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Jet Li: Fist of Legend - Two-Disc Ultimate Edition
by Reg Seeton
 In the realm of modern martial arts movies, Fist of Legend is one of the best of the last twenty years. Although Jet Li has gone on to capture the hearts of western martial arts fans since its 1994 release, Fist of Legend is, from a traditional standpoint, Li’s finest performance on film. Now Dragon Dynasty gives Fist of Legend the red carpet treatment on DVD in a Two-Disc Ultimate Edition, which landed on store shelves on Tuesday, September 9.
As I’ve said many times around here, when it comes to Dragon Dynasty releases there are mostly only varying degrees of high quality. Out of the crop of discs that I’ve reviewed since The Weinstein Company and Genius Products teamed up to form Dragon Dynasty, I can only think of one title that was lacking in a lot of areas. Although you’ve heard a lot of reviewers say the same old cliché "you can’t go wrong with...", in Dragon Dynasty’s case it’s true of most releases.
To the purists out there, for the sake of the review I’ll be mainly using The Chinese Connection instead of its original title so you won’t get hit with too many "fists".
If you’re a fan of the classic Bruce Lee film The Chinese Connection,
Fist of Legend is an extra special treat since it’s a tribute to the now
legendary 1972 film about revenge within a clash between Chinese and
Japanese martial arts schools. Titled as a play on The Chinese Connection’s
original title of Fist of Fury, the story of Fist of Legend follows in Bruce
Lee’s footsteps as Jet Li returns home to Shanghai from Japan to avenge the
death of his master and save his former martial arts school. To make a long
story short, tons of kick ass fighting ensues. Only this time, the fight
sequences get the best upgrade possible thanks to legendary martial arts
choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping. As well, fans are treated to the unrated
version of the film as part of the Ultimate package.
 Since I’ve seen all of Bruce Lee’s films at least fifty times each, to revisit Jet Li’s take on The Chinese Connection never gets old. Since the fights in Fist of Legend were choreographed by the amazing Woo-Ping, the man behind the fights sequences of The Matrix trilogy, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the Kill Bill movies, and many more, Fist of Legend augments the void left behind by Bruce Lee by drawing upon two of most significant figures in martial arts history to pay tribute to the movie and the legend. Although no one can ever replace Bruce Lee or The Chinese Connection, fans get an explosive tribute with a whole slate of contemporary fight sequences that still look as amazing today as they did in 1994. Although Woo-Ping’s has become a legend for mastering the art of wire work, most of the fight sequences in Fist of Legend are free of additional aids - meaning, you get real fight sequences like the original.
As a Two-Disc Ultimate Edition DVD, Fist of Legend packs more punch than most higher profile action releases. Spread across both discs, the special features include:
Feature length commentary by Honk Kong cinema expert Bey Logan
Interview with director Gordon Chan
Interview with Kung Fu Impresario Chin Sui Ho
Interview with Japanese action legend Kurata Yasuaki
A screen fighting seminar at the Kurata Action School
A look at Fist of Legend with director Brett Ratner and critic Elvis Mitchell
Five deleted scenes
Trailer gallery
 Fist of Legend follows the format of almost all Dragon Dynasty titles in that Bey Logan kicks things off with a commentary before the rest of the features expand on the film with thoughts from those involved. If you haven’t had the good fortune to listen to Logan talk about a variety of unknown facts surrounding various martial arts films, his commentaries are some of the best, most comprehensive and entertaining you’ll find on DVD. Since The Chinese Connection was one of Logan’s favorites, it’s even better. As for the special features, be sure to check out all three interviews, as hearing from those involved in Fist of Legend makes for an amazing experience. My only complaint is that Jet Li is nowhere to be found on the disc, so it's hard to call this truly "ultimate". Still, the new Fist of Legend is a must have disc for your martial arts collection.
***My advice for studios... Forget trying to get lead actors or stars of various films to take time out of their schedules to do a commentary or video interview segment if they’re busy, there’s an easier and less expensive way. Just get Bey Logan or the director to do a 10-15 minute phoner with a star and throw it on the DVD set to a montage of clips. At least it's something from the star.
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