I've been holding back on this project for a while now, but at this point, I don't think any better sources will become available any time soon.

This movie is known by three different titles

1. Born to Defense
   
2. Born to Defence
   
3. Born to Defend
   

Yes, those first two titles actually exist and I can confirm there are sources with each spelling.   Thankfully, my reconstruction uses the third (and grammatically correct) title.

This 1986 film is the first and only movie Jet Li ever directed. And it's a shame that he hasn't directed anything ever since, because I actually think this movie showed he can be a great director, even if the movie itself isn't a masterpiece. 

After fighting against the Japanese in World War II, "Xiao Jie" (Jet Li...and that's the last time I'm pretending his character has a name  ) goes back home to Qingdao, only to find that it's not the home he once knew. The town now heavily caters to utterly rapacious American soldiers, as orphaned children sell themselves on the street, and many Chinese women prostitute themselves (that last one isn't so bad actually, eh?   ). One day, Jet Li decides that he has had enough of bullying from the American soldiers. He accepts a challenge to fight one of the soldiers: Bailey (played by Paulo Tocha). Although he struggles, Jet defeats him in a boxing match. However, the conflict between the Chinese townspeople and the American soldiers escalate, as Bailey wants revenge for his humiliating defeat. The conflict escalates further when the tall Captain Hans (played by Kurt Roland Peterson) intervenes, hoping to break Jet's spirit (and that of the Chinese). The escalating tit-for-tat conflict eventually leads to destructive and tragic results between Jet, his friends, and the American soldiers.

The fight scenes in this movie are based on real physics. None of that typical "wire-fu" stuff you see in Jet Li's films. And they are VERY well choreographed! Jet Li is in his prime and top shape in this movie. And it's all well-directed too. This is probably the youngest I've ever seen Jet Li in a film.


This martial arts film is another one of those films that Saint Harvey Weinstein (via Miramax) got his hands on back in the day. He created a new dub and made a 5.1 mix. However, at least the Miramax dub keeps the original score and sound effects, but Jet Li's voice is unrealistically deep    !

The cuts by Miramax weren't too extensive. I've found that Miramax never butchered Jet Li's films as much as they butchered Jackie Chan's! If you're curious to know more about the cuts and changes, just read this Movie-Censorship article. But I can summarize.

1. Miramax created a new opening credits sequence using some WWII-inspired artwork (albeit blurry and abstract). The original version of the movie just had a black background with bi-lingual Chinese/English credits
   
2. They also added some ACTUAL scrolling end credits (in English only) on the last shot's freeze frame. Some sources of the uncut version just linger on the freeze-frame for 10 seconds, then cuts to a bi-lingual title card saying "The End". The DVD I used for my reconstruction (more on that later) lingered on the final freeze frame for about a whole minute!
   
3. Cut out a shot of a prostitute's boobies   (but the film still ended up being rated-R anyways with no theatrical release! WTF?!)
   
4. Shortened a scene where Jet Li donates blood for extra cash.
   
5. Deleted a shot of Jet Li peeling a blister from his foot.
   
6. Various scenes involving urine (I think Jet might have a fetish, but who am I to judge   )
   

I found a 720p version of the Miramax cut by "Bluebird" online, although I think it was an upscale of the Dragon Dynasty DVD. Then I found a British R2 DVD (which I think was actually scanned from this VHS) which was uncut and in the OAR.

File size: 11 GB
Format: MKV
Frame rate: 23.978 fps