Average
Summary
An extremely basic chop-sockie movie from director Lo Wei with the most elementary plotline imaginable, The Tattooed Dragon is nearly wall-to-wall fights and gambling scenes, with rising star Wang Yu at the center. Wang Yu fared much better later on with his slightly more fun and interesting films The Man From Hong Kong, Queen’s Ransom, and A Man Called Tiger, but this one was a stepping-stone for him, and fans of his might appreciate it more than others. The fight scenes and setups, which should be the selling point, are actually not incredibly dynamic or memorable, but if you’re a fan it’s all par for the course.
Plot: A formidable fighter and avenger for the meek and helpless comes to the aide of humble farmers whose land is plagued with a casino and the thugs who run it.
Review: A notorious and feared wandering hero everyone knows as Dragon (Jimmy Wang Yu in his first film for Golden Harvest after starring in a handful of Shaw Brothers films) is known by his reputation and by a tattoo on his back of a dragon. He’s basically what we call in the gaming world as a tank – always rushing into gaggles of bad guys and beating the crap out of them, taking all comers. When he’s jumped and beaten (it’s a rare thing, but it finally happens), he’s left for dead, and a humble farmer (Sam Hui) and his girlfriend (Sylvia Chang) find him on their land and nurse him back to health, not realizing who he is or the violence he’s capable of. Meanwhile, a casino has been built nearby, attracting the lesser element, which means their farm and their land is crawling with thugs and gangsters who eventually start harassing them. Enter … the Dragon! When Dragon is fully healed, he does his benefactors a solid (but not without some consequences for the farmers) and goes gambling and fighting against the gangsters and knocks some skulls!
An extremely basic chop-sockie movie from director Lo Wei with the most elementary plotline imaginable, The Tattooed Dragon is nearly wall-to-wall fights and gambling scenes, with rising star Wang Yu at the center. Wang Yu fared much better later on with his slightly more fun and interesting films The Man From Hong Kong, Queen’s Ransom, and A Man Called Tiger, but this one was a stepping-stone for him, and fans of his might appreciate it more than others. The fight scenes and setups, which should be the selling point, are actually not incredibly dynamic or memorable, but if you’re a fan it’s all par for the course.
Eureka! has just released a premium Blu-ray edition of The Tattooed Dragon, and this is the first time it’s ever been on Blu-ray anywhere in the world. The 2K restoration is solid, and they’ve included a plethora of bonus features to keep you perusing for hours.
Bonus Materials
- Limited to 2000 copies
- Limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Sean Longmore
- Limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on The Tattooed Dragon by film critic and writer James Oliver
- The Tattooed Dragon presented in 1080p HD from a new 2K restoration
- Original Mandarin mono and English dubbed audio options
- Optional English subtitles, newly translated for this release
- New audio commentary by East Asian cinema expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
- New audio commentary by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
- Here Be Dragons – new discussion of Tattooed Dragon with martial arts cinema expert Wayne Wong