Rumble in The Bronx (紅番區), Film Whisperer special 08/20/2023 major update

[The Film Whisperer]

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For those of you who downloaded my project before this date (08/20/2023), feel free to ask me for a link to my updated version. I have made major, superior changes.

Both my "reconstruction" and my own fan-edit which I call "The Film Whisperer edit" have gone through major updates. I have since discovered additional audio tracks from other sources, I have VASTLY improved the subtitles (with help from the Malaysian VCD), and I have discovered a special "grind house" version of this film (which I will describe later).

The main reason why these are improved: I used Adobe Premiere Pro instead of iMovie to make them! So the footage from the Hong Kong laserdisc blends much better with the New Line Cinema blu-ray.

"Rumble in The Bronx"–Film Whisperer RECONSTRUCTION

• Uncut version of the movie
  --This includes at least 3 scenes missing from the HK version (uses US English dub audio only)
  

1. A short shot of gangsters arriving for a contraband-diamond deal
   
2. Keung & Nancy escaping the gangsters from a nightclub, and Nancy kicking over the gangsters' motorcycles
   
3. A short shot of crime lord "White Tiger" playing golf (and sucking really bad at it  )
   --Also includes the Golden Harvest logo intro.
   

• 5 audio tracks
  

1. Sync-sound, Hong Kong laserdisc Very strong and robust audio.
   
2. Sync-sound, Malaysian VCD--This was quite a find! There are few scenes in which the characters of Nancy and Danny are dubbed into Cantonese while speaking with Jackie! (There is a separate subtitle track for these). NOTE: Only during those parts where Danny/Nancy are dubbed did I actually use the Malaysian VCD audio. The rest of the time I used the laserdisc audio. Fun Fact: The Malaysian VCD uses an alternate shot of Angelo keeping his pants on when he tells Jackie to kiss his butt!
   
3. Mandarin dub, Thakral DVD--exactly what it sounds like. Subtitles are included for the Mandarin dub, and those subtitles take into consideration some differences in the script. Also includes a Mandarin version of the theme song with a proper translation!
   
4. Mandarin dub, "Grindhouse version"--this is a much stronger Mandarin dub track from the "grind house" print version of the film.
   
5. Japanese dub--from the Japanese R2 DVD. No subtitles for this track. And because there are no subtitles for it, I did not include it as part of the MKV, but you can download it separately.
   

• Subtitles
  Quick note: each category of subtitles has a "Large Format" version and regular version. I decided to create some subtitles that are large, bold, and white, to match the burned in subtitles created by New Line Cinema for the few scenes they didn't dub.
  

• However, if you feel like the "Large format" subtitles are too large and intrusive, you can always select the regular subtitles.
  

1. English for "laserdisc" Sync-sound track: FPO (foreign parts only) and all-dialog options. These subtitles are vastly improved by the subtitles from the Malaysian VCD.
   
2. English for the Malaysian sync-sound track: FPO (foreign parts only) and all-dialog options.
   
3. English for Mandarin track. There are quite a few differences in dialog! And a lot more F-bombs too!  A lot of the translation help came from the recently discovered "Grindhouse print" of the film (which has subtitles for the Mandarin track)
   

What is the "Film Whisperer edit"?

Given that many sources for the HK theatrical version are poor quality, I decided to minimize the use of low-quality footage. This means that in many scenes, I keep things as they are in the US version. I found it easy to synchronize the sync-sound audio to the US edit in many places. In fact, I chose only to keep footage from the HK version under the following circumstances:

1. The footage/scene is too important (i.e. the scene that explains why Tony's gang chases Keung in broad daylight)
   
2. The footage/scene is too cool (i.e. much of the fight between Keung & Tony's gang)
   
3. The sync-sound audio would sound choppy and wouldn't flow very well if synced to the US edit
   

I personally believe that a majority of New Line Cinema's cuts to Rumble in the Bronx weren't that brutal. They pale in comparison to what was done to other Jackie Chan films, i.e. "First Strike" or "Mr. Nice Guy". Also, New Line Cinema's dub was very well done! Jackie's English lines are improved, and so is the line delivery of the Canadian actors! Plus I like the US version's score much better. You can't deny it's less repetitive and more "epic".

Specs

• Audio
• Film Whisperer OPTIMIZED track: perfect blend of the HK laserdisc and New Line Cinema's dub. I went through great lengths to blend these two tracks together and make them sound seamless. Sometimes I even use Danny's English dub voice while keeping Jackie's original voice in the same scene!
  Subtitles (each with a "large format" and regular option)
  
• English for FW OPTIMIZED track
  

IMPORTANT note: I know that before, my Film Whisperer edit had a "Raw" audio track, where I used the sync-sound track as much as possible over the New Line Cinema dub. For this new FW edit, I decided NOT to make one.

If enough people demand a "raw audio" track for the FW edit, then I'll consider it. But keep in mind that one of my reasons for making the FW edit is so I can use the English dub in areas where the dub is better than the original track.

Special addition: Grindhouse version

Included in this package will be a special "grind house" version of the movie that a friend of mine discovered on a Chinese torrent site. It's a genuine film scan of "Rumble". However, it's not quite 1080p. The file itself ran at PAL speed but also at 24fps (not the HD frame rate). Many frames are either missing, or they repeat. I could not use this to complete my reconstruction or FW edit.

There are also hard-coded Chinese subtitles which follow the Mandarin dub script.

But nonetheless, I decided to make the "grind house version" run at true 24fps speed. Then I synced my audio tracks from my reconstruction to this special edition. I did not make any subtitles though.

[HippieDalek]

Thanks for this! I grabbed this a few years back while the links were still available on YouTube and really enjoyed exploring the various edits. I'd really wanted to see the HK cut for so long and I was finally able to watch it thanks to your hard work.

I'm not sure which version I prefer, like you I think that the changes New Line made were pretty subtle and unobtrusive, and the English dub has been done pretty respectfully.

Keep up the excellent work!

[The Film Whisperer]

Thanks for this! I grabbed this a few years back while the links were still available on YouTube and really enjoyed exploring the various edits. I'd really wanted to see the HK cut for so long and I was finally able to watch it thanks to your hard work.

I'm not sure which version I prefer, like you I think that the changes New Line made were pretty subtle and unobtrusive, and the English dub has been done pretty respectfully.

Keep up the excellent work!

Thanks so much! I'm glad you like it.

I certainly believe "Rumble in the Bronx" is Jackie Chan's last true "hardcore" film, before he decided to take things a little more easily in his films. It's definitely in my top 10 best action films of all time, and certainly in my top 5 of favorite JC films. I think the ridiculousness of it all is the strong point, lol.

I agree that New Line cut a bit too much here & there. They should not have deleted the scene which explains why the gang chases him again during the day. I also wish they kept the gang hideout fight scene 100% intact. But for the most part, I feel like they made the movie much better paced, and their dub and new score certainly made most of the cuts tolerable. Also, why was the sync-sound track so poor sometimes? The nighttime motorcycle street race sequence is far too noisy in the original version!

The HK version is just a little overkill sometimes, i.e. the "bottle swatting" sequence. We get it! Keung is getting brutalized by glass! We get it, the hovercraft is wrecking havoc! My own personal edit (The Film Whisperer edit) of "Rumble" follows the US version 100% after the gang hideout fight scene. In fact it follows the US version a majority of the time.

The other thing too about New Line's edits for "Rumble" is that, for the most part, I was able to make the original sync-sound track work with their edit. Their editing isn't as choppy as how they did with "First Strike" and "Mr. Nice Guy". It's almost impossible to use the original track with New Line's edit on those films. I actually tried to make a FW edit of "First Strike" and gave up, lol.

Some aspects of the uncut version are a bit strange. Why would Uncle Bill invite Elaine to his wedding BEFORE she even agrees to buy his market?! Lol. Maybe it's a Chinese culture thing? But then again, changing that plot point forced New Line to also change the dynamic between Elaine & Keung. Keung just...offers to enslave himself to Elaine!   It also changes Uncle Bill's character a little bit. In the HK version, he's very shady, and he's desperate to sell the market.

Also Keung being a cop isn't relevant, but I guess it's meant to explain his fighting skills and instincts. They also mention that he has a girlfriend named "Amy" in Hong Kong, but she also serves no purpose to the plot, and her name is only mentioned once. And due to mentioning her, Keung cheats on his girlfriend with Nancy!

I also noticed that in the original version with the sync-sound track, at no point do the detectives tell Keung that the syndicate boss' name is "White Tiger"! So how would Keung know to say "I want to speak to your boss, White Tiger"?

I also hate the scene where two gangsters punch Elaine to take their "protection" money. That's why I don't include it in the FW edit. It's bad enough that the scene is played for laughs. But what's also awful about that scene is that there is no payoff later! Neither Keung nor Elaine get any revenge on those two gangsters later. And during that scene, after they punch Elaine, the white female cashier just stands there with that stupid "Duuuur" look on her face, while that black guy in the background (named "Ben" I think?) just has this "Oh sh**t!" expression on his face  !

I pray that we'll get a true HD restoration of this film one day. I can confirm that an HD remaster of "First Strike" exists through VOD in Asia. So I think we'll see a blu-ray release within the next year or two. But "Rumble", I think, is honestly the last Jackie Chan film which hasn't even gotten an anamorphic release, let alone an HD remaster! I hope that someone obtains a 35mm print down the road, scans it, and releases it...for free! Lol.

There's a lot more work to come! Stay tuned!

[HippieDalek]

They also mention that he has a girlfriend named "Amy" in Hong Kong, but she also serves no purpose to the plot, and her name is only mentioned once. And due to mentioning her, Keung cheats on his girlfriend with Nancy!

Yeah, that bit really stuck out when I watched the HK version. I thought perhaps there was going to be a deleted subplot, but it's just a throwaway line that adds nothing to the plot while also substantially changing Keung's character. My only thought is perhaps the line was there to make him seem more of a macho player or something, but even that doesn't seem to fit the character presented.

[MutantToe]

I don't know if I'm missing something...I tried downloading this twice but it's the exact same on both copies.

Regarding the reconstruction version, the video seems to switch between reconstructed quality and terrible quality. Sometimes it happens for just a second, other times entire scenes are terrible quality. When it switches to the reconstruction it looks fantastic, but the video is constantly changing between the two which makes it completely unwatchable.

It first happens 50 seconds into the movie and lasts for 18 seconds, and then continues to do it throughout the entire movie. Am I missing something?

[stwd4nder2]

I don't know if I'm missing something..

Yes you're missing something. If you don't want the low-quality scenes try this version

[DTchaos]

Love this movie! Never saw the HK version, looking forward to checking it out.

[MutantToe]

I don't know if I'm missing something..

Yes you're missing something. If you don't want the low-quality scenes try this version

What are you talking about? I have that version. I own the bluray, as well as 48 other Jackie Chan blurays that are in my collection. But the bluray sucks, hence why I want this reconstructed version.

I feel like you're police-ing my comment because you think I'm just complaining about the quality or something. But The Film Whisperer Edit version has the same scenes but in high quality. It's the Film Whisperer Reconstructed version that dips in and out of quality every minute or so. Like the scene will start in low quality and then change to high quality a second later. It defintely isn't right and I'm wondering why. You pointing me in the direction of the bluray just implies that the reconstructed version I downloaded that dips in and out of quality every minute is correct and that I shouldn't be questioning it. Is it correct? Does the version you downloaded do that same thing?

[CSchmidlapp]

I don't know if I'm missing something..

Yes you're missing something. If you don't want the low-quality scenes try this version

What are you talking about? I have that version. I own the bluray, as well as 48 other Jackie Chan blurays that are in my collection. But the bluray sucks, hence why I want this reconstructed version.

I feel like you're police-ing my comment because you think I'm just complaining about the quality or something. But The Film Whisperer Edit version has the same scenes but in high quality. It's the Film Whisperer Reconstructed version that dips in and out of quality every minute or so. Like the scene will start in low quality and then change to high quality a second later. It defintely isn't right and I'm wondering why. You pointing me in the direction of the bluray just implies that the reconstructed version I downloaded that dips in and out of quality every minute is correct and that I shouldn't be questioning it. Is it correct? Does the version you downloaded do that same thing?

This is correct.

The Reconstructed Version is an exact representation of the Original HK cut using the best available footage available.
I'm afraid the footage that was removed from the US cut is only available from low quality DVD releases, hence the cutting back and forth from HD footage to SD.
It wasn't just whole scenes exiled, alot were trimmed, some shot to shot.

[MutantToe]

I don't know if I'm missing something..

Yes you're missing something. If you don't want the low-quality scenes try this version

What are you talking about? I have that version. I own the bluray, as well as 48 other Jackie Chan blurays that are in my collection. But the bluray sucks, hence why I want this reconstructed version.

I feel like you're police-ing my comment because you think I'm just complaining about the quality or something. But The Film Whisperer Edit version has the same scenes but in high quality. It's the Film Whisperer Reconstructed version that dips in and out of quality every minute or so. Like the scene will start in low quality and then change to high quality a second later. It defintely isn't right and I'm wondering why. You pointing me in the direction of the bluray just implies that the reconstructed version I downloaded that dips in and out of quality every minute is correct and that I shouldn't be questioning it. Is it correct? Does the version you downloaded do that same thing?

This is correct.

The Reconstructed Version is an exact representation of the Original HK cut using the best available footage available.
I'm afraid the footage that was removed from the US cut is only available from low quality DVD releases, hence the cutting back and forth from HD footage to SD.
It wasn't just whole scenes exiled, alot were trimmed, some shot to shot.

Ah okay. It was so bizarre that I thought it might have been a problem with the file or something. Thanks for answering the question.