Acclaimed director Liu Chia-Liang directs his brothers Gordon Liu Chia-hui and Liu Chia-Yung in a wild and crazy ghostly film in this heralded sequel to The Spiritual Boxer.
“The Shadow Boxing,” released in 1979, is a sequel of sorts to director Lau Kar-leung’s film “The Spiritual Boxer.” Its alternate title is “The Spiritual Boxer: Part II.” Having never seen “The Spiritual Boxer,” I can’t tell you how connected the two films are. It must be a loose connection if they are connected because I didn’t feel like I was missing any information while watching this movie.
In director Liu Chia-liang’s “The Shadow Boxing,” a corpse herder, Master Chen Wu (Lau Kar-Wing), and his apprentice, Zhengyuan (Wong Yu), are tasked with delivering nine corpses to their home villages. For the uninitiated (including me), the film begins with a voiceover explaining what a corpse herder is. In short, they are somewhat magical undertakers who transport corpses at night using spells. The film’s comedic sense comes to the forefront as these corpses referred to as vampires, hop their way to their destinations.
Master Chen Wu is a drunken gambler, a constant problem for Zhengyuan. When it comes time to transport the corpses, Zhengyuan is paired with Fei (Cecilia Wong), a woman disguising herself as a man. They encounter a number of problems on their journey, all involving the ninth corpse (Chia-Hui Liu), referred to by Zhengyuan and Fei as The Bald One.
This film didn’t work for me. It was overly goofy with its hopping vampires (which was apparently a soon-to-be trend in Chinese cinema). The acting wasn’t entirely convincing, apart from Chia-Hui Liu’s performance as the ninth corpse. Even the film’s martial arts segments lacked the rhythm and flow of the genre. There’s also a subplot whose connection to the main plot is a little too easy to figure out.
The film is released on Blu-ray by 88 Films. According to the box, the transfer is sourced from the original negative. This is my first time viewing this movie, so I don’t know how much of a revelation this new transfer is (or isn’t). In my eyes, it looks decent enough, although I would not consider this a reference quality transfer. Some shots look a little soft/blurry, but close-ups look excellent. The mono Mandarin soundtrack is clean and clear. I didn’t notice any hiss or noise to it. However, the dialogue did seem to be slightly out of sync with the visuals.
The disc is surprisingly devoid of special features. There’s a trailer and a gallery of stills. The release comes with a slipcover featuring artwork by Mark Bell and a set of art cards. Although I’m not a huge fan of special features, it seems 88 Films could have done more for this movie.
“The Spiritual Boxer” was not a movie I really got into. This is a sub-genre I’m not super familiar with, and I’m curious to check out more (despite my disappointment with this film). For fans of the film and those looking to view it, 88 Films’ presentation gets the job done.
Available on Blu-ray™ September 24th
