Product Description
Picking up where Volume One left off, this sophomore collection of Hong Kong cinema classics draws together many of the best films from the final years of the Shaw Brothers studio, proving that while the end was nigh, these merchants of martial arts mayhem weren’t going to go out without a fight! Armed with stunning special features and ravishing new restorations, this boxset is even bigger and bolder than the last one.
We begin with kung fu master Lau Kar-leung’s instant classic The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, in which his adoptive brother Gordon Liu achieved overnight stardom as the young man who unexpectedly finds spiritual enlightenment on the path to vengeance; Lau and Liu followed the original with two comically inventive sequels, Return to the 36th Chamber and Disciples of the 36th Chamber, both included here. Already established as a genius at blending dazzling action with physical comedy, Lau himself plays the lead role in the hilarious Mad Monkey Kung Fu, coupled here with Lo Mar’s underrated Five Superfighters. Next, we once again meet Chang Cheh’s basher boy band the Venom Mob in no less than four of their best-loved team-ups: Invincible Shaolin, The Kid with the Golden Arm, Magnificent Ruffians and culminating in the all-star Ten Tigers of Kwangtung, co-starring Ti Lung and Fu Sheng. After Lau brings us perhaps his best high-kicking comedy with My Young Auntie, a playful star vehicle for his real-life muse Kara Hui, we see Shaw Brothers fully embracing Eighties excess in our strangest double feature yet: Wong Jing’s breathtakingly wild shoot-‘em-up Mercenaries from Hong Kong, and Kuei Chih-hung’s spectacularly unhinged black magic meltdown The Boxer’s Omen. Last but certainly not least, Lau Kar-leung directs the last major Shaw production, Martial Arts of Shaolin, filmed in mainland China with a hot new talent named Jet Li in the lead role; it is paired in this set with The Bare-Footed Kid, a reverent remake of a Chang Cheh classic with Johnnie To (Running Out of Time) in the director’s chair and Lau back on fight choreography duties, in arguably the ultimate filmed tribute to Shaws’ everlasting cinematic legacy. Read More
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I’m so happy that Arrow Video finally released Shawscope: Volume 2 boxset. It’s been a long road… I pre-ordered the boxset in August 2022, so I can make sure it arrived for my birthday… unfortunately, the release was delayed. While I’m happy to finally get my hands on it, this is probably the last time I do pre-orders. It was such a long time, and, in addition, I paid full price. When the boxset was released, Arrow Videos did a sale on the item, punishing me for pre-ordering. Sure, Amazon refunded the difference, but next time, I think I’ll just wait for the product to come out.
This Volume 2 may actually be the last Shaw Brothers release from Arrow. I read the rumor that they only secure 26 titles from Celestial Pictures (the current license holder), and Arrow has released all 26 title through these two boxsets and two single releases (for Come Drink With Me and The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter).
The highlight of Volume 2 is clearly the The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin trilogy: The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin (aka Master Killer), Return To The 36th Chamber, and Disciples Of The 36th Chamber. Every film is unrelated to the previous film, they are only tied together by the title and also its star Gordon Liu and directed by Lau Kar-leung… sort of like how the Dollars Trilogy was tied together by its titles (even though none of the films were related but all were directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastman). With that said, you can enjoy and treat each of the 36th Chamber film as a stand-alone film.
For the price, I did have a little disappointment in Volume 2. Mainly I was really disappointed in the commentary for My Young Auntie, which only comes up on some selective scene, and not throughout the movie. If you are to do this, have other commentaries filling in the gaps, or maybe just hire someone who can talk throughout the whole film.
The worst special feature is the single-disc for My Young Auntie which features a full length “VHS copy”. What the heck? Why would you want or care for an inferior version of the film? The VHS copy of My Young Auntie is absolute garbage. You guys couldn’t put on a 1080p version of the film (from the original Celestial DVD release) or a 2k scan?
There were a few special features, mostly some made-for-television documentaries from 2003 called Cinema Hong Kong. If you’ve seen them in 2003, it’s somewhat disappointing.
Not really a terrible thing, but disc 5 and 7 has the same name when you put it in your disc in your bluray drive. Disc 7 does have the correct content (Mercenaries From Hong Kong and The Boxer's Omen), but it was very confusing when your computer pops up with the wrong titles.
Otherwise, I’ve been enjoying the Venoms-films, Invincible Shaolin, The Kid With The Golden Arm, Magnificent Ruffians, and Ten Tigers Of Kwangtung. The latter is not one of my favorite, as the film is told through flashbacks.
It’s also been a long time since I saw Magnificent Ruffians, and I thought I hated the film, but re-watching it on Bluray, it’s like seeing it for the first time. This is not a bad Venoms film. The film is about some homeless kungfu experts who befriended a fellow fighter. It’s like a series of misunderstanding, like Invincible Shaolin.
The most enjoyable film so far has to go to Five Superfighters. This plot is absolutely terrible, but it’s so entertaining. The story is a Kung Fu expert walks into town and beats up everyone for “their bad kung fu”. He runs into a teacher and his three students and kicks the snot out of them. So the students decides to seek out new masters and agreed to meet back in six months so they can take their revenge.
The last movie disc of this set has two films, which I don’t really consider as part of the heyday of the Shaw Brothers. They are Martial Arts Of Shaolin, starring a young Jet Li, and The Bare-Footed Kid, a 90s film, directed by Johnny To. You see, in the mid-80s, Shaw Brothers shifted to television production through their TVB production. Some films, such as Martial Arts Of Shaolin already began as a series, with Shaolin Temple in 1982, and Kids From Shaolin in 1984 (this film is awful)… so I can see that it could signal the end of the Shaw Brothers era.
The Bare-Footed Kid (aka Professional Fighter), to me, wasn’t even a Shaw Brothers film. It was produced by Mona Fong for Cosmopolitan Film (which is tied to Shaw Brothers somewhat). You can argue that it is a sequel or remake of Chang Cheh’s Disciples of Shaolin… but I still don’t even consider Bare-Foot as part of the Shaw Brothers. It’s a shame, because I would have prefered that they included a real Shaw Brothers film, like Bewitched, which was the prequel to The Boxer's Omen.
Speaking of which, The Boxer's Omen, is pretty gruesome. I’ve seen it before, on DVD, and I praised director Kuei Chih-Hung previously for his amazing Killer Constable. I love his Hex films, but perhaps did not love The Teahouse.
Rounding out the rest of the boxset are two soundtrack CD. If you love these films, you’ll really appreciate and recognize many of these background music. Hearing these songs will conjure up images of these Shaw Brothers films.
While this Volume 2 of the Shaw Scope boxset is worth it to me… I find it hard to recommend these boxsets to casual Shaw Brothers fans. It’s very expensive… owning both sets will set you back about $300, which is not cheap (especially if you might not enjoy half the films). For a diehard fan and collector, I don’t mind the price, because, let’s face it, some of these films won’t get a single release. I can see Arrow Videos re-visiting and re-releasing some of these titles in a standalone. For example, they could easily rake up some money if they release the 36th Chamber of Shaolin trilogy set or a Venoms set. I would re-buy it again!
I am hopeful that Arrow Videos will get more license and release a Volume 3 in this Shaw Scope series… but my heart tells me that there are not enough Kung Fu fans out there to justify a third set. For those interested, I suggest buying the Volume 2 to send a message to Arrow Video that we want a third volume!
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Shaw Brothers Boxset (Arrow Video) |
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