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Released by: Video Asia
Released on: 5/11/2004
Directors: Various
Cast: Jimmy Wang Yu, Chang Yi, David Chiang, Tsui Sui Keung, Lo Lieh
Year: Various
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The Movies:
The so called Shaw Legends Pack is another budget release from Video Asia that compiles a few unrelated martial arts films taken from old VHS tapes and slaps them onto DVD fast and cheap. Here's what's on this one:
GALLANT BOXER (a. k. a. The Gallant)
This little anthology film features Wang Yu in three different stories. In the first one he must protect a woman who eventually falls in love with him. When she gets kidnapped, he goes after her. The second story is a period piece. A gang of evil thugs terrorizes the townspeople and Wang Yu decides to take them down. In the third story he's a Bogart like character out to find his friend Li San, no matter what the cost.
I dig Wang Yu, he's a favorite of mine so seeing him in three different roles is kind of fun. Because the stories are short, there isn't much time between fight scenes so that action comes at you fast and furious.
800 HEROES
Chang Yi (Bells Of Death) headlines this period film made in 1980 about how a group of eight hundred Chinese reserve soldiers fought off the entire Japanese army when they invaded China. A young Brigitte Lin (The Bride With White Hair) makes an appearance as well as a supply girl. The emphasis here isn't so much on martial arts as it is on Chinese patriotism. It's thick with anti-Japanese sentiment, as is common in some of these films, and is quite political.
It's a well-made film that is played very seriously. Performances are good, especially from Lin who plays her role quite seriously and without a lot of the melodrama or intricate costumes that her characters are usually associated with.
THE LOOT
I was pleasantly surprised by this solid kung fu comedy starring David Chiang of Shaolin Abbot (a personal favorite) and Phillip Ko of 8 Diagram Pole Fighter. Two rascal types who know kung fu hit the big time when the find an old treasure. Things are looking pretty good until a couple of other hoods find out that they've got the goods and set out to take the booty from them.
Plenty of action makes this one worth watching. The final battle is great, and exceptionally well choreographed. Some parts of the comedy works better than other parts do but overall this is a fun and fast paced movie with enough action to keep things going at a good rate.
DEADLY ROULETTE (a. k. a. Deadly Kick)
This one also appeared on the Brentwood Kung Fu Wars 4 pack. Lo Lieh has just spent the last five years of his life in prison. He's set free, and heads home after doing his time for raping a woman who has sworn to pay him back for what he did to her. A criminal organization enlists his help and he joins in on their plans but not before the woman's ex-boyfriend decides to hunt him down and kill him.
This movie is out of control. Every time someone uses and animal fighting style, it pops up on screen just so we're sure what exactly is going on. It doesn't help much though. This movie is nuts. Good thing Lo Lieh and his trusty eagle are on hand to whup ass and make sure we don't care too much about the story. It's a violent film with some good action but the plot is an inconsistent mess that has holes the size of the Grand Canyon in it. It's kind of funny, but for all the wrong reasons.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Gallant Boxer, The Loot and Deadly Roulette are presented in non-anamorphic widescreen transfers while 800 Heroes is pan and scan. These are all very obviously taken from VHS sources and they don't appear to have been cleaned up at all. Gallant Boxer is also insanely cropped, even in this widescreen presentation, and most of the subs run off of the screen. While they're a step up from some of the earlier Video Asia releases, they're still looking pretty rough with plenty of print damage and a few tape rolls here and there belying their source material's origins.
Gallant Boxer is in Chinese with burned in English subtitles. 800 Heroes is dubbed into English. The Loot is in Chinese with burned in English subtitles. Deadly Roulette is dubbed into English. So at least half of the films in this four pack are in their original languages or something that is at least close to it! Too bad that the Chinese presentations have poor, fuzzy looking burned in English subs. These movies don't sound so hot and there are times that the dialogue is quite hard to decipher over the blaring music and sound effects. Kung fu fans are probably used to this by now but it doesn't mean they have to like it!
The only extra features on either of these discs is an option called 'Insta Action' that allows you to jump directly to a fight scene in the film you choose. There's also the requisite chapter selection.
The Final Word:
As seems to be the norm with low budget martial arts releases, four decent films get a pretty shoddy treatment on this Shaw Legends Pack release from Video Asia. Hopefully better versions will surface sooner or later, until then, it looks like this four film set is the only option on the market.