Martial arts have been in movies for some time. You might recall the karate chops in spy films, most notably James Bond in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. But movies with a basis in martial arts were rarely found until 173 when Bruce Lee came out with ENTER THE DRAGON. Sure his other films had been released her as well as a few others. But this was the film that ignited a craze that took over the world.
Following the release of that film more movies made their way here and were successful and not just in the grindhouses of 42nd Street in NYC. Across the country those older films found their way to television. Saturday or Sunday afternoons found Black Belt Theater and Kung Fu Theater programs airing the older films from China, more often than not poor copies of them being used.
The biggest company behind most of those films was the Shaw Brothers Studio. The studio had been releasing films since the early fifties. Many were historical dramas and some of those involve intense action sequences with martial arts and swordplay. But with the passing of Bruce Lee shortly after ENTER THE DRAGON was released, their product attempted to fill the void left by his death.
Many of the Show Brothers films have been released to disc in the past but those were the washed out looking features we saw on TV. Now all of this has changed and several companies are making up for it. Perhaps most notably among them is Arrow Video with their new release SHAWSCOPE VOLUME ONE. It might be a little pricey but if you are a fan of these films this will be a must have for your collection.
This box set features 12 full length features from the Shaw Brothers Studio. Each has been cleaned up and restored to the best quality you will find. In addition to that they’re including a number of extras that make this an amazing box set, one of the best released in the last few months.
The movies include KING BOXER aka FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH. This was one of the first major Chinese films to make it big here in the states. The story revolved around two rival martial arts schools vying for the recognition of being the best there is and starred Lieh Lo, one of the major stars of the genre. THE BOXER FROM SHANTUNG tells a different type of story as a young man makes his way through Shanghai changing from good guy to bad and then back again. FIVE SHOALIN MASTERS finds five Shaolin students escaping the burning of their temple, the last of the Shaolin disciples with each mastering their own special technique. This film featured two of the biggest stars in the genre, Ti Lung and David Chiang.
If that film wasn’t enough it was followed by SHAOLIN TEMPLE, also included in this box set. This one revolves around a Shaolin temple that martial arts students are lining up to become trained at. But only those who pass all tests are allowed to enter. Once more the temple is doomed from inside as well as out. Ti Lung and David Chiang also star in this one along with along with rising star Sheng Fu, who sadly passed away at age 28 in a car crash.
As a change of pace there is MIGHTY PEKING MAN, perhaps the weakest entry in the box set. This obvious take off on King Kong will inspire more laughs than scares. Back to more martial arts. While most of the earlier films were directed by the legendary Cheh Change, his stunt coordinator Lau Kar-leung began directing as well and CHALENGE OF THE MASTERS and EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN are included here. The first is based on real life martial arts master and physician Wong Fei-hung. Many films have been based on this character starring everyone from Jackie Chan to Jet Li.
Also included in the set are CHINATOWN KID, THE FIVE VENOMS one of the most memorable films that fans adore, CRIPPLED AVENGERS, HEROES OF THE EAST and DIRTY HO which features another of the more famous stars of the genre Gordon Liu.
The films are beautiful to watch with stunning sets and decorations, amazing martial arts and acrobatic skills and some of the best fighting sequences ever filmed. You may remember these as those chop socky action films you saw as a kid but watching them through adult eyes you can appreciate the work that went into them and why there were so popular around the world. With 2K masters from the original film negatives they have never looked better. If you’re a fan then by all means pick this one up as soon as possible. If not a fan find someone who is and give these a look. Some amazing films are on display in this set. Chances are you be as anxious as I am for volume two.
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