Bruce Lee 4K box set Japan

[BillyLo]

So, what’s the deal with the 4K box set from Japan? Is the picture of quality better than Shout and Criterion? 

[tomgray2404]

I was looking into getting it but quickly discovered that the UHD discs don't even active HDR on your TV. That being the case, the set is a rip off. I'll buy it if it goes down in price, but there's no way it's as advertised.

[saltysam]

The last Shout single releases or the criterion are the best option for the Bruce movies.

[tomgray2404]

On 3/31/2021 at 3:24 PM, BillyLo said:

So, what’s the deal with the 4K box set from Japan? Is the picture of quality better than Shout and Criterion? 

I bit the bullet and it's disappointing. I have Criterion, Medium Rare, Shout and this is, by far, the weakest.

The UHDs are fake. They do not activate HDR on your TV and none of the versions are superior to the ones included on the Criterion and Medium Rare sets. They're 4K and not even the best 4K prints.

Standout on the Extreme set, which is included, are Japanese versions of Fist of Fury and The Way of the Dragon. FOF is missing the first cook fight, probably due to print damage, but it's really nice. WOTD has been upscaled to HD and it's the authentic version, in full, that was shown in 1975. That is the highlight of the whole thing.

The Big Boss has some Japanese music cues but they're all mixed up and cross over other soundtracks. It doesn't work.

DO NOT BUY!

[BillyLo]

On 4/15/2021 at 9:56 PM, tomgray2404 said:

I bit the bullet and it's disappointing. I have Criterion, Medium Rare, Shout and this is, by far, the weakest.

The UHDs are fake. They do not activate HDR on your TV and none of the versions are superior to the ones included on the Criterion and Medium Rare sets. They're 4K and not even the best 4K prints.

Standout on the Extreme set, which is included, are Japanese versions of Fist of Fury and The Way of the Dragon. FOF is missing the first cook fight, probably due to print damage, but it's really nice. WOTD has been upscaled to HD and it's the authentic version, in full, that was shown in 1975. That is the highlight of the whole thing.

The Big Boss has some Japanese music cues but they're all mixed up and cross over other soundtracks. It doesn't work.

DO NOT BUY!

Sounds like a missed opportunity! I watched the Japanese Fist of Fury on Blu-ray and the missing scenes can easily be reinserted. I’m not sure why they didn’t do that. Does it have a 4K scan of the Japanese Game of Death and does it let you watch it in English without subtitles appearing? 

[tomgray2404]

On 4/18/2021 at 5:03 PM, BillyLo said:

Sounds like a missed opportunity! I watched the Japanese Fist of Fury on Blu-ray and the missing scenes can easily be reinserted. I’m not sure why they didn’t do that. Does it have a 4K scan of the Japanese Game of Death and does it let you watch it in English without subtitles appearing? 

Yeah, that was the only thing that wasted the FOF. I love the authentic look. Game of Death 4K has the Japanese soundtrack (war cries etc.) and you can remove the subs. Is that what you mean?

[goldenarm]

On 4/15/2021 at 4:56 PM, tomgray2404 said:

I bit the bullet and it's disappointing. I have Criterion, Medium Rare, Shout and this is, by far, the weakest.

The UHDs are fake. They do not activate HDR on your TV and none of the versions are superior to the ones included on the Criterion and Medium Rare sets. They're 4K and not even the best 4K prints.

Standout on the Extreme set, which is included, are Japanese versions of Fist of Fury and The Way of the Dragon. FOF is missing the first cook fight, probably due to print damage, but it's really nice. WOTD has been upscaled to HD and it's the authentic version, in full, that was shown in 1975. That is the highlight of the whole thing.

The Big Boss has some Japanese music cues but they're all mixed up and cross over other soundtracks. It doesn't work.

DO NOT BUY!

Are you saying these are upscaled 4K blu ray discs?  Or are they native 4k?

[tomgray2404]

7 hours ago, goldenarm said:

Are you saying these are upscaled 4K blu ray discs?  Or are they native 4k?

They're basically 4K prints on UHD discs which, for me, is asinine. It's like putting a DVD rip on a Blu Ray disc.

The GOD, for example, is the exact same print that Criterion used on their box set (colours too dark etc.) I'm disappointed, but I bought it more out of curiosity. I knew that the UHD discs didn't activate HDR and that was a huge warning sign.

Being charitable, the versions on here are better than anything that's been officially released in Japan, but they're not going to work for people who have Medium Rare and Criterion.

To break it down, the best versions of the Hong Kong movies, in my opinion, are:

The Big Boss - Criterion (basically because the Medium Rare version goes out of sync in the second half)

Fist of Fury - Medium Rare

The Way of the Dragon - Medium Rare/ Criterion EVEN

Game of Death - Medium Rare

 

[BillyLo]

On 4/19/2021 at 8:52 PM, tomgray2404 said:

Game of Death 4K has the Japanese soundtrack (war cries etc.) and you can remove the subs. Is that what you mean?

The Japanese version as in the Japanese theatrical cut that can be found as a bonus on the Blu-ray. English audio, real Bruce Lee war cries, alternative footage, etc. Is it available in 4K without the forced Japanese subs?

[tomgray2404]

On 11/5/2021 at 6:50 AM, BillyLo said:

The Japanese version as in the Japanese theatrical cut that can be found as a bonus on the Blu-ray. English audio, real Bruce Lee war cries, alternative footage, etc. Is it available in 4K without the forced Japanese subs?

Yes.