‘Shawscope Vol. 4’ Blu-ray Review (Arrow Video)
Arrow Video have been treating collectors to their lavish Shaw Brothers collections – the mighty Shawscope sets – for a good while now. And guess what? We’ve already reached Volume 4. Volume 4! Hard to believe there’s been that many, but yes… Arrow keep spoiling us. Shawscope Volume 4 is the biggest, wildest box yet. We’re talking slimy creatures, supernatural sorcery, and sex-crazed serial killers. If that sounds like a good time, it absolutely is. So let’s crack open this super-deluxe Blu-ray beast and see what cinematic chaos awaits.
Inside, you get a 10-disc set packing a whopping 16 films: Super Inframan, Oily Maniac, Battle Wizard, Black Magic, Black Magic Part 2, Hex, Bewitched, Hex vs. Witchcraft, Hex After Hex, Bat Without Wings, Bloody Parrot, The Fake Ghost Catchers, Demon of the Lute, Seeding of a Ghost, Portrait in Crystal, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
All sixteen films are presented in High Definition (1080p). Every single film has been restored in 2K from the original negatives by Arrow Films. Arrow Video, as always, do a wonderful job restoring the releases to the best picture quality possible. In addition to restored films, these Blu-rays have bonus features as well, including:
DISC ONE – SUPER INFRAMAN
- Newly restored lossless Mandarin, Cantonese and English mono audio
- Newly translated English subtitles, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub
- Option to view the film in its US theatrical version, Infra-man, with lossless “Stereo-Infra-Sound” surround audio
- Brand new commentary by martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng & Erik Ko
- Shaws’ Little Dragon, a newly filmed interview with co-star Bruce Le
- Super Ultra Infra Action!, a brand new video essay on Shaws’ tokusatsu films written and narrated by Steven Sloss
- Theatrical trailers, TV spots and radio spots
DISC TWO – OILY MANIAC / BATTLE WIZARD
- Newly restored lossless Mandarin mono for both films, plus English mono for Battle Wizard
- Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub on Battle Wizard
- Brand new commentary on Oily Maniac by critic Ian Jane
- Brand new commentary on Battle Wizard by Jonathan Clements, author of A Brief History of the Martial Arts
DISC THREE – BLACK MAGIC / BLACK MAGIC PART 2
- Newly restored lossless Mandarin and English mono audio for both films
- Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs
- Brand new commentary for Black Magic by critic James Mudge
- Brand new commentary for Black Magic Part 2 by critic Samm Deighan
- Alternate US opening for Black Magic Part 2
DISC FOUR – HEX / BEWITCHED
- Newly restored lossless Cantonese and Mandarin mono audio for both films
- Newly translated English subtitles for both films
- Brand new commentary for Bewitched by critic James Mudge
DISC FIVE – HEX VS. WITCHCRAFT / HEX AFTER HEX
- Newly restored lossless Cantonese and Mandarin mono audio for both films
- Newly translated English subtitles for both films
- Additional Mandarin voiceover clip for Hex Vs. Witchcraft
DISC SIX – BAT WITHOUT WINGS / BLOODY PARROT
- Newly restored lossless Mandarin mono audio for both films
- Newly translated English subtitles for both films
- Brand new commentaries for both films by critic Samm Deighan
DISC SEVEN – THE FAKE GHOST CATCHERS / DEMON OF THE LUTE
- Newly restored lossless Cantonese and Mandarin mono audio for both films
- Newly translated English subtitles for both films
- Brand new commentary for Demon of the Lute by martial arts cinema expert Frank Djeng
DISC EIGHT – SEEDING OF A GHOST / PORTRAIT IN CRYSTAL
- Newly restored lossless Cantonese and Mandarin mono audio for both films
- Newly translated English subtitles for both films
- Brand new commentary for Seeding of a Ghost by critic James Mudge
DISC NINE – TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR
- Newly restored lossless Cantonese and Mandarin mono audio
- Newly translated English subtitles
- Seamless branching option to watch Cantonese version with additional scene from Mandarin version
- Brand new commentary by martial arts cinema expert Frank Djeng
- Newly filmed interview with director/co-writer Alex Cheung
- Newly filmed appreciation by film scholar Victor Fan
- Theatrical trailer
DISC TEN – BONUS DISC
- Hong Kong: The Show of Mister Shaw, a 1972 French TV profile of Shaw Brothers
- Brand new video essay on Ho Meng-hua written and narrated by Grady Hendrix
- Newly filmed appreciations of Super Inframan by Leon Hunt, Luke White and Kim Newman
- Newly filmed appreciation of Bat Without Wings by Wayne Wong
- Newly filmed appreciation of Demon of the Lute by Luke White
- Newly filmed appreciations of Battle Wizard and Demon of the Lute by Victor Fan
- Theatrical trailers for most of the films in the set, some never seen on video before
This absolutely huge Blu-ray set doesn’t just pack 10 discs – it also comes loaded with physical extras too! You get a beautifully illustrated 60-page collector’s booklet featuring brand-new writing from David West, Jonathan Clements and Grady Hendrix, along with cast and crew listings and detailed notes on every film by Ian Jane. The set also sports fresh artwork from Matt Frank, Jolyon Yates, Mike Lee-Graham, Chris Malbon and Ilan Sheady, making it as much a visual treat as it is a cinematic one.
If you’ve been collecting Arrow Video’s Shawscope releases, your shelf simply isn’t complete without this monster of a box. Not only does it offer a treasure trove of wild, wonderful Asian cinema and a stack of bonus features – it’s such a stunning display piece that your friends will be seriously jealous.
***** 5/5
Shawscope Volume 4 is out on December 9th. Head over to Amazon and pre-order your copy today!
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