House of Fury Blu-ray delivers great video and superb audio, but overall it's a mediocre Blu-ray release
Chinese chiropractor Teddy (Anthony Wong) is a widower struggling to raise his sullen teenage son Nicky (Stephen Fung) and his wild daughter Natalie (Gillian Chung). Teddy's kids are deeply embarrassed by their Dad's outlandish tales of his glory days. What they don't know is that their father leads a clandestine life protecting retired agents. When an evil nemesis re-appears and kidnaps Teddy to settle an old score, Nicky and Natalie, along with her boyfriend Jason (Daniel Wu), put their martial arts training into action and pummel the assassins that stand in their way.
A light comedy, suitable for Sunday afternoon viewing, Stephen Fung's "House of Fury" (2005) blends a variety of genres into an easy to critique film. The story is likable but the presentation is likely to upset those who believe that Wuxia and kids aren't meant for each other. Courtesy of Tai Seng Entertainment.
Teddy Yu (Antony Wong), an ex-secret agent and expert in kung-fu turned chiropractor, leads a quiet life with his family. His son Nicky (Steven Fung), a dolphin handler with a rebellious attitude, often acts as a sixteen-year old, yet he is in his twenties. His sister Natalie (Gillian Chung), a bubbly girl with a brand new boyfriend, likes to challenge her brother whenever possible.
Rocco (Michael Wong), a wheelchair invalid and ex-special agent, is after Teddy Yu. Rocco believes that Teddy Yu is in a possession of valuable information that will allow him to track down someone who many years ago changed his life forever.
Unaware of their father's past, Nicky and Natalie are shocked to discover that he is being kidnapped. They confront Rocco, beating up his men one by one, and set out to help their father. But who is the mysterious man Rocco wants, and what does Teddy Yu have to do with him?
Attacked
House of Fury is an interesting little film with plenty of good ideas. Actually, there might be too many of them here, as it does seem like director Stephen Fung could not quite decide what he wanted his film to be – a comedy, a straightforward action film, or a Wuxia picture. As a result, even though there are sections of House of Fury that work rather well, it is obvious that something just isn't right.
Seen strictly as a comedy feature House of Fury surely gets a bit too serious with the Wuxia scenes. There are large fractions of this film where even if one isn't familiar with Wuxia, one will quickly recognize that the choreography is far more elaborate than what a standard comedy picture would necessitate. Simply put, there is too much detail and finesse for one not to be suspicious of the director's intent.
Seen strictly as a martial arts feature, however, House of Fury is just as puzzling. There are large fractions of it that will surely irritate anyone with a serious interest in Wuxia, or martial arts cinema in general, as the comedic overtones the film boasts are clearly awkward. Add to the mix the fact that plenty of the humor is routinely countered with large amounts of melodrama, (Teddy's revelations are a good example) and House of Fury quickly becomes a colorful mish-mash with too much style and too little substance.
Yet, this film isn't a classic disaster recipe. In fact, if you manage to discard what I described above and simply follow the visuals, House of Fury could be perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon. I would say that it isn't any more different than 3 Ninjas (1992), or even Spy Kids (2001), so as long as you feel comfortable accepting that kids and Wuxia could co-exist in a non-parody picture then all bets are off, and you could be in for an unexpected treat.
Finally, I would like to specifically comment on Anthony Wong's acting. I've seen him in a number of films already and I am very impressed by his flexible acting skills. He always finds a way to blend well with the rest of the cast, and at the same time leave his mark, even if the story isn't that strong. House of Fury is not an exception. Anthony Wong's role isn't particularly rewarding but his presence is. In fact, it might well be the reason why House of Fury should be seen.
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-AVC, and granted a 1080p transfer House of Fury arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Tai Seng Entertainment.
I have not seen the corresponding Asian release of House of Fury, but given the past record Tai Seng have I must assume that it is identical to what I hold in my hands. In fact, my understanding is that, aside from the coverwork and cases, these releases are practically the same. This being said, the transfer for this film is very strong. Contrast is good, the color-scheme mighty impressive, and detail notably strong. Furthermore, I did not detect any disturbing patterns of edge-enhancement or macroblocking either. The lush colors in particular are very impressive and, even though I did not see House of Fury in theater, I tend to believe that they are representative of what is on the actual master print. I also did not detect any disturbing patterns of DNR manipulating. On my screen, the picture appeared extremely detailed and stable. The actual print is also in healthy condition – I did not detect any debris, dust, or specks. (Note: Even though this disc is marketed as Region-A it is in fact Region-Free, which means that you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).
There are a number of audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Cantonese: LPCM 7.1, Mandarin: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, and Vietnamese: Dolby Digital Stereo.
I am getting more and more impressed by a lot of these Asian imports that are reaching my desk as of late (as I noted earlier the Tai Seng disc is actually a replica of the HK disc labeled for the US market). One really has to admire the fact that HK distribs are taking full advantage of Blu-ray, and in terms of audio treatment, they are notably ahead of some well-respected US majors. This being said, I decided to watch House of Fury with the Cantonese DTS-HD Master mix, and later on do a selective comparison with the LPCM track. My impressions of it is that it is very potent, with plenty of activity in the rear channels, and a thumping bass that will definitely please those of you with elaborate audio systems. Furthermore, the dialog is crystal clear and very easy to follow. I most definitely did not detect any hissing, pops, or cracks to note here. On the contrary, everything was handled exceptionally well and I was very pleased with the overall quality of the DTS-HD MA track. As I mentioned above, I did compare quite a few scenes, (mostly the fight scenes) flipping between the LPCM and DTS-HD MA track, but could not really detect any sizable differences between the two. In my opinion, it really comes down to personal preferences, and whether or not you have the proper hardware to take advantage of the DTS-HD MA track. No matter what track you select, however, the Cantonese DTS-HD MA 7.1 or the Cantonese LPCM 7.1, I believe that you will be equally pleased. Optional Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and English subs are offered. For the records, the subtitles are placed inside the image frame.
A rather generic "Behind the Scenes" featurette, subtitled in English, shows plenty of footage from the initiation of the project, the actual filming process, and some of the more complicated stunts. Frankly, none of these were of particular interest to me, but perhaps you will find them more entertaining. Next is a gallery of interviews with Daniel Wu, Gillian Chung, Josie Ho, Michael Wong, and Stephen Fung. The overwhelming amount of the comments here address the characters the actors play as well as the type of genre House of Fury aspires to cover. Next is a "Making Of" which basically offers more of what you will see in the "Behind The Scenes" featurette – raw footage from the film with occasional comments by the cast and crew. Finally, the Blu-ray disc offers trailers and teasers for the main feature.
House of Fury isn't a groundbreaking piece of cinema. It is, however, watchable, I would say even entertaining. So, depending on how flexible your standards are when it comes to entertainment you certainly could experiment with it. There is a little bit of everything here – action, humor, perhaps a bit of satire as well. The actual Blu-ray disc, courtesy of Tai Seng Entertainment, is impressive. The video presentation is great and the audio treatment spot on! Give this film a chance, you might be pleasantly surprised.
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