The latest edition of Arrow Video’s Shaw Brothers retrospective packs a whopping 14 newly restored films, bonus features, and a bonus audio CD into its sturdy box. Spread across 10 discs, the films are all firmly in the wuxia martial arts genre, avoiding any of Shaw’s forays into other arenas. Even better, there’s not a dud in the bunch, although the formula grows a bit stale in a couple of late ‘70s entries.
Buy Shawscope: Volume Three Box Set Blu-rayThirteen of the films have been restored in 2K by Arrow Films, with One-Armed Swordsman receiving a 4K restoration by Celestial Pictures. The results are stunning across the board, with no dips in image quality and no significant blemishes, although One-Armed Swordsman is initially so grainy it looks like it was filmed through mosquito netting. Sound is presented in its original uncompressed mono format with crisp and clear audio for all films. Cantonese and/or English audio options are also available for some of the films.
In general, the bonus features amount to just a commentary track and a trailer for each film, but a handful of films get special treatment with various cast and crew interviews. Killer Constable has the best bonus options: the full alternate Korean version of the film (with the differences spliced in from a VHS source), and a separate half-hour super cut of just the alternate/extended Korean footage. The bonus audio CD features music from the De Wolfe Music Library, as heard in The Avenging Eagle and other Shaw Brothers classics.
I watched all of the films over the past couple of weeks, and my general impression is that this is the Ti Lung set, with the actor appearing in at least six of the films, mostly in an uninterrupted run of late ‘70s starring roles. Shaw mainstay Lo Lieh also pops up frequently in supporting roles, and the iconic Pei-Pei Cheng stars in The Lady Hermit, but other studio stars seem to be missing in this collection. In addition to Hermit, a couple of films have surprisingly female-centered casts, with The 14 Amazons and Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan filling most significant roles with kickass women. There’s only one oddity in the bunch, Buddha’s Palm, an early ‘80s effort that toys with the Shaw formula so much it’s like it’s from a different planet, but it’s also super enjoyable in a cult-film way. Read on for my notes on each film.
One-Armed Swordsman is one of Shaw’s best, directed by Chang Chieh. When a swordsman loses his dominant arm in battle, he’s forced to relearn his skills from the ground up in order to come to the defense of his former teacher. The film is artfully staged, and has a truly epic story with a two-hour runtime to match its scope. Bonus features include a lengthy archival interview with star Jimmy Wang Yu, multiple other archival interviews with cast members, and new appreciations.
Return of One-Armed Swordsman finds the same star living quietly as a farmer with his wife, until he’s forced out of retirement by a murderous duo acting as heralds of eight masters looking to rule the martial arts world. The film is overstuffed with characters, like a martial arts Avengers: Endgame, but it’s also really fun.
The New One-Armed Swordsman keeps the same director, replaces the star, and adds a funky soundtrack. It’s hard to sympathize with the new character since he cuts off his own arm simply due to his wounded pride after losing a match. The story takes way too long to set up, but benefits from a narrower focus on just a few characters.
The Lady Hermit has an epic feel, focusing on a love triangle as two women and a man train together to take down a baddie with killer long fingernails, ominously named Black Demon. The film has big Shaw stars and an impressive battle with dozens of fighters on a precarious, long rope bridge.
Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan is the raciest entry in the set, focusing on a lesbian brothel madam who pimps out a new unwilling recruit until the recruit turns the tables. The first half is all about beautiful Betty Pei Ti’s commanding performance as the madam, until Lily Ho’s Ainu character takes the driver’s seat in the second half as she carries out her revenge against the four powerful men who ruined her. The film is lurid, pulpy, and delightful, highly recommended.
The 14 Amazons is over two hours long, with a cast so massive that we’re still getting their credits a full 13 minutes into the film. Lily Ho and Lo Lieh have major roles. When the Yang family dowager’s son is killed in battle with invaders and the Imperial Army refuses to exact revenge, she calls on the ladies of her court to hunt down the killers. The film has lots of exteriors, sweeping vistas away from the typical Shaw sets and locations.
The Magic Blade is set mostly at night and too dimly lit, making for a subpar viewing experience. Various players including Lo Lieh battle to control a powerful peacock fan that makes the holder virtually unbeatable. It’s far too talky, but compensates with lots of explosions and some magic, and the last fight is pretty cool.
Clans of Intrigue includes the ability to watch with four extended scenes that were censored from the negative and all video versions, newly discovered in the Celestial Pictures archives. The footage isn’t particularly scandalous and is very brief. The story follows a mysterious intersex assassin in red who kills three clan leaders, pointing the investigation to the only man (Ti Lung) who has access to the poison used in the murders. The patsy is given one month to clear his name, leading him on a twisty investigation with a thrilling conclusion.
Jade Tiger – When Ti Lung’s father is murdered on the eve of his wedding, he sets out to track down the killers, discovering a network of spies along the way. Lots of double crosses and poisonings transpire, but there’s not much action. It’s a fairly standard entry filled with Shaw regulars, with nothing much to distinguish it, feeling more like a talky play than an action film.
Sentimental Swordsman continues the same drowsy formula from the prior film, again starring Ti Lung and other regulars, marking this as the low point in the set. The plot isn’t even worth describing, it’s just formula without any pizazz and surely must have bored even the most ardent Shaw fans in its original theatrical run, like the Police Academy 6 of the Shaw world.
The Avenging Eagle finds the studio still promoting Ti Lung in a fairly humdrum story, but it’s much improved thanks to lots of exterior settings and much more dynamic camera work including atypical angles, more reliance on wide angles and closeups, and more lively camera movement.
Killer Constable finally offers a fresh cast, unfortunately with bland cinematography but lots of exteriors partially filmed in South Korea. When the Empress Dowager is robbed of a huge sum of gold, she dispatches her bloodthirsty head constable and crew to track it down, leaving a trail of corpses in the wake of their far-ranging investigation. There’s a predictable twist, but it’s a solid ride.
Buddha’s Palm has lurid disco lighting, with an incomprehensible plot that plays like a wuxia fever dream. It’s frenetically paced and super stylish with kinetic camera work, plenty of wire work stunts, hilarious hand-drawn fireball and lightsaber effects, and a friendly winged dragon dog. It doesn’t make a lick of sense, but it sure is fun. Hands down the stoner pick of the set, a true cult classic.
Bastard Swordsman was filmed last, in 1983, but returns to the hallowed traditions of Shaw films from a decade or two prior. A bastard servant trains in secret and rises in the ranks of a martial arts clan, featuring lots of swordplay and extras on set. It’s a good underdog story with fresh faces and action aplenty, and feels like a Shaw film without falling into the formulaic drudgery of Jade Tiger and Sentimental Swordsman.
A bonus disc includes the bonus features for three films, the full Korean version of Killer Constable, and an appreciation of director Chor Yuen.
The set provides over a full day of martial arts entertainment, all beautifully restored and curated to weed out any absolute stinkers. It stacks up well with the content in the prior volumes in Arrow’s collection, and surpasses the occasionally scattershot Shaw Brothers collections concurrently releasing from Shout. Fans with any interest in Shaw’s massive martial arts catalog will be thoroughly delighted, making this an essential purchase for the true aficionados.
