New DVD Releases: 4/27/10

A couple long awaited releases are hitting the shelves today, April 27th, 2010, both from Funimation.

First off, we have one of the most popular and sought after triad movies of all time, "Hong Kong Godfather." This brutal Shaw Brothers actioner stars good ol' Beardy (Leung Kar-Yan) as a triad who leaves the biz after his wife dies, so he can care for his daughter. Well, a few years later the triad gang boss is murdered by a power-hungry traitor among the ranks, and Beardy grabs his trusty old machete and heads out for revenge. What follows is a bunch of brutal and hard-hitting fun as Beardy cleans up one mess by making a very bloody other! The finale is pure chaos. GET IT!

Also released today is another Shaw flick, this time starring Ti Lung. "Opium and the Kung Fu Master" sees Lung as one of the Ten Tigers of Kwangtung. He gets a little too hooked on the chinaman's nightcap, and can no longer defend the town. As Ti Lung spirals into addiction, his rivals take over the town, and his young student is killed trying to defend his honor. Lung snaps out of it, cleans himself up, and then cleans up the town. The action and fights are classic in this late era Shaw production.

Hong Kong Godfather finale

"Buddha bless you..."

Kung Fu Time Capsule: One-Sheets

As an addendum of sorts to my last Time Capsule post on admats, I shuffled through my one-sheet collection and took pics of the posters I have for those fu flicks. So here I present to you "Kung Fu Warlords" and "Masked Avengers." Enjoy!

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“Showing off is the fool's idea of glory...”

Kung Fu Time Capsule: Admats

Here's an admat for a Shaw Brothers double feature that played at the Lyric Theatre on the Deuce back in the early 1980's... The first film, "Kung Fu Warlords" is better known under it's actual title of "The Brave Archer." This classic starring Alexander Fu Sheng and directed by Chang Cheh spawned three sequels. The second film, "Masked Avengers," was another feature directed by Chang Cheh, this time starring three of the famous Venoms.

Overall I'd say it's a pretty cool double feature!

Scenes from Masked Avengers

“As you think, so shall you become...”

New DVD Releases: 4/06/10

Just a quick update on releases for April 6th, 2010. Well Go USA is releasing a few titles on Blu-ray. These titles are "Delightful Forest," "Brothers Five," and "The Heroic Ones." These classic Shaw Brothers films have all previously been available from Well Go USA in standard DVD, and now they're finally going the high definition route. Check out a previous review of "Delightful Forest" here.

Trailer for "The Heroic Ones"

"Amitabha Buddha..."

Trailer - Young Hero (1980)

Here's a trailer for the 1980 film "Young Hero" starring Hwang Jang-Lee, Tino Wong Cheung, and Kwan Yung-Moon. I haven't actually seen this one, but just seeing the trailer makes me want to seek out a copy. I loves me some Hwang Jang-Lee!

Hwang Jang Lee, best known as The Silver Fox from Secret Rivals, is up to his old high kicking games in this tale of revenge and counter revenge. Hwang Jang Lee is the leader of a local band of Japanese thugs whose only obstacle is Master Lok and his sons, in particular Loks fourth son who secretly practices Kung Fu. His skills eventually surpass his brothers and it is up to he and his father to stop Lee. The final fight scene alone is worth the price of admission.

Solid kung fu throughout the film with impressive acrobatics and skillful agility, but it's Hwang Jang Lees fine form and his high kicking that is the real highlight of Young Hero.

"Buddha's name be praised..."