Arrow’s Shawscope: Volume One was the best boutique Blu-ray release of 2021 and possibly the best overall production of the recent premium home-video format craze sweeping the film-collecting community. It had everything. The packaging — a 11 x 2 x 7 landscape box — solved a common issue with this sort of pricey release, introducing a form factor that fits both beside standard releases or atop a shelf beautifully. The booklet is large, informative and most importantly substantial, with great, well-proofread essays providing historical and cultural context for American Midwestern laymen such as myself.
Most importantly, though, Shawscope: Volume One featured 12 films from across the Shaw Brothers studio heyday, sampling hits by their most prominent stars, directors and genres. Arrow’s first set is a crash course in Cheng Cheh’s fetish for bloody self-sacrifice; the Venom Gang; Alexander Fu Sheng’s short-lived but bountiful career; and Lar Kar-leung’s penchant for myth-making, skill with slapstick comedy and confidence in iconic star Gordon Liu. It even featured the studio’s brief foray into kaiju with The Mighty Peking Man, aka the superior 1970s version of King Kong. Anyone curious about the highlights of the Shaw Bros’ golden era as a film studio should pick up Volume One. There will never be a better opportunity to understand the wide-ranging and enduring appeal of these films.
So does Shawscope: Volume Two (the sequel, or “sophomore set” as Arrow calls it) live up to its predecessor? Short answer: No. Longer answer: It depends on how much you got out of Volume One. With few exceptions, the 14 films included in this edition rely on a vested interest in exploring the Shaw catalogue. They’re deeper, more niche cuts into the worlds principally created by Cheng Cheh and Lar Kar-leung. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Overview:
The set includes 14 films:
- The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
- Return to the 36th Chamber
- Disciples of the 36th Chamber
- Mad Monkey Kung Fu
- Five Superfighters
- Invincible Shaolin
- The Kid with the Golden Arm
- Magnificent Ruffians
- Ten Tigers of Kwangtung
- My Young Auntie
- Mercenaries from Hong Kong
- The Boxer’s Omen
- Martial Arts of Shaolin
- The Bare-footed Kid
Each Shawscope set follows a broad programming philosophy. The first mostly featured greatest hits from the early-to-mid 1970s, when the studio reigned supreme and saw its greatest international success. It saw the birth and growth of careers as the contract players, directors and crewmembers created a genre, found new ways to play with the form and, in some cases left the studio altogether for the rivals that cropped up (particularly Golden Harvest). Volume Two is about the twilight days of the studio, as careers ran long, new faces tried to make themselves known and TV-addled audiences demanded new kinds of stories in their action cinema. Thematically, viewing all the films in Volume Two back-to-back just doesn’t feel as fresh and triumphant as doing the same with Volume One. Although it’s by design, it does make the bulk of the set feel like a little bit more of a series of curiosities than an essential element of any collection.
That’s not to say there aren’t a number of wonderful films included. Saying that would be madness because Arrow’s crew of producers (led by James Flower) have a story to tell here about the Shaw Brothers, and it begins with what is arguably the studio’s most iconic film, Lar Kar-leung’s The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. It is notably one of the only films to get its own disc this time around, and the only one with a brand-new 4K resolution restoration (which is much deserved). Although I have my qualms with 36th Chamber as a film (and prefer Lau Kar-leung & Gordon Liu’s superior later film The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, also out from Arrow this year), it’s indisputably integral to the history of martial arts cinema and a cornerstone of the careers for everyone involved. Many of the films included in Volume Two were either directed by Lau Kar-leung or inspired by the pseudo-history approach to the Shaolin monks and their kung-fu rebellion against the Manchu government.
It wouldn’t be inaccurate to describe Volume Two, in fact, as a set defined by Lau Kar-leung in the same way as Volume One was a showcase for the greatest hits of his partner-turned-rival Chang Cheh. Each set features both directors, but their weight is distributed differently in each.
Chang Cheh is one of the men behind many of Shaw’s early hits, which Lau Kar-leung choreographed. The two had a falling out in the mid-1970s because the latter believed his director did not fully understand or appreciate essential elements of martial arts. Their films diverge in focus and style. Chang Cheh’s films are often violent parables of men. Manly men. Men who suffer through traditionally masculine conflicts and who usually wind up dead in heroic bloodshed. Not to pigeonhole him, of course; his vast filmography also includes mysteries, historic epics, horror and other oddities. To be honest, I prefer him as a storyteller.
Lau Kar-leung’s stories, on the other hand, often blend a heightened focus on kineticism and comedy with a deep focus on the tenets of kung fu. His characters often fall into master-pupil relationships, something he said his old director did not appreciate. With The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, he and Liu popularized the practice of making entire films about the difficult, focused training required to become a master of martial arts. The moral and ethical implications of monks kicking ass are tackled by both men in their films, often written by Ni Kuang, whose work is highlighted in a Jonathan Clements essay included in this set. As a storyteller, though, I never find myself responding to Lau Kar-leung’s films the way I do his counterpart. They’re arguably more visually exquisite, with greater emphasis on the way performers move as they battle. They’re also funnier, often lacking the self-seriousness found in Chang Cheh’s work. Maybe the best way to describe them is slack.
As we head into the meat of this review, I hope that overview provides some important context for my feelings on Shawscope: Volume Two. The set is just as gorgeously and painstakingly crafted as the first, with a thoughtful thematic approach and a curated set of films that all fit together to capture an era of Shaw Brothers studios. It complements Volume One by focusing more heavily on the other side of the creative coin and delivers a new 4K restoration of an inarguably (try as I may) martial-arts masterpiece. However, these aren’t the films that speak to me as a fan of this stuff, and in watching through them, I had a lot more trouble connecting. Your mileage, of course, will vary.
The Packaging
The slipcover, disc book, and booklet for Volume Two are identical in form and size to Volume One, except deep red rather than blue. Look, I’ve gone on about how much I love this format. I use Billy bookcases to display my DVDs, which are pretty deep — in fact, just the right depth to slide these into my Arrow collection without breaking up the row of collector’s editions they sit beside. For fans who use custom shelves or shallower units, though, these look incredible sitting atop a shelf with other extra-sized sets.
Without further ado, here are my packaging “glam” shots —a few looks at the sets together, and a few comparisons to other Arrow packaging for context. They’re amazing!
The Films
As with the first set, this will be a list of the films and their special features. I’m going to include my thoughts on just the films that warranted them, because otherwise, this review would run excessively long and frankly for no reason. Please don’t interpret the lack of a review as inherently negative. Sometimes a perfectly entertaining movie just doesn’t need elaboration. For instance, did Five Superfighters do it for me? Well, it was fine. Good time. Do I have anything meaningful to say about it? Not really.
Disc One: The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
FEATURES
• Brand new 4K restoration by Celestial Pictures and L’Immagine Ritrovata
• Newly restored uncompressed Mandarin, Cantonese and English original mono audio
• Newly translated English subtitles, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub
• Brand new feature commentary by critic Travis Crawford
• Brand new select-scene commentary by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
• Interview with star Gordon Liu, filmed in 2003
• Interview with cinematographer Arthur Wong, filmed in 2006
• Shaolin: Birthplace of a Hero and Elegant Trails, two archive featurettes with Liu produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003
• Tiger Style: The Musical Impact of Martial Arts Cinema, a newly filmed overview of Shaw Brothers’ influence on hip-hop and other music genres, featuring music historian Lovely Jon
• Cinema Hong Kong: Swordfighting, the second installment in a three-part documentary produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003 and featuring interviews with Liu, Lau Kar-leung, Cheng Pei-pei, John Woo, Sammo Hung, Kara Hui, David Chiang and others
• Alternate opening credits from the American version (titled Master Killer)
• Hong Kong and German theatrical trailers, plus a U.S. TV spot
• Image gallery
THOUGHTS
I’ve watched The 36th Chamber of Shaolin four times over the years, including twice with this set. I desperately want to understand its fundamental appeal on an emotional level. I can appreciate the way it influenced future films, games and music across genres. It’s a meticulous love letter to the spirit of martial arts. Awesome. The problem is that I find it dramatically dull and extremely repetitive. Everything Lau Kar-leung and Gordon Liu accomplish here is improved upon in the later films, like the aforementioned Eight Diagram Pole Fighter.
Disc Two: Return to the 36th Chamber & Disciples of the 36th Chamber
FEATURES
• Uncompressed Cantonese, Mandarin and English original mono audio for both films
• Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs
• Interview with star Gordon Liu, filmed in 2003
• Citizen Shaw, a French TV documentary from 1980 directed by Maurice Frydland, in which Sir Run Run Shaw gives an all-access tour of the Shaw Brothers backlot (including behind-the-scenes footage from Return to the 36th Chamber), remastered in high definition
• Hero on the Scaffolding, an archive featurette produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003
• Alternate opening credits sequences for both films
• Hong Kong theatrical trailers for both films
• Image galleries for both films
Disc Three: Mad Monkey Kung Fu & Five Superfighters
FEATURES
• Brand new 2K restorations of both films from the original negatives by Arrow Films
• Uncompressed Cantonese, Mandarin and English original mono for both films
• Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs
• Brand new commentary for Mad Monkey Kung Fu by martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng and Michael Worth
• Newly filmed appreciation of Mad Monkey Kung Fu by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
• Interview with actor Hsiao Hou, filmed in 2004
• Shaw in the USA, a brand-new featurette on how Shaw Brothers broke into America, featuring Grady Hendrix and Chris Poggiali, authors of These Fists Break Bricks
• Hong Kong and U.S. theatrical trailers for Mad Monkey Kung Fu
• Hong Kong theatrical trailer and UK VHS promo for Five Superfighters
• Image galleries for both films
THOUGHTS
Mad Monkey Kung Fu is a better true showcase for Lau Kar-leung’s directorial abilities, as former street performer and entertainer Chen is injured by a brothel owner, Tuan (Lo Lieh). The film deals with similar themes of inequality as other martial arts pictures. What sets it apart is the acrobatic choreography for our hero and his pupil, Monkey (Hsiao Ho, who rises up to fight back against oppressive gangsters and eventually Tuan himself. The film has a slow middle — once again focused on repetitive training sequences — but the beginning and conclusion are top-notch and dazzling.
Disc Four: Invincible Shaolin & The Kid With the Golden Arm
FEATURES
• Brand new 2K restorations of both films from the original negatives by Arrow Films
• Uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio for both films, plus Cantonese mono for Invincible Shaolin
• Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs
• Interview with action director Robert Tai, filmed in 2003
• Poison Clan Rocks The World, a brand new visual essay on the Venom Mob written and narrated by author Terrence J. Brady
• Alternate “continuity” cut of The Kid With The Golden Arm, presented via seamless branching
• Alternate and textless title sequences for The Kid with the Golden Arm
• Hong Kong theatrical trailer for Invincible Shaolin
• Hong Kong theatrical trailer (audio only) and U.S. TV spot for The Kid with the Golden Arm
• Image galleries for both films
THOUGHTS
One of the few movies with all five of the “Venom Gang” performers present, The Kid With the Golden Arm is often viewed as a dark-horse favorite by many fans of Shaw kung fu, but I found it pretty standard for this part of Chang Cheh’s career.
Disc Five: Magnificent Ruffians & Ten Tigers of Kwangtung
FEATURES
• Brand new 2K restorations of both films from the original negatives by Arrow Films
• Uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio for both films, plus Cantonese mono for Ten Tigers of Kwangtung
• Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs
• Brand new audio commentary on Ten Tigers of Kwangtung by filmmaker Brandon Bentley
• Interview with star Chin Siu-ho, filmed in 2003
• Rivers and Lakes, a brand-new video essay on Shaw Brothers’ depiction of Chinese myth and history, written and narrated by Jonathan Clements, author of A Brief History of China
• Hong Kong (audio only) and German theatrical trailers for Magnificent Ruffians
• Hong Kong trailers (Mandarin and Cantonese audio options) and U.S. TV spot for Ten Tigers of Kwangtung
• Image galleries for both films
Disc Six: My Young Auntie
FEATURES
• Uncompressed Cantonese, Mandarin and English original mono audio
• Newly translated English subtitles, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub
• Brand new select-scene commentary by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
• Interview with star Kara Hui, filmed in 2003
• Cinema Hong Kong: The Beauties of the Shaw Studios, the final installment in the three-part documentary produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003
• Alternate standard-definition VHS version
• Hong Kong theatrical trailer
• Image gallery
Disc Seven: Mercenaries from Hong Kong & The Boxer’s Omen
FEATURES
• Brand new 2K restorations of both films from the original negatives by Arrow Films
• Uncompressed Cantonese and Mandarin original mono audio for both films, plus English mono for Mercenaries from Hong Kong
• Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub
• Brand new commentary on The Boxer’s Omen by critic Travis Crawford
• Newly filmed appreciation of filmmaker Kuei Chih-hung by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
• Additional footage from Mandarin VHS version of The Boxer’s Omen
• Interview with Mercenaries from Hong Kong action director Tong Kai, filmed in 2009
• Hong Kong theatrical trailers for both films
• Image galleries for both films
THOUGHTS
Mercenaries from Hong Kong is a hysterical over-the-top action adventure that feels like a true transition into the gun-toting 1980s. Lo Lik (Ti Lung) is a Taiwanese smuggler caught in underworld intrigue who must lead a team of battle-hardened experts on an assassination mission against Thailand’s most dangerous mob boss, Naiman (Phillip Ko Fei). The team is a who’s-who of former Shaw alums, including Yan Namsing (Michael Chan Wai-min), Curry (Wong Yue), Lei Tai (Lo Lieh), and Brand (Nat Chan Pak-cheung). The story is essentially inscrutable but the action and comedy are big and bombastic.
The Boxer’s Omen, on the other hand, is a profoundly disgusting film from director Kuei Chih-Hung, who also helmed one of my favorite latter-day Shaw joins, Killer Constable (which also deserves a loving Region A restoration). Omen is nestled in the final sequence of Volume Two’s thematic arc, which feels much more like a prequel to the Hong Kong cinema that would come later in the 1980s and the early 1990s than a continuation of the films that made Shaw so dominant in the 1970s. It features the gore, the nudity and the overall what-the-hell nature of what would become the infamous Category III rating. In fact, the star of Omen, Phillip Ko, also starred in my favorite Hong Kong gross-out, Seeding of a Ghost.
Omen isn’t as outright pornographic as Ghost or the films that would follow. Instead, it plays out as a horror version of a martial arts training film, a video-nasty 36th Chamber of sorts. As someone squeamish about regurgitation, I almost had to turn it off.
Shaw had done horror before, often with a much more Hammer-esque approach to mood and bright-red blood (in fact, they crossed over once). Human Lanterns, which saw a stateside release this year, is also an excellent example of the studio turning into ghastlier fare.
Disc Eight: Martial Arts of Shaolin & The Bare-footed Kid
FEATURES
• Uncompressed Cantonese, Mandarin and English original mono audio for both films
• Newly translated English subtitles, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs
• Brand new commentary on Martial Arts of Shaolin by Jonathan Clements
• Brand new commentary on The Bare-footed Kid by Frank Djeng of the NY Asian Film Festival
• Newly filmed appreciations of both films by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
• Interview with Martial Arts of Shaolin screenwriter Sze Yeung-ping, filmed in 2004
• Alternate standard-definition version of Martial Arts of Shaolin
• Hong Kong and Japanese theatrical trailers for Martial Arts of Shaolin, plus trailers for the preceding Shaolin Temple films starring Jet Li
• Hong Kong theatrical trailer and UK VHS promo for The Bare-footed Kid
The ninth and 10th discs include soundtracks from The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Five Superfighters, Invincible Shaolin, The Kid with the Golden Arm, Return to the 36th Chamber, Magnificent Ruffians, Ten Tigers of Kwangtung, My Young Auntie, Mercenaries from Hong Kong and Disciples of the 36th Chamber.
Conclusion
When I set out to review my second helping of a dozen-plus Shaw films this year, I’d hoped to have something to write about every film in the set. It just didn’t turn out that way this time. As someone who is a relative novice to the genre (I’ve only seen about 30 of them), I don’t want to speak for all fans, or make a broader statement about the objective quality of the selections in this set. These are films that most folks experienced on cheap VHS tapes or, as I did (thanks to a good friend), bad YouTube rips. Like most quickly produced genre fare, they follow similar patterns, and, as individual films, rise or fall based on how you experienced them, and probably the order in which you watched them. Watching so many subsequently can cause them to blur together.
Still, I think Volume One has more to offer the new fan than Volume Two, which feels very much like the second course in a curriculum. If you enjoyed Volume One (and have looked into Arrow’s other standalone Shaw releases this year), Vol. Two offers more of the same, with a few exciting additions. If you’re looking to explore these classic pictures for the first time, though, make sure to start at the top.
Although Volume One did hint at films to be included in Vol. Two, there are no such asides in the booklet included here. James Flower hinted at another release on Twitter, but commented that the company is going to focus more on Golden Harvest and other rival companies for the time being. For what it’s worth, their releases of Jimmy Yu’s The One-Armed Boxer and Come Drink With Me this year were phenomenal. I’m not sure what they’d include in Volume Three, but with the king fu bases mostly covered by these sets and 88 Films, perhaps they’d venture into Shaw’s drama, horror, and odder outputs. I hope we see a Volume Three.
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