4 Star

Furious

Fists, Feet and Fingers.

From the legendary 1970s-80s martial arts writer, producer, director Joseph Kuo (Ninja Death Trilogy, Dragon’s Claws) comes a box-set put together by those great people at Eureka Classics, a collection of eight of Kuo’s films. With plenty of intrigue, double crosses, revenge and jealousy to get your teeth into this is a great Christmas present for the martial arts fan in your household.

This box-set includes:

7 Grand-Masters, The 36 Deadly Styles, The World of Drunken Master, The Old Master. These four films are Kung-Fu classics where a master is about to retire when a challenge to his supremacy is put in question, so he vows to prove himself. Then there is a man who wants to learn from monks the 36 deadly styles to avenge the death of his father. The World of Drunken Master is a joy to watch masters of this style, where two young men are caught stealing grapes from a winery, and they are taken in to pay their debt. During this time they learn the art of drunken fighting while both men fall for the same girl and a long-lasting rivalry begins. The Old Master is the only modern day (70s) film set in America, as a very sprightly septuagenarian teaches all the young martial artists a thing or two.

The next four films are based around the Shaolin monks in Shaolin Kung Fu, The Shaolin Kids, 18 Bronzemen and The Return of the 18 Bronzemen. The rickshaw business is a tiring job and when a shady man comes along as competition he brings in muscle to make sure he gets all the jobs, someone has to fight back. The Shaolin Kids is a break from the norm as this one has a female lead and is another revenge film as a ruthless Premier wants the top job, and he will do anything to get it, she must stop him. The Bronzemen are Shaolin monks that are masters and if you want to prove yourself you must face them and pass their tests during the Manchurian invasion, which leads to another wanting to learn from the monks, but he wants to control them to save his dynasty.

With the talents of such fighters as Jack Long, Yi-Min Li, Nancy Yen, Kuan-Wu Lung, Siu-Tin Yuen, Jim-Yuen Yu, Bill Louie, Chiang-Lung Wen, Hung Yi, Polly Ling-Feng Shang-Kuan, Carter Wong, and Peng Tien.

One thing I have learned is, never take a rickshaw late at night, very dangerous.

With all the action you’ll need over the winter months and beyond with these Martial Arts must haves.

Cinematic Vengeance is available on Blu-ray Limited Edition

LIMITED EDITION FOUR DISC BLU-RAY BOX SET INCLUDES

8 Films across four Blu-ray discs, all fully restored and presented in 1080p HD
Limited edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Darren Wheeling
Limited Edition 60 page booklet featuring new writing on the films included in the set by James Oliver, illustrated with archival imagery and materials
Limited Edition set of 8 facsimile lobby cards
Includes The 7 Grandmasters, The 36 Deadly Styles, The World of Drunken Master, The Old Master
Original Mandarin audio tracks
Optional English dubbed audio
Alternate Cantonese audio tracks for The 7 Grandmasters, The World of Drunken Master, and The Old Master
Newly translated English subtitles
Brand new audio commentaries on The 7 Grandmasters and The World of Drunken Master with Asian film expert Frank Djeng and martial artist / filmmaker Michael Worth
Brand new audio commentaries on The 36 Deadly Styles and The Old Master with action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
DISCS ONE & TWO: DEADLY MASTERS!

DISC THREE & FOUR: FEARLESS SHAOLIN!

Includes Shaolin Kung Fu, The Shaolin Kids, 18 Bronzemen, Return of the 18 Bronzemen
Original Mandarin audio tracks
Optional English dubbed audio for Shaolin Kung Fu, The Shaolin Kids, and Return of the 18 Bronzemen
Newly translated English subtitles
Brand new audio commentaries on Shaolin Kung Fu and The Shaolin Kids with action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
Brand new audio commentaries on 18 Bronzemen and Return of the 18 Bronzemen with Asian film expert Frank Djeng and film writer John Charles (The Hong Kong Filmography, 1977–1997)
18 Bronzemen: The Hong Kong Version – a reconstruction of the original theatrical release version of 18 Bronzemen