Hotshot lawyer Jackie Lung (Jackie Chan) is hired to defend the owner of a factory which, unbeknownst to him, is the centre of a clandestine narcotics syndicate. He enlists resourceful acquaintances Wong Fei-Hung (Sammo Hung) and Dung Dak-Biu (Yuen Biao) to assist in the case, but loyalties begin to falter when romance blossoms between both sides.
For thoughts on Dragons Forever, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
88 Films presents Dragons Forever with an excellent 2160p HDR Dolby Vision transfer sourced from a 4K restoration of three different versions of the film: original Hong Kong Version, the English Version and the Japanese Version. The restorations for this release will blow you away with how well they turned out. The texture on display in the costumes, production design and within the environments are a revelation. Even facial details such as dripping sweat or cuts and bruises present with immaculate clarity. The level of detail and clarity is quite impressive with a nice amount of natural film grain intact. The grain mostly resolves well, but there are some moments which can appear a bit thick or noisy due to how it was captured. This transfer is mostly free of stray specks throughout the runtime. This presentation maintains the original look of the film with the added resolution making elements seem more natural.
The Dolby Vision HDR really elevates the aesthetic of this one, as it makes the bright locales really come to life. The most impressive moments of HDR implementation are in the film’s exterior locations with bright sun, open water and natural vegetation which provide colors that radiate naturally with a lovely intensity. The intense white levels are provided a greater stability without veering into blooming. Black levels do not seem to struggle much at all when it comes to crush, as it maintains a stellar amount of depth and detail in darker environments. Skin tones look natural, if not just a touch warm, and you could not ask for better color saturation throughout. 88 Films has treated this one with respect.
Audio Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray disc comes with a new Cantonese Dolby Atmos track, a 2002 remixed English DTS-HD 5.1 track for the Hong Kong cut, and the remastered Cantonese mono and English mono hybrid dub in DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track. There are optional English and English SDH subtitles provided. While all of these tracks provide a really solid listening experience, we advocate sticking with the original Cantonese for artistic purity and due to the fact that the English voice actors sound out of place. Furthermore, we would suggest sticking with the original mono, although the Atmos track is not bad by any means.
The new Dolby Atmos track is as dynamic and hard-hitting as you might expect. This track features an expansive soundscape which captures the kinetic sound design of the film with perfect fidelity. This adds a lot to the experience, but there are certain occasions where the expanded soundscape can sound a bit too artificial. The track rarely lets up when it comes to environmental activity, which especially comes alive when the hits start coming. The score and soundtrack is used effectively to establish the mood of the story. This track handles everything quite well throughout the duration of the film.
The environmental sounds are rendered well alongside everything else, and things get particularly engaging when it comes to the expansion into the height channels overhead. Balance is maintained so that dialogue comes through clearly, and there is never a moment where any element threatens to overwhelm competing sounds. The low end response is significant when it is necessary. There does not seem to be any majorly noticeable instances of age-related wear and tear. 88 Films has provided a fine selection of audio options for fans.
Special Features
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray of Dragons Forever comes beautifully packaged in a hard outer case and includes a 86-page bound book featuring two essays from Matthew Edwards and CJ Lines which delves into the film and the genre further. These works provide a great analysis of the film and the genre at large in a thoughtfully written style. This package also includes a double-sided poster and six double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproductions. The on-disc special features are as follows:
- Hong Kong Cut (1:34:25), Japanese Cut (1:37:54) and International Cut (1:34:06).
- Audio Commentary #1: Asian Film Experts Frank Djeng and FJ DeSanto provide a commentary track for the Japanese cut in which they discuss various aspects of the history and production including the planning of the stunts, the silent filming to accommodate for worldwide dubbing, the different version of the film, how this character finds Jackie Chan acting against type, the backgrounds of the performers and how it impacted their careers, the legacy of this film and more that is well worth a listen.
- Audio Commentary #2: Asian Film Experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema provide a very lively commentary track for the Hong Kong cut of the film which is super informative including information about the ensemble of this time, the continuity issues in some shots, personal connections they have with certain talent, why audiences were not particularly responsive to the film and more. There is some overlap with the previous commentary track, but there are plenty of unique insights provided.
- Elite Stuntman – Interview with Chin Kar-Lok: A 39-minute interview with Chin Kar-Lok in which he discusses his journey to the movie business, how his martial arts training helped his career, the place of a stuntman in the ‘80s, where Hong Kong stood in the international cinema landscape, the financial realities of being a stuntman, the need to hone your skills, memories of Dragons Forever and more
- Writing For The Dragons – Interview with Szeto Cheuk-Hon: A 48-minute interview with the scriptwriter in which he discusses how he entered in the film industry, becoming a part of Barry Wong’s script writing team, the reason behind the success of certain blockbusters in the ‘80s, his contempt for certain directors, the repetitive nature of Sammo Hung film, how his productions compared to Jackie Chan films, the relationship between the actors and the script and more.
- Benny Forever – Interview with Benny “The Jet” Urquidez: A 25-minute interview with the performer in which he discusses his background, growing up in a fighting family, how Bruce Lee opened up his world, having a command over the audience in his performances, working with Jackie Chan, the art of choreography and more.
- Discussing Dragons Forever – Interview with David Desser: A seven-minute discussion with the Professor of Cinema Studies at the University of Illinois who discusses the groundbreaking nature of how Jackie Chan manipulated martial arts, how he fits into the cinematic landscape is various roles effortlessly, how Dragons Forever gave the actors more emphasis on character work and more.
- Hong Kong Cinema Forever – Interview with Mike Leeder: A six-minute conversation with the Hong Kong Cinema Expert in which he discusses the career of Jackie Chan at this time, his relationship with watching the movie in poor quality due to the scarce nature of it internationally and more.
- Working With The Dragons – Interview with Jude Poyer: A six-minute interview with the stunt coordinator, fight choreographer and more in which he discusses working with the Hong Kong titans, the brilliance of Sammo Hung as an action director, the charismatic nature of Jackie Chan, how his films stacked up against his contemporaries and more.
- Double Jeopardy – An Interview with Brad Allen: A 27-minute interview with the martial artist in which he discusses what inspired him to take up martial arts, the influence of Jackie Chan on his career, the experience of working with Jackie Chan, what it was like to work on various projects and more.
- Beyond Gravity – An Interview with Joe Eigo: A 13-minute featurette with the martial arts/background performer who discusses his early interest in film, memorable run-ins with famous faces, the action sequences in Dragons Forever and more.
- Kick Fighter – An Interview with Andy Cheng: A 39-minute interview with the martial artist who discusses how Jackie Chan impacted his career, his first collaborations with him as a scene partner, memories of working on Dragons Forever, his favorite Jackie Chan performances, and much more.
- Thai Breaker – An Interview with Billy Chow: A 34-minute interview with Billy Chow which starts off set at a match where various other people discuss his work before getting to Chow himself who goes in depth about his career.
- The Legacy of Dragons Forever: A brief two-and-a-half minute featurette in which various subjects discuss the unique identity of the movie and the on-screen dynamic between Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung.
- Outtakes and Behind The Scenes: A 13-minute piece which shows candid moments from the production with jaunty music underscoring it.
- Music Video (English): A three-minute video is provided here in English.
- Music Video (Cantonese): A three-minute video is provided here in Cantonese. This has better audio quality than the English version.
- Additional Cantonese Dialogue: A 40-second clip is provided here of Jackie making a scene at the restaurant.
- Original Trailers: This disc provides the English Trailer (2:20) and Hong Kong Trailer (3:13).
Final Thoughts
Dragons Forever is a really fun entry into the martial arts action pantheon as we see several icons of the genre coming together to showcase the magic that happens when they are on screen together. The story of this one is not particularly noteworthy, and it is understandable why audiences originally had issues with the character Jackie Chan plays, but the attempts to bring new threads of humor and romance into the journey is appreciated even if it’s not entirely successful. Where the film makes up for it is in the action set pieces that pop up, especially as we approach the finale. The blows and falls are visceral and really stick in your memory after the movie has finished. 88 Films has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray with multiple cuts of the movie, a fantastic new A/V presentation and a slew of special features that are truly fun to dig into. If you are a martial arts movie fan, do not pass this one up. Highly Recommended
Dragons Forever will be available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and Blu-Ray on January 10, 2023.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: 88 Films 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.