SYNOPSIS
Just as the kung fu film seemed to be losing steam as the 1970s came to a close, a new generation of martial arts stars rose to the top of Hong Kong cinema. Amongst them were Yuen Biao, Jackie Chan and the irrepressible Sammo Hung, who found fame as the director and star of The Iron-Fisted Monk, The Magnificent Butcher and Encounter of the Spooky Kind. Presented here are three films spanning Hung’s career, from a supporting role in The Manchu Boxer to stardom in Paper Marriage and Shanghai, Shanghai.
In Wu Ma’s The Manchu Boxer, Hung (who doubles up as the film’s fight choreographer) plays the villainous foil to a roaming martial artist who enters a boxing tournament to defeat a gang of bandits. Then, in the action comedy Paper Marriage, Hung stars as a down-on-his-luck Chinese boxer living in the United States who is paid to marry an immigrant from Hong Kong (Maggie Cheung). She wants to gain American citizenship, but he just wants to keep the loan sharks off his back. Finally, in Shanghai, Shanghai, a young man (Yuen Biao) goes looking for his brother, a police officer, in the big city – and also finds himself embroiled with a ruthless gangster played by Hung.
From traditional kung fu to romantic comedy to a tale of cops and crooks with shades of the “heroic bloodshed” films so popular in the 1980s and early 1990s, The Manchu Boxer, Paper Marriage and Shanghai, Shanghai exhibit Sammo Hung’s enormous range and chart his rise from supporting player to top-billed star. Eureka Classics is proud to present all three films for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Limited Edition Set [2000 copies]
Limited edition exclusive bonus disc [2000 copies]
Limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Sam Gilbey [2000 copies]
Limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on Sammo Hung [2000 copies]
1080p HD presentations from brand new 2K restorations of the original Hong Kong theatrical cuts of all three films
Bonus Disc exclusive to this set only - 1080p HD presentations from brand new 2K restorations of the extended international versions of The Manchu Boxer and Shanghai, Shanghai
Original mono audio tracks
Optional English dubs on Paper Marriage and the theatrical versions of The Manchu Boxer and Shanghai, Shanghai
Optional English subtitles, newly translated for this release
New audio commentary on The Manchu Boxer with East Asian cinema expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and martial artist & filmmaker Michael Worth
New audio commentary on Paper Marriage with genre cinema experts Arne Venema and Dominie Ting
New audio commentary on Shanghai, Shanghai with Frank Djeng and producer/writer F.J. DeSanto
Happily Ever After – new interview with Paper Marriage director Alfred Cheung
Trailers
