Shawscope: Volume Three (Blu-ray Review – Part 2)
Director
VariousRelease Date(s)
Various (December 3, 2024)Studio(s)
Shaw Brothers Studio/Celestial Pictures (Arrow Video)- Film/Program Grade: See Below
- Video Grade: See Below
- Audio Grade: See Below
- Extras Grade: A+
- Overall Grade: A+
Review
THIS REVIEW CONTINUES FROM PART 1 [Click here to go back...]
From the mid-1960s and through to the early 1980s and beyond, the Hong Kong-based Shaw Brothers Studio ruled the roost when it came to martial arts cinema. Producing a number of successful films that traveled all over the world, particularly to the US, Britain, and Europe, their brand of extreme hand-to-hand combat films entertained audiences under a myriad of different titles and in various languages. Today, they’re still beloved to genre fans, particularly to those who grew up seeing these films in grindhouse cinemas or repeatedly on television.
Arrow Video presents twelve of these films, encapsulating the Shawscope: Volume Three Blu-ray boxed set, a massive and beautifully-rendered release. It’s loaded with an amazing amount of extras per film in gorgeous packaging with an accompanying booklet, making it a massive undertaking for a single review. Because of its size, I’ll be covering this release one disc at a time, updating this review of the entire set over time to go over it in better detail.
Below, you’ll find quick links that will take you to reviews of Discs 6 through 10:
(Click Below to Jump to Individual Disc/Film Reviews):
DISC SIX: THE SENTIMENTAL SWORDSMAN
DISC SEVEN: THE AVENGING EAGLE
DISC SEVEN: KILLER CONSTABLE
DISC EIGHT: BUDDHA'S PALM
DISC EIGHT: BASTARD SWORDSMAN
DISC NINE: BONUS MATERIALS
DISC TEN (SOUNDTRACKS)
PACKAGING AND FINAL THOUGHTS
DISC SIX (JADE TIGER)
Jade Tiger (aka Baiyu laohu, Pai yu lao hu, and The Jade Tiger) was released in 1977 in Hong Kong, and in Honolulu and San Francisco with subtitles. In the film, the Zhao Clan and the Tang Clan are bitter rivals, increasing ten-fold when one of the Zhao elders is found decapitated during the nuptials of Wuji (Ti Lung), his son. Attempting to hide his identity, Wuji plans to find his father’s killers and infiltrate the Tangs in order to locate the person directly responsible. However, not everything is as it seems when multiple friends and foes reveal their true selves, leading Wuji into a whirlwind of conspiratorial intrigue at the hands of Tang Clan leader, Que (Lo Lieh). Also among the cast are Ku Feng, Lily Li, Xiao Yao, Fan Mui-Sang, Yueh Hua, Shih Szu, Derek Yee Tung-Sing, Chiang Nan, Ching Miao, Wang Hseih, Chan Shen, and Norman Tsui Siu-Keung.
One of director Chor Yuen’s more celebrated films, Jade Tiger is based upon the writings of Gu Long and contains a multitude of characters and subplots, some of which were not used in the film version. This is very much appreciated since an initial watch of Jade Tiger leads to a lot of confusion. There’s an endless cavalcade of characters, with most revealing themselves to be in league with one clan or the other, or confessing to be other people entirely. If you can manage to wade through the moral ambiguity of the various characters, you’ll find a grounded piece of material, no matter how impenetrable it may seem. It’s a dark and satirical work that openly comments upon martial arts film plots, almost to the point of breaking the fourth wall. For long-time wuxia fans, the action, the performances, the set pieces, the costumes, and scenery are all on point, making for a somewhat confusing but nonetheless entertaining wuxia adventure.
Jade Tiger was shot by director of photography Wong Chit on 35mm film with anamorphic lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Arrow Video’s presentation of the film is sourced from a 2024 2K restoration by Arrow Films in collaboration with L’Immagine Ritrovata, the Hong Kong Film Archive, and Celestial Pictures, with grading by Dragon DI, Wales. It’s another solid and organic picture, though the source elements do show obvious wear and tear. There are prominent scratches in the opening couple of minutes, badly-damaged end credits, occasional instability, thinning frame edges, and some minor color and contrast imbalances. However, the picture is natural with high levels of detail and mostly fine layers of grain, with a bitrate sitting mostly between 20 and 30Mbps. Outside of the built-in flaws, there’s excellent saturation and contrast to be had, with a clear and mostly stable picture.
Audio is included in Mandarin 1.0 LPCM with optional English subtitles. It’s a solid single-channel soundtrack with fine support for dialogue and sound effects, as well as score. It’s also clean with no apparent issues.
The following extras are included:
- Audio Commentary with Ian Jane
- Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer (HD – 3:24)
Commentary duties are handled by Ian Jane of the Rock! Shock! Pop! website. Besides just the usual reading of cast and crew biographies, Jane also references and reads various interviews with the collaborators from varying magazines, and speaks about their photographs in said magazines. He also explores and examines Chor Yuen’s film career at Shaw Brothers Studio, Jade Tiger’s various home video releases, the careers of others involved with it, and its literary source. It’s an interesting track that takes less obvious approaches to covering its subject matter. Also included is the Hong Kong theatrical trailer. Not carried over from the Region 2 Wild Side Video DVD release is an interview with Chor Yuen, a still gallery, and a short trailer, presumably from Celestial Pictures.
JADE TIGER (FILM/VIDEO/AUDIO/EXTRAS): B/B+/B+/C+
DISC SIX (THE SENTIMENTAL SWORDSMAN)
The Sentimental Swordsman (aka Duo qing jian ke wu qing jian, To ching chien ko wu ching chien, and Sword of Emotion) was released in 1977 in Hong Kong, and in Honolulu and Los Angeles with subtitles the following year. In the film, a traveling swordsman, Li Xunhuan (Ti Lung), has a mild malady and comforts himself with wine, with his trusted servant, Tie Chuanjia (Fan Mui-Sang), by his side. Along the way he meets Ah Fei (Derek Yee Tung-Sing), a nomadic swordsman who becomes his trusted ally once he arrives in his former home town of Xing Yun Chuang, where he left his great love Lin Shiyin (Candice Yu On-On), who married Long Xiaoyun (Yueh Hua), a man he owed his life to. Upon his arrival, he finds himself hunted by hired assassins and accused of various crimes. Ah Fei soon comes to his aid, especially after the real perpetrator, known as the “Plum Blossom Bandit,” also attempts to kill him. He must now clear his good name with the help of the local Shaolin temple and discover who is trying to frame him.
Based upon the Xiaoli Feidao Series novel Duoqing Jianke Wuqing Jian by Gu Long, The Sentimental Swordsman continued Chor Yuen’s and Ti Lung’s frequent collaborations. Though it has some elements in common with Clans of Intrigue, it’s much less convoluted than its predecessors with a more straightforward narrative that has its share of twists and turns, but not at the cost of the audience’s attention. Ti Lung and Derek Yee Tung-Sing, along with Fan Mui-Sang, make for a dynamic screen team. Chor Yuen’s direction and framing allows for some beautiful shots and excellent fight choreography, including some actual location photography, which wasn’t common for Shaw Brothers productions at that time. The film was such a success that two sequels would follow, Return of the Sentimental Swordsman in 1981 and Perils of the Sentimental Swordsman in 1982. There were also three television spin-offs, two titled The Romantic Swordsman, from 1978 and 1995 respectively, and Flying Daggers in 2003.
The Sentimental Swordsman was shot by director of photography Wong Chit on 35mm film with anamorphic lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Arrow Video’s presentation of the film is sourced from a 2024 2K restoration by Arrow Films in collaboration with L’Immagine Ritrovata, the Hong Kong Film Archive, and Celestial Pictures, with grading by Dragon DI, Wales. It’s an organic presentation and the source elements appear to be in better condition than some of the previous films, outside of transitions and title opticals. The bitrate, which sits between 20 and 30Mbps most of the time, serves the lovely on-location photography, as well as the usual Shaw Brothers sets, quite well. Detail is high with nice saturation and perfect contrast, allowing for deep blacks. The picture is also stable and clean. Truthfully, it’s one of the best presentations offered in this release.
Audio is included in Mandarin or Cantonese 1.0 LPCM with optional English subtitles. Both are very nice options. The Cantonese track has a little more body to it, while the Mandarin track is a little quieter. The Cantonese dubbing is also more canned by comparison. Either way, there’s plenty of support for sound effects and score on both tracks, with no issues to speak of. As for the performances, it’s a toss-up, though my ear tends to lean more towards the Mandarin.
The following extras are included:
- Audio Commentary with David West
- Theatrical Trailers:
- Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer (Mandarin #1) (HD – 3:06)
- Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer (Mandarin #2) (HD – 3:37)
- Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer (Cantonese) (HD – 3:06)
David West, author of Chasing Dragons: An Introduction to the Martial Arts Film, returns once again for another audio commentary. Like his previous commentary for One-Armed Swordsman, it’s a much more reactionary track than some of the other commentaries in this release. While commenting upon events as they happen, as well as the sets and the cinematography, he also examines this period in Shaw Brothers history, Chor Yuen’s directorial approach, facets of the film and their historical basis, the careers of the cast and crew, and the sequels that followed. It’s a very nice track. Last are two theatrical trailers in Mandarin and one in Cantonese. Not carried over from the 2006 Region-Free DVD release by Wild Side Video in France is an interview with Candice Yu On-On and a video trailer. Also not featured from the Region B Blu-ray release by Koch Media in Germany is the Elegant Trails: Ti Lung documentary and a still gallery.
THE SENTIMENTAL SWORDSMAN (FILM/VIDEO/AUDIO/EXTRAS): A-/A-/B+/B-
MORE TO COME...
- Tim Salmons
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