After a bloody battle between two rival gangs Tan Jen-Chieh is forced into exile after his adoptive Father is murdered and someone must take the fall. After a year of exile suddenly assassin’s have come for Jen-Chieh. He decides to head home to find out what has happened only to find his family in disarray, his girlfriend sold into prostitution, and an old ally steps forward about the death of  Jen-Cheih’s Father. It’s a brutal and bloody revenge story that boasts “There are no battles - only massacres”. I’d have to say that I agree.

The Duel aka Duel of the Iron Fist or its original American title Duel of the Shaolin Fist comes from the amazing Shaw Brothers lot directed by legendary martial arts director Chang Chen (The Five Deadly Venoms). New school fans that have been spoiled by the great fight choreographers of today will probably turn their noses up at the choreography here. Its all over the place, terribly timed, occasionally awful looking. That being said you have to admire this film because everything you see is the root of most of the martial arts films that come later. Not only that but FUNimation restores the picture fantastically. The picture is exceptionally vibrant and clean and takes full advantage of the colorful backdrops. Sound is somewhat mediocre. You have the option for English or Mandarin, both in mono. I guess if you wanted authentic your going to get it. Still, could have beefed it up a bit.  

There are distinct flavorings of genre styles in the film. The suspenseful showdowns reminiscent of How The West Was Won, the Hong Kong Gangster element running rampant, and the obvious Martial Arts flavoring. Not only that but you can’t help but watch the film and point out to yourself (or your friends if their in the room) the way the damage those knives do to the enemy more then likely inspired Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, or the fight in the brothel an inspiration for the fight between Jackie Chan and the Axe Gang in The Legend of Drunken Master, and that’s just to name a couple. You have to give the film its due even if it can be a little sloppy at times. An added bonus as well is the 110 minute run time. The previous releases ended the film at somewhere around the 90 minute mark which peeved a lot of fans. Though I thought the last few minutes of the film were a little overdramatic and even with the added minutes a bit pointless no doubt fans will clamor for this one.  Unfortunately no bonus features only a collection of trailers.