The Big Boss (1971) English export version reconstruction

Here to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bruce Lee’s first martial arts classic is an HD reconstruction of the original English-language export version prepared by Golden Harvest in late 1971 or early 1972, featuring dubbing by Ted Thomas’ Axis International. This reconstruction mainly uses the recent Criterion Blu-ray presentation of L’Immagine Ritrovata’s 4K restoration and reinstates missing footage, English titles, and other elements from a variety of other sources. I’m indebted to Space Hunter M, shenlong44, and Heng Wei Li for their help with this project.

The existing sources for the original English dub are incomplete, so for missing dialogue, the audio switches to the original Mandarin soundtrack, with subtitles based on the optical subs from the film’s 1983 Cantonese-dubbed re-release, in lieu of a reference for the 1971 theatrical subs. More info can be found in the included supplements. Further details below:

MAIN FEATURE

AUDIO:

1. English Mono PCM

SUBTITLES:

1. English dub SDH

Chapters and titles based on the Criterion Blu-ray.

EXTRAS

THE BIG BOSS DUBBING CAST:
An original featurette on the cast of Hong Kong-based voice actors responsible for this English dub, including numerous clips of their work in other films.

THE BIG BOSS RECONSTRUCTION SOURCES:
A look at the sources employed in this reconstruction, as well as the process of assembling them into the finished product and the decisions involved.

The subtitles in the MKV are Blu-ray PGS subs designed to display nicely within the widescreen frame; I’ve also included this subtitle track as an SRT for any purposes requiring text-based subtitles.

Enjoy!

SCREENSHOTS