Blu-Ray Spotlight: Fist of the Condor
Ernesto Díaz Espinoza and Marko Zaror’s latest film is finally available on disc courtesy of Well Go USA.
Rising martial arts star Marko Zaror reteams with Ernesto Díaz Espinoza for an original story chronicling the life of a lone warrior known as Guerrero. Following a brotherly feud in which a sacred manual containing the secrets of the titular Fist of the Condor style is stolen from a mountaintop dojo, Guerrero faces challengers who mistake him for his brother believing him to be the one who carries the manual in attempts to win it with a duel. The combination of Fist of the Condor’s old-school style and minimalist approach create something altogether fresh and awe-inspiring. Students of martial arts and kung fu cinema have a slew of references to draw from across the film’s runtime but Condor stands independent even in portraying its influences on screen.
Espinoza and Zaror have always made action and martial arts movies on a personal level. But resonating deep within Condor are the echoes of its influences that prove this is much more a personal statement than just an homage. The film is split into at least 10 different chapters, making the already-short 85 minute runtime even more bite-sized, to varying results. But the bigger picture is one of introspection, and Condor has that in spades.
It’s not exactly a Snake in Eagle’s Shadow re-skinned for a modern audience, and there are arguments that could point out why we should move away from that formulaic model entirely. And while there are still some shortcomings that show themselves in the film, we can tell it wants to improve upon itself just as Guerrero’s character desires in his own story. Given that it has taken a lot of room to weave this longer narrative, teasing a showdown between two characters that will likely happen in a future follow-up, the chance for self-improvement is ripe for both its storytelling and Guerrero in the film.
Video
Fist of the Condor is presented in its original full frame, 16x9 aspect ratio. Much of the film’s visuals translate beautifully to the disc’s AVC encoding showing extremely sharp details of the beautiful Chilean landscape, tight close-ups on faces and eyes, and objects in the world. There are a variety of different camera types which is mostly evident in the opening chapters of the movie, where some early drone shots can appear a little more washed out than other more stationary cameras but this appears to be more of an issue with the native settings in-camera than the transfer. Exterior and outdoor shots can provide much more clarity than interior shots, and while there is a noticeable lifting of black levels during sequences that take place around dusk it hardly distracts from the film.
Something to note about the title cards for Condor is the sudden omission of text including the words “Part One” at the start of the film. Having seen the film in three stages at this point (theatrical screener, DCP, and this Blu-Ray release) it’s possible some changes were made along the way. Each chapter title card also appears to have a different typeface than the previous versions as well. These are the only changes between the film’s initial digital/theatrical release and the Blu-Ray that popped up, however this doesn’t constitute an alteration to the film that changes the experience in any meaningful way. Perhaps if the film ends up not getting a sequel the disc won’t have a possibly vestigial subtitle that promises a follow-up at the start.
Audio
There are two audio tracks for Fist of the Condor, a 5.1 surround and stereo track in the film’s native Spanish and Korean with optional English and English SDH subtitles. The 5.1 channel gives the film a superb sense of space and clarity, with voiceover dialogue resonating loud and clear over underscore and sound effects that give the experience quite a punch. The excellent score resonates with a wonderful dynamic range that accentuates the mood of the film nicely. The stereo mix tends to squish the spatial qualities of the 5.1 track a little too much, making the results a little too overlapped and cacophonous in louder and more action-oriented portions of the movie. Even on a non-surround sound system or soundbar setup the 5.1 channel may be the way to go for most viewers.
Special Features
Well Go USA has provided a handful of trailers on this disc as per usual, and a behind the scenes video (1 min 35 secs). It consists of shots of the film crew shooting various scenes for the film with the score playing over the footage, with no onset audio audible. Unfortunately this is the only extra of substance and doesn’t provide much of an insight into the making of other than showing some martial arts shooting tricks and Zaror working on choreography with other performers for short clips at a time. It’s a welcome glimpse behind the curtain but as the only offering besides the film comes as a bit of a disappointment overall.
Final Thoughts
Fans of period and traditional martial arts films will have a lot to get out of Espinoza’s latest film, as it is one of the most earnest modern action films of late. But the quality of the film itself and its visual strengths on the disc is the only reason this comes recommended. For a standard disc release this comes as a fairly solid recommendation despite the lack of extras. Those fresh to the film will find perhaps a new favorite classic, and returning viewers will be happy with the visual clarity the transfer Well Go USA provides. If sales do well for this unit, it can lead to the funding for a Condor: Part Two which, as of this writing, there are tentative plans for along with the possibility of a comic book on the horizon if the follow-up gets then green light. On the merits of the film alone folks should pick this one up but people should keep in mind this is still very much a bare-bones release.
Fist of the Condor is now available for purchase on Gruv, DeepDiscount, Amazon and other major brick & mortar retailers.
Check out my interview with star, writer, and choreographer Marko Zaror on celluloid consommé’s YouTube channel!
Disclaimer: Well Go USA has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
[this article was originally published on may 27, 2023 on celluloid consomme.]
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