DVD Released by :Eastern Heroes

Player reviewed with : Sony S3000

Receiver reviewed with : Sony 925

Features:

Interactive menus

Scene access

Alternate ending

Deleted scene

Coming Attractions

Not enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs

Running Time : 90 mins.

MASTER WITH CRACKED FINGERS is a very early Jackie Chan movie. The story is about a young boy who cannot afford to take kung fu lessons so a man who appears to be a lowly beggar offers to teach him. The beggar is actually a master himself and schools Jackie through adulthood. Jackie is eventually sought out by the man who killed his father, because he has beaten all of his henchman, for a blindfolded deathmatch.

MASTER WITH CRACKED FINGERS is only recommended for diehard Jackie Chan fans who must see everything he has done. Many scenes look like a double was used. The box says this was originally given a different title and shelved but when Jackie Chan got popular, extra footage was shot with a double and the movie was released.

The picture quality is poor. It's bad enough that it is in pan and scan, but the print itself is very bad. There are stains on the film that last for a couple of minutes as well as bad splices from the edits. The print looks every bit of its age with its undersaturated colors. Compared to the Simitar releases, I can honestly say that even though they were flawed, the picture quality was better than this.

The audio is also poor. The only option is a poorly dubbed English track. The sound comes from the front speakers and is poorly mixed. The box makes no mention of the audio but it appears to be mono.

The extras include an alternate ending as well as a deleted scene. These are just about watchable. One "extra" is actually letterboxed and in the original language. The English subtitles are terribly faded and almost unreadable. There are some trailers for other movies on the Xenon label.

I have to admit, when I got this movie I expected exactly what I got so I can't really complain about it. If you are a completist when it comes to Jackie Chan, you'll at least want to watch this one. Everybody else should pretty much avoid it. It's great seeing a young Jackie Chan but the movie is a mess. Sometimes it looks like scenes were added from other movies and it is also extremely obvious when a double is used for Jackie.