Henry Woo

Finally some signs that we might start seeing movies released from the Shaw Brothers vast library of films. Go to www.celestialpictures.com.uk/ It doesn't say much but it seems like something is finally going to happen (ie. that the films are finally available to be licensed for all media).

Hello Hong Kong Legends, are you interested. But this time, don't forget about us R1 fans too.

Finally some legitimate copies of films from the likes of Liu Chia-liang, Chang Cheh, Ti Lung, David Chiang, Fu Sheng, etc.

It is about time! These films have been buried too long.

Ky-Fi

HW,
Actually, if you add them up there's a pretty good selection of great Shaw Brothers movies out already on DVD in region 1. The ones I have that are widescreen and pretty clear prints are:

Shaolin Master Killer (36th Chamber of Shaolin)
Five Deadly Venoms
Dirty Ho
Fist of the White Lotus
Kid With The Golden Arm

Non widescreen DVD releases:

Shaolin Challenges Ninja
Legendary Weapons of China
Return of the Master Killer

To be released in September:

Killer Army
Invincible Shaolin
Flag of Iron

...and some others.....

After suffering through horrible quality VHS copies for a number of years, IMO the Shaw Brothers situation is beginning to look pretty good

Henry Woo

Sorry, correct site name is www.celestialpictures.com.hk/

Henry Woo

Ky-fi,

But aren't your copies english-dubbed with no remastering and bare-bones extras. I am hoping that a company like Hong Kong Legends gets the rights so that they can do the remastering and adds the extras that they have done with the Media Asia and Golden Harvest films. I would love to hear commentaries or have interviews with the old Shaw filmmakers such as Liu Chia liang, Chang Cheh, David Chiang, Ti Lung.

Slumbering Fist

It isnt like many people got exposed to these films with subtitles. I've lived with them being dubbed for well over 20 years now, so it doesnt really bother me. Yeah, I wouldnt mind subtitles, but I fell in love with them dubbed and still like em' that way. Yes, but barebones does=cheap. Without raising their prices, Ground Zero is starting to put some extras on, like bonus fights. I wouldnt mind remastering and interviews and such, but honestly I love them as they are, scratches and grain, and probably wouldnt pay a whole lot of money for versions with lots of extras.

HepDude

Shaolin Master Killer (36th Chamber of Shaolin) has been remastered, and is not bad, except for the fact that for some reason, the audio is very low in volume.

And, as someone else mentioned, the films have always been shown dubbed, whether in theaters or on TV, in the USA and other English speaking countries.

Somehow, the dubbing seems to match the overall style of the films - but I suppose it would be interesting to see one of them subtitled.

Aghama

I would suspect there's some circular reasoning going on in our minds; we've always seen them dubbed, so the dubbing seems to fit the films.

JHosk

I agree...the dubbing on the old skool flicks may be cheesey but it wouldn't seem right watching alot of those old flicks without dubbed audio.

Henry Woo

I guess I am dating myself here when I say I was exposed to the Shaw Brothers movies when they were going through Vancouver on their first run. At that time there were about 4 Chinese theatres in Vancouver in its heyday (1 now I believe) and the Shaw Brothers theatre would run double-bills. The first movie would be the new one while the second one would have been in town previously.

So I am used to the Mandarin/Cantonese dub. I sort of cringe when I hear the English dub which are usually unintentionally funny. I just want to have them restored and remastered to their original condition (as Hong Kong Legends has done with the Media Asia releases) as I saw them during my teen-age years. Even the style of the SB trailers for upcoming movies were highly entertaining and I would want them included.

The reasons why I would want extras and commentaries included on the dvd is because most of the people that made these movies are getting up there in age and there hasn't been many one on one interviews with these often neglected master craftsmans. It would be highly interesting to hear about the conditions that they had to shoot the film, the process, etc. It would be nice to finally give credit to these people and to document their thoughts.

Ky-Fi

I do agree that because of the dubbing, some of the better Shaw films (particularly Master Killer) don't get the critical praise they deserve, and are unfairly relegated to the "silly chop-socky" category. However, like Iaido, I grew up watching dubbed versions of these movies in the early 80's, and that's the format that got me permanently hooked on them. Also, the fact that it was the same 3 or 4 guys that dubbed every Shaw movie made their voices very recognizable---and for me, hearing those guys delivering the classic lines has become a part of the charm of those movies.
Sure, I wouldn't avoid the subtitled versions, and I would also love extras-loaded, remastered versions of the films--behind the scenes info and stories would be really interesting. But as far as I'm concerned, the quality of the DVD releases of Master Killer and Five Deadly Venoms is perfectly fine---especially in comparison to the VHS versions available since those films were made.

Although I did grow up on them pan and scan, I must admit that after seeing Master Killer widescreen, I refuse to buy any more SB movies if they're p & s. So for me, if they're widescreen, fairly sharp, and the colors aren't too faded (like the 1977 Iron Monkey DVD---that almost looks black and white!)---I'm happy.

B4Bishop

Will you rebuy all there films that are out now if the new ones are OAR? I will. I won't be happy, but could you imaging if they are?

magnetichuman

The ones that are out now are inexpensive enough that I wouldn't feel bad at all about re-buying them. I won't get my hopes up at all until I actually see a remastered Shaw Brothers DVD release with good reviews. Despite the fact that there are companies like Hong Kong Legends, and now a new company in France as well, nice DVDs of Hong Kong films (particularly more obscure ones) are still not the norm.

Ky-Fi

For me, as long as it's widescreen and a fairly clear print, then that's good enough for me. I'm currently satisfied enough with the current releases of:

Shaolin Master Killer
Five Deadly Venoms
Dirty Ho
Fist of the White Lotus
Kid With the Golden Arm

..that I wouldn't bother re-buying them. I've gotten rid of any of my Pan and scan ones, and will not buy any more of those in the future.

Slumbering Fist

It really depends. If some of the Shaw titles I have now, like Shaolin Challenges Ninja and Chinese Super Ninjas get a widescreen (and in Chinese Super Ninjas case-UNCUT) releases, sure I'll buy them again. As for other titles with widescreen but ugly picture quality, films like Master Killer and Five Fingers of Death get better releases, sure I'll probably get them too, but it would have to be a very good improvement, a perfect picture in order for me to do so.

hkentertainment

will they release their WHOLE catalogue again?

Furious

No.