I recently acquired a DVD of Hitman in the Hand of Buddha. I am impressed with this film for many reasons. The main one being Master Hwang himself. So far he has never failed to impress me with his kicking skills. I find it interesting that he directed and produced it and that he wanted to play a good guy (for a change)! In fact, there are at least 4 films so far where he plays a good guy. I'm sure he wanted to shake off his bad boy image because by all accounts he is a very gracious and gentle man. And you also get to see what he looks like without a moustache. LOL!
The version I have is a special collector's edition DVD and it has two versions of the film: an English dubbed version (89 mins approx.) and a Korean version (81 mins approx.) with some English subtitles. I prefer the Korean version despite the poor quality. It was found in a film vault in Seoul and was edited by Jang Lee. I'm pretty sure that we can hear his own voice on the soundtrack (Korean sounds like a lovely language)and the subtitles are probably truer to interpretation than the English dubbed version.
As for the story itself, I find the pace is fast enough with plenty martial arts mayhem to keep me happy. Perhaps some people want more fighting but I think he does a splendid job. Watch him fighting with chop sticks. You'll never look at another pair of chopsticks in the same way again. The film is a true treat for dedicated fans and a definite must-see.
The version I have is a special collector's edition DVD and it has two versions of the film: an English dubbed version (89 mins approx.) and a Korean version (81 mins approx.) with some English subtitles. I prefer the Korean version despite the poor quality. It was found in a film vault in Seoul and was edited by Jang Lee. I'm pretty sure that we can hear his own voice on the soundtrack (Korean sounds like a lovely language)and the subtitles are probably truer to interpretation than the English dubbed version.
As for the story itself, I find the pace is fast enough with plenty martial arts mayhem to keep me happy. Perhaps some people want more fighting but I think he does a splendid job. Watch him fighting with chop sticks. You'll never look at another pair of chopsticks in the same way again. The film is a true treat for dedicated fans and a definite must-see.