Criterion in February 2024: THE HEROIC TRIO, EXECUTIONERS, and Some Other Movies

In February 2024, The Criterion Collection will release The Heroic Trio and Executioners in 4K and Blu-ray.

Yes, they will also release films by Michael Roemer's Nothing But a Man, Raoul Walsh's The Roaring Twenties, Eric Rohmer's Tales of the Four Seasons, and Robert Altman's McCabe and Mrs. Miller in 4K (?!). You can read more about at the official Criterion site.

But my personal takeaway is The Heroic Trio and Executioners in 4K and Blu-ray will be released. I'll just quote from Criterion's official verbiage:

"The star power of cinema icons Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui, and Michelle Yeoh fuels these gloriously unrestrained action joyrides from auteur Johnnie To and action choreographer Ching Siu-tung.

"The Heroic Trio and its sequel, Executioners, follow a new kind of justice league: a team of blade-throwing, shotgun-toting, kung fu-fighting heroines who join forces to battle evildoers in a dystopian, noirish city.

"Blending dazzling martial-arts mayhem with exhilarating blasts of comic-book lunacy, these beloved superhero movies reimagine the genre through the giddy genius of the Hong Kong film industry at its height."

These films served as part of my beginner's course in Hong Kong Cinema in the late 90s, when I watched them as much lower resolution, rental DVDs. I am afraid of their explosive power today.

Will they hold up? Time will tell. Read more about the set here, which includes details on the special features.