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Eastern Condors



Legendary actor-director Sammo Hung delivers a bazooka blast of pure adrenaline in this exemplar of Hong Kong action cinema at its most entertaining. Drawing inspiration from Hollywood war films like The Dirty Dozen, Eastern Condors follows a ragtag band of Asian American prisoners dropped into Vietnam on a secret suicide mission to prevent a cache of weapons from falling into the hands of the Viet Cong, who are more than ready for a fight. Propelled by a dynamic ensemble cast that includes the ever-charismatic Yuen Biao as a black-market trader and a superhuman Yuen Wah as a giggling martial-arts monster, this rip-roaring spectacle offers a nonstop barrage of turbocharged set pieces that defy death, logic, and gravity itself.

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• New audio commentary featuring film critic Tony Rayns
• 2K digital restoration of the English-dubbed "export cut" of the film
• Meet the Filmmakers, a new interview with director Sammo Hung
• Interviews from 2001 with Hung and actor Yuen Wah
• Eastern Condors Live!, an onstage performance from the 1987 Miss Hong Kong Pageant
• Teaser and trailers
• New English subtitle translation
• PLUS: An essay by film critic Sean Gilman

since I'm always one of the first to point out my disappointment with lack of new extras, I'll be one of the first to praise the inclusion of a new Tony Rayns commentary. more of that, please

It’s been like 15 years since I saw this, but it was a blast, managing to out-do Rambo at a third of the budget. I am really enjoying how much attention HK has been getting these last few years.

Also it’s a pleasant surprise to see a new interview with Sammo Hung. I don’t think the UK boutiques that did his other films on BD ever got him for an new interview.

That is a very nice surprise. I can sell on the Eureka since I never cared about the other two films in there.

Glad to see a Sean Gilman essay included. I credit him with helping to expanding my horizons when it came to HK films.

yoloswegmaster wrote:Glad to see a Sean Gilman essay included. I credit him with helping to expanding my horizons when it came to HK films.

What of his work do you recommend?

Mr Sausage wrote: Mon Sep 16, 2024 5:22 pm It’s been like 15 years since I saw this, but it was a blast, managing to out-do Rambo at a third of the budget.

I'm so glad they prioritized this release after acquiring the rights - it's a phenomenal action picture, and one of Sammo Hung's best directed efforts, right up there with Wheels on Meals and Dragons Forever. If you think you just might be interested in this, it's one of the safest blind-buys in the HK canon of this era

Mr Sausage wrote: Mon Sep 16, 2024 5:47 pm What of his work do you recommend?

So I'm trying to find the website but I either forgot the name or he nuked but here is his LB page. There's a link to his website but you have to pay a subscription to read it. I just remember getting into Johnnie To just because I encountered his reviews for To's films.

Mr Sausage wrote: Mon Sep 16, 2024 5:47 pm

yoloswegmaster wrote:Glad to see a Sean Gilman essay included. I credit him with helping to expanding my horizons when it came to HK films.

What of his work do you recommend?

Gilman's site is The Chinese Cinema

therewillbeblus wrote:

Mr Sausage wrote: Mon Sep 16, 2024 5:22 pm It’s been like 15 years since I saw this, but it was a blast, managing to out-do Rambo at a third of the budget.

I'm so glad they prioritized this release after acquiring the rights - it's a phenomenal action picture, and one of Sammo Hung's best directed efforts, right up there with Wheels on Meals and Dragons Forever. If you think you just might be interested in this, it's one of the safest blind-buys in the HK canon of this era

This might be the easiest point of entry to Hung’s work. I remember it having little of the crass humour and bizarre tonal shifts that can make his other work offputting to the unfamiliar. I think you’re right: this is a safe bet for someone with even mild curiosity.

ryannichols7 wrote: Mon Sep 16, 2024 6:07 pm

Mr Sausage wrote: Mon Sep 16, 2024 5:47 pm

yoloswegmaster wrote:Glad to see a Sean Gilman essay included. I credit him with helping to expanding my horizons when it came to HK films.

What of his work do you recommend?

Gilman's site is The Chinese Cinema

I second this. It's well worth the subscription too. Just him and Rayns on the supplements would be a day one purchase but it's really encouraging Criterion went the extra mile.

Brandon Bentley said on the film's BR thread that he's reconstructed the original Cantonese mono from the original dialogue, music and FX stems, and the export cut has the original English credits in HD. Markgway mentioned that the subs have been improved a bit as well.

More info on the release from Irongod2112

Having worked on both the Eureka and this new Criterion release. It always bugged me with the how dark & blue the night scenes were on the Eureka.

Criterion worked with me to correct this and I'm happy to report all the action is bright & clear for those scenes now.

I also worked hand in hand with the great Brandon Bentley on the new audio (Criterion provided original audio stems) and I have to say this new Cantonese track is absolutely amazing!!

Subtitles have also been improved by Markgway and Ken Zhang and the Eastern Condors LIVE SHOW Extra will finaly have subtitles now for we missed the deadline on the Eureka release.

Eastern Condors is my absolute favorite HK film of all time and ALOT of love went into this.

I'm so happy that Criterion let me correct and improve everything to bring the fans the ultimate version of Sammo's greatest achievement!

Trust me, even If you own the great Eureka release this will be well worth the double dip!!

Hopefully if this sells well perhaps Criterion will release a few more Sammo films.

He also confirms that Criterion were trying their hardest to find the deleted scenes but that the footage was discarded, something that was confirmed by Sammo Hung.

At the Kung Fu Fandom forum, when asked about Spooky Kind 2 being included in when Criterion gets around to the first one, Irongod2112 said that "it's being looked into but no promises yet."

Hopefully they can convince WB to license out that (and the Mr. Vampire title they have. And The Blade and Pedicab Driver, and insert Golden Harvest title of your choice locked up in WB jail.)

nicolas wrote: Mon Sep 16, 2024 5:30 pm Also it’s a pleasant surprise to see a new interview with Sammo Hung. I don’t think the UK boutiques that did his other films on BD ever got him for an new interview.

He also sat for a series of interviews with the Academy of Motion Picrtures Arts & Sciences, which has been recording testimonials from key figures of the Hong Kong film industry. I could see Criterion sprinkling some of these into future releases

Here's a comparison that someone was able to provide between the Eureka and Criterion release:

Eureka:

Spoiler

Criterion:

Spoiler

Between the two, I prefer the latter since the former looks a bit too dull and washed out for my taste.

Saw this today. Awesome film. The final twenty minutes are especially great.