Master of the Flying
Guillotine –
Deluxe 30th
Anniversary Edition set
Picture: C
Sound: C Extras: B Film: A
Master of the Flying Guillotine (1975)
is the summary of everything I love about Japanese grind house films. Filled to the brim with fun, heart, humor,
and epic moments, this exceptional release of Master is presented with two
discs and two different versions of the film.
One in the original Mandarin version with English subtitles and the
other in dubbed English.
The story is simple enough. Pissed off blind assassin (played by the late great Kam Kang) is
on the search to find the One-armed boxer (played by director and star Jimmy
Wang Yu) who killed two of his students right in front of him will not stop
until he’s chopped off the head of the One Armed Boxer with his amazing Flying
Guillotine that he swings around with him everywhere he goes. The One Armed Boxer is an astonishing
fighter and a teacher at a small training school that has his students gaping
in awe at his abilities to walk on sticks and run along walls in the
classroom. When word of a huge
tournament is announced, his students highly encourage him to join though he
agrees to watch and not fight. The long
tournament, showcasing spectacular fight sequence after spectacular fight
sequence, is soon interrupted when the Blind Assassin shows up with his
guillotine to lop off the head of another one-armed fighter in the
tournament. Knowing that his presence
will cause only trouble, the One Armed Boxer leaves the tournament to face off
with the Assassin personally. Along his
journey, he meets a vengeful female fighter who wants him to avenge her
father’s death and a host of other colorful characters all leading to a
stunning climactic fight scene against the One Armed Boxer and the Blind
Assassin that will leave both impressed and extremely satisfied.
For those of you who are not aware of this great film,
imagine Kill Bill if it was made in 1976. Like Tarantino’s masterpiece, Master of the Flying Guillotine
has that same fun movie feel to it. A
swinging guillotine used by a blind assassin that chops off every one armed man
that he comes in contact with. Cool and
inventive opponents with retractable arms and weapons, sound effects for every
kick and punch, swish pans, snaps into close-ups – this film has it all. Tarantino even used THE theme song for the
Blind Assassin from this film in Kill Bill before the Bride faced off
against the leader of the Crazy 88s. (I
capitalize THE because it is used every time the Assassin is present on
screen.)
Noted before the film is begun is a message about the
restoration of the transfer. To the
best of their abilities, Pathfinder Home Entertainment has tried to restore the
film to the best of their abilities.
The film is old and it shows with the abundance of grain and color
discoloration in key moments of the film.
It doesn’t detract away from the enjoyment of the film but it is
definitely a shame that a sharper and more pristine transfer of the film is not
yet available.
This nice “two disc anniversary deluxe edition” has two
versions of the film as I mentioned earlier both on separate discs, audio
commentary by film critics Andy Klien, Wade Major, and Alex Luu, an exclusive
interview with star/director Jimmy Wang Yu, a full color 16 page booklet that
has plenty of fun facts about the production of the film, still gallery, bios,
and theatrical trailers. They are more
than worth have two DVD here for.
The picture on the new version is anamorphically enhanced
2.35 X 1, while the old one was (and is) simply letterboxed. There is a noticeable improvement in
quality, but the print needs m ore work on it.
Something they should consider when they go to HD, because some of the
upgrades would not take much work. The
Dolby Digital Stereo here is barely an upgrade from the Dolby 2.0 Mono with the
older transfer, but the source is so old, but films from this genre tend to
have poor sound usually. Even Fox’s DTS
upgrades have been amusing, adding brand new audio to the old audio. The reason to get this set are those extras.
This film did something to me that no other has done since
Kill Bill. Had me on the edge of
my seat hooting, hollering, chomping, and groaning at every fun scene that
unfolded in front of me. I begged my
roommates to come in and check out the action with me because this movie was so
fun. This is certainly prime viewing
material for anyone who is interested in having a good time while watching
classic Asian cinema. Be sure to check
out another rave for the original single DVD release of this film, also from
Pathfinder, elsewhere on this site. It
is not even as good picture and sound wise than the new version, something you
can see on the second disc in this set.
- James Lockhart
