Fearless (Unrated Full Screen Edition)

This was by far my favorite Jet Li film. It really was great. The action had (of course) some rather unrealistic parts, but that is rather inevitable. But the storyline is actually quite good. Predictable to a certain degree, but still very good. The progression of the character of the protagonist was laudable. I thoroughly enjoyed this film. With this version you get the original film, and the Unrated version. The unrated version is the same as the original except that there is more blood and violence. Several shots of blood gushing or arms actually snapping. So whether you want the gore or not, this DVD has both, great buy!

The Director's Cut of Jet Li's Fearless, which runs 37 minutes longer and is generally regarded as the definitive version, is finally being released on official Region 1 DVD. At 141 minutes, it fleshes out the story more, makes some points more clear, and includes several more minutes of martial arts action, most notably a scene where the hero battles a Thai fighter. A subplot featuring Michelle Yeoh is restored.

The upcoming release isn't a special edition, and there won't be many special features. The two-disc set will include the Director's Cut, the PG-13 US theatrical cut (103 minutes), and the only slightly different unrated US version (104 minutes). The last two are already available on the current Region 1 DVDs. The special features are similar to those on the current DVDs, the featurette "A Fearless Journey" (16:04) and some cut scenes (reportedly more than one--there was only one deleted scene on the previous Region 1 releases).

It will be in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen, with English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, and optional English subtitles.

Fearless is the highly fictionalized story of the real-life Huo Yuanjia (or Yuan Jia), a hero of Chinese martial arts who died almost a century ago. The son of a wise martial arts champion who refuses to teach him, Huo teaches himself by, among other things, watching his father train. Lacking his father's humility, he is a most skilled fighter but commits shameful acts that, when he finally sees their devastating consequences and recognizes his failings, drive him to become an aimless wanderer. Through the kindness of humble people he recovers and eventually redeems himself in several dramatic ways.

This is a high-budget, beautifully produced martial arts film that will be enjoyed by more than the usual martial arts fan. Though it doesn't have quite the same pretensions, those who enjoyed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Hero and don't mind a fair amount of violence will probably also enjoy this.

If you don't have Fearless on DVD yet and can wait until July, you'll probably want to get the Director's Cut, especially since the shorter US cuts are also included.

No Blu-ray edition has been announced, but it will undoubtedly arrive eventually.

The Amazon page to pre-order the Region 1 Director's Cut is here.

I love chinese action movies and this movie was good and action scene was very exciting. Jet Li was my favorite chinese star. Also the story was good.

I love Jet Li's Fearless. It is a fantastic movie. However, when they released it to DVD they seem to have felt to insult us as consumers by forcing us to sit through the sexual raunchiness of an American Pie preview.

Jet Li's Fearless was a PG-13 action/drama film. American Pie is an R-rated film with strong sexual content. What makes Universal think that their PG-13 action/drama consumers want to be forced to sit through a raunchy sexual preview for an R-rated film?

It's absolutely gross and unacceptable.

Category: Movies
Genre: Foreign, Martial Arts
Movie Title: Jet Li's Fearless
Movie Release: 2006
Director: Ronny Yu
Writing Credits: Chris Chow, Christine To
On DVD?: Yes


Summation: Slated to be Jet Li's last martial arts film, Fearless takes us on a journey of life and love and all that that encompasses.


Synopsis: The movie starts in Shanghai, China, 1910. Because of Huo Yuanjia's (Jet Li) impressive martial arts skills, he is being pitted against four competitors who represent the four strongest nations: Britain, Spain, Germany and Japan. The rules are that the first to fall or to admit his defeat is the loser. First up at bat is a British boxer. Yuanjia defeats him. Next up at bat is a German soldier. Yuanjia defeats him. Next up at bat is a Spanish swordsman. Yuanija defeats him. Last up at bat is a Japanese martial arts master. It is here that the movie breaks away from the competition to take us through the life of Huo Yuanjia.


As a young boy, Yuanjia watched his father, a martial arts teacher, as he battled his way through several formidable enemies. On one particular day, Yuanjia's father is slated to fight another martial arts teacher, and it seems that the purpose of these fights is to see which teaching style bests the other. Yuanjia's father has the upperhand, and with one striking blow, he could easily kill his opponent. Yet, he decides not to, which allows his opponent to defeat him. Yuanjia's father admits defeat and walks off. Yuanjia, however, sulks, ashamed of his father. His childhood friend, Nong Jinsun (Yong Dong), attempts to console him, but that doesn't help. The son of the winner begins to taunt him, they decide to fight and, of course, Yuanjia loses. It is shortly after this fight that Yuanjia vows to never lose another fight


Thus starts Yuanjia's journey as a martial artist, defeating so many opponents that he allows his status as "master" to get to his head. He opens a school to teach others who are willing to learn his teaching style, but he's a bit of an alcoholic, and he welcomes too many students into his school that are only using him for profit. Soon, he finds himself in debt. And, as he does with each time he is confronted, he promises that he will repay the debt.


One night, however, several of his apprentices bring one of their classmates to Yuanjia. This classmate has been beaten, almost senseless, and it is found out that Master Qin, one of Yuanjia's rivals, is behind the beating. Without all of the facts, Yuanjia starts a fight with Master Qin, eventually killing him. Afterwards, Qin's nephew kills Yuanjia's mother and daughter, and Yuanjia kills him before leaving Shanghai. Without giving away too much, Yuanjia meets more characters and is taught the true meaning of life.


Personal Thoughts: The tagline as posted on IMDB.com says "Fate made him a warrior. Courage made him a hero."


This movie was intense. The martial arts were choreographed perfectly, giving way to smooth, fluent strokes: arm and leg movements, hand and eye coordination, etc. The martial arts aside, however, the personal journey of Yuanjia was an inspiring tale in and of itself. And, unlike most foreign movies that use American dubbing (I hate when the words aren't aligned with the movement of the mouth. It makes the character(s) appear ignorant.), Fearless uses the characters' spoken language and American subtitles. That, I believe, makes the movie more authentic, more realistic, for me. Much like The Passion of the Christ, viewers are able to experience the culture as it was intended, and with Fearless, viewers are encouraged to understand Yuanjia's personal journey. We, the viewers, are able to sympathize with Yuanjia; when he cries, we cry. This is truly a must-see; hence, 4 stars.