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Released by: CVC
Released in: 2005
Director: Wei Lo
Cast: Chuck Norris, Don Wong, Chuck Boyd, Dan Ivan, Robert Jones
Year: 1974
The Movie:
Lo Wei made a name for himself directing a batch of Jackie Chan's early films such as The Fearless Hyena II and The Killer Meteors, and of course, he directed the legendary Bruce Lee in Fists of Fury and The Chinese Connection. But the late Le Wei also had a hand in the early career of another famous martial arts superstar - a harrier and honkier one, to be sure - but a martial arts superstar none the less known as Mr. Chuck Norris. Slaughter In San Francisco, also known as Karate Cop, was one of Norris' earliest starring roles (though technically, billing aside, he's got more of a supporting part in this one) and while he'd go on to make much better movies in the not too distant future (all eyes are now to fall upon the majesty of The Octagon) this one is a fun time killer even if it isn't exactly a classic.
Corruption abounds in San Francisco and Officer Don Wong (played by Don Wong) is tasked with cleaning things up. He follows the trail throughout his department and traces some of the shady dealings to Chinatown where he and his partner, who has a bit of a drinking problem it would seem, set their sights. Sadly, Wong's partner gets killed in action and he has to take it upon himself to solve his death and clear his own good name before it's too late. The more Wong looks into things, the more it seems that all signs point towards a crime boss known as Chuck Slaughter (Norris) as the guilty party.
This movie is awful. It's a mess and it's made even worse by the dubbing. First and foremost, Chuck Norris does not have an English accent. While this film may have been made before he was a household name bringing joy to millions and millions of people around the world through his Total Gym infomercials and the greatest series in television history, Walker: Texas Ranger, nowadays we all know the natural sound of his sexy and soothing voice and to be deprived of that same voice in this presentation is nothing short of a tragedy. On the bright side, watching Chuck Norris speak with an English accent, or more specifically watching everyone in this movie speak with an English accent (the Chinese, the African Americans, and ol' Chuck himself), is endlessly amusing.
If that weren't enough, the sound effects in this film are nuts. Any time a punch is thrown or a kick is made, the same crack noise plays. Sirens tend to go off inside the police station. The dog barks but his mouth doesn't move. Little touches like that keep the movie interesting in that none of the audible portions of the film really match up or fit with the visual portions and the results are rather mind bending. Add to that some gratuitous Chuck Norris chest hair action, some of the coolest looking thugs this side of For Your Height Only, and a ridiculous final showdown and, well, you do the math. None of it works, but it's all fairly enjoyable and good harmless fun.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The DVD appears to have been sourced from a VHS tape. The fullframe pan and scan transfer doesn't look so hot at all - the colors are faded, the image is soft, and the picture lacks detail. Skin tones look weak, black levels are more or less a dark grey throughout the film, and there is some mild edge enhancement noticeable throughout playback. The picture is watchable, but that's about as nice as I'm going to get with this description - it's certainly no more than that.
The English language Dolby Digital Mono audio mix is about on par with the video in terms of quality. There's some light background hiss throughout most of the film and while you can understand all of the deliriously dubbed voices well enough, the track is flat and dull sounding throughout. Optional subtitles are included in Italian.
There are no extra features to speak of on this release.
The Final Word:
Slaughter In San Francisco is hardly a classic film but it is a fun one in spite of (or more likely because of) its shortcomings. Bad movie or not, the film deserves better than the treatment that it's received on this DVD but until a proper, or at least a better, release comes along this one will have to do.