Righting Wrongs (1986) Deluxe Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review

Plot: Lawyer Ha Ling-Ching (Yuen Biao), fed up with the failings of the justice system and the way it allows criminals off the hook, vows to take the law into his own hands after a key witness and his entire family are murdered. However, his plans are soon complicated when he finds hotshot detective Cindy Sze (Cynthia Rothrock) on his tail.

Review: 88 Films have been killing it lately with their Blu-ray releases; after picking up Drive, I also got the special edition of Righting Wrongs starring Yuen Biao and Cynthia Rothrock and this is another must-have for fans of Hong Kong action cinema. Righting Wrongs is one of Cynthia Rothrock’s best movies and she really gets to show off her martial arts prowess here and to this day I’m still shocked by how her story ends in this movie.

This Blu-ray set has 4 (yes 4!) different versions of the movie but my personal favourite is the Hong Kong Cut which is around 96 minutes long although I still need to watch the Ultimate Cut which is around 105 mins minutes long.

Yuen Biao is an exceptional martial artist and his character in this movie is intriguing as he is essentially a vigilante who kills a criminal in cold blood after he gets off and the justice system fails. So we have the moral quandary of whether he is doing the right thing or not which is what the film is all about. Cynthia Rothrock plays good cop Cindy Si who knows Ling-Cheng (Biao) is responsible for killing the crime boss and will stop at nothing to bring him to justice… but it’s not so simple.

There are twists and turns and the film makes for a tight 96 minutes with regular jaw dropping fight scenes and incredible stuntwork that all still looks great to this day.

The music score features epic electric guitars and it works perfectly with the frenetic action scenes.

The special features in this set are second to none –

THE DELUXE EDITION FEATURES INCLUDES:

• Slipcase with brand-new artwork from Sean Longmore
• Double-sided foldout Poster
• 6 Replica Lobby Cards
• 80-page perfect-bound book featuring exclusive interview with Karen Sheperd and new writing on the film by Matthew Edwards + selected archive materials
• Reversible sleeve with original Hong Kong poster artwork

DISC 1

• New 2K Remaster of the Hong Kong Cut [96 minutes]
• Cantonese-language Hong Kong Theatrical Mix with English subtitles* and SDH
• Cantonese-language Japan Theatrical Mix with English subtitles* and SDH [features rare ending Cantonese narration]
• Cantonese Home Video Remix with English subtitles* and SDH
• English 5.1
• [New] Frank Djeng Commentary [HK cut]
• [Archive] Cynthia Rothrock Tai Seng Commentary [HK cut]
• [New] Cynthia Rothrock Interview
• [New] Cynthia Rothrock Scene-specific Commentary
• [New] Peter Cunningham Interview
• [New] Peter Cunningham Scene-specific Commentary
• [Archive] The Vigilante: An Interview with Yuen Biao
• [Archive] Action Overload: An Interview with Cynthia Rothrock
• [Archive] From the Ring to the Silver Screen: An Interview with Peter Cunningham
• Rare alternate “Ladies Man” ending
• Hong Kong Trailer
• English Trailer
• Tai Seng Reconstruction Trailer

DISC 2

• New 2K Remaster of the English “ABOVE THE LAW” Cut – English with SDH [92 mins]
• New 2K Remaster of the Singapore Cut – Mandarin with English subtitles* and SDH [100 mins]
• [New] Mike Leeder and Arne Venema Commentary
• ULTIMATE CUT a newly produced ULTIMATE CUT, a version of the film prepared exclusively for this release that combines footage from the Hong Kong and Singapore cuts to present a hypothetical “complete” version with four possible endings. [105 mins – 106 mins approx] with English subtitles*
• Ultimate Cut Ending Randomiser

There are almost too many special features and extras to go into here with fascinating interviews with Cynthia Rothrock and Yuen Biao discussing the making of the film. Cynthia mentions how she was supposed to be in Jackie Chan’s Armour of God but due to him being in an accident she signed on for this instead.

Overall, Righting Wrongs is action cinema at its best with wall to wall action, brutal beatdowns and a few shocking twists to keep things interesting. 88 Films have created a must-have collector’s edition here with a plethora of special features that will keep you entertained for hours.