Shout Factory in the USA has announced Volume 2 of the Shaw Brother Classics Collection featuring 12 Blu-Ray titles remastered in HD. While some have been released before, mainly in the UK, most are now long out of print and this set has a host of new extras.
LADY OF STEEL:
Cheng Pei-pei was Hong Kong’s first and most celebrated queen of kung fu because her performances set all the standards for future female martial arts stars like Michelle Yeoh. Lady Of Steel is a high-plains-drifter adventure where Cheng Pei-pei plays a swordswoman on a mission: to find the bandits that killed her parents and save the country from foreign invaders. Extras – NEW Audio Commentary By Cult Film Critic Ian Jane.
BROTHERS FIVE :
Years before he was to become famous for directing Bruce Lee in Fist Of Fury and Jackie Chan in New Fist Of Fury, Lo Wei teamed with superstar swordswoman Cheng Pei-pei (Come Drink With Me) for this action thriller of brotherly love … and death. She stars as Yen Lai, the one woman who can reunite the Kao brothers to rid the Teng Lung Manor of killers – as well as take revenge for their father’s murder. Extras –
- NEW Audio Commentary By James Mudge, Hong Kong Film Critic At easternKicks
- NEW Audio Commentary By Film Historian Brian Bankston (Cool Ass Cinema Blog)
THE CRIMSON CHARM :
Huang Feng both writes and directs this “Martial Arts World” thriller of a noble swordsman and a one-armed swordswoman up against the vicious Crimson Charm gang of thieves and cutthroats. The lovely and lethal Ivy Ling Po teams with the amazing Chang I for a classic tale of good versus evil in which the best man – and one-armed woman – wins. Extras –
- NEW Audio Commentary With Film Historian Brian Bankston (Cool Ass Cinema Blog)
- Celestial Trailer
- Original Theatrical Trailer
THE SHADOW WHIP:
This top-ten box office hit reunites the star duo from Come Drink With Me in another classic action adventure. Cheng Pei-pei (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) radiates her trademark charm while wielding the deadly title weapon, which is implicated in multiple murders and a major heist. Whether single-handedly fighting sixteen bandits or avenging her father’s brutal death, she demonstrates why she was Hong Kong’s number one swordswoman – and no slouch with the whip either! Extras – NEW Audio Commentary With David West, Critic And Author Of Chasing Dragons: An Introduction To The Martial Arts Film
THE DELIGHTFUL FOREST :
Co-directed by Chang Cheh and Pao Hsueh-li, and written by Ni Kuang, Chang Cheh and Chin Shu-Mei, The Delightful Forest revolves around the legendary hero Wu Sung (Ti Lung), who was sent to the prison in the Meng province after murdering his sister-in-law and a local ruffian. There he was acquainted with the prison officer “Golden Eye” Shih En (Tien Ching), who saved Wu from the baton punishment required for new prisoners. Wu found out that Shih’s restaurant, “Delightful Forest,” was taken by the local thug “Door God” Chiang Chung (Chu Mu). Extras –
- NEW Audio Commentary With Cult Film Critic Ian Jane
- NEW Audio Commentary With Film Historian Brian Bankston (Cool Ass Cinema Blog)
THE DEVIL’S MIRROR :
This is Sun Chung’s very first film for the Shaw Brothers, making it especially interesting and important. He hit the ground running with this action-filled tale of a “Devil Girl” who is setting one clan against another to get her hands on two amazing mirrors with supernatural powers. Only a noble swordsman (played by Lau Dan) and a beautiful swordswoman (played by The Thundering Sword star Shu Pei-pei) can stop her. Extras – NEW Audio Commentary With Film Historian Brian Bankston (Cool Ass Cinema Blog)
MAN OF IRON :
Chen Kuan-tai exuded incredible power on screen, which his directors used to great advantage in this fight-filled follow-up to the smash hit The Boxer From Shantung. The only thing Chou Lien Huan does wrong is win some money gambling with a Shanghai gang leader’s playboy son … but that’s enough for the father and child to want obsessive revenge. It all culminates in an incredible climatic fight, choreographed by the legendary Lau Kar-leung and Chan Chuen, co-star of Bruce Lee’s Fist Of Fury. Extras –
- NEW Audio Commentary With James Mudge, Veteran Hong Kong Film Critic At easternKicks
- NEW Audio Commentary With Chris Poggiali, Co-Author Of This Fists Break Bricks And Brian Bankston (Cool Ass Cinema Blog)
- An Iron Will – Meredith Lewis, Author Of Ask For The Moon: Innovation At Shaw Brothers Studios, A 77-Minute Documentary On The Genesis, Rise, Peak And Fall Of The Shaw Brothers Movie Empire
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- German Trailer
THE WATER MARGIN :
The Chang Cheh-directed The Water Margin is the martial arts epic of epics … of epics. Based on the true legend of how 108 rebel heroes living in the mountains were able to repeatedly defeat invading Sung armies, the film starred just about anyone who was a name at Shaw Brothers at the time, like David Chiang, Chen Kuan-tai and Ti Lung. The primitive battles ultimately end in sharp, visually effective images of death and defeat. This is a must-see for any movie fan. Extras –
- NEW Audio Commentary with film historian Brian Bankston (Cool Ass Cinema blog)
- The Master: Chang Cheh
- Elegant Trails: Ti Lung
- Elegant Trails: David Chiang
- Extended Love Scene
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- Celestial Trailer
- TV Spot for the U.S. release SEVEN BLOWS OF THE DRAGON
THE BRIDE FROM HELL :
Never marry a possessed woman … especially one possessed by the spirit of a girl murdered by the uncle of the groom! That is the moral of this fascinating production, released a full two years before the international success of The Exorcist. Justice must be done and an exorcism, Hong Kong-style, must be performed before anyone can rest in peace. Talented Margaret Hsing Hui makes a fetching spirit in this mystery thriller that also incorporates a laugh or two amidst the chills. Extras –
- NEW Audio Commentary By James Mudge, Hong Kong Film Critic At easternKicks
- A More Traditional Terror: Hong Kong Film Historian Tony Rayns Talks Shaw Brothers Horror Films
- Original Theatrical Trailer
HEROES TWO :
Of the dozens of great martial arts movies made by this prolific and respected director, this tale of legendary Shaolin Avengers Fang Shih-yu and Hung Hsi-kuan is often considered one of his best. His collaboration with equally renowned kung fu choreographer Lar Kar-leung was apparent in all the performances, but especially with that of charismatic, capable, then 19-year-old Alexander Fu Sheng. This powerful production is a true landmark in kung fu film history. Extras –
- NEW Audio Commentary By David West, Critic And Author Of Chasing Dragons: An Introduction To The Martial Arts Film
- Original Theatrical Trailer
THE FLYING GUILLOTINE:
Director Ho Meng-hua attained cult status among Western kung fu film fans with The Flying Guillotine. One of the Shaw Brothers’ biggest martial arts stars, Chen Kuan-tai, plays the leader of a group of killers, commissioned by the Ching Emperor to use a deadly, beheading weapon to assassinate dissidents. Although based on a true story, the film’s weapon was a complete fabrication because in real life, no one ever survived to tell what the actual weapon really looked like. Extras –
- NEW Audio Commentary By James Mudge, Hong Kong Film Critic At easternKicks
- NEW Audio Commentary With Chris Poggiali, Co-Author Of These Fists Break Bricks And Brian Bankston (Cool Ass Cinema Blog)
- NEW Flying Without Wings – Actor Kai Kang Shares His Memories Of Working With The Studio In His First Ever On-Camera Interview
- NEW Dubbing Delirium – Joseph Ellison, Dubbing Artist On FLYING GUILLOTINE For Its U.S. Release, Reflects On The Early Kung-Fu Film Boom
- Original Theatrical Trailer
THE DRAGON MISSILE :
The many fans of the internationally popular Flying Guillotine films and international star Lo Lieh (King Boxer) will love this movie, featuring some of the most exciting martial arts machinery ever conceived. Everybody’s fighting for a special elixir and the title tool – an ultra-cool flying boomerang with blades. There are double-crosses and ambushes galore before the culminating clash of sizzling steel that must be seen to be believed. Extras –
- NEW Audio Commentary By James Mudge, Hong Kong Film Critic At easternKicks
- NEW Cutting Comments – Jim Marcovic, Editor Of Many Martial Arts Trailers For U.S. Cinemas During The 70s And 80s, Speaks About The Kung Fu Film Boom
