones steps forward to exact his individual brand of lightning-charged revenge. Filmmaker Robert Clouse, who showcased Lee in Enter the Dragon and Jackie Chan in The Big Brawl serves up masterful action sequences of which Kelly said “every move was choreographed like a ballet”. That unique blend of ballistic combat and colorful comic characters make Black Belt Jones light on its feet – and heavy on entertainment!
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Video Quality
Black Belt Jones gets a strong upgrade on Blu-Ray courtesy of Warner Archive with a new 1080p transfer derived from a 4K scan of the Original Camera Negative. This action crime drama captures the natural nuances of the varied environments with the help of natural film grain free of any serious compression artifacts or other such digital anomalies. There are intricacies of the production design that are on full display for the first time on home entertainment. There are some robust colors featured in the environments that elevate the film quite miraculously. This disc represents the shooting locations with a degree of clarity and nuance that is unbelievable. Skin tones are natural, consistent, and detailed, and the presentation offers flawless black levels free from crush. Warner Archive has treated this genre effort with the same respect as their award winners.
Audio Quality
Warner Archive gives this Blu-Ray a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix that matches the sonic ambitions of this narrative without hindrance. Dialogue remains anchored in the center channel with environmental sounds executed properly in the dual mono mix. Some lively environmental effects within the locale add some texture to this journey. The score from Luchi De Jesus sounds impressive as it nails every element with unwavering fidelity. This audio presentation could not be executed better as the material comes to life as desired. The audio experience matches the visual one. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided on this disc.
Special Features
- Original Theatrical Trailer: The three-minute trailer is provided here.
Final Thoughts
Black Belt Jones is a pretty decent genre effort that foregrounds over-the-top plot developments and comedic one-liners with the expected martial arts goodness. Jim Kelly does a nice job leading this story that veers toward the erratic side of the spectrum. If you are not a fan of the blaxploitation subgenre, this will not make you a convert, but it plays well enough in the normal waters. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring an excellent A/V presentation and barely anything in the way of special features. If you are a fan of the film, it has been handled with care. Recommended
Black Belt Jones can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or various other online retailers.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
