Drunken Master: Purist's Edition

[MacLeod613]

Is there any word on when (or if) this is going to be available? (Or was it already available and did I miss it?)

Sorry to keep bringing it up, but I've been looking forward to this for a while, and I'm wondering if it's ever gonna happen.

[fabhui]

It was supposed to get put out I believe around the latter part of last year but it never surfaced.

From the last I heard as to it getting a release, well I wouldn't hold your breath mate which is a shame as I was looking forward to it too! :(

[OHMSS006]

hey evryone, im back, its been awhile and seeing this place has had an upgrade too :D

but i came looking how were things with a Drunken Master Purist's Editing, and came across this.

may i ask, what has happened or what is the progress like? i myself was looking forward to it as well very much.

[greenfan]

Has anyone got the latest UK release of DM?
I'm just wondering whether it has the original English dub and cantonese track.

[Righteous Master]

Could someone please provide a link or be quite specific as to what exactly the Drunken Master purist's edition is and who is releasing it? I have never heard of this before and would really appreciate some more info.

[fabhui]

I contacted the guy who was coming out with the DVD just last month and unfortunately at this moment in time it will not be coming out.

[fabhui]

Has anyone got the latest UK release of DM?
I'm just wondering whether it has the original English dub and cantonese track.

By the looks of it mate it looks to me like a direct port of the R1 releases...same specs, same extras and the same artwork.

[OHMSS006]

ohhh? why is that may i ask?

@Righteous Master, i hope this helps:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4SkO3ypCXw

[fabhui]

Here is part of the message he sent to me. I'm pretty sure he won't mind me posting these parts so that your questions are answered:

"Yeah, I felt bad that I let a lot of people down... but also part of it was because I didn't want to see my work snatched up by that asshat from "Red Sun"... supposedly he stole my Warriors Two DVD and made it his own. Plus, at the time I started work on DM, I was hired by Rarescope to work on the Showdown at the Cotton Mill DVD."

"To keep things short, things have gotten a bit complicated over the years. Changing colleges, work/internship issues, etc, etc, etc. All this being said, DM: Purist's Edition never actually got completed. We were making progress until various "fans" kept trying to add new things to the project, it got too complicated, and I came to the conclusion that I couldn't make everyone happy.

I may try to get back to it someday, but for now, it's just a borderline lost cause."


Hope that answers your questions. A shame I know :(

[greenfan]

asshat....hahaha...
Thanks for that Fab.

What exactly would make up a "Purist's" release of Drunken Master?

[OHMSS006]

-OAR of the Film
-All language tracks ever made officially
-Accurate Subtitles
-Clean print
-High Quality
-Commentaries ever made for this film
-the Deleted Scenes

im sure there was more i would have added, but those are the bottom line for me on what i wanted to add for a release of the Purist's Edition.

[Sifu]

-OAR of the Film
-All language tracks ever made officially
-Accurate Subtitles
-Clean print
-High Quality
-Commentaries ever made for this film
-the Deleted Scenes

Sorry, but sadly enough they don't make DVDs like that. The only companies that have gotten close to making releases like that are Dragon Dynasty and HKL, and neither of them own rights to that. Only Sony does in the West, and their release royally sucks :( It doesn't even have a full original soundtrack, it does have an excellent print though. I will give it that.

[Righteous Master]

Thanks for the link OHMSS006. Good stuff.

[OHMSS006]

no problem.

to Sifu, that was a list of what a Purist's Edition would contain, of course there is not one DVD or lrealse out there that has all these qualities, but this is something that can be achieved by the studio themselves and with the right sources it can be done at home with the right stuff.

[Sifu]

to Sifu, that was a list of what a Purist's Edition would contain, of course there is not one DVD or lrealse out there that has all these qualities, but this is something that can be achieved by the studio themselves and with the right sources it can be done at home with the right stuff.

Until Sony lets go of the rights in the West that isn't gonna happen. Usually definitive editions always come from either the UK or U.S. :mad:

But we can always dream. Remember though there's still a good commentary from Ric Meyers and Jeff Yang. Awesome one to tell you the truth :D

[JopokHime]

Until Sony lets go of the rights in the West that isn't gonna happen. Usually definitive editions always come from either the UK or U.S.

But we can always dream. Remember though there's still a good commentary from Ric Meyers and Jeff Yang. Awesome one to tell you the truth

The "Purist Edition" was going to be a fan version not sold in stores but offered to forum members here.

For the Warriors Two dvd he had taken the HKL print and added the original english dub that HKL did not include with subtitles in the spots that were cut from the dub.

All you had to do was trade the creator a dvd and you got a copy.

I still have my Warriors Two dvd and when the whole fandom vs. redsun asshat battle was going on I mentioned that DM was not being released because of said asshat.

Damn shame as i'll be stuck with my crappy version of DM forever if I want to hear one of my favorite dubs of all time.
Fuck you redsun.

[venom10463]

For the Warriors Two dvd he had taken the HKL print and added the original english dub that HKL did not include with subtitles in the spots that were cut from the dub.

It was the fox version... not the HKL. The fox version has a much superior picture quaility.

[fabhui]

He also did 'Big Boss: Redux' and 'Game of Death: Integral'. I'm glad I got these along with his release of Warriors Two as he did some really great work!

[greenfan]

You never know, a 'Drunken Master Collector's Edition' might happen one day....

[Sifu]

I still have my Warriors Two dvd and when the whole fandom vs. redsun asshat battle was going on I mentioned that DM was not being released because of said asshat.

When is that gonna ever end, doesn't Celestial/IVL care that they're literally makin millions off "their" releases at Suncoasts and FYEs all across the U.S.?! :confused:

[The Dragon]

He also did 'Big Boss: Redux' and 'Game of Death: Integral'. I'm glad I got these along with his release of Warriors Two as he did some really great work!

Hey Fab, what's up with that GOD:Integral? I'm interested in what's different about this title...
:)

[OHMSS006]

what they also need to do is to dig out the original material of the film, and thus find scenes that were never properly documented in DVDs and through them, including the film, they should do a complete restoration.

the UK or Europe usually does bring out better edition of DVDs.

[fabhui]

Hey Fab, what's up with that GOD:Integral? I'm interested in what's different about this title...
:)

Here's some info about it for you mate!

An unofficial DVD release circling the Internet entitled "Game of Death: Integral" features a 127 min cut of the film featuring:

* A large majority of Bruce Lee's original footage not used in the official release. This is most notable in the final three fights as there is now dialog between Billy Lo and Pasqual as well as with Hakim. The final three fights added up to only 10 minutes in the 1978 release, but the combined length of the fights in this cut is 25 minutes.
* The greenhouse fight in the Hong Kong version is also in this cut along with an extended scene before the fight in which Billy Lo is training on his outdoor balcony as he hears banging noises from the other room. This is actually footage from Meng Long Guojiang with new sound effects added. Also, when Billy comes back to his apartment after the fight, he finds a note reading "Have you two made out your wills?" along with a phone call from Dr. Land in which all he says is "You bastard!" with a follow up villainous laugh.
* The opening theme is replaced with an updated version of the Game of Death theme originally created for the Japanese film Bruce Lee in G.O.D.
* The infamous "cardboard cutout head" shot shown in all other versions has been replaced with a close up shot of Bruce Lee from Jing Wu Men.
* The even more infamous shot of the real corpse of Bruce Lee from his actual funeral has been replaced with a horizontally flipped shot of the outside of the funeral parlor with all of the fans standing outside.
* All of the fake Bruce Lee yells have been replaced with real yells from stock audio.
* The film's ending is an extension of the Hong Kong ending in which Billy Lo is arrested. However, the scene inter-cuts with Billy Lo (from the original Bruce Lee footage) walking back down the stairways of the Red Pepper Restaurant complex ending with him yelling out to the police in Cantonese "Help me!" One officer looks up and replies "Hurry down!" The scene ends with Billy Lo being taken away by the police, then fading to a tracking shot revealing the yellow and black tracksuit laying over top of a chair in an editing room and a narrator reading from Lee's Tao of Jeet Kune Do discussing "The Void".
* The film also ends with a large number of bloopers and outtakes from Bruce Lee's original Game of Death footage.

[Tigerstyles]

The greenhouse fight in the Hong Kong version is also in this cut along with an extended scene before the fight in which Billy Lo is training on his outdoor balcony as he hears banging noises from the other room. This is actually footage from Meng Long Guojiang with new sound effects added. Also, when Billy comes back to his apartment after the fight, he finds a note reading "Have you two made out your wills?" along with a phone call from Dr. Land in which all he says is "You bastard!" with a follow up villainous laugh.




that bit was so inventive

[The Dragon]

Thanks for the reply, Fab. Btw, please check out my thread under Golden Harvest films for Bob Clouses' version of G0D. I'm interested in what others think of points I've made.

[OHMSS006]

this is all good, but lets not get carried away and keep to the original topic.

[fabhui]

this is all good, but lets not get carried away and keep to the original topic.

Fair enough but like I said mate, Drunken Master: Purist's Edition as it was is not going to happen.

[HAZ]

They should just boot it themselves. I bet you could find people who'd pay 50 bucks for a DVD-R of this & I bet they wouldn't be inclined to share someting so expensive or rare. Make a run of 200, take the cash & laugh.

[The Dragon]

They should just boot it themselves. I bet you could find people who'd pay 50 bucks for a DVD-R of this & I bet they wouldn't be inclined to share someting so expensive or rare. Make a run of 200, take the cash & laugh.

Hmmm... $$$!!!:rolleyes:

[fabhui]

I bet you could find people who'd pay 50 bucks for a DVD-R of this

I bet you can't!! :D

People have done their own projects on Drunken Master, it's just Bentley's work was very professionally done!

[OHMSS006]

there can always be successors.

[OHMSS006]

By the way, does the HKL version of Drunken Master suffer from the PAL speed up?

and what about the Columbia TriStar DVD? as well as the Magnum VHS? cause they somewhat both differ by a few frames, even though both was InverseTelecined to 23.976.

[OHMSS006]

anyone may i ask?

[silver hermit]

you reallly like drunken master don't you? just get the columbia untill someone gets it right ;)

[OHMSS006]

well i do, and i have the Hong Kong Legends DVD, and the Magnum entertainment VHS tape.

i believe the real running time of the film is actually 1 hour and 51 minutes.

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

Im sticking with my UK "made in hong kong" VHS version, till they get it right!

p.s. who owns Redsun, and why doesn't anyone put this guy out of bussines?

[Killer Meteor]

Some guy called Stiller

[Robotech_Master]

I have both the R1 version and the Hong Kong 2-disc set version (the one that came with the other early Yuen Woo Ping movie whose name momentarily escapes me).

I also have an old VHS from Magnum Home Entertainment that I bought in Suncoast one day off the cheapie Chan rack for $10. I had expected it to be dubbed, but was pleasantly surprised to find, despite no indication of this on the box, that it was actually in Cantonese with bilingual HK subs.

The odd thing is, this tape (as well as the LD from which it was presumably sourced) had the complete Cantonese audio track in all places, including those that the Columbia DVD had to replace with bits of the English dub.

Why were neither the R1 version nor the R0 version able to find this version? Surely they could have found the laserdisc in the hands of some collector and cleaned the audio up enough to pass muster.

[Sifu]

Patience.....................................

[Morgoth Bauglir]

:confused: ummm, people have been patient for many years now.

[Sifu]

:confused: ummm, people have been patient for many years now.

Well, it's not likely to happen. The companies who own the rights aren't letting go, eg. Sony Pictures! It's not magical; they got it, no one else does, they're not doing anything good with it, so no Purist's Edition. The real thing to do is pray someone better'll buy the rights.

Your best shot is to just find a copy of the HK Legends DVD, great release! Near what we're looking for, but what we want will most likely never exist. It never has for 36th Chamber, Five Deadly Venoms, or 7 Grandmasters!

[WuxiaFan]

I believe the best version of DRUNKEN MASTER is the PanMedia version that contains the original Cantonese audio track and is uncut. Although PanMedia is a budget distributor, they have put out a few absolutely incredible discs, and this one is one of them. The transfer is crystal clear and Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 (OAR). The English subs are also excellent--well written and easy to read. There is also an English dub track, but it is not the classic old school dub. With a budget distrib, this disc does not have any special features to speak of, except for a few trailers. Also, there is not a Chapter Select menu option. You just chose the audio option and then the entire movie plays. However, I knew this before I bought it, but I wanted DM with the original Cantonese audio track and uncut. This disc is available at HKFlix. Here is the link:

http://www.hkflix.com/xq/asp/filmID.540377/qx/details.htm

I also own the HK version by Mei Ah. It is Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 (OAR) and has excellent special features. It does have a Cantonese audio track, but it's not the original track, and this version is edited. I owned this version before the PanMedia version. I did look at the HKL version, as I am a huge fan of HKL, but both the Mei Ah and HKL versions contain newer, less desirable audio tracks. I would HIGHLY recommend the PanMedia version of DRUNKEN MASTER.

Speaking of HKL, they have put out the absolute best versions of Bruce Lee's first 4 films with their Platinum 2-Disc versions. These are all completely remastered, original audio tracks, and finally, completely uncut. They are truly treasures. If you don't own these versions, pick them up quickly before they go out of print.

[Killer Meteor]

OK people, some facts

1. HKL's Drunken Master is dreadful. Its heavily cropped and does not have the right lanaguage - or the original English dub (though I prefer the newer one)

2. Panmedia are bootlegging scum who have wrecked the market. Don't support them.

[HAZ]

Does the panmedia version use the HKL dvd as a video source?

[gorhama]

Panmedia as Killer Meteor stated are bootleggers and messing up any chance we have of seeing some of these classic movies released not only here in the US but almost anywhere.

Everyone has the right to make their own choice and purchase what you want, but I want my money going to a real distributor who paid for the rights to release the movie so they can continue releasing more...hopefully. :rolleyes:

[Sifu]

Although PanMedia is a budget distributor

Where the hell did you make that assumption! PanMedia is am ILLEGAL distributor.

[HAZ]

What would be the best print of DM? Are there any with the OAR? The OG canto track is on the LD. I'm sure there's some good subs out there. Anyone with a computer & freeware can make this happen.

[WuxiaFan]

To Sifu: How long have you been reading kungfucinema.com? I've been reading KFC since 2002 and Mark Pollard has referred to Panmedia as a budget distrib, as well as Crash Cinema Ground Zero, many times in his reviews and articles. Panmedia titles are pure bootleggers, but they're also public domain. A lot of films from the Shaw Bros. and Golden Harvest libraries were out there in unauthorized form for years and years, so US publishers are not going to enforce their copywrite on these titles.

Just to clarify, I'm not pushing or advocating support of Panmedia. I only own a handful of their DVDs, out of my entire library. I always look for and buy the original issue disc. However, Panmedia has come out with a few excellent discs, such as the DM version above, and Secret Rivals 1 and 2. The Mei Ah and Crash Masters versions of SR 1 and 2 were crap. The best version of Tsui Hark's The Blade is a Panmedia version. The only version of the classic Pedicab Driver is a Panmedia version. If you want to own Shaolin Vs. Lama, the only version is a Panmedia verison. Practically all of my SB films are the Celesital/IVL versions or the DD versions.

As far as Drunken Master, the copywrited versions out there are crap. They’re either edited and/or not the original language, and the US version is the worst. Panmedia has the only uncut, original language version out there, so I'm happy to own it and enjoy it. It would be nice if Bey Logan puts Drunken Master on his "to do" list after Fist of Legend. If he does, I'll be the first in line to get it as long as it's uncut and original language.

[David Rees]

Panmedia should not be supported in any way. ( Just because a film has not been released does not mean its in the public domain!)
Secret Rivals 1 + 2 have been released in the UK in excellent widescreen original language versions, Shaolin Vs Lama has also been released in the uk (full screen) as has The Blade.
Get a multi region player there cheap enough.
If you cannot get a disc legally i.e. its not out anywhere then ask for a trade on this forum and others, rather than give money to bootleggers and those that support them such as HK Flix. (I have a dvdr of Pedicab Driver taken from the UK VHS if anybody is interested).
Imagine you are a distributor and are thinking of releasing some HK movies, you go into your local store and see the same film available (bootleg) everywhere, would you then bother?...Of course not, Linn put it much better in many of his posts in the past, do not support these then we have more chance of getting legal and good quality versions.

[spannick]

the Panmedia DVD for DRUNKEN MASTER is good because it was the work of a dedicated Fan who was reportedly ripped of by the Thief.
same goes for WARRIORS TWO i think.

and if the Fan was not ripped off by PM, it's even worse as that Fan supports a lousy Thief with good work.

PM's own work is so bad i have no words to describe the incompetence behind every Release.

i once tried to offer my own good work to the Thief to see how he reacts and what he would offer. Sadly there never came a response as i would have LOVED to see what lousy Bootleggers would have been willing to spend or give.

it seems some fools can be talked over with some free "DVDs" for their work and PM releases their work in return. WOW.

whoever buys this worthless crap is responsible that good DVDs are losing Numbers. not the Person who offers - the Folks who support him are responsible.

[Sifu]

Yup bootleg, no way around it!

[chen lung]

Panmedia stole the legit Soulblade 'Secret Rivals' DVDs.

HKL's BL DVDs had a few problems: Incorrect languages and 'The Big Boss' isn't the uncut Mandarin version.

Actually, the US version of 'Drunken Master' has the best video quality (French looks a bit ****). The Pan Media DVD has combined theatrical subtitles and dubtitles and uses the French DVD which is left in PAL-speed.

'Pedicab Driver' is available on the UK 'Made In Hong Kong' VHS uncut and better quality.

[WuxiaFan]

David Rees, spannick, Sifu, and chen lung: OK I got it--thanks for the clarifications! From now on, I will never buy a PM disc again! Like I said, I only have a handful out of almost 400 DVDs in my library.

Yes, I have a multi-region player. Actually, I have 2 of them. I'm trying to sell my Malata DVP-558 if anyone is interested.

[Sifu]

David Rees, spannick, Sifu, and chen lung: OK I got it--thanks for the clarifications!

Don't be at all offended, I added nothing to my statements other than the fact that they're illegally releasing coprighted films. You can make your own decisions, we can't do that for you. But just keep what we're telling you in mind next time you go to buy a PM DVD, and yet still wish for a "Purist's Edition" of Drunken Master. That's essentially two conflicting actions.

Help that company get put out of business and off store shelves.

[David Rees]

A lot of people dont realize there bootlegs thats the problem, the more people find out the better!

[Sifu]

A lot of people dont realize there bootlegs thats the problem, the more people find out the better!

The more HONEST people find out, the better.

[Tigerstyles]

ASDA had the new Columbia UK edition for £4 yesterday. tempted even though i already have the double sided Australian DVD release from Columbia

[TheNoArmedAndLeggedBoxer]

i have the HKL version which has english audio and mandarin audio not the original cantonese and it has english subs, the video is anamorphic reasoable quality, i am definatley feeling the need for the original cantonese version just to give it the true feel....

[The Dragon]

He also did 'Big Boss: Redux' and 'Game of Death: Integral'. I'm glad I got these along with his release of Warriors Two as he did some really great work!

What's G.O.D.: Integral? Just curious...

[Morgoth Bauglir]

What's G.O.D.: Integral? Just curious...

I think he already told you :p


Here's some info about it for you mate!

An unofficial DVD release circling the Internet entitled "Game of Death: Integral" features a 127 min cut of the film featuring:

* A large majority of Bruce Lee's original footage not used in the official release. This is most notable in the final three fights as there is now dialog between Billy Lo and Pasqual as well as with Hakim. The final three fights added up to only 10 minutes in the 1978 release, but the combined length of the fights in this cut is 25 minutes.
* The greenhouse fight in the Hong Kong version is also in this cut along with an extended scene before the fight in which Billy Lo is training on his outdoor balcony as he hears banging noises from the other room. This is actually footage from Meng Long Guojiang with new sound effects added. Also, when Billy comes back to his apartment after the fight, he finds a note reading "Have you two made out your wills?" along with a phone call from Dr. Land in which all he says is "You bastard!" with a follow up villainous laugh.
* The opening theme is replaced with an updated version of the Game of Death theme originally created for the Japanese film Bruce Lee in G.O.D.
* The infamous "cardboard cutout head" shot shown in all other versions has been replaced with a close up shot of Bruce Lee from Jing Wu Men.
* The even more infamous shot of the real corpse of Bruce Lee from his actual funeral has been replaced with a horizontally flipped shot of the outside of the funeral parlor with all of the fans standing outside.
* All of the fake Bruce Lee yells have been replaced with real yells from stock audio.
* The film's ending is an extension of the Hong Kong ending in which Billy Lo is arrested. However, the scene inter-cuts with Billy Lo (from the original Bruce Lee footage) walking back down the stairways of the Red Pepper Restaurant complex ending with him yelling out to the police in Cantonese "Help me!" One officer looks up and replies "Hurry down!" The scene ends with Billy Lo being taken away by the police, then fading to a tracking shot revealing the yellow and black tracksuit laying over top of a chair in an editing room and a narrator reading from Lee's Tao of Jeet Kune Do discussing "The Void".
* The film also ends with a large number of bloopers and outtakes from Bruce Lee's original Game of Death footage.

[chen lung]

What's G.O.D.: Integral? Just curious...
Clip (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YYTH0q09-js) :).

[The Running Man]

Your best shot is to just find a copy of the HK Legends DVD, great release! Near what we're looking for, but what we want will most likely never exist.

The HKL DVD is inferior in virtually every way to the Sony DVD.

For one thing, it's heavily cropped to 1:85 whereas the Sony DVD is in 2:35.

Another is that the HKL DVD has no Cantonese track. And while Sony's is not complete, it does have a Cantonese track.

Also, the subtitles on the HKL are dubtitles that are worse. It was written by someone who was trying to fool people by making it come across as if the subtitles were not based on the dub by changing wording here and there. So in essence, it's an inaccurate dubtitle track! The Sony disc, while also dubtitles, at least changes the characters names to their real Chinese names (so "Wong Fei Hung" instead of "Freddy Wong").

Yeah, the Sony DVD may be far from perfect, but the HKL DVD is nowhere near better.

[Sifu]

Well, so then either way your screwed! You can get a sucky disc from Sony or a sucky disc from HKL. Either way it's not much better.

[littlefuzzy]

I picked up the US release, and while I enjoyed the movie, I was greatly put off by both the missing Cantonese dialogue (replaced with the English Dub) and by the dubtitles as well. One glaring dubtitle moment was when I saw some "hemming and hawing" to stretch out a sentence to fit the mouth flaps: "...Ah yes, well, you see..."

For me, a Purist's edition would JUST be a good quality OAR print, full Cantonese soundtrack, and accurate subtitles... Maybe some deleted scenes, if any were floating around, or that missing footage from the fight at the beginning, but the main thing would just be the first three points.









If anyone had such a thing and wanted to send it my way, I'd be eternally grateful! (unless it would be against forum rules)

[thehangman]

Im not sure how much is missing fro the fight at the start but would love to see it if there is any footage.

[Killer Meteor]

Im not sure how much is missing fro the fight at the start but would love to see it if there is any footage.

Wasn't that an error on Ric Meyer's part?

I'm intrigued to know where the extra scene came from - the one you can see on Cinema Of Vengeance, with Jackie training with the wine jars? Was it part of a longer cut, or a special promo short ala 'The Three Styles of Hung Fist' from Heroes Two and 'Back To Red' from Knockabout

[chen lung]

I'm intrigued to know where the extra scene came from - the one you can see on Cinema Of Vengeance, with Jackie training with the wine jars? Was it part of a longer cut, or a special promo short ala 'The Three Styles of Hung Fist' from Heroes Two and 'Back To Red' from Knockabout
I think the deleted scene came from one of those DM sequels - don't know which one.

[bolofan]

Something like this wouldn't be too hard to do as a fan project.
I have the panmedia disc which is OAR and has the original cantonese audio track.
It also has an english dub but I'm not sure if its the old one.
Take the newer dubs and commentary from the HKL disc and the jobs half done.