SHOUT! FACTORY
presents
MARTIAL ARTS MOVIE MARATHON
Featuring Widescreen Presentations of
Four Action-Packed Martial Arts Movies
The collection features several of the biggest names in Honk Kong action films: actor and action choreographer Sammo Hung, credited as Hung Chin-Pao, in The Manchu Boxer and The Skyhawk; director John Woo, credited on The Dragon Tamers as Wu Yu-sheng, Angela Mao Ying in duel roles in The Association; and Kwan Tak-Hing in The Skyhawk, one of the last of his many dozen performances as Wong Fei Hung.
All four films were originally from Golden Harvest and produced by Raymond Chow. All are in widescreen ratios, no pan-and-scans here. Each offers the choice of a Mandarin or an English dubbed soundtrack. There are optional crisp, clear and easy-to-read yellow English subtitles. (One of the things I like to do occasionally, though admittedly not very often, is to watch the film with both the English dubbed soundtrack and English subtitles. It's interesting and sometimes fun to note the differences between the two.)
The video transfers are quite decent. There are some specks here and there and occasionally a thin white vertical line appears, but nothing to deter one's enjoyment of the films. The only special feature for each movie is its trailer.
Here's a brief rundown of the films:
The Skyhawk (1974) features an approximately 69-year-old Kwan Tak-Hing once again as Wong Fei Hung. Accompanied by his student Fei Fei (Sammo before he received the injury that gave him the scar above the right side of his lip) goes to Thailand to participate in the celebration of his brother's 60th birthday. Mr. Ku, a rival to Wong's brother, is involved with gambling, human trafficking, and opium smuggling. Confrontations ensue. Given his age, it's not surprising that Kwan is obviously doubled in the more acrobatic stunts. Still it's a real treat to see him "onscreen" doing his Wong Fei Hung thing.
In The Manchu Boxer (also 1974), a young man is expelled by his father after killing a man in self defense. H comes to a village where the nefarious Mr. Chin is holding a seven-province wide boxing tournament that he intends to win by any means necessary. His methods include using two Japanese henchmen, one of whom is played by Sammo, who is also credited as the film's Fight Instructor. There's rape, murder, a tiny bit of fleeting nudity and an ultimate coming to account for evil deeds.
The Dragon Tamers (1975) was the second feature film directed by John Woo, who also wrote the screenplay. Carter Huang, who is also in other films in the collection, portrays Fan Zhongjie, a Chinese Boxer. The film apparently is set in Korea, though what the University of West Beijing is doing there is anybody's guess. (I just chalked up the confusion to the original subtitling and went with the flow.) There's lots of contention between rival forces, namely because the head of one taekwondo school wants all the other schools to join an association that he heads. The film, according to the trailer, features "12 wonder girl [sic] from China, Japan, Korea." There's a smattering of nudity and lots of action.
The Association (also 1975) refers to The Love and Mercy Welfare Association, which is a front for what essentially is a high class whore house. Huang Tian-xing (Korean born actor Yu Byong) is a righteous policeman who insists on bring it down, despite its connections with the high and mighty, wealthy and powerful. Angela Mao Ying, as I've previously indicated, has dual roles. There's some decent action to be found here, as well as a great deal of female nudity. This was my least favorite of the four films, mainly because I found the ending weak and unsatisfying.
Rather than rate each of the films, I'm assigning an overall rating to the collection. None of the films are what I'd consider great, but they're all watchable at the minimum, and pretty damn enjoyable overall.
ACF Rating for the MARTIAL ARTS MOVIE MARATHON: 3.5 of 4 stars, highly recommended. You certainly get your money's worth with it!
Oh, and get ready for MARTIAL ARTS MOVIE MARATHON, Vol 2 which is due to be released by Shout! Factory on August 19, 2014. It will include The Fate of Lee Khan, Shaolin Boxers, The Young Dragons, and The Shaolin Plot. It can be pre-ordered at Amazon. Click here if interested.
