A group of martial artists, including Jackie Chan, make their way across a strange and dangerous mountain, in 3-D (if you want), in Wei Lo’s 1978 flick The Magnificent Bodyguards, now on Blu-Ray in 3D & 2D via 88 Films
The Film
It’s always cool to see early works of people who would become more notable later. In the case of The Magnificent Bodyguards, Jackie Chan (here credited as Jacky; with long hair before his trademark bob cut) is front and center, just before the breakout of Drunken Master. We saw Chan last month in Angry River and Himalayan on their 88 Films discs. But, as we saw in those reviews, those were small bits. But this is Chan’s film, the central character in a wider ensemble. That ensemble? The training “brothers” of Chan’s Lord Ting Chung, a master of iron fists: one deaf and strong, the other a master of swords, along with a pair of sisters with daggers, and a handful of others. They are the titular bodyguards, transporting a woman, her sick brother, and their entourage through a dangerous mountain. A mountain with a series of various dangers, such as bandits, weird inns, murder monks, and more.
With the nature of that plot, it’s essentially a setup for a wide variety of fights, fighting styles, and fight sizes. It’s a Wei Lo movie after all. After the recently re-released by 88 Films The Invincible Eight, he made Fists of Fury and Big Boss, so you know there’s going to be plenty of great fighting sequences. Swords, fists, one-on-ones, 18-on-3, and the like. Designed by Jackie Chan and Yasuhiro Shikamura, the fighting is a lot of fun. The variety keeps it interesting, and the shifts for 3-D bring an extra… dimension, heh, to choreography as people and things keep coming at us, including punches and kicks directly at the camera. Per the special features, it’s an earlier film to use a tighter camera to keep more surprises and dynamic fighting (avoiding the “other guys just hanging out to do their turn” trope). It’s all a ton of fun with some wire-fu mixed in as well.
Interestingly, the simple plot, as written by Lung Ku from a novel, becomes confusingly convoluted towards the end when a series of reveals bring out truths. No, it doesn’t make a lick of sense. Yes, I don’t care. It’s all in good fun, especially when very unlicensed Star Wars music pops up occasionally (highly surprised to have it still be on the disc, no one tell Disney). Also fun, as noted above, is the 3-D. The first 3-D film from Hong Kong was notable before the second wave of United States 3-D came a few years after the Asian resurgence.
The Magnificent Bodyguards isn’t a great film, but it does well for its needs, with Chan leading a fine ensemble into plenty of great fights. The 3-D gives it an extra level of fun, and there’s more than enough interplay with the characters between the punches to keep it interesting.
The Packaging
88 Films gives a bright, colorful set to grab the eye on the shelf with a fun, busy lenticular cover of the thick cardboard box. It’s the same image, but flat, underneath. The back has a removable info sheet with an old poster underneath. The film is presented over 3 Blu-ray discs, one each for TV-dependent 3D, anaglyph 3d, and 2d. Each disc features a different image, based on the variety of posters available in the box and reversible sleeve. A new piece of art within is from K.P. “Kung Fu Bob” O’Brien. In the clear, blue Blu-ray are the discs, two are on a flippable insert, the booklet, and one pair of anaglyph (red/blue) 3-D glasses with the artwork.
The Presentation
Magnificent Bodyguards is available in the forms: 3-D TV 3D, Anaglyph (red/blue glasses) 3D, and 2d. I was unable to watch on TV 3D, although I have one in the guest room. But I’m moving and seem to have packed the remote and glasses. Sorry. The glasses 3-D is a cool option, though not without the issues that come with the sort. One has to be sitting in just the right place to get the full effect, but when it works, it’s awesome. This version also mutes the colors through the lenses. The 2d, luckily, has the full volume of the very colorful film. When seen in this version, the 2k transfer from original elements looks good. With the shooting style (to get the 3d), age, and budget, it does look soft in parts, but overall is a damned good look.
My suggestion: watch the film the first time with 3D to get the experience, then watch the commentary with 2d to get the colors and scope outside the gimmick.
On the sound end, it offers two Chinese tracks: Mandarin and Cantonese, and two English tracks: original English mono and a new English Mono with new music cues. I listened to each for a little while while wearing the 3D. Sounds good, and the dubbing is fine. The dynamics of the sound design show through. Subtitles in English.
The Features
88 Films puts together a solid package to go with the 3-D draw, which one can see as a feature on its own.
Commentary
Hong Kong cinema experts Frank Djeng and FJ DeSanto give another fantastic commentary. As always, they have fun digging into the details of who’s who (where they can, many unknowns here) and where it falls into martial arts cinema history, especially in how Lo and Chan were butting heads as both their careers rose.
Punching into the 3rd Dimension
James Mudge gives a spirited history of the film, specifically of the 3D aspects. A fun listen. (19m) English; no subtitles
A New Dimension in Action?
Steve Lawson focuses more on the marketing, and now the film fits in the oeuvre of the era. (8m) In English, no subtitles.
Two trailers
Mandarin and English
Booklet
A 32-page stapled booklet is included. A fully packed spectacle! Plenty of art, stills, and behind-the-scenes for this film and more! A map, box office info, and the essay: Long Live the King: Crossing the Cloudy Mountain by Thorsten Boose. Boose writes a very in-depth essay on the history of this film, 3-D in the Asian market, the stars of Lo and Chan, and more. Quite the reading, including marketing materials and stills of films mentioned outside of the main title.
Final Thoughts
88 Film’s presentation of Wei Lo’s The Magnificent Bodyguards is a fun early Chan, high-punching action, and notable in the 3-D options, although just fine and watchable in 2d. Awesome to include a variety of options. The commentary and features are solid additions to bring the film package together. Recommended for fans of Jackie Chan, martial arts oddities, and Hong Kong cinema.