Fearless [2006] [HK Director's Cut]: Technical Notes

This version of Fearless is THE version to own. This is how Ronny Yu and Jet Li intended the film to be shown. It is practically a different movie from the theatrical version that played in the US. The Michelle Yeoh footage is excellent, plus the flow of the entire film makes much more sense than the theatrical version. The flow, or the order of the scenes, is much different in the Director's cut than in the theatrical version. Without giving too much away, the film does not start out with Huo's 4-1 duel. It's actually at the end of the film where it's supposed to be. There is so much storyline that is cut that when you watch the Director's Cut, all of your questions that came up during the theatrical version are answered.

This disc was distributed by Edko Video, which I would consider one of the finest distribution companies in the world. Anything that Edko produces is excellent, and I always look for an Edko version of any disc. If you don't own a region free DVD player, this DVD alone is worth buying one for. Buy a region free player from HKFlix, and include Fearless [HK Director's Cut] in the same order.

This brief review is mainly to discuss the director's cut version of this film. I have been a Jet Li fan for years, so I abolutely went to see Fearless when it was released on the big screen and determined that I would buy the DVD when it was available. Then I saw the pre-release of the director's cut advertised on hkflix so I ordered that, being very interested in the Michelle Yeoh footage and Jet's fight with a Thai boxer. The scene with the Thai boxer is not bad, but neither does it match the other fights in the film. As far as the Michelle Yeoh scenes are concerned - they should have been left out of the director's cut as well. They add nothing to the film and I think you could argue that they detract. There are two scenes, one at the beginning of the film and the other at the end (and I mean THE END - after the credits). They take place in modern times while the main film takes place in the early 1900's. Useless, is what they are.

The rest of the director's cut actually works quite well - most of the additional footage adds to the feel and drama of the film, without bloating it (not that I shy away from long films (or books for that matter)). If your main reason of interest in the director's cut is Ms. Yeoh, forget it and just buy the theatrical release. But if you don't mind the silliness (I actually rolled my eyes at the final scene), buy it because the other additional scenes are just fine. The editing is excellent as well. Either way, buy a version of this movie if you care at all about Jet and/or kung fu pictures in general. It's a stellar (though not perfect) kung fu film.