DVD Roundup - Dragon Dynasty's 'The Shaw Brothers Classic Collection'
Displaying impeccable good taste, Dragon Dynasty continues to bring excellent titles to their label. And by dipping into the seemingly bottomless pool of titles available from the Shaw Brothers library, fans of old-school Kung fu will appreciate the recent titles out on DVD. Because these three titles are among the best known titles there isn’t any need to go into any in depth reviews of the films themselves. But, having said that, if you have been inspired by some of the recent focus on old-school Kung fu movies by men who perpetually live their lives still in the 1970s like Quentin Tarantino then you can do no wrong by picking up these titles. All three of these titles helped lay the foundation for the golden age of Kung fu and martial arts cinema in the 60s and 70s. The One-Armed Swordsman, King Boxer, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin are all seminal favorites of Kung fu cinema fans around the world.
The only one of these titles that I was not completely familiar with was King Boxer so I’ll share a couple things with you about it that I learned. I didn’t know until now was how influential this film was for the genre. It was the first Kung fu film to screen in America; mere months before Bruce Lee’s ‘Enter the Dragon’, under the guise of Five Fingers of Death. To that end some critics claim this film as the real catalyst for Kung fu cinema’s boom in the States in the 70s. There were also many ground-breaking practices incorporated into this film that soon became staples for Kung fu cinema. Director, Jeong Chang-hwa was the first to use powder/dirt to emphasize strikes and hits. He was also the first to use short lenses to really pull in punches and action. He certainly made his mark as these tricks of the trade are still used to this day. But what I like about his direction, and I would call this a lost art in film making today, was that he was not afraid to keep the camera back and allow the choreography of the fight to perpetuate the action, not the camera itself. He took full advantage of the space in front of the camera and didn’t clutter it with sparring and action right up in your face. Adding to that, the fact that the action in King Boxer is mostly sparring with little use of weapons is always a breath of fresh air.
The interviews – Each disc features interviews with film authorities – minor and major – and the talent in front of and behind the camera. In The 36th Chamber of Shaolin there is an interview with Gordon Liu, star of the film, and martial arts brother of its director, Lau Kar-leung, whose name any good Kung fu film fan should know. Also on the disc are interviews with The RZA and film critic cum writer Andy Klein. What I appreciate most about these interviews is that they offer a context and a history for the film. They talk more about influence and reward of being involved in such a film rather than process of filming; they are introspective rather than retrospective. In King Boxer there are interviews with director Jeong Chang-hwa and action director, Lau Kar-Wing, the real life brother of Lau Kar-leung. Jeong speaks of innovation, new techniques and attempting to bring non-Chinese elements to the kung fu genre. Kar-wing speaks about the action of course and of the star Lo Lieh playing the rare role of the hero. Andy Klein and another critic, David Chute, provide historical context for the film. And in The One-armed Swordsman there are interviews with its star, Jimmy Wang Yu, as he recounts his rise to popularity thanks in part to this film and the day and age when the actor was low man on the pole in the studio system. Again, Chute and Klein provide excellent historical context for this film.
Commentaries – I will be outright with you and say that I am not a big fan of commentaries. But, for the sake of this article I gave each film a couple chapters worth to get the gist of how it is. Despite the lovely packaging, Quentin Tarantino did not appear on the commentary for The One-Armed Swordsman, as near as I can tell from my brief listen. Chute and Klein check in though and skipping chapters I got a sense that Klein did a lot of the talking. You just hear his voice at each chapter. Tarantino does show up on the commentary for King Boxer, along with Chute and Elvis Mitchell. On The 36th Chamber of Shaolin we are graced with the lyrical largess of Klein and The RZA. I will say this; I have been hard on Tarantino and The RZA in the past, for different reasons. But, having listened to both gentlemen for the brief moments that I did I will confess to this, they know their shit. Tarantino, as stuck in the 70s as he is, is still important as a historian, an enthusiast and curator of Kung fu cinema. Without guys like him around labels like Dragon Dynasty do not exist or have the legs to last. I will concede that he is an important and necessary part of the success of Asian cinema in North America. And for all the ‘y’know what I means’ and ‘yo yos’ The RZA represents the enthusiast in all of us. When he was growing up he took full advantage of the boom of 70s Kung fu cinema, checking out chop-socky films on 42nd street in New York, and even went as far as buying Kung fu manuals so he could learn the skills. It is enthusiasm like this for the genre that helps keep the goods coming and still to opens doors for new disciples of Kung fu. I give both of these men my respect.
Trailers – Each disc comes with an original trailer for each respected film. As mentioned earlier there is also a selection of trailers from the other works of cast and crew of each film. Neither of these have been restored but they are a lot of fun to watch.
Other Featurettes – Both the 36th Chamber and Swordsman discs have additional Featurettes. Chamber features a piece on Shaolin Kung fu and it roots, with Gordon Liu adding commentary. Swordsman features a piece on the director Chang Cheh, the bringer of blood to Chinese cinema.
As far as the discs are concerned the movies are beautifully digitally restored and crystal clear. They are really, really nice looking movies. Further emphasis on the care taken to restore each film can be seen simply by comparing the film transfers to the accompanying section of trailers of similar projects made by cast and crew from each film. They haven’t been restored and they really show the effects of time. There is no excuse for you not to have these DVDs as part of your collection. You cannot call yourself a Kung fu cinema fan and not have these. It simply cannot be. Dragon Dynasty gets high marks for presentation, restoration of the material, the wealth of supporting information in the commentaries and interviews and for simply making these titles available to the fans.
