Overview: After an undisputed reign at the peak of Hong Kong’s film industry in the 1960s, Shaw Brothers (the studio founded by real-life brothers Run Run and Runme Shaw) found their dominance challenged by up-and-coming rivals in the early 1970s.

They swiftly responded by producing hundreds of the most iconic action films ever made, revolutionizing the genre through the hard work of top-shelf talent on both sides of the camera as well as unbeatable widescreen production value, much of it shot at Movietown, their huge, privately-owned studio on the outskirts of Hong Kong.

Blu-ray Verdict: This inaugural collection by Arrow Video presents twelve jewels from the Shaw crown, all released within the 1970s, kicking off in 1972 with Korean director Jeong Chang-hwa’s King Boxer, the film that established kung fu cinema as an international box office powerhouse when it hit Stateside cinemas under the title Five Fingers of Death.

As we now know, this film is best for its historical importance. This is what is considered the first martial arts hit. The film is pretty dry once you get past its historical importance.

Lo Lieh stars as a martial arts students who is training for a tournament. His new teacher teaches him an unbeatable style called Iron Fist. Whenever he uses Iron Fist his hands glow red; the parts where this happen are always cool. With this style he wins the tournament and beats up some thugs.

The film uses trampolines heavily, the choreography is good, but like aforementioned, it really falls short of some of the later masterpieces, in my humble opinion.

From there we see Chang Cheh (arguably Shaw’s most prolific director) helm the blood-soaked brutality of The Boxer from Shantung (1972).

The Boxer from Shantung is pretty much what you would get if you made Goodfellas as a Chinese martial arts film! Ma Yongzhen (Chen Kuan-tai) is a poor country boy who moves to Shanghai to seek his fortune.

Unfortunately, the times are tough and oftentimes he and his friends don’t even have enough money for a roof over their heads, but after meeting a legendary crime lord Tan Si (David Chiang), Ma realizes that the only way to move forward in this city of poverty and misery is to do so through illegal means.

Chen is a fantastic, fully-trained martial artist, whose various moves and stunts are beautiful to watch. I also like the fact that unlike in so many other martial arts films, the main character is not invincible.

Fitting for a gangster film. The last fight scene is actually pretty brutal to watch because of this, but all the more awesome for it. Definitely one of the best fight scenes I’ve seen in my life and worth the price of admission by itself!

Next up are two self-produced films in his Shaolin Cycle series, Five Shaolin Masters (1974) and its prequel Shaolin Temple.

Cheh’s Five Shaolin Masters is an all-star kung fu film with five stars playing survivors of the burning of Shaolin Temple and five others as the villains who pursue them and track them down.

The heroes split up and travel the Chinese countryside rallying the people to support the faction opposing the Manchus and then reunite about an hour into the film to re-train at the burned-out temple.

Then the five villains, joined by three henchmen, arrive for the sprawling final brawl, all staged on a series of Taiwanese locations.

Clocking in at 109 minutes, the film is not quite as elaborate or full of spectacle as the other two films in Chang Cheh’s Shaolin trilogy, but it’s got a great cast of fighting stars and nonstop kung fu action and is a cut above the same director’s other, lower-budgeted Shaolin films from 1973-76 (in my humble opinion).

Then there’s the aforementioned Shaolin Temple (1982). The Tang Emperor is betrayed by one of his own generals, who installed himself as the new Emperor of the eastern region.

The population of this area are the ones to suffer, with many forced into slavery to work at his demand. Chieh Yuan and his father are two such men but, one day Chieh and his father fight back and, although the two bravely hold off the guards, his father is killed as he instructs Chieh to flee to fight another day.

Near-death, Chieh finds himself at a Shaolin monastery where he is taken in and nursed back to health. He takes up the teachings of the monks - in particular the martial arts - and prepares for the day he will meet his father’s killer. In the meantime though, he has to worry about the many rules that his new life imposes on him.

Shaolin Temple doesn’t have the greatest script and, by extension, the performances and also how much the viewer will care about the characters are also weakened.

However in regards simple physical ability of those involved in the making it is very engaging indeed. There are consistent and enjoyable scenes of martial arts action, a couple stand out above the rest, but all of them are impressive and fun to watch. Ignore the narrative, but definitely stay for the action!

Next up the package takes a detour into Ho Meng Hua’s King Kong-inspired The Mighty Peking Man (1977), one of the most unmissably insane giant monster films ever made!

Wacky, if obvious, Hong Kong made update of the classic King Kong story. The title character is an enormous ape, discovered by an expedition into the Himalayas.

Naturally, Mighty Peking Man is soon brought back to civilization where he goes on the expected rampage. Evelyne Kraft plays Samantha, an incredibly sexy blonde jungle woman who’s fond of the big guy!

While the tone is sometimes more serious than expected, this is still quite the agreeable diversion, with enough things in it to make its audience laugh.

It even gets reasonably energetic and exciting, with MPM doing an amount of damage to HK that easily rivals anything Godzilla ever did to Tokyo. Not forgetting that this was a production from those reliable folk at Shaw Brothers, this is very nicely shot in widescreen, and its special effects are quite amusing and entertaining overall (with much use of miniatures).

Oh, and the music, credited to Yung-Yu Chen and DeWolfe, is suitably rousing also, but the overall acting is of the not-so-hot stable, but admirably sincere, in all honesty.

Kraft is extremely appealing, both as a performer and a scenery attraction. Danny Lee is likewise ingratiating as Johnnie Fang, the adventurer hired to lead the expedition. We have an appropriately disgusting human villain, as well as an enjoyable title antagonist which sometimes leaves MPM with some pretty priceless expressions on his face!

Chang’s action choreographer Lau Kar-leung then becomes a director in his own right, propelling his adoptive brother Gordon Liu to stardom in Challenge of the Masters (1976) and Executioners from Shaolin.

While it’s not as profound as Martial Club, Challenge of the Masters is still a solid watch and a must for fans of the star or director. What I enjoyed about this film is the plotting, which is more intricate than expected and gives the major stars different roles to the norm.

The most standard of the bunch is Gordon Liu himself, who undergoes the usual grueling training regime found in most of his films from the era, although the twist is that he’s playing Wong Fei-hung himself.

The episodic nature of the production takes in rival school material, some comedy, some lion dance episodes, and a moralistic ending that I enjoyed.

Regular screen thugs Chiang Tao and Fung Hark-On have a good double act and there are even bit parts for the likes of Yuen Biao, Eric Tsang, and Lam Ching-Ying, if you can spot them!

The other film mentioned is Executioners from Shaolin (1977) which brings us the story of a couple who bore a son whose father is trained in Tiger Boxing and a mother in Crane style.

The son learns crane style kung fun, but he doesn’t learn the tiger style until his father loses his life battling the eunuch tyrant Pai Mei (Lieh Lo).

This brutal fighter has made his way killing anyone who would challenge his fighting style. He killed the father’s master, he’s killed the ones who have tried to avenge him and so now it is up to the son to get his revenge.

This movie is dark and there is even a little comedy vein throughout, which effectively sets up the revenge theme (a revenge theme in a kung fu flick?) to help motivate our hero from Shaolin.

Tai Chen Kuan as Hung Hsi Kuan shows formidable tiger claws style and some neat training sequences with bronze statues and vital point strikes. But I really loved watching Ying Chun (Li Li) and her crane style.

Man, if you’re going out with her, you better be able to break her leg stance! Plus, her effort and grace in movements are as good as Kara Hui’s in Fists of the White Lotus. It’s a strange, yet wonderfully hypnotic combination of kung fu and dance!

Now, the action. What do you expect from the real deal kung fu master Lau Kar Leung? Countless opponents, one on many battles, quick strikes, and amazing choreography are the strong points here.

Pai Mai’s battles are so awesome that he really seems invincible. I can’t get enough of him dragging guys along with his groin! One of the strangest, yet highly entertaining kung fu villains ever!

Not to be outdone, Chang introduces some of Shaw’s most famous faces to the screen, including Alexander Fu Sheng fighting on the streets of San Francisco in Chinatown Kid (1977) and, of course, the mighty Venom Mob in The Five Venoms and Crippled Avengers.

Alexander Fu Sheng stars as Tang Dong in Chinatown Kid, a bumpkin who illegally immigrates to Hong Kong (with the aid of his uncle) and works odd jobs whilst dreaming about becoming rich and successful.

The film also tells the story of a young Taiwanese man who just did a stint in the military who works hard and aspires to become a success. His chance comes when he’s offered a scholarship at U.C. Berkley.

Two lives that parallel each other eventually cross paths in San Francisco’s Chinatown. This film is somewhat similar to Chang Cheh’s other films Boxer From Shan tung and The Delinquent.

Both of them have the same theme and they’re all equally excellent although Ni Kuang noticeably reworks the theme by not only modernizing it but by bringing it to Chinatown.

The future Five Deadly Venoms all have small parts in this movie and sure, this movie is cheesy and preachy at times but it’s all done in jest. Alexander Fu Sheng shows that he’s a lead actor in this movie and it is truly sad that his life was cut short several years later.

Then comes the aforementioned The Five Venoms (1978). As the master of the Poison Clan dies, he sends his last student Yang Tieh (Chiang Sheng) to warn Yun (Ku Feng) that five of his students - Gao ’Scorpion’ Ji, Meng ’Lizard’ Tianxia, Liang ’Toad’ Shen, Qi ’Snake’ Dong and Zhang ’Centipede’ Yiaotian - plan on stealing the clan’s gold. Yang must fight them all or join with the ones still loyal to the clan to fulfill his dying teacher’s final request.

What follows is a series of double crosses - and triple crosses even - as the students of the Poison Clan battle to either keep the money for themselves or save it for the good of the clan. Because Yang Tieh knows a small bit of each of their five styles, he may have a chance to live. Yet who, if anyone, will be the ally he needs to win?

Cheh made more than ninety films, among them the One-Armed Swordsman series, Crippled Avengers, Kid with the Golden Arm and many more. His style of heroic bloodshed films has influenced everyone from John Woo to Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino.

Then comes the aforementioned Crippled Avengers (1978) which unlike The Five Venoms (and which also featured several of the performers, of course), doesn’t waste any time getting to the good stuff!

The action begins immediately, with a gang of Tian Nan Tigers storming the household of hero Tao Tien-tu (Kuan-Tai Chan), looking to teach him a lesson for his arrogance. Unable to find the master of the house, the gang kill Tao’s wife instead, by lopping off her legs, and cripple his son Tao Sheng by hacking off his arms!

No sooner has this been done, than Tao Tien-tu arrives home to see his family in pieces (literally!) and takes revenge, kicking Tian Nan Tiger ass. What a way to start a film: wholesale slaughter and dismemberment!

To further avenge his family, Tao Tien-tu spends the following years killing the remaining Tian Nan Tigers, and gets Tao Sheng — now equipped with telescopic metal arms that shoot deadly missiles from the fingers — to cripple the Tigers’ sons!

But their reign of violence doesn’t end there: the pair proceed to strike fear into the locals, maiming anyone who offends them. Blacksmith Wei Da-ti (Meng Lo), who stands up to Tao Tien-tu, pays for his bravery by being poisoned, which makes him mute, and having his ear drums burst; travelling hawker Chen Shun (Phillip Kwok) is blinded; Hu Ah-kuei (Chien Sun) has his legs cut off for accidentally bumping into Tao Tien-tu; and when martial arts expert Wang Yi (Sheng Chiang) confronts the bad guys, he has his head crushed in a vice, which turns him into a simpleton (albeit one who can still do impressive kung fu!) [Phew!!]

United by fate, the four cripples become fast friends and travel to the Eagle Mansion, home of Wang Yi’s master, where they train in the martial arts. Three years later, having overcome their disabilities though kung fu (and with the help of a pair of strap-on metal legs for Hu Ah-kuei), the foursome leave to take revenge on the tyrannical Tao Tien-tu and his equally vile son.

Featuring such blatant silliness as disabled fighters with bionic limbs, the plot for Crippled Avengers is unarguably extremely far-fetched stuff, but the crazy factor only adds to the fun of this much-loved Shaw Brothers classic!

Finally, Lau and Liu successfully meld high kicks with humor in two of their masterworks, Heroes of the East (1978) and Dirty Ho, both co-starring fan favorite Hsiao Hou.

This overlooked Shaw Brothers classic, directed by the legendary Liu Chia-Liang (a.k.a., Lau Kar-Leung), Heroes of the East is an interesting hybrid of romantic comedy and martial arts with underlying themes of honor, respect, and understanding between two clashing cultures.

The film has the usual elaborately choreographed fighting sequences (by director Chia-Liang himself, who also appears in a small cameo role, with assistance from Wei-Cheng Tang), but it’s also remarkable that there’s virtually no bloodshed and nobody dies (in addition to also being quite humorous) - all points that were reportedly stressed quite firmly by Liu Chia-Liang during the making of the film and is something that separates it from many other martial arts movies produced during that era.

Also worth mentioning is that the fights themselves are quite realistic (well, about as realistic as this sort of movie is ever likely to get), and the characters, for the most part, never perform stunts that are outside the realm of physical possibility.

Of the performances, Gordon Liu is in his usual top form in one of his earliest starring roles; he remains the noble, steadfast hero, but is also surprisingly quite relatable.

Also in fine form is the lovely Yuka Mizuno as his bride, whose character is not portrayed in a stereotypical light and who remains as dedicated to the martial arts as her husband, and gets some of the best one-liners in the whole movie.

And each of the Japanese martial arts masters accept defeat with grace and humility during each of the film’s epic duels - another rarity for this sort of film.

Finally comes the aforementioned Dirty Ho (1979) and is an unusual kung fu movie in that its main character has to hide his martial skills for much of the film in order not to give away his identity as the Eleventh Prince, who is set to be named heir to the throne of China.

The title refers to a shady character, Ho Chi (played by Wong Yue, not to be confused with Jimmy Wang Yu), a petty thief who becomes sidekick to the Prince, who is operating undercover as a merchant named Wang while trying to determine which of his brothers is trying to have him killed.

The staging is very clever and is clearly a noble effort to do something different within the kung fu genre. Director Liu Chia Liang (aka Lau Kar Leung) has mounted a good-looking historical production, with great sets and costumes, filled with encounters that are imaginative and fun to watch.

The plot is not very complicated nor is there much of the excitement one normally associates with kung fu movies, but for fans of the genre looking for something distinctive and unpredictable, this is one to savor and enjoy. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of King Boxer, The Boxer from Shantung, Five Shaolin Masters, Shaolin Temple, Mighty Peking Man, Challenge of the Masters, Executioners from Shaolin, Chinatown Kid, The Five Venoms, Crippled Avengers, Heroes of the East and Dirty Ho
Brand new 2K restorations by Arrow Films from the original camera negatives of King Boxer, The Boxer from Shantung, Challenge of the Masters, The Five Venoms, Crippled Avengers and Dirty Ho
Brand new 2K master of the longer international cut of Chinatown Kid from original film elements
Original lossless mono Mandarin, Cantonese (where applicable) and English audio
Newly translated English subtitles for each film
Hours of bonus features including brand new commentaries and critic appreciations on selected films, new and archive interviews with cast and crew, alternate credit sequences, trailer and image galleries for each film
60-page book featuring new writing by David Desser, Simon Abrams and Terrence J. Brady, with cast and crew info for each film plus trivia and soundtrack info
New artwork for each film by artists including Matthew Griffin, Chris Malbon, Jacob Phillips, Ilan Sheady, Tony Stella, Darren Wheeling and Jolyon Yates