It’s the return of the supernatural to Shaw Brothers!
Well, sort of, as this wuxia extravaganza turns relatively spooky really quick-like thanks to two ornamental figures - one ghoul in red robes (Yuen Wah) and another in white (Chan Man-Na) - haunting a young swordsman (Long Fei) and foretelling of his fiance's death by a monster who requires a sacrifice from time to time. Hundreds of years old, this shapeshifting monster, The Black Lizard, takes whomever he wants . . .
. . . and he wants Zi Zhu (Helen Poon Bing-Seung), the young swordsman’s soon-to-be-spouse! Or so says the Stranger from Hell (Goo Goon-Chung) before a well-choreographed fight takes place and the mystery as to where these threats are coming from is widened.
Complete with secret passageways, a haunted mansion, radiant reds, ghastly greens, weird-monsters, and caped criminals, The Black Lizard has Scooby Doo, Where Are You? written all over it. It’s gloriously creepy thanks to a heavy use of neon elements and fog machines. It’s also great fun to see familiar Shaw Brothers sets repurposed for a gothic-minded tale of spooks and ghouls.
Thankfully, it all works to create an atmospheric gem for Shaw Brothers as a convoluted mystery is solved by Long Fei (Derek Yee) and constable Tieh Fu (Sun Chien) put their heads together to try and make sense of all the creepy wooden dolls and masked figures haunting Xiao Lik (Yueh Hua), chief of the local security bureau, and his spooky mansion, which seems as if it was ripped straight out of the pages of EC Comics.
The Black Lizard, expertly directed by Chor Yuen, is largely a ghost story which turns into a detective yarn with the teaming up of the swordsman and the constable as they try to figure out just what is going on with the strange shenanigans surrounding the chief and this weird tale of the black lizard, which somehow involves the chief’s only son, Ruo Yu (Ng Yuen-Jun) and the passing of his wife.
While the fight choreography is, once again, limited to four or five scenes (with the extended finale being the absolute best, the film is - at once - beautifully staged and full of great atmosphere as coffins are propped up, ghosts are seen, and a shape-shifting monster gets his revenge!
Now on blu-ray thanks to Shout Factory’s impressive Shaw Brothers’ Classics Vol. 4, featuring 12 classic martial arts films highlight the famous Shaw Brothers' library and stars some of their greatest stars including The Five Deadly Venom’s stars Phillip Kwok, Sun Chien, Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng, and Lo Meng and A Better Tomorrow's Derek Yee and Ti Lung. Many of these visually spectacular films are debuting for the first time on Blu-ray. Heroes meet villains in edge-of-your-seat duels in this exciting array of some of Shaw Brothers' best!
Let The Black Lizard live again!
Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray - December 19, 2023
Screen Formats: 2.35:1
Subtitles: English
Audio: Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Video: MPEG-4 AVC
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; 12-discset
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
Director Chor Yuen is famous for introducing elements of murder mysteries, detective tales, and emotional melodrama into kung fu films. This is one of those skilled thrillers, wherein he uses two editors and three martial arts choreographers to tell a tale of kidnapping, murder, frame-ups, and even being buried alive. The kung fu takes on a macabre, horrific flair in this stunning story of swordsmen and women struggling to save their true loves ... and their sanity.
Video
Legend of the Fox arrives on Blu-ray from Shout Factory sporting an HD remaster sourced from the original 35mm camera negatives and looks wonderful. Interiors are strong. Colors pop throughout, but it is the blood effects - burning bright in the transfer - which seal the deal on this one. It’s full of great atmosphere thanks to the quick-footed script and looks visually eye-popping due to the 1080- upgrade. Black levels are strong throughout, bringing out nice details in both the loud and quiet moments of this epic adventure. The tracking shots are glorious to behold in 1080p. Blacks are solid and shadows maintain their lines. Even the costumes are noted stitch by stitch.
Audio
Audio choices include the Mandarin Mono DTS-HD Master Audio With New Subtitle Translation or the English Dubbed DTS-HD Master Audio With SDH Subtitles
Supplements:
Commentary:
-
James Mudge provides a solid commentary.
Special Features:
And we’re back with a great commentary for a solid film!
- NEW Audio Commentary With James Mudge, Veteran Hong Kong Film Critic At easternKicks
- Original Theatrical Trailer
| Movie |  |
|
| Video | |
|
| Audio | |
|
| Extras | |
|
|
Composite Blu-ray Grade
|
||
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Runtime: 86 mins
Director: Yuen Chor; Ying Wong
Writer: Yuen Chor
Cast: Tung-Shing Yee; Helen Poon; Kuan-Chung Ku
Genre: Action | Drama
Tagline:
Memorable Movie Quote:
Distributor: Shaw Brothers
Official Site:
Release Date: November 26, 1981 (Hong Kong)
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: December 19, 2023
Synopsis: Young swordsman Lung Fei encounters strange omens portending the death of his fiancee Ting Tzu-chu. His enquiries with the help of Chief Constable Tieh Hu reveal an astounding story.
