‘Furious Swords and Fantastic Warriors’ Blu-ray Review (Eureka)
When you think of Hong Kong cinema, one name towers above the rest: Chang Cheh. A true titan of the industry, his career spanned six decades, and at his most prolific, he was releasing up to eight films in a single year – an output that more than justifies his reputation as the ‘Godfather of Hong Kong cinema.’
Across that extraordinary run, Chang worked across a wide range of genres, from Chinese opera and wuxia to historical epics and supernatural thrillers. Now, Eureka Entertainment celebrates his legacy with Furious Swords and Fantastic Warriors, a Blu-ray collection bringing together ten of his films in one definitive set.
Presented here are ten films that reveal the range and versatility of Chang’s career as a filmmaker. Traditional wuxia pian is represented by King Eagle, Trail of the Broken Blade and Wandering Swordsman; choreographed by Lau Kar-leung, Men from the Monastery and Shaolin Martial Arts are both drawn from Chang’s Shaolin Cycle, included here alongside New Shaolin Boxers; Iron Bodyguard, released at the dawn of the kung fu era, is representative of changing trends in Hong Kong cinema; and some of Chang’s more esoteric work is represented by the opera film The Fantastic Magic Baby and the supernatural fantasy The Weird Man. Also included is the anthology film Trilogy of Swordsmanship, to which Chang contributed a segment alongside his contemporaries Yueh Feng and Cheng Kang.
This boxset includes the following films:
- Men From The Monastery (1974 – 93 minutes)
- Shaolin Martial Arts (1974 – 112 minutes)
- King Eagle (1971 – 84 minutes)
- Iron Bodyguard (1973 – 99 minutes)
- The Fantastic Baby (1975 – 101 minutes)
- The Weird Man (1983 – 91 minutes)
- The Trail of the Broken Blade (1967 – 109 minutes)
- The Wandering Swordsman (1970 – 108 minutes)
- Trilogy of the Swordsmanship (1972 – 113)
- New Shaolin Boxer (1976 – 101 minutes)
Eureka Entertainment presents all ten films on Blu-ray in 1080p, framed in their original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Audio is offered in Mandarin LPCM 2.0 mono across the set, with English LPCM 2.0 mono dubs available for Men From the Monastery, Shaolin Martial Arts, Iron Bodyguard, The Weird Man, The Trail of the Broken Blade and New Shaolin Boxers.
The transfers themselves are crisp and clean, making this collection a fantastic way to revisit, or discover, these Hong Kong classics in high definition. In addition to 10 feature films, Eureka Entertainment included some great bonus features in this Blu-ray set, including:
Special Features:
- Audio Commentaries include David West on Men From the Monastery, The Weird Man and The Trail of the Broken Blade; Frank Djeng & Michael Worth on Shaolin Martial Arts, Iron Bodyguard and New Shaolin Boxer; Mark Leeder & Arne Venema on King Eagle, The Fantastic Magic Baby, The Wandering Swordsman and Trilogy of Swordsmanship; and Frank Djeng on The Fantastic Magic Baby. All feature background on the films and performers.
- Saving Shaolin: Legends of Modern Martial Arts
- Men From The Monastery VHS Footage
- A Sword Raised To The Sky: History and the Iron Bodyguard
- Interview with Wayne Wong
- Illustrated Booklet with an essay about Chang Cheh’s career by James Oliver
If you have been enjoying all the recent Shaw Brothers Blu-ray releases, this epic Blu-ray of Furious Swords and Fantastic Warriors is a must-add to your collection!
