Shawscope Volumes

[J Wilson]

Set is now $99 at Deep Discount, assuming they can fill all their orders.

[dwk]

The booklet says that these four are going to be in the 2nd boxset:
Invincible Shaolin
Magnificent Ruffians
Kid with the Golden Arm
Ten Tigers of Kwangtung

[agnamaracs]

Rumor is the "AND MORE!" are solo releases of 8-Diagram Pole Fighter and Come Drink With Me in the US/Can (88 Films has these two in the UK)

Come Drink with Me confirmed.

[colinr0380]

Here's Mike D of the reelblack channel unboxing the Shawscope Volume 1 set.

[Glowingwabbit]

Here's Mike D of the reelblack channel unboxing the Shawscope Volume 1 set.

I wish the Folk Horror set was more like this. I know the Shawscope is bigger and I do like the space saving, but Arrow set just looks like it's much easier to get the discs out. Unless you wear gloves it's near impossible not to get fingerprint smudges on the Folk Horror discs.

[feihong]

The booklet says that these four are going to be in the 2nd boxset:
Invincible Shaolin
Magnificent Ruffians
Kid with the Golden Arm
Ten Tigers of Kwangtung

All 4 are Chang Cheh movies with the Venoms, though Ten Tigers also has Ti Lung, Alexander Fu Sheng, and others in it. For my money, Ten Tigers is the best of these, Invincible Shaolin is pretty good, and the other two––despite Kid with the Golden Arms' positive reputation––are pretty interchangeable Venoms movies.

Still no earlier Chang Cheh movies, like Vengeance, Have Sword, Will Travel, The Duel, Four Riders, The Heroic Ones, Blood Brothers, The Anonymous Heroes, Golden Swallow, Water Margin, Trilogy of Swordsmanship, The Savage 5. I wonder if Arrow predominantly has licenses for the later Chang films? Boxer From Shantung comes from this earlier era––but it has been one of the films Celestial has always given a lot of extra visibility (I believe it was one of the original films they restored in 35mm). I hope there's Chor Yuen films to come.

[Glowingwabbit]

Still no earlier Chang Cheh movies, like Vengeance, Have Sword, Will Travel, The Duel, Four Riders, The Heroic Ones, Blood Brothers, The Anonymous Heroes, Golden Swallow, Water Margin, Trilogy of Swordsmanship, The Savage 5. I wonder if Arrow predominantly has licenses for the later Chang films? Boxer From Shantung comes from this earlier era––but it has been one of the films Celestial has always given a lot of extra visibility (I believe it was one of the original films they restored in 35mm). I hope there's Chor Yuen films to come.

My guess is that when they bought this package of licenses they didn't get to pick and choose. They also wanted to make the set Region free (hence Come Drink with Me and 8 Diagram getting solo releases) and they have both Eureka and 88 films competing for titles (and now 88 has moved to US distribution too)

I assume Golden Swallow will be in Vol 2 since they added the trailer to their Come Drink With Me blu (not a guarantee but still seems likely). Unfortunately I've heard that only one Chor Yuen film will be in the set, but again it could mean his films were already snatched up by 88 films who had a headstart on HK cinema. Or perhaps Arrow has already grabbed another batch that we don't know about yet (they are handling restorations of some of the films so it might take time)

36 Chamber was already hinted at so I assume it will be in Vol 2 as well along with Return to the 36 Chamber

[Maltic]

Still no earlier Chang Cheh movies, like Vengeance, Have Sword, Will Travel, The Duel, Four Riders, The Heroic Ones, Blood Brothers, The Anonymous Heroes, Golden Swallow, Water Margin, Trilogy of Swordsmanship, The Savage 5. I wonder if Arrow predominantly has licenses for the later Chang films? Boxer From Shantung comes from this earlier era––but it has been one of the films Celestial has always given a lot of extra visibility (I believe it was one of the original films they restored in 35mm). I hope there's Chor Yuen films to come.

My guess is that when they bought this package of licenses they didn't get to pick and choose. They also wanted to make the set Region free (hence Come Drink with Me and 8 Diagram getting solo releases) and
have both Eureka and 88 films competing for titles (and now 88 has moved to US distribution too)

I assume Golden Swallow will be in Vol 2 since they added the trailer to their Come Drink With Me blu (not a guarantee but still seems likely). Unfortunately I've heard that only one Chor Yuen film will be in the set, but again it could mean his films were already snatched up by 88 films who had a headstart on HK cinema. Or perhaps Arrow has already grabbed another batch that we don't know about yet (they are handling restorations of some of the films so it might take time)

36 Chamber was already hinted at so I assume it will be in Vol 2 as well along with Return to the 36 Chamber

Has Eureka released any Shaw titles yet? I can only think of Golden Harvest, off the top of my head.

88 fairly recently released The One-Armed Swordsman and other SB titles based on old masters, but I guess Arrow (or 88 themselves) could give them new scans for solo releases in the US.

[Glowingwabbit]

Has Eureka released any Shaw titles yet? I can only think of Golden Harvest, off the top of my head.

88 fairly recently released The One-Armed Swordsman and other SB titles based on old masters, but I guess Arrow (or 88 themselves) could give them new scans for solo releases in the US.

Maybe not. I'm likely just confusing titles so you're likely correct.

James Flower already tweeted that Come Drink with Me and one other (8 Diagram) were the only Region A only titles.

The booklet says that these four are going to be in the 2nd boxset:
Invincible Shaolin
Magnificent Ruffians
Kid with the Golden Arm
Ten Tigers of Kwangtung

I didn't notice before but My Young Auntie is also mentioned in the book as coming in Volume 2. Now I'm thinking no Golden Swallow as these films seem to follow roughly where Vol 1 ended in terms of chronology.

[dwk]

I didn't notice before but My Young Auntie is also mentioned in the book as coming in Volume 2. Now I'm thinking no Golden Swallow as these films seem to follow roughly where Vol 1 ended in terms of chronology.

I seem to recall someone from Arrow mentioning that the sets were in roughly chronological order.

I suspect that if they had Golden Swallow they would have boxed it up with Come Drink with Me in one of their chipboard cases so they could charge an extra $10-$15 for the release.

[yoloswegmaster]

Full boxset review from BR.com

[yoloswegmaster]

Be wary of the Simon Abrams commentary on 'Five Venoms', as it contains a few incorrect facts.

[Maltic]

Lau Kar Leung never worked on Shaolin Temple
The snake actor Wei Pei isn’t in disciples of the 36th chamber
Executioners of Shaolin was never released as Master Killer nor does it have any venom mob actors in it
36th chamber was called Master Killer in the US

Could be worse

[Drucker]

Putting in for my refund now.

[feihong]

It was really interesting to watch the international cut of Chinatown Kid. I had only seen the Celestial DVD, which has the Hong Kong cut. It had always seemed a smarmy movie, with a treacly message about staying in school instead of joining a gang. The film bored me (I've never enjoyed Alexander Fu Sheng's over-obvious approach to acting), and it seemed a lot more awkward than Chang Cheh's normal movies. The ending seemed especially toothless. The international cut fixes most of those problems. No cure for Fu Sheng being himself, and the acting by the lead actresses is equally wooden. Many of the venoms actors do much, much better as performers, and their roles are in general a bit more expanded in the international cut. Philip Kwok and Lo Mang come off especially well in the picture. The drama is a lot more focused and interesting in the international cut, and the Chinatown gang war is much more of a thing in this version of the film––again adding focus and purpose to the picture. The completely different ending was a nice surprise as well––much more apropos for the drama at hand, and much truer to Chang Cheh's particular dramatic orientation. I was very pleasantly surprised by the overall improvement.

[Orlac]

I think the International Cut IS the Hong Kong cut. What was on the Celestial DVD was for territories like Malaysia and Singapore.

[Drucker]

It was really interesting to watch the international cut of Chinatown Kid. I had only seen the Celestial DVD, which has the Hong Kong cut. It had always seemed a smarmy movie, with a treacly message about staying in school instead of joining a gang. The film bored me (I've never enjoyed Alexander Fu Sheng's over-obvious approach to acting), and it seemed a lot more awkward than Chang Cheh's normal movies. The ending seemed especially toothless. The international cut fixes most of those problems. No cure for Fu Sheng being himself, and the acting by the lead actresses is equally wooden. Many of the venoms actors do much, much better as performers, and their roles are in general a bit more expanded in the international cut. Philip Kwok and Lo Mang come off especially well in the picture. The drama is a lot more focused and interesting in the international cut, and the Chinatown gang war is much more of a thing in this version of the film––again adding focus and purpose to the picture. The completely different ending was a nice surprise as well––much more apropos for the drama at hand, and much truer to Chang Cheh's particular dramatic orientation. I was very pleasantly surprised by the overall improvement.

I have a write-up of the set coming soon as I have 3 films left to get through, but Sheng's performances in every film he's in have me scratching my head, trying to figure out if his performance is uniquely over the top, or if that's common for this type of picture. I actually loved Chinatown Kid, and while the middle part is a bit of a slog, I think the moral gravity actually lands quite well, especially as it pivots from the first to second half and he kills someone for the first time.

[Drucker]

Before getting this set, I had seen maybe five or six proper Kung Fu films in my life. Now having gone through the whole thing, I feel like I was the target audience. The set does a really good job of showcasing a variety of types of martial arts films, and many of these feel like you're watching a 101 on Kung Fu and where a lot of tropes come from. I particularly loved that in Shaolin Temple we actually get an explanation of how people are able to fly through the air!

Here's a brief write-up of every film:
King Boxer was really, really good. At first I was nervous the whole set would be like this, with plot clearly subordinate to the fighting and action films. So I was glad to see that wasn't the case. This film is definitely one of the nicest looking ones in the set, and the action is really exciting. There's a moment when the protagonist is warned against pursuing a Kung Fu lifestyle, as it often leads to death and misery. The prophecy actually comes true, which lends a nice bit of darkness to the film. Also I have to wonder: there are some Japanese fighters brought in during this film and they seem to resemble primitive humans, is that a racial commentary on Japanese people? The Boxer From Shantung was excellent as well. Really enjoyed the plot here. I liked that there was an explicit moral code as part of the film.

Five Shaolin Masters initially confused me. I found that to be a theme, where there was a lot of similarity on pacing, where events early in the film trigger the plot, but we don't really reconnect back to it until later on. Once I had wrapped my head around where the film was going I dug it. And Shaolin Temple, as referenced above, was one of my favorite in the set. On the other hand, I thought Mighty Peking Man was dumb and couldn't sit to enjoy it.

Challenge of the Masters was one of the stronger films as well, as it may have been the only film in the set where I actually believed for a second that maybe the hero wouldn't complete their martial arts training (don't worry, he does). Executioners From Shaolin had to be one of the top 2 or 3 films in the set and I don't think any of the films did such a good job at balancing the ability to have a main character die off, and a relentlessly focused plot. This film had some of the best fight scenes as well, and even though the outcomes of events in all three major fights was fairly predictable, it still worked.

I did like Chinatown Kid, though it almost lost me. One of the best looking films in the set, for the first ten minutes I thought I was going to get some shot on location all vibes chill 1970s film. Is this the first film in the set where Tam Tung is an expert martial artist at the start of the film, and it's believable? Again, I like that they kind of dispense with the first half of the film halfway through and make it a strong morality film in the second half. Again, a great final fight scene helps. Unfortunately by the time I got to The Five Venoms and Crippled Avengers I could feel my patience for the set begin to wane a little. I thought the set-up for the former was really stupid, but I have to admit, the way it ended and the final fight scenes were good. Not so for Crippled Avengers which starts humorously in a way I was able to get behind, but man did it get really old really fast. The gimmick just did not work for me, and the fight scenes dragged here.

I enjoyed the last two films in the set though. Heroes Of the East gave us another proper female martial artist and a really interesting Japanese vs. Chinese plot. The final fight in this one is one of the best in the set, and makes up for the back half which drags a little. And Dirty Ho was maybe the most unique film in the set, and had one of the coolest soundtracks.

Halfway through the box I stopped watching with subtitles and turned on the dubs, and I think it helped me enjoy the films more. The native language audio certainly feels more appropriate, and the soundtrack is slightly better, but it was nice to just watch the films without subtitles. I do have to wonder though how often the English language dubs get the emotions wrong. I didn't love the way in Dirty Ho for example, the heir in hiding almost sounds dumber than Ho Jen, which doesn't seem like it fit the plot. Even though he is just "playing dumb", the soundtrack didn't come off that way.

The transfers range from good to great. You can definitely tell some of them are a bit flatter, somewhat lacking in grain, but the audio throughout the set is superb, and all of the dynamic kung fu sounds come through clear.

If I have a wish for the next volume from Arrow, I kind of hope we get more films like King Boxer. Again, I feel like I have a much better understanding of the tropes that inform Kung Fu movies now, and would love some more than focus a ton on flying through the air and excessive fighting.

[Glowingwabbit]

Before getting this set, I had seen maybe five or six proper Kung Fu films in my life. Now having gone through the whole thing, I feel like I was the target audience. The set does a really good job of showcasing a variety of types of martial arts films, and many of these feel like you're watching a 101 on Kung Fu and where a lot of tropes come from.

Nice writeup. I'm basically coming from the same place having seen only one Shaw film before this, Love Eterne (a brilliant film but predates their Kung Fu phase), and very little in terms of Kung Fu. Did you watch the doc on the King Boxer disc? I found that enlightening in terms of how things changed after Bruce Lee.

I've only watched the first two films in the set so far. I'm trying to space them out so I don't burn myself out like you did. For what it's worth apparently no one likes Mighty Peking Man. I enjoyed being able to identify parts in King Boxer that Tarantino ripped for Kill Bill but otherwise I was a bit underwhelmed by it. I'm assuming it's inclusion is more of historical curiosity than a high point of the studio. It didn't help that I had just watched The Chinese Boxer (from 88 films) a few days before which has a very similar plot but feels more dynamic. It also has Lo Lieh in it but Jimmy Wang Yu (who also directs the film) is the main protagonist. The latter isn't a good fighter so he makes up for it with interesting camera movements and editing choices which might be part of the reason it was more engaging to me.

The Boxer from Shantung was definitely an improvement over King Boxer. It does feel a bit over long but oh boy does Chang Cheh bring the violence and the end fight set piece was pretty impressive. This was my first Chang Cheh film and I'm looking forward to catching up on his more celebrated films.

[Drucker]

The doc you reference is something I still need to tackle. I watched the Rayns piece on the first disc which was really helpful and gave some great context, but I haven't develed into the extras besides that.

[Orlac]

King Boxer is a bit of an anomaly in the Shaw catalogue - it feels closer to what Golden Harvest was doing the same year. If you enjoyed that, Shaws' Vengeance! and The Duel are worthy companions. They also did The Thunderbolt Fist, which is a crude King Boxer knockoff (also from a Korean director) with an oddly cast lead, OTT "Jap" bashing, and some socko gore!

[Drucker]

King Boxer is a bit of an anomaly in the Shaw catalogue - it feels closer to what Golden Harvest was doing the same year. If you enjoyed that, Shaws' Vengeance! and The Duel are worthy companions. They also did The Thunderbolt Fist, which is a crude King Boxer knockoff (also from a Korean director) with an oddly cast lead, OTT "Jap" bashing, and some socko gore!

I could definitely use some guidance as to what else to look out for. Obviously I wanna get a bunch of the Eureka releases now, but I'm sure that only scratches the surface, too. What is my best bet if I want to pick up some Sonny Chiba blu-rays?

[Orlac]

Before getting this set, I had seen maybe five or six proper Kung Fu films in my life. Now having gone through the whole thing, I feel like I was the target audience. The set does a really good job of showcasing a variety of types of martial arts films, and many of these feel like you're watching a 101 on Kung Fu and where a lot of tropes come from.

Nice writeup. I'm basically coming from the same place having seen only one Shaw film before this, Love Eterne (a brilliant film but predates their Kung Fu phase), and very little in terms of Kung Fu. Did you watch the doc on the King Boxer disc? I found that enlightening in terms of how things changed after Bruce Lee.

I've only watched the first two films in the set so far. I'm trying to space them out so I don't burn myself out like you did. For what it's worth apparently no one likes Mighty Peking Man. I enjoyed being able to identify parts in King Boxer that Tarantino ripped for Kill Bill but otherwise I was a bit underwhelmed by it. I'm assuming it's inclusion is more of historical curiosity than a high point of the studio. It didn't help that I had just watched The Chinese Boxer (from 88 films) a few days before which has a very similar plot but feels more dynamic. It also has Lo Lieh in it but Jimmy Wang Yu (who also directs the film) is the main protagonist. The latter isn't a good fighter so he makes up for it with interesting camera movements and editing choices which might be part of the reason it was more engaging to me.

The Boxer from Shantung was definitely an improvement over King Boxer. It does feel a bit over long but oh boy does Chang Cheh bring the violence and the end fight set piece was pretty impressive. This was my first Chang Cheh film and I'm looking forward to catching up on his more celebrated films.

BOXER FROM SHANTUNG - this was the first Shaw film I ever saw. Back in 2004, I was on a summer course at Brighton Film School and found the Warner VHS in a second hand shop. I actually watched it like a serial, using the VHS player in the editing suite when it was free, which helped to disguise the overlength of the movie!

This definetly feels like Shaws racing to beat Golden Harvest to the post. As the two companies both had competing Thailand set actioners in October '71 (DUEL OF FISTS and THE BIG BOSS), here we have two Shanghai-set early 20th century features (BFS and FIST OF FURY) with real-life but slightly out of time historical figures (Ma Yong-zhen and Huo Yuan-chia respectively) and a fight with a Western boxer.

And Shaws have suddenly promoted a bona-fide martial arts expert, Chen Kuan-tai, from extra to stardom, probably the only sign they gave at the time that letting Bruce Lee slip through their fingers had spooked them. And David Chiang's clumsy antics here, visibly struggling to keep up with Chen with their fight, suggests that even James Tien probably unnerved Sir Run Run a bit!

There are two credited directors here, and I think it's likely one did all of David Chiang's scenes. There's a lot of tight close-ups not seen elsewhere, and no-one seems to have realised that Chiang's chauffer, Fung Hark-on, is also playing rival gangster Chiang Nan's teapot toting goon in the epic finale!

I'd rather it had less fights (several are rather clumsy) and more interaction between Ching Li and Chen Kuan-tai...but that final fight scene...

And I have to laugh at the film constantly bigging up Wong Ching's bodyguard, only for him to finally fight in the finale and be as useless as the rest of them! And I suspect the film was laughing too.

[swo17]

I could definitely use some guidance as to what else to look out for.

I'm very new to Shaw Bros. myself, but I really enjoyed Eight Diagram Pole Fighter and Legendary Weapons of China, both available from 88 Films, with the former supposedly forthcoming from Arrow US

[Orlac]

King Boxer is a bit of an anomaly in the Shaw catalogue - it feels closer to what Golden Harvest was doing the same year. If you enjoyed that, Shaws' Vengeance! and The Duel are worthy companions. They also did The Thunderbolt Fist, which is a crude King Boxer knockoff (also from a Korean director) with an oddly cast lead, OTT "Jap" bashing, and some socko gore!

I could definitely use some guidance as to what else to look out for. Obviously I wanna get a bunch of the Eureka releases now, but I'm sure that only scratches the surface, too. What is my best bet if I want to pick up some Sonny Chiba blu-rays?

Although Chiba is only in the first film, Arrow's Sister Street Fighter set is decent. I'd also reccomend him in Doberman Cop and Wolf Guy.

Shout! did a blu-ray set of The Street Fighter trilogy which has the Japanese audio synced to the US cuts (only really an issue with part 3). It hasn't had a UK release.