For the Martial Arts Maven
Jackie Chan: Emergence of a Superstar
BLU-RAY (THE CRITERION COLLECTION) The Jackie Chan Collection Volume 1 (1976-1982) BLU-RAY (SHOUT SELECT)
There’s never been a movie star with the skills, smarts and dedication of Jackie Chan, and cinema might never see his like again. Boutique label Criterion agrees, surveying six projects that chart the increasing creative control that presage his rise to the top: Spiritual Kung Fu (1978), The Fearless Hyena (1979), Fearless Hyena II (1983), The Young Master (1980), My Lucky Stars (1985) and Half a Loaf of Kung Fu (1978) in high-def restorations with stereo/5.1 Cantonese soundtracks and newly translated English subtitles. Extras include a pair of commentaries, interviews and deleted footage. Shout!’s first set covers much that same critical phase of Jackie’s trajectory, showcasing him in a range of roles across seven movies: The Killer Meteors, Shaolin Wooden Men, To Kill With Intrigue, Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin, Dragon Fist, Battle Creek Brawl and Dragon Lord, this last one in two different cuts. Terrific HD masters and an array of audio options abound, with commentaries for all and lots of legacy interviews, plus the exclusive new documentary, The Golden Boy: Harvesting A Major New Martial Arts Maverick.
Shawbrothers Classics Vols. One and Three
BLU-RAY (SHOUT! STUDIOS)
The Shaw Brothers’ cornucopia of highproduction-value films never seems to stop giving, their catalog reborn in spiffy HD masters. The first set assembles eleven gems spanning 1967-1969, among them The Golden Swallow, The Golden Sword, The Thundering Sword, The Sword of Swords, Killer Darts and the equally
dangerous-sounding The Flying Dagger.
Jumping ahead, there’s an even dozen from 1976-1979: Web of Death, Death Duel, Deadly Breaking Sword, Shaolin Avengers, Shaolin Abbott, Shaolin Rescuers and still more. All are in Mandarin mono with new subtitle translations, some with English dubs, while almost every title here brings a new audio commentary (some with two) in addition to many new on-camera interviews and featurettes. (Volume 4 due by year’s end.)
The Tiger Cage Collection
BLU-RAY (SHOUT! STUDIOS)
The entire Tiger Cage trilogy (1988-1991) is together on Blu-ray for the first time in North America, in 2K restorations. All are directed by the legendary fight choreographer and Kill Bill/matrix veteran, Yuen Woo-ping, so hang on for lots of high-caliber action as a deep bullpen of above-and-beyond cops (Donnie Yen in I and II!) takes on a string of particularly nasty baddies. Each includes a new audio commentary, a smattering of new interviews across the set, and the first two movies even arrive in two different cuts.