Directed by Johnnie To, this is a remake of Chang Cheh’s Disciples of Shaolin and stars Aaron Kwok as  Kwan Fung-yiu, the bare footed kid of the title. After the death of his father, he goes to the city to work at the dye factory Four Seasons Weaver of his father’s friend Tuen Ching-wan (Ti Lung), which is under attack by the workers of another factory owner, Hak Wo-po (Kenneth Tsang).

Kwok is rewarded with his first pair of shoes for all his hard work, but his fighting skills make him someone that the evil Hak Wo-po wants in his employ. That means that our hero becomes just another henchman at one point before needing to get on the path to redemption. There’s also romance, as his father’s friend is in love with the owner of the factory (Maggie Cheung) and a young teacher attempts (Chien-Lien Wu) to help our hero realize that he’s not just some fool from the countryside.

Ultimately, it’s a movie where someone who lost everything in the world of violence tries to have someone not repeat their mistakes. Whole I prefer the original, this is a worthy remake.

The Arrow Video Shaw Scope Volume Two box set has a brand new 4K restoration of The Bare-Footed Kid as well as commentary by Frank Djeng of the NY Asian Film Festival; a newly filmed appreciation by film critic and historian Tony Rayns; a Hong Kong theatrical trailer; a UK VHS promo and an image gallery.

You can get this set from MVD.

You can also stream this movie on the Arrow player. Visit ARROW to start your 30-day free trial. Subscriptions are available for $4.99 monthly or $49.99 yearly. ARROW is available in the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland on the following Apps/devices: Roku (all Roku sticks, boxes, devices, etc), Apple TV & iOS devices, Android TV and mobile devices, Fire TV (all Amazon Fire TV Sticks, boxes, etc), and on all web browsers at https://www.arrow-player.com.