THE BIG BOSS: THE MANDARIN CUT by JASON HART

Way back in 2001 I researched and wrote an article about the original, longer version of The Big Boss, which played in Hong Kong and Chinese movie houses in the early 1970s but was never released on home media. It was published in Impact magazine and later appeared online. As the years rolled by, any hopes of the film ever turning up appeared to be slim. Rumours persisted that it was in the hands of private collectors, that Fred Weintraub had a print, it was buried in a Hong Kong landfill site, or that all the longer prints were destroyed when they became unrunnable. It hadn't been seen for decades, and there was little evidence it still existed. It was all very frustrating. Suddenly, out of the blue, astonishing news! On 14 April 2023, a shock announcement was made by UK film restorer and distributor Arrow Films. They had sourced a longer Mandarin print and would be releasing it in July, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Bruce's passing, as part of a stunning ten-disc UHD and Blu-ray boxset. Along with the announcement, a couple of never-before-seen screen grabs of deleted scenes were posted, proving this was no hoax. Screenings at various independent cinemas were also arranged, giving fans a chance to see the film before July. And all of this was happening in the UK!

The first screening took place at the Prince Charles Cinema in London's West End in late May, appropriate since the last known screening of the longer cut was also in London, in 1979. The print shown was Arrow's brand new 4K restoration of the "regular" version from the original camera negative, with the "new" scenes in 2K edited in (the quality of the new footage varies and has the film's original burnt-in subtitles, so is easy to spot). Where had this elusive film been hiding all this time? In spring 2022, an SD Digi beta videotape was found at Fortune Star in Hong Kong. It is likely that this was among the materials transferred to FS from Golden Harvest, prior to the demolition of the old GH studios. Using the tape as a guide, FS then approached the Hong Kong Film Archive, who came forward with a matching 35mm print. Apparently neither company were aware they had it, until Arrow made enquiries.

Predictably, the "saw in the head" is still missing. This hit the cutting room floor in early October 1971, when the full-length director's cut was seen by the Hong Kong censors. They deemed the shot too violent and told Golden Harvest to remove it, along with a few other scenes, all of which have almost certainly been lost to history. What the longer version does contain is a substantial extra ten minutes or so of new material, including fight footage (none featuring Bruce), dialogue and numerous shots and scene extensions that were previously unknown.

This is evident from the start, with more of Nora Miao making the shaved ice desserts plus some reaction from Cheng (Bruce) and uncle, and an extended fight between Hsu Chien (James Tien) and the four hoodlums. Hsu is very much the aggressor in the new footage, with the red-shirted thug who started the fight receiving a particularly vicious beating, while dozens of locals look on - a problem the film crew encountered regularly in Pak Chong. Cheng seems concerned that Hsu may be outnumbered, but uncle jokingly tells him, "Not many men are Hsu Chien's match." We also get an early trampoline jump from Hsu, as the weary thugs try to run off.

Our introduction to the cousins at the family home now shows them playing a heated game of Xiangqi (Chinese chess), before they emerge onto the balcony to greet Cheng and uncle. A few frames of them entering the home have also been added. Next up is the long-awaited "pushcart attack" in the alleyway, which opens with a nice discussion between Cheng and Hsu about how the latter learned to fight ("I bought some books and taught myself"), along with some shadowboxing from Bruce, before two carts suddenly appear, one from each end of the alleyway, being pushed towards them at speed by unknown assailants. The pair grab hands and leap on to a corrugated roof. Contrary to reports, neither cart is burning, but are loaded with sacks, which the two jump down into after the carts collide. Hsu wants to give chase to the fleeing villains but is held back by Cheng. It's a brief scene but a good one, and one of the highlights of the new version.

Following this is a fairly long comedic scene when they return home. The cousins are in bed but soon get up and demand to know about the fight. Hsu is happy to oblige and describes the events in some detail, before uncle wakes up, concerned that Cheng was in the fight. Bruce (who seems to have forgotten his bandage) is silent throughout but looks on with amusement. Not only does this light-hearted scene - along with the earlier chess game - inject some much-needed humour into the proceedings, it also makes the brutal murders of Hsu and the cousins even more gut-wrenching.

After uncle leaves on the ferry, there is a brief extra scene (glimpsed in a trailer) where Bruce sees Nora at her stall. There is no dialogue; a bashful Bruce simply walks past as Nora looks wistfully at him.

These scenes were cut after the original Hong Kong theatrical run by cinema owners and/or distributors to reduce the running time to under 100 minutes. This way the cinemas could maybe squeeze an extra screening in and a shorter run time would also make the film more attractive to potential buyers for overseas distribution, beginning with Singapore in December 1971. Also, the pacing of the early part of the film (which placed more emphasis on James Tien than on Bruce) was increased, meaning fans would get to see Bruce's first fight sooner.

The gruesome sequence where the bodies of the two murdered workers are cut up and disposed of is slightly longer. The extended scene adds a rather hokey looking shot of the factory manager tossing a severed head into the ice container, which begins filling with water. Unsurprisingly, the grisly cutting up by electric saw is not included as this was another of the scenes cut by the Hong Kong censors.

The training sequence at the boss's house always looked cut or badly edited, so it was nice to see some new footage here. We now see the boss's son (Tony Liu) despatching henchmen with a couple of throws and a palm strike, but it is the boss (fight choreographer Han Ying Chieh) who really gets to show his strength and agility in the new version, as he drops his guard and beckons his men to try and attack him; they are no match for the older man. While the sight of the boss throwing off five men is a little hard to take, it does serve to make him a more formidable opponent for Cheng in the finale.

Blood pouring from Hsu's head after he is stabbed by Tony is now fully intact, along with reaction shots from the two men. This also was partly visible in a trailer and surprisingly, is the only real shot of bloodletting that has been restored. The fight still looks cut, and the censor notes mention "a sequence of two men being severely beaten." This is a little vague, but I suspect it is referring to shots of Hsu killing a man with a pipe, and Ah Pi (Billy Chan) being attacked by three men.

The kidnapping of Chiao Mei (Maria Yi) is extended at the start. As she is removing the washing, ominous music is heard as the camera zooms in on the thugs at the gates of the compound. This subtle extension is effective and marks the turning point in the film, when the mood darkens.

When Cheng lifts the mosquito net, there is an eerie-looking shot of cousin Ah San (Kam Shan) with his eyes open, and the knife protruding from his blood-soaked body. The "riverside revenge" scene is now longer and more emotive, with shots of the dead cousins, and more of Cheng's inner turmoil - should he return home to look after his elderly mother, or stay and avenge his comrades? When he stands and throws his bag into the river, he looks up and shouts, "Revenge, I want revenge!", which leads directly into Cheng's infamous "encounter" with the second prostitute. This played out more or less as expected, without the censored love-making scene itself, which was seen and heard from the POV of a couple in the adjacent room (for more info on this scene, please visit my original article).

The scene as it stands is still well shot and directed, with Lo Wei and cinematographer Chris Chen making good use of documentary-style hand-held camera shots and low angles, although one such (when Cheng pauses outside the bordello) was forced upon them by the sheer number of watching locals in the background. The shots of the girls as the camera pans over them are slightly disconcerting; some look very young and these were all real prostitutes, who charged just fifteen Baht per client. They were paid much more to appear as extras in the film, although one or two don't seem too happy about being on camera. A pity the full-length scene seems lost, as I get the impression Lo Wei was trying to film a comedy scene to offset the horror and violence; sadly the censors failed to see the funny side. Still, we do get a couple of amusing moments: the look on the girl's face as Cheng is tucking his shirt in is a picture, and when he is about to count out the cash to pay her, he realises he probably won't need any of it and gives her the full amount. And we finally get to see him take the bag of crisps from a table; his last meal before being killed or arrested for murder. It is interesting to see how Bruce's character has changed in this scene regarding his attitude to women, a real contrast to his awkwardness around Maria and Nora in the early part of the film.

The final showdown with the boss and his men is virtually identical to the "usual" version and is still missing a rumoured shot of Cheng tasting his own blood after being cut across the abdomen. The problematic and often shortened death scene of the boss was missing several frames in the HKFA's 35mm print (an unrestored "raw" 2K scan of which is also included in the boxset and individual release), but Arrow have restored the entire sequence for the new 4K "hybrid" version, so we can now see the gore, the circling and the ground punches in full for the first time.

Aside from the shots cut by the censors, several others are also still strangely absent, and the reason for this is less clear. The sequence where Cheng finds the body parts encased in ice remains the same, despite extra footage in an early trailer showing the bloodied head of Ah Chang (Ricky Chik), who was killed with a hatchet.

A rumoured shot of a topless Wu Man (Malarin Boonak) at the restaurant never surfaced either. In unrestored copies of the film, a very noticeable splice can be seen when a drunken Cheng is staring at her, indicating a cut.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment is that two scenes featuring Maria Yi at the family home are still lost. When uncle wakes (in the restored scene), he says, for no apparent reason, "Cheng Chao An what?", indicating further missing dialogue where Maria presumably chastises Hsu for fighting and/or for waking everybody up. The beginning of the next scene is also still missing, where she gives Cheng and uncle a drink on the balcony outside before they leave for the ferry dock.

Thankfully most of the longer - and more significant - scenes have been restored, and while adding little to the plot, they do add more humour, drama and action, and enhance the development of some of the characters, in particular Hsu Chien, who has benefitted the most from the extra footage. There is also welcome extra screen time for likeable secondary characters such as Ah Kun and Ah San. And of course, every extra shot of Bruce Lee is pure gold for the fans. The film now seems more complete, more comprehensible, and, barring another minor miracle, is as good as it's ever going to get.