An essential pair of early films from one of the greatest action directors of all time, presented for the first time ever on Blu-ray in the UK in a 2-disc set taken from brand new 2K restorations! Available to pre-order now, it releases on 24th June from Eureka Entertainment and Amazon – check out our deep-dive review!
Trailer
The masters of restored re-releases, Eureka Entertainment have added two of the most stylishly made examples of the wuxia genre to their increasingly impressive catalogue of martial arts action classics. A decade before he would change action filmmaking forever with “A Better Tomorrow” and “The Killer”, director John Woo was directing martial arts films for the two biggest studios in Hong Kong, Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest.
Hand of Death – Exclusive KFK Fight Scene
Under the mentorship of the great Chang Cheh (“Five Deadly Venoms”), Woo began to develop his signature style, films that featured slick, stylish and often violent choreography, with dramatic plots that revolved around brotherhood, honour and redemption. Presented here are two of his early works from this period.
In “Last Hurrah for Chivalry”, two killers (Pai Wei and Damian Lau) agree to help a man exact vengeance upon a kung fu master. Woo’s first cinematic masterpiece, “Last Hurrah for Chivalry” is a dark and violent revenge film, featuring lightning-fast swordplay and stylish cinematography.
Last Hurrah for Chivalry – Wedding Crashers!
In “Hand of Death”, a young Shaolin monk must train to defeat a dangerous Manchu warlord (James Tien) who is intent on wiping out the Shaolin once and for all. Featuring early performances from Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung (both also handled the film’s stunts, along with third “brother” Yuen Biao), “Hand of Death” is an exquisitely stylish example of old-school kung fu filmmaking.
Hand of Death – James Tien vs Flash Legs!
Obscure and largely unseen for many years, Eureka Classics is proud to present these two early films from one of action cinema’s all-time greats for the first time ever on Blu-ray, from brand new 2K restorations.
Blu-ray Special Features
- Stunning 1080p presentation of both films on Blu-ray, from brand new 2K restorations
- Cantonese, Mandarin and English audio options
- Optional English subtitles
- Brand new audio commentaries on both Last Hurrah for Chivalry and Hand of Death, by martial-arts cinema authority Mike Leeder
- Archival interviews with director John Woo
- Trailers for both films
- Reversible inlay featuring original poster artwork
- Limited Edition Collector’s booklet featuring new writing by film writer Matthew Thrift [2000 copies]
This release is TOTALLY A MUST-HAVE edition for all kung fu action movie fans!
A FEW LUCKY Kung Fu Kingdom readers can win their FREE copy courtesy of our friends at Eureka Entertainment but DO HURRY, COMPETITION ENDS SOON ON SUNDAY 7TH JULY 2019!
All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning is “LIKE” the KUNG FU KINGDOM FACEBOOK PAGE, “SHARE” the JOHN WOO BLU-RAY COMPETITION POST, and WRITE in the JOHN WOO BLU-RAY COMPETITION POST COMMENTS, your answer to the following simple question:
Hong Kong superstar CHOW YUN FAT made his name in John Woo thrillers such as “The Killer”, “A Better Tomorrow” and “Hard Boiled”, but which Oscar-winning martial arts film did he star in?
- ENTER THE DRAGON
- CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON
- PETE’S DRAGON
Winners will be notified via Facebook message by 23:59GMT/BST Sunday 7th July 2019.
Good luck!
Competition rules:
- UK entrants only for this one (sorry!)
- Entrants must be 18 years or over
- Entry is restricted to one entry per person
- Multiple and automated entries will be disqualified
- Winners will be chosen at random from all valid entries
- Winners will be contacted via email.
- Prize will be sent to winners via UK Mainland post only.
- The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into
- Competition closes Sunday 7th July 2019
