The Angry Rivers - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Angry River



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
Back in the 1970s the Shaw Brothers films were peaking. The studio was putting out a gargantuan 20-30 films a year in their home grown theaters, but there were a lot of executives in the ranks that were not happy with the way things were being run. The contracts were rigid, with low pay for the actors, and the iconic studio was more than happy to coast on their names, putting out cookie cutter films that all adhered to a very rote and well worn pattern. So higher ups Raymond Chow and Leonard Ho defected from Shaw Brothers and founded their own studio under the name of Golden Harvest. Now, for anyone who remembers the great golden age of Hong Kong Cinema, Golden Harvest was attached to 95% of the titles. But in 1970 this was a HUGE risk. The Shaw Brothers dominated the Hong Kong martial arts market, but Golden Harvest did things right. Instead of grubbing for money they they put out much more lucrative contracts for the actors, and signed Bruce Lee when Shaw Brothers lowballed him.

And while history is written as The Big Boss and Enter the Dragon shot the fledgling studio to super stardom, The Angry River was their first test bed attempt at producing a film. Instead of wooing away Shaw Brothers actors, famed director Feng Huang decided to cast up and comer Angela Mao in the title role, and roll their own without having to ride on the backs of their predecessor. Results you might say? A mid grade film that suffers from the growing pains of new fight choreographers, and a plot that was more reminiscent of the cookie cutter films of the studio that they were trying to leave.

As I mentioned above, the story is pretty much a cookie cutter formula straight from the Shaw Brothers diagrams. Angela Mao is Lan Feng, a daughter of a Chinese official who sets out on a quest for a magical herb that could act as an antidote for her poisoned father. Said father is just the latest victim of a rogue band of mercenaries known as the Moon Sect. These brigands have been terrorizing the countryside for months, killing off all of the martial artists and officials in an attempt to strong arm them for power. After Feng’s father is struck with a poisoned dart, she undergoes a perilous journey to the Ghost Valley pass where she proves herself to the monk like caretakers in order to attain some of the magical herb.

But there is a caveat. If she makes it to the herb, the caretaker will take her martial arts powers from her as payment. And guess what. She does make to the valley in time, and DOES make her way through the obstacles set up to keep outsiders away. Now she is forced to make the treacherous trip back to her father with a whole host of thieves and brigands look to take it from her. Her only hope is a wandering martial artist named Yen who offers to escort her back to her father’s home.

The Angry River is a pretty rote 1970s action film, with a cookie cutter plot straight from the Shaw Brothers vaults. But while that isn’t exactly the highest of compliments from a studio trying to differentiate itself from their predecessors, it works for the decade it was in. Angela Mao does a great job as Lan Feng, and the well worn trappings from classic period piece Wu Xia films made it an easy sell for audiences to get on board. But I do have some quibbles with the choreography and fight sequences. It just appears sloppy and loose. It’s obvious when Angela Mao looks awkward with her fight sequences, even though she had been an acclaimed martial artist since she was six. Even the fight with Sammo Hung near the end (a skinny Sammo, decked out in a hilarious blonde wig) is a bit lackluster. It’s not the end of the world, but something to take note of, as these action bits are the bread and butter of what made these films work us back in the day.



Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

According to the box this is a fairly new 2K restoration from the OCN, but I also noticed on the title scrawl that a 2010 date was given for their latest effort on it. I’m not sure whether the restoration happened back in 2010, or something else as this new remaster looks a lot better than the efforts of even 15 years ago. This is a strong transfer, with good primary colors that are almost a bit too hot (especially the foliage greens, or the red dusty ground that she runs across to get away from the bandits). Black levels are pretty strong, though I noticed some wavering in the darkest shots, and some softness problems that are indicative of the filming style of the day. But close ups and clothing details are superb. Sometimes bordering on pure excellence. Overall it’s a nice looking image that really is only limited to the typical softness effects of the filming style of the 60s and early 70s in Hong Kong.








Audio:

The Angry River sports a pair of dual LPCM 2.0 Mono tracks, with the traditional Mandarin track as well an old English dub from back in the day. Lets just say that I 100% endorse the Mandarin track, as the English dub is downright comical (in a bad way). This is a heavily dialog centric film baked into a mono track, so the directionality and front sound stage is going to be limited. It’s certainly fine enough though, with good effects for the blows, plenty of strong dialog, and the only limiting factor being some boxiness and compression on the dialog (especially on the top end where you can feel it compress pretty heavily).










Extras:

• Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng and Michael Worth
• Image Gallery
• Original Mandarin Trailer

Final Score: ​

The Angry River is not one of the best martial arts films of the 70s, but neither is it the worst. Rather it is the growing pains of a brand new production company that would soon dward the Shaw Brothers productions that came before it, and usher in the golden age of Hong Kong action cinema. The film itself is simple, a bit lite in the plot and choreography, but a fun bit of Wu Xia entertainment that leans a bit on the brutal side. 88 Films Blu-ray release sports a very classy slip case and translucent black case, as well as a moderate (well, on the light end of moderate) extras to enjoy. Fun watch for fans of classic period piece martial arts films.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Angela Mao, Kao Yuen, Ying Bai, Sammo Hung
Directed by: Feng Huang
Written by: Feng Huang
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: Mandarin: LPCM 2.0 Mono, English LPCM 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English
Studio: 88 Films
Rated: NR
Runtime: 91 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: May 12th, 2026

Recommendation: Decent Watch