From director and writer Corey Yuen (Righting Wrongs, Red Cliff, The Transporter) comes this high-octane tale of criminal gangs, betrayal and greed. When brothers Ma Wing-jing (Taksehi Kaneshiro) and Ma Tai-cheung (Yuen Wah) flee their impoverished homeland to seek their fortune in Shanghai, they at first find more grinding penury when they are forced to work as lowly coolies, however Wing-jing soon becomes embroiled in the seedy world of big city triads and his once insignificant life becomes an arrogant lust for power. This fabulous remake of Cheh Chang’s classic The Boxer from Shantung (1972) from the legendary Shaw Brothers studios is given a 90s makeover chock full with stunts, fights and awe inspiring action sequences. A must for collectors of martial arts cinema.

For thoughts on Hero (1997), please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

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Video Quality

Hero (1997) comes to Blu-Ray via 88 Films with a 1080p master in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio derived from the original 35mm camera negatives. This new release offers a pretty strong presentation that ranks highly among the Shaw Brothers titles that I have seen from the label, most likely due to it being more recent than many others. The transfer does not appear to have much in the way of filtering or DNR applied which allows it to present with an organic appearance. While most of the film resolves well in this respect, there are some minor moments that the grain field spikes

The transfer features sumptuous color saturation throughout with vibrant hues popping off the screen, especially in elements of the production design. Fine detail does not disappoint as you observe intricate facets of the costumes and landscape without hindrance. This transfer delivers very little in the way of wear and tear, and the film does not exhibit any notable instances of compression artifacts. There are occasional shots that present as a bit soft which likely links back to the quality of the source elements. 88 Films has put forth a good effort here. .

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray presents the film with a LPCM 2.0 mono track in the original Cantonese along with an English dub for those who have an aversion to subtitles. As always, we recommend sticking with the original language track. Dialogue is mostly clear and easily distinguishable throughout the film. The track can sound a bit strained in a few odd moments, but it is not a persistent issue. The score maintains a nice fidelity with no real instances of age related wear and tear. The film offers up some weighty moments that add a bit of power to the overall mix. This release does have optional English subtitles provided. 88 Films has done an admirable job of presenting this film in the best quality possible.

Special Features

The first-pressing of the 88 Films Blu-Ray of Hero (1997) includes a booklet featuring the essay “Do We Need Another Hero? Examining Hero (1997), Cory Yuen’s 1990s Remake of the Classic The Boxer Of Shantung (1972) ” by Andrew Graves. This provides a great context for and analysis of the film, how it plays with genre, its themes and more. The package also contains a double-sided folded poster. The on-disc special features are as follows:

Audio Commentary: Japanese film experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema deliver a lively and deeply informative commentary track in which they discuss their personal relationship to the film, the career of the talent involved, where this film fits within the Shaw Brothers filmography and the genre at large, the time in history that serves as the setting for the film, the sets that were used for filming, the stylistic flourishes and more. While it doesn’t impact the enjoyment of the track, the Mike Leeder side of the track sounds slightly off-pitch or modulated in some way.

Alternate Shots From Taiwanese Version: A 21-second alternate shot is provided in SD quality.

Original Trailer: This disc provides the Hong Kong Trailer (2:51) and English Trailer (3:58).

Final Thoughts

Hero (1997) is a Shaw Brothers feature quite outside of the “golden age” that happened a couple of decades prior, although it connects back to it thanks to the narrative ties to The Boxer From Shantung. This updated version somewhat lives in the shadow of that previous feature, but those unaware of that film should find this one to be a fairly engaging drama with occasional bouts of impressive fighting. The performances are pretty strong and crafts are top tier, but there is a lack of a special throwback Shaw Brothers flavor that keeps this from being truly memorable. 88 Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation and a couple of interesting special features. If you are a fan of moody action crime-dramas, this is at least worth a viewing. Recommended

Hero (1997) is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 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.