Music - 4 days 9 hours ago
Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting over Arrow Video’s ShawScope Limited Edition Box Set
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Submitted by Stu Moran on Wed, 02/02/2022 - 07:22
The 1960s to early 70s were a golden age of Kung Fu films. From the classic films of Bruce Lee to the comedy of Jackie Chan, no other studio has a deeper understanding of the genre then the Shaw Brothers. Producing hundreds of films in that era, they revolutionized the genre by putting the best talents they could find in front of and behind the camera, and gave us some of the most iconic martial art films ever to grace the silver screen.
This first ever definitive series by Arrow Video karate-kicks off volume one and karate-chops the competition, putting to shame every other release of these films.
Each film in the set is given the royal treatment: all twelve movies are painstakingly remastered and, in some cases, completely retooled to incorporate footage long thought lost to the home video gods of yesterday.
Complete with a 60-page fully illustrated booklet featuring write ups and cast and crew listings for each film, it is a wonderful companion piece to the films themselves to learn a little more about each one. Also, there is a hidden Easter egg inside the booklet itself that gives away all the titles that will be released in the upcoming VOLUME TWO.
Also included are two audio CDs containing the scores and music from select films in the set. Just in case you haven’t got your full fix of deadly venoms at home, you can take it to the gym and practice your animal techniques while listening to the haunting and sometimes energizing audio.
The only complaints I have about this set are minor packaging issues and aesthetics. The set is encased in a beautiful hard stock, foil enhanced slipcover that protects the discs and booklet inside. Having such a nice outer shell, I feel a step up would have been to make the booklet inside a hardcover as well, to really hit it out of the park. Also, some collectors may complain about how the discs are stored in the set. Holding all the 13 discs is a hardbound booklet, encasing each disc with an ‘envelope’ style on each page, with the opposing page showcasing beautiful new artwork to accompany each film. I know in the collector community the ‘envelope’ style is frowned upon, due to the greater potential of discs being scratched.
Those two small gripes are the only thing holding this set back from a perfect score. If you are a martial arts fan and love the Kung Fu movies of the 60s and 70s, you will not find a better set on the market today -- and that’s if you can find it. Selling out fast on Arrow’s website upon launch, collectors and fans alike were waiting for this set to drop and scooping up the boxsets, some to speculate on the return value, others to love and enjoy the high-definition superb quality that Arrow brought to the set.
Limited Edition Contents
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of all twelve films, including seven new 2K restorations by Arrow Films
Illustrated 60-page collectors’ book featuring new writing by David Desser, Terrence J. Brady and James Flower, plus cast and crew listings and notes on each film by Simon Abrams
New artwork by Sam Gilbey, Matthew Griffin, Chris Malbon, Jacob Phillips, Ilan Sheady, Tony Stella, Darren Wheeling and Jolyon Yates
Hours of never-before-seen bonus features, including several cast and crew interviews from the Frédéric Ambroisine Video Archive
Two CDs of music from the De Wolfe Music library as heard in six of the films, exclusive to this collection
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Disc One: King Boxer |
Disc Two: The Boxer from Shantung |
Disc Three: Five Shaolin Masters / Shaolin Temple |
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Brand new 2K restoration by Arrow Films from a 4K scan of the original negative Newly restored uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio Newly translated English subtitles for the Mandarin audio, plus English hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub Brand new commentary by David Desser, co-editor of The Journal of Japanese and Korean Cinema and The Cinema of Hong Kong Newly filmed appreciation by film critic and historian Tony Rayns Interview with director Chung Chang-wha, filmed in 2003 and 2004 by Frédéric Ambroisine Interview with star Wang Ping, filmed in 2007 by Frédéric Ambroisine Interview with Korean cinema expert Cho Young-jung, author of Chung Chang-wha: Man of Action, filmed in 2005 by Frédéric Ambroisine Cinema Hong Kong: Kung Fu, the first in a three-part documentary on Shaw Brothers’ place within the martial arts genre produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003, featuring interviews with Jackie Chan, Jet Li, John Woo, Sammo Hung, Gordon Liu, Lau Kar-leung, Cheng Pei-pei, David Chiang and many others Alternate opening credits from the American version titled Five Fingers of Death Hong Kong, US and German theatrical trailers, plus US TV and radio spots Image gallery |
Brand new 2K restoration by Arrow Films from a 4K scan of the original negative Newly restored uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio Newly translated English subtitles for the Mandarin audio, plus English hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub Interview with star Chen Kuan-tai, filmed in 2007 by Frédéric Ambroisine Interview with assistant director John Woo, filmed in 2004 by Frédéric Ambroisine Interview with star David Chiang, filmed in 2003 by Frédéric Ambroisine Conversation between stars Chen Kuan-tai and Ku Feng, filmed at a Shaw Brothers reunion in 2007 by Frédéric Ambroisine Hong Kong and German theatrical trailers, plus US TV spot Image gallery |
Uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio for both films Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus English hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub Newly filmed appreciation of Chang Cheh by film critic and historian Tony Rayns Interview with star Kong Do, filmed in 2003 by Frédéric Ambroisine Elegant Trails: David Chiang and Elegant Trails: Ti Lung, two featurettes on the actors produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003 Alternate standard-definition version of Shaolin Temple Alternate opening credits from Five Masters of Death, the US version of Five Shaolin Masters Alternate opening credits sequences for Shaolin Temple US and German trailers for Five Shaolin Masters Hong Kong and German trailers for Shaolin Temple Image galleries for both films |
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Disc Four: Mighty Peking Man |
Disc Five: Challenge of the Masters / Executioners from Shaolin |
Disc Six: Chinatown Kid |
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Uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio Newly translated English subtitles for the Mandarin audio, plus English hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub Brand new commentary by Travis Crawford Brand new interview with suit designer Keizo Murase, filmed in 2021 by Daisuke Sato and Yoshikazu Ishii Interview with director Ho Meng-hua, filmed in 2003 by Frédéric Ambroisine Interview with star Ku Feng, filmed in 2004 by Frédéric Ambroisine Behind-the-scenes Super 8 footage from the archives of Keizo Murase ‘Unrestored’ standard-definition version Alternate opening credits from Goliathon, the US version of Mighty Peking Man Hong Kong, US, German and Dutch theatrical trailers, plus US TV spot Image gallery |
Brand new 2K restoration of Challenge of the Masters from the original negative by Arrow Films Uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio for both films, plus Cantonese mono for Challenge of the Masters Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus English hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs Newly filmed appreciation of Lau Kar-leung by film critic and historian Tony Rayns Interview with star Gordon Liu, filmed in 2002 by Frédéric Ambroisine Interview with star Chen Kuan-tai, filmed in 2007 by Frédéric Ambroisine Textless opening credits for Challenge of the Masters Alternate English credits for Executioners from Shaolin Hong Kong theatrical trailers for Challenge of the Masters Hong Kong and US theatrical trailers for Executioners from Shaolin Image galleries for both films |
Brand new 2K restoration of the 115-minute International Version from original film elements 90-minute Alternate Version Uncompressed original Cantonese audio for the International Version, with newly translated English subtitles Uncompressed original English audio for the International Version, with optional hard-of-hearing subtitles Uncompressed original Mandarin audio for the Alternate Version, with newly translated English subtitles Select scene video commentary by co-star Susan Shaw from 2021 Elegant Trails: Fu Sheng, a featurette on the actor produced by Celestial Pictures in 2005 Hong Kong, US and German theatrical trailers, plus US TV spot Image gallery |
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Disc Seven: The Five Venoms / Crippled Avengers |
Disc 8: Dirty Ho |
Disc 9: Music from Shaolin Temple, Mighty Peking Man, and Chinatown Kid Disc 10: Music from The Five Venoms, Crippled Avengers, and Dirty Ho
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Brand new 2K restorations of both films from the original negatives by Arrow Films Uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio for both films plus Cantonese mono for The Five Venoms Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus English hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs Brand new commentary on The Five Venoms by critic Simon Abrams Interview with star Lo Meng, filmed in 2003 by Frédéric Ambroisine Chang Cheh: The Master, a featurette about the director produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003 Hong Kong and US theatrical trailers for The Five Venoms Hong Kong theatrical trailer for Crippled Avengers Image galleries for both films |
Brand new 2K restoration of Dirty Ho from the original negative by Arrow Films Uncompressed Cantonese, Mandarin and English original mono audio for both films Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus English hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs Brand new commentary on Heroes of the East by Jonathan Clements, author of A Brief History of the Martial Arts Newly filmed appreciation of both films by film critic and historian Tony Rayns Interview with Heroes of the East star Yasuaki Kurata, filmed in 2003 by Frédéric Ambroisine Alternate opening credits for Shaolin Challenges Ninja, the international version of Heroes of the East Alternate English credits for Dirty Ho Hong Kong theatrical trailer for Heroes of the East, plus US TV spot Hong Kong theatrical trailer for Dirty Ho Image galleries for both films |
Grade:
4.5 / 5.0
