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Next Monday quite possibly the best martial arts/kung fu film ever finally makes its way on to DVD in UK!
Though opinion may well differ on what constitutes the greatest kung fu flick, but one thing’s for sure: wherever there’s a top ten list, 36th Chamber Of Shaolin is always there, somewhere near the top… and it’s a place well deserved!
With fantastic fight choreography by director Liu Chia-Liang and a fantastic appearance by a youthful Gordon Liu, later to appear in two roles in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill films, but what the film really has is heart and soul. It’s not your typical kung fu revenge movie –though ultimately that’s just what Lau’s character gets. He must learn to leave behind his bitter vengeance to become a true Shaolin master. (Okay, after first learning all those tricky moves!) It’s the beliefs of director/writer Liu shining through, bastion of the spiritual power of kung fu far beyond simply beating the crap out of someone.
You can read our full review here »
So it’s no secret that Momentum have been sitting on the Shaw Brothers catalogue, restored by Celestial Pictures and released in Hong Kong by IVL, since early releases didn’t sell too well. Scuppered by the easy availability of the original Hong Kong versions thanks to the web, these original DVDs often lacked the bonus content available on those initial IVL releases anyway.
Finally it seems a deal has been struck with Weinstein’s Dragon Dynasty label in the US to re-ignite the Shaw Brothers brand and really give us a series of releases worthy of the name. This new version comes with the bonus features originally available on the US release.
These include: an audio commentary by Wu-Tang Clan’s very own The RZA and film critic/scholar Andy Klein; an interview with star Gordon Liu; “Shaolin: A Hero Birthplace”; interviews with The RZA and film scholars David Chute and Andy Klein; stills gallery; trailer gallery; commentator biographies.
Released with another cult classic King Boxer, aka Five Fingers Of Death – again packed with the Dragon Dynasty extras – hopefully this should see Momentum finally get their releases of classic Shaw Brothers films off the ground. (Though it’ll be interesting to see what happens to the rest of the Dragon Dynasty back catalogue, considering other companies such Cine Asia have licensed it for the UK.)
Trust me, if you’ve never seen the original, or perhaps don’t even consider yourself a kung fu fan, prepare to be convinced…
