Import Corner: The Weird Man (1983) (Imprint Films Asia #25) Blu-ray Review + 1080p Screenshots + Packaging Shots

Imprint Films brings us a Shaw Brothers film I had never heard of and I have to say this is one to pick up.

Studio: Imprint Films
Release Date: May 5th, 1983 (theatrical) / August 6th, 2025 (blu-ray)
Run Time: 1 hour 30 minutes 59 seconds
Region Code: FREE

Disc Count: 1 (BD-50)
Picture: 1080p (2.35:1 aspect ratio)
Sound: Mandarin LPCM 2.0, English LPCM 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Slipcover: Slip box
Starring: Ricky Cheng Tien-Chi, Jason Pai Piao, Kwan Fung, Ku Kuan-Chung, Chiu Gwok
Written by Chang Cheh
Directed by. Chang Cheh
Rating: ACB: M (Supernatural themes and supernatural violence)

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Poster

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What's It About?

Cheng Tien-Chi stars as the beheaded, crazed Taoist Priest Yu Ji, returned from the dead with supernatural powers to seek divine retribution against the corrupt warlord General Sun Ce and his treacherous court. Heroes, sorcerers, and armies try to defeat the evil spirit, building to an explosive confrontation steeped in mystic martial arts fury.

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Video/Audio

Presented in the film's original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, THE WEIRD MAN looks good if not great. There is no information about the transfer but I can say it looks fairly dated. It isn't a bad transfer whatsoever with some of the uses of color I have ever seen in a kung fu flick. These colors are presented here with a boldness one can truly appreciate. Many of the scenes look very soft but I have a feeling this is how the film is supposed to look.

The audio here, one Mandarin track and one English track, are great. I love hearing every single imperfection in the sound recording of the English track. "S"'s sound hard, like they did on the Blu-ray for JOHN CARPENTER'S BODY BAGS, Romero's DAY OF THE DEAD, or the first pressing of BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) (all from Scream Factory), the dialogue is flat and the performances are terrible but I love them all the same. It's nice hearing all of these in lossless audio.

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Extras/Packaging

Audio Commentary by author Stefan Hammond and Asian film expert Arne Venema

"Film Scholar Luke White on The Weird Man" (22m 1s, HD, 1.78:1) White does a great job at breaking the film, showing us how it fits into supernatural films of the time, and how the film fits into the films of Chang Cheh. I always love when film scholars place a film in the context of when it was released. Not everyone is going to know about what the film sphere looked like in the 80s. Does THE WEIRD MAN fit in with the other martial arts or supernatural films of the time or does it stick out? Most scholars do not think of this when they talk about a film. This guy does and I thank him for that.

Trailer (1m 14s, HD, 2.35:1)

In terms of packaging, we get a nice slip box that features the film's original theatrical poster. Inside, we get a 14mm clear blu-ray case, sporting different art. I don't know where this artwork came from but it might be the US poster. Inside we find some inner art and a single blu-ray disc which features the same poster art as the slip box.

The disc is REGION FREE

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Overall

What a weird movie. The film is a mixture of usual brotherhood, wuxia epics Cheh was known for and a supernatural film. The result is a film that doesn't feel whole. The two different aspects don't really lend themselves well to each other and it makes for a very uneven film. The supernatural stuff is very fun even if the question "What the fuck is going on?" enters your mind often. Cheh uses red and green lights just as good as Argento did with SUSPIRIA, while giving the film a look we don't see in martial arts flicks. The stuff outside the supernatural stuff is kind of boring and you can safely fast forward through these to get to the good stuff. At the end of the day, I am happy I watched the film. It was fun enough to keep my attention and I thought the fight scenes were really well done. Definitely check this one out if you haven't already.

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Extras/Menus