Eureka: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (Angela Mao Double Feature)

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yoloswegmaster
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:57 pm

Eureka: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (Angela Mao Double Feature)

#1 Post by yoloswegmaster » Thu Jun 09, 2022 11:20 am

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Angela Mao and director Huang Feng (The Shaolin Plot) were a superstar pairing that produced an incredible series of top tier kung-fu classics including Deadly China Doll, When Taekwondo Strikes and the two films presented here – Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind.

In Hapkido (aka. Lady Kung Fu in the West), a group of martial artists (Mao, Sammo Hung, and Carter Wong) start their own school to teach the Korean martial art, Hapkido, but a rival Japanese academy attempts to crush them – deeming Hapkido inferior to their Japanese fighting style. Similar to the plot of Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury (a canny decision by the filmmakers, capitalising on Mao often being referred to as a “female Bruce Lee” ), Hapkido was a huge hit in the West, even briefly beating Lee’s Enter the Dragon at the North American box office.

Perhaps her most iconic film, Lady Whirlwind (bizarrely re-titled as Deep Thrust in the US, to capitalise on the success of Deep Throat, which probably made its tag lines—“The Deadly Stroke of Bare Hand Combat” and “Mistress of the Death Blow”—a tad misleading) stars Mao as a deadly fighter out for revenge on the man who wronged her sister (played by Shaw Brothers veteran Chang Yi). After tracking the man down, she finds he is on his own vengeful path against a gang of Japanese thugs and agrees to help keep him alive – as long as she gets to take her revenge when it’s all over!

Two excellent martial arts films make their debuts on Blu-ray—and the first time Lady Whirlwind has ever been available in the UK—from brand new 2K restorations!


Special Features:
Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling [2000 copies]
Limited Edition Reversible Poster featuring original theatrical poster artwork [2000 copies]
1080p presentations of both films across two Blu-ray discs, from new 2K restorations
Hapkido – Original mono Mandarin and English audio options, including two variations of the classic English dub
Hapkido – DTS-HD MA 5.1 English dub (newer dub originally created for the film’s original DVD release)
Lady Whirlwind – Original mono Mandarin and English audio options
Optional English Subtitles, newly translated for this release
Hapkido – New feature length audio commentary with Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) & Michael Worth
Hapkido – New feature length audio commentary with Frank Djeng & martial artist / actor Robert “Bobby” Samuels
Lady Whirlwind – New feature length audio commentary with Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) & Michael Worth
Lady Whirlwind – New feature length audio commentary with Frank Djeng & martial artist / actor Robert “Bobby” Samuels
Lady Whirlwind – New feature length audio commentary by film journalist and author Samm Deighan
Brand new interview with Angela Mao, filmed in 2022
Archival interview with Angela Mao
Archival interview with Carter Wong
Archival interview with Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao
Hapkido – Alternate opening credits
Selection of trailers and TV spots
Stills Galleries
Reversible sleeve featuring original Hong Kong poster artwork
A Limited Edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver [2000 copies]

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dwk
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:10 pm

Re: Eureka: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (Angela Mao Double Feature)

#2 Post by dwk » Thu Jun 09, 2022 3:17 pm

Identical release coming to region A from Arrow.

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salad
Joined: Mon Jul 17, 2006 9:20 pm

Re: Eureka: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (Angela Mao Double Feature)

#3 Post by salad » Thu Jun 09, 2022 7:24 pm

Sammo Hung appears to be channeling Rainer Werner Fassbinder in ‘Lady Whirlwind’.

Orlac
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2009 4:29 am

Re: Eureka: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (Angela Mao Double Feature)

#4 Post by Orlac » Thu Jun 09, 2022 8:34 pm

The alternate second English dub for HAPKIDO is hysterical - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jquLkusb4qg

Orlac
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2009 4:29 am

Re: Eureka: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (Angela Mao Double Feature)

#5 Post by Orlac » Sat Jun 11, 2022 11:36 am

An early review of LADY WHIRLWIND/DEEP THRUST from Joe Dante. Yes, that Joe Dante.

https://trailersfromhell.com/deep-thrust/

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vsski
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2011 3:47 pm

Re: Eureka: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (Angela Mao Double Feature)

#6 Post by vsski » Sat Jun 11, 2022 9:29 pm

While the release from Eureka looks great, I wonder if it makes sense to wait for the full announcement from Arrow. James Flower said it will be identical except cover graphics, the three Arrow releases of the Hong Kong films “Come drink with me”, “The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter”, and “One-Armed Boxer” from 88 Films and Eureka respectively have all been bettered in the extra category by Arrow in the US.

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dwk
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:10 pm

Re: Eureka: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (Angela Mao Double Feature)

#7 Post by dwk » Sat Jun 11, 2022 10:00 pm

The Running out of Time set seems identical, so I see no reason to expect the Arrow release of this set to any different. Honestly, it wouldn't shock me if these ended up being the exact same discs that play the Arrow logo on region A players and the Eureka logo on region B players.

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rapta
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2014 5:04 pm
Location: Hants, UK

Re: Eureka: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (Angela Mao Double Feature)

#8 Post by rapta » Sun Jun 12, 2022 1:38 pm

Yes, I think that's what James Flower was implying - these will be identical discs, as Running Out of Time 1&2 presumably is as well. Only differences will be packaging and booklet, similar to when Arrow and Shout Factory collaborated on To Live and Die in L.A., for example. The reason for this is most likely to halve costs for both labels, and because Eureka don't have a US operation so it works in Arrow's favour (though you'd think they'd want to announce the two releases at the same time so US collectors aren't unnecessarily importing).

In fact, the Shaw Bros films titles vsski mentioned above were all bettered by Arrow because they weren't released concurrently to the UK releases from Eureka and 88 Films, so of course it would make sense to add an extra selling point or two when releasing those same titles Stateside.

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MichaelB
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Re: Eureka: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (Angela Mao Double Feature)

#9 Post by MichaelB » Sun Jun 12, 2022 1:54 pm

I don’t remember the specific titles, but James was telling me recently about upcoming discs whose machine-readable side would be identical regardless of where you bought them but which menu/branding you got would depend on whether the player was Region A or B. So it may well have been those.

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vsski
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2011 3:47 pm

Re: Eureka: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (Angela Mao Double Feature)

#10 Post by vsski » Sun Jun 12, 2022 8:36 pm

Thanks everyone - I actually welcome this and hope it becomes a trend, as I feel it provides buyers and collectors more of an assurance that they don’t have to double dip any time soon because of additional extras for their favorite movies.

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Ribs
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2014 1:14 pm

Re: Eureka: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (Angela Mao Double Feature)

#11 Post by Ribs » Fri Sep 23, 2022 10:35 pm

Confirming that this set presents itself as an Arrow Video release when put in a region A player - despite still not having been announced for US release yet!

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L.A.
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Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Eureka: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (Angela Mao Double Feature)

#12 Post by L.A. » Wed Sep 28, 2022 1:55 pm


Orlac
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Re: Eureka: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (Angela Mao Double Feature)

#13 Post by Orlac » Wed Sep 28, 2022 4:47 pm

It's a great release!

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Finch
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:09 pm
Location: Edinburgh, UK

Re: Eureka: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (Angela Mao Double Feature)

#14 Post by Finch » Wed Sep 28, 2022 10:58 pm

I actually wish Eureka would follow Second Sight's example and release standard editions simultaneously as I don't find Oliver's writing all that wonderful, could do without the slipcovers too and pay a lower price. Maybe in a few months...

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tenia
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Re: Eureka: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (Angela Mao Double Feature)

#15 Post by tenia » Thu Sep 29, 2022 1:44 am

Second Sight and Eureka's LE system is quite different : Second Sight are producing LEs à la Arrow, ie with collector cards, a bigger booklet and a rigid cardboard. Eureka are just adding a slipcover (and sometimes a poster) to what is otherwise their standard motto, with the slip and the booklet only printed once. That's why the simultaneity exists at SS but not Eureka, but also why the price difference is not the same.
If you're indeed not interested, you can wait a bit so that either it's sold out and replaced by the 2nd pressing, or it's not but might be slightly discounted.

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