STREET FIGHTER II: UNCUT, UNCENSORED, AND UNLEASHED DVD REVIEW

It's been a long journey for Street Fighter II and American DVD fans. Since the film's initial release in 1994, it has been mangled, cut, spliced, and diced into different versions. One version cut part of the fights to get a PG-13, and the more recent unrated version even spliced out a few moments including, shall we say, key parts of the Chun-Li shower scene. Finally, twelve years later, fans of the influential anime/action adventure Street Fighter II can finally have one of their favorites in its pure, uncut form. And Manga Video isn't going to allow any room for complaints. This new edition includes the Japanese and English language versions, both with different scores in 5.1 surround sound. This transfer of the Japanese version has been pulled directly from the original master. This is old school Street Fighter II and what fans have been clamoring for since they first heard that they might not be getting all they could stateside.

Wait. You say you've never heard of Street Fighter II and want the plot? Well, it's a video game movie, so as you can imagine, plot takes a back seat to action in Street Fighter II. Basically, an evil mastermind is trying to assemble an army of the best fighters in the world. The good guys are trying to stop them. Kicking and punching ensue. Chun-Li, Vega, Ryu, Ken, all your favorites are here and they're all kicking someone's ass. Ready! Fight!

Now, even though this was taken from the original Japanese master, time has not treated Street Fighter II well on a visual level. This is a non-anamorphic transfer, which sucks for those of us with widescreen televisions, and the picture quality is lacking for any shaped television. The brightness shimmies in and out, and the colors just aren't as rich as they should be. This may be the best we're going to get from Street Fighter II, but that doesn't mean we should be happy about it. The sound fares better with both versions getting a 5.1 soundtrack that's mixed well. Check out at least a little bit of both versions of the film to see how different an experience it is with the two soundtracks - the Japanese is mostly ballads, while the UK version is pumping with a KMFDM score. It really changes the feel of the film.

Now, here's what's going to make you put on your Ken costume and angrily find somebody to punch. This version of Street Fighter II comes almost extra-free. Sure, there's "motion menus" but that barely qualifies. You'll also find interactive player cards that tell you more about your favorite characters, but hardcore Street Fighter fans already know this trivial information. The only mildly fun extra is the inclusion of a brief comic book in the DVD casing. It's mostly just an advertisement for the Street Fighter graphic novels, but more DVDs should come with comic books.

Some fans of Street Fighter II have been waiting for this release for over a decade, and it's great that they'll finally be satisfied. Could more have been done? Absolutely. The film needed a better visual polish, and it wouldn't hurt to find a few extras or someone involved with the film willing to talk about it for a special feature. But now, with Street Fighter II: Uncut, Uncensored, and Unleashed, long-suffering fans can cross this entry off of their video game movie wish list. Now, where's "Mortal Kombat: Uncut, Uncensored, and Unleashed?"

Movie: B+
Look: C
Sound: B
Extras: D
Overall: C+


Review by Brian Tallerico