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Tai Chi Master

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    Ian Jane
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  • Tai Chi Master

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    Released by: Showbox/Dragon Dynasty
    Released on: 4/26/2010
    Director: Yuen Wo-Ping
    Cast: Jet Li, Chin Siu-Ho, Michelle Yeoh, Fannie Yuen
    Year: 1993
    Purchase From Amazon

    The Movie:

    Yuen Wo-Ping's Tai Chi Master, released by Dimension years back under the bizarre alternate title of Twin Warriors, revolves around a pair of boyhood friends - Junbao (Jet Li) and Chin Bo (Chin Siu Ho) - who are kicked out of the monastery where they were learning kung fu. As they adapt to life outside of the monastery they are soon forced to deal with some local government problems. You see, the eunuch who rules over the province is essentially extorting the populace, many of whom are quite poor. He sends his soldiers in to rough them up and take protection money from them at will with no regard as to their status.

    When Junbao sees this in action he stands up for some of those who cannot stand up for themselves and becomes a thorn in the side of the powers that be. Chin Bo, however, turns on his former friend and lured by the promise of money and power, joins up with the military. Chin Bo joins up with a small group of rebels, one of whom is Siu Liu (Michelle Yeoh), to stand up to the soldiers that are exploiting the peasants and along the way he develops his own fighting style, one that will help him stand his ground, but not without a price.

    Tai Chi Master really lets director Yuen Wo-Ping go all out with the wirework and the visuals. The plot in the film comes secondary to the set pieces and sensationalism is favored over realism. Those expecting the hard hitting hand to hand combat of something like Fist Of Legend, which also starred Li and Chin Siu Ho, will be disappointed but those not bothered by wirework and over the top fight scenes should find much to love here. While, yes, it would be impossible for Michelle Yeoh's character to fight the woman who her husband left her for by standing on top of broken table pieces and somehow turning those pieces into stilts, in the context of a fantasy film, which this film basically is, it works. The same can be said about the scene towards the end, the big finish, where Li and Chin Siu Ho go head to head against each other on top of a net. Would they be able to balance the way they do in real life? No, but here we can accept that these larger than life characters, essentially superheroes, are able to do this.

    As you'd expect, the stunts are fantastic. Various characters fly across the screen, break bricks and boards over their head and punch one another across the landscape and as violent and over the top as it all may be, it has a sense of choreographed beauty to it. There's a grace and a certain smoothness to the movement in the film that makes it a real treat for the eyes even if there are times where you might need to not think about the probability of what's happening on screen in order to enjoy it. The film moves at a good pace, and while the characters aren't developed as fully as they could be, we get enough background information on the three core players that we are able to care about them and root for the good guys to win the day. Li would make better films before and after this one but this is still a really enjoyable work with some memorable set pieces, a good cast, and some very impressive fight choreography.

    Video/Audio/Extras:

    Dragon Dynasty presents Tai Chi Master in a strong 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen progressive scan transfer that looks very nice indeed. There's a little bit of natural looking film grain but no serious print damage worth noting and the color reproduction looks very strong, though there are some spots where flesh tones look just a bit too orange. Black levels are consistent and deep enough though shadow detail remains decent throughout. There's some minor aliasing in some spots and a few spots that look just a bit noisy but no noticeable edge enhancement or compression artifacts. All in all, they've done a very nice job here and the movie looks good, showing more detail and more lifelike color reproduction than the previous R1 release from Dimension (under the Twin Warriors title) or the previous non-anamorphic Hong Kong release from Universe Laser.

    You've got the option of watching the film in Cantonese or English Dolby Digial 5.1 or in a Cantonese Dolby Digital Mono version with optional subtitles offered up in English and English SDH. The Cantonese 5.1 track sounds good except for one problem - the sound effects are ridiculously high in the mix, which means you'll be reaching for the remote a lot to adjust the volume in between fight scenes. This is a big enough issue that you might want to opt for the Cantonese Mono track, also included. The English dub is there for those who want it but the film plays so much better in its original language.

    Carried over from the North America release is the commentary track with Bey Logan, who once again provides an interesting and very listenable track that serves as a really good primer as to why this film matters. Logan gives us some interesting biographical information about most of the core cast members and gives us some sold information on where this film fits alongside some of Yuen Wo-Ping's other films. It may not enlighten those who know the film like the back of their hand but for the casual fan or anyone interested in learning more about this picture, it's definitely worth listening to.

    From there we're treated to a series of interviews, the first of which is Nemesis which puts Chin Sui Ho in front of the camera to talk about his role in the film and what it was like working with Li, Yeoh and Wo-Ping. At just over twenty minutes in length, it's a good talk with the actor who provides us with a fairly in-depth approximation of his experiences on this picture. The next two interviews, Mediations On The Master and Twin Warriors, put Brett Ratner and Elvis Mitchell in front of the camera to talk about Yuen Wo-Ping's filmography and Tai Chi Master respectively. They're obviously quite enamored with the director and with this film, sharing their appreciation of some of Wo-Ping's other films and for Li and Yeoh in particular.

    Rounding out the extras is a location featurette entitled The Birthplace Of Tai Chi which takes us through the Chen Village where the picture was shot, and the old Dimension promo spot for the film under its alternate Twin Warriors title. Menus and chapter stops are also included.

    The Final Word:

    From the looks of things, this release from Showbox doesn't really differ from the R1 Dragon Dynasty release but UK martial arts fans wanting to add this great film to their collection can now do so without the inconvenience of ordering an import disc. The movie holds up well despite some awkward comedy here and there and the extras are quite good as well.
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