Shawscope Volumes

[ryannichols7]

crazy late night/early morning leak. looks awesome with the red color scheme

the 14 films:

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
Return to the 36th Chamber
Disciples of the 36th Chamber
Mad Monkey Kung Fu
Five Superfighters
Invincible Shaolin
The Kid With the Golden Arm
Magnificent Ruffians
Ten Tigers of Kwangtung
My Young Auntie
Mercenaries From Hong Kong
The Boxer's Omen
Martial Arts of Shaolin
The Bare-Footed Kid

description:

SpoilerShow

Picking up where Volume One left off, this sophomore collection of Hong Kong cinema classics draws together many of the best films from the final years of the Shaw Brothers studio, proving that while the end was nigh, these merchants of martial arts mayhem weren’t going to go out without a fight! Armed with stunning special features and ravishing new restorations, this boxset is even bigger and bolder than the last one. We begin with kung fu master Lau Kar-leung’s instant classic The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, in which his adoptive brother Gordon Liu achieved overnight stardom as the young man who unexpectedly finds spiritual enlightenment on the path to vengeance; Lau and Liu followed the original with two comically inventive sequels, Return to the 36th Chamber and Disciples of the 36th Chamber, both included here. Already established as a genius at blending dazzling action with physical comedy, Lau himself plays the lead role in the hilarious Mad Monkey Kung Fu, coupled here with Lo Mar’s underrated Five Superfighters. Next, we once again meet Chang Cheh’s basher boy band the Venom Mob in no less than four of their best-loved team-ups: Invincible Shaolin, The Kid with the Golden Arm, Magnificent Ruffians and culminating in the all-star Ten Tigers of Kwangtung, co-starring Ti Lung and Fu Sheng. After Lau brings us perhaps his best high-kicking comedy with My Young Auntie, a playful star vehicle for his real-life muse Kara Hui, we see Shaw Brothers fully embracing Eighties excess in our strangest double feature yet: Wong Jing’s breathtakingly wild shoot-‘em-up Mercenaries from Hong Kong, and Kuei Chih-hung’s spectacularly unhinged black magic meltdown The Boxer’s Omen. Last but certainly not least, Lau Kar-leung directs the last major Shaw production, Martial Arts of Shaolin, filmed in mainland China with a hot new talent named Jet Li in the lead role; it is paired in this set with The Bare-Footed Kid, a reverent remake of a Chang Cheh classic with Johnnie To (Running Out of Time) in the director’s chair and Lau back on fight choreography duties, in arguably the ultimate filmed tribute to Shaws’ everlasting cinematic legacy.

specs:

SpoilerShow

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY COLLECTION CONTENTS

• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of all fourteen films, including nine new 2K restorations by Arrow Films
• Illustrated 60-page collectors’ book featuring new writing by David Desser, Jonathan Clements, Lovely Jon and David West, plus cast and crew listings and notes on each film by Simon Abrams • New artwork by Mike Lee-Graham, Chris Malbon, Kagan McLeod, Colin Murdoch, “Kung Fu” Bob O’Brien, Lucas Peverill, Ilan Sheady, Tony Stella, Darren Wheeling and Jolyon Yates
• Hours of never-before-seen bonus features including several cast and crew interviews from the Frédéric Ambroisine Video Archive
• Two CDs of music from the De Wolfe Music library as heard in several of the films, exclusive to this collection

DISC ONE – THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN

• Brand new 4K restoration by Celestial Pictures and L’Immagine Ritrovata
• Newly restored uncompressed Mandarin, Cantonese and English original mono audio
• Newly translated English subtitles, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub
• Brand new feature commentary by critic Travis Crawford
• Brand new select-scene commentary by film critic and historian Tony Rayns • Interview with star Gordon Liu, filmed in 2003
• Interview with cinematographer Arthur Wong, filmed in 2006
• Shaolin: Birthplace of a Hero and Elegant Trails, two archive featurettes with Gordon Liu produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003
• Tiger Style: The Musical Impact of Martial Arts Cinema, a newly filmed overview of Shaw Brothers’ influence on hip hop and other music genres, featuring music historian Lovely Jon
• Cinema Hong Kong: Swordfighting, the second instalment in a three-part documentary produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003 and featuring interviews with Gordon Liu, Lau Kar-leung, Cheng Pei-pei, John Woo, Sammo Hung, Kara Hui, David Chiang and others
• Alternate opening credits from the American version titled Master Killer
• Hong Kong and German theatrical trailers, plus US TV spot
• Image gallery

DISC TWO – RETURN TO THE 36TH CHAMBER / DISCIPLES OF THE 36TH CHAMBER

• Uncompressed Cantonese, Mandarin and English original mono audio for both films
• Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs
• Interview with star Gordon Liu, filmed in 2003
• Citizen Shaw, a French TV documentary from 1980 directed by Maurice Frydland, in which Sir Run Run Shaw gives an all-access tour of the Shaw Brothers backlot (including behind-the-scenes footage from Return to the 36th Chamber), remastered in high definition
• Hero on the Scaffolding, an archive featurette produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003 • Alternate opening credits sequences for both films • Hong Kong theatrical trailers for both films
• Image galleries for both films

DISC THREE – MAD MONKEY KUNG FU / FIVE SUPERFIGHTERS

• Brand new 2K restorations of both films from the original negatives by Arrow Films
• Uncompressed Cantonese, Mandarin and English original mono for both films
• Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs
• Brand new commentary for Mad Monkey Kung Fu by martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng and Michael Worth
• Newly filmed appreciation of Mad Monkey Kung Fu by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
• Interview with actor Hsiao Hou, filmed in 2004
• Shaw in the USA, a brand new featurette on how Shaw Brothers broke America featuring Grady Hendrix and Chris Poggiali, authors of These Fists Break Bricks
• Hong Kong and US theatrical trailers for Mad Monkey Kung Fu
• Hong Kong theatrical trailer and UK VHS promo for Five Superfighters
• Image galleries for both films

DISC FOUR – INVINCIBLE SHAOLIN / THE KID WITH THE GOLDEN ARM


• Brand new 2K restorations of both films from the original negatives by Arrow Films
• Uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio for both films, plus Cantonese mono for Invincible Shaolin
• Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs
• Interview with action director Robert Tai, filmed in 2003
• Poison Clan Rocks The World, a brand new visual essay on the Venom Mob written and narrated by author Terrence J. Brady
• Alternate "continuity" cut of The Kid With The Golden Arm, presented via seamless branching
• Alternate and textless title sequences for The Kid with the Golden Arm
• Hong Kong theatrical trailer for Invincible Shaolin
• Hong Kong theatrical trailer (audio only) and US TV spot for The Kid with the Golden Arm
• Image galleries for both films

DISC FIVE – MAGNIFICENT RUFFIANS / TEN TIGERS OF KWANGTUNG

• Brand new 2K restorations of both films from the original negatives by Arrow Films
• Uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio for both films, plus Cantonese mono for Ten Tigers of Kwangtung
• Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs
• Brand new audio commentary on Ten Tigers of Kwangtung by filmmaker Brandon Bentley
• Interview with star Chin Siu-ho, filmed in 2003
• Rivers and Lakes, a brand new video essay on Shaw Brothers’ depiction of Chinese myth and history, written and narrated by Jonathan Clements, author of A Brief History of China
• Hong Kong (audio only) and German theatrical trailers for Magnificent Ruffians
• Hong Kong trailers (Mandarin and Cantonese audio options) and US TV spot for Ten Tigers of Kwangtung
• Image galleries for both films

DISC SIX – MY YOUNG AUNTIE

• Uncompressed Cantonese, Mandarin and English original mono audio
• Newly translated English subtitles, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub
• Brand new select-scene commentary by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
• Interview with star Kara Hui, filmed in 2003
• Cinema Hong Kong: The Beauties of the Shaw Studios, the final instalment in the three-part documentary produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003
• Alternate standard-definition VHS version
• Hong Kong theatrical trailer
• Image gallery

DISC SEVEN – MERCENARIES FROM HONG KONG / THE BOXER'S OMEN

• Brand new 2K restorations of both films from the original negatives by Arrow Films
• Uncompressed Cantonese and Mandarin original mono audio for both films plus English mono for Mercenaries from Hong Kong
• Newly translated English subtitles for both films, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub
• Brand new commentary on The Boxer’s Omen by critic Travis Crawford
• Newly filmed appreciation of filmmaker Kuei Chih-hung by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
• Additional footage from Mandarin VHS version of The Boxer's Omen
• Interview with Mercenaries from Hong Kong action director Tong Kai, filmed in 2009
• Hong Kong theatrical trailers for both films
• Image galleries for both films

DISC EIGHT – MARTIAL ARTS OF SHAOLIN / THE BARE-FOOTED KID

• Uncompressed Cantonese, Mandarin and English original mono audio for both films
• Newly translated English subtitles, plus optional hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs
• Brand new commentary on Martial Arts of Shaolin by Jonathan Clements
• Brand new commentary on The Bare-Footed Kid by Frank Djeng of the NY Asian Film Festival
• Newly filmed appreciations of both films by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
• Interview with Martial Arts of Shaolin screenwriter Sze Yeung-ping, filmed in 2004
• Alternate standard-definition version of Martial Arts of Shaolin
• Hong Kong and Japanese theatrical trailers for Martial Arts of Shaolin, plus trailers for the preceding Shaolin Temple films starring Jet Li
• Hong Kong theatrical trailer and UK VHS promo for The Bare-Footed Kid
• Image galleries for both films

DISC NINE – MUSIC FROM THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN, FIVE SUPERFIGHTERS, INVINCIBLE SHAOLIN AND THE KID WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (CD)

DISC TEN – MUSIC FROM RETURN TO THE 36TH CHAMBER, MAGNIFICENT RUFFIANS, TEN TIGERS OF KWANGTUNG, MY YOUNG AUNTIE, MERCENARIES FROM HONG KONG AND DISCIPLES OF THE 36TH CHAMBER (CD)

[therewillbeblus]

Glad they commissioned a commentary for The Boxer's Omen, hopefully it's lively enough to match the energy of such a bonkers movie. How's Travis Crawford usually fare?

[ryannichols7]

Glad they commissioned a commentary for The Boxer's Omen, hopefully it's lively enough to match the energy of such a bonkers movie. How's Travis Crawford usually fare?

he fittingly also did the track for Mighty Peking Man in volume one - I'm not at that disc yet (ironically watching Five Shaolin Masters to get there!) but Chris reviewed his commentary on that one pretty well

also James if you read this thread, sorry..I know you were looking forward to bringing us the news

[JamesF]

Eh, it's okay. I've been sitting on this one long enough (the set's been signed off for weeks).

So... everyone happy, more or less?

(Travis would have been the first to admit that keeping up with The Boxer's Omen is a near-impossible task, but I think he did a valiant job all the same.)

[Peacock]

So... everyone happy, more or less?

Looks great! Very excited to pick this up.

A lot of people online seemed to be hoping for Five Element Ninjas though but maybe that’s still held by 88 Films?

[dwk]

88 Films has released/announced all their Shaw titles.

[feihong]

Pretty sure the 36th Chamber of Shaolin films will look better than they do on my IVL blu ray set. The happiest news on this set for me is My Young Auntie, Mad Monkey Kung Fu, Ten Tigers of Kwangtung, The Bare-Footed Kid, and The Boxer's Omen. I like Invincible Shaolin pretty well, too. Martial Arts of Shaolin is a very shrill movie (as is Disciples of the 35th Chamber, though that one is a little more interesting), Magnificent Ruffians was one I had trouble staying awake for, and I find The Kid with the Golden Arm pretty lackluster. I don't remember having seen Five Superfighters, and I know I haven't seen Mercenaries from Hong Kong. I've stayed away from Wong Jing movies on the whole––though I've recently watched The Ghost Snatchers (which Wong wrote) and The Magic Crystal.

Thinking of Wong Jing, though, reminds me that I've been watching Lam Ngai Kai movies recently. I was blown away by Her Vengeance––but I also was really impressed with The Men from the Gutter and Brothers from the Walled City, which are also late-period Shaw Bros. films. I wonder if Arrow has a chance of getting those pictures? They are an absolutely different flavor from the other Shaw Bros. movies we're getting––they aim for a kind of grungy, contemporary (to the 80s) realism, with a severely violent and downbeat edge. The Men from the Gutter is a really fantastic action picture. Both films are remarkably intense––they show Shaw branching out, as they sometimes tried to do, into a somewhat different genre.

88 Films' Martial Club disc is very nice, btw, and it's a one of Lau Kar Leung's best films. Extremely well-told story and two of the real stand–out scenes of martial arts choreography. The fight in the opera house and the one in the shrinking alley at the end of the film are just all–time great scenes.

I thought 88 Films was releasing Demon of the Lute, weren't they? Was I just imagining that? Maybe just Spectrum released it?

[Finch]

So... everyone happy, more or less?

James, when the first set sells out, are there going to be individual releases of the films in that set? I've only ever wanted Heroes of the East and Dirty Ho.

[JamesF]

So... everyone happy, more or less?

James, when the first set sells out, are there going to be individual releases of the films in that set? I've only ever wanted Heroes of the East and Dirty Ho.

Nothing decided yet, we won't be breaking up the Shawscope sets for a while I think.

[Glowingwabbit]

So... everyone happy, more or less?

Definitely. I've put off seeing the titles I knew about so all of these will be new discoveries for me. I hope future volumes touch on the 1960s output (maybe some musicals), obviously Chor Yuen (which I know you already mentioned as wanting to include) and earlier Chang Cheh like Blood Brothers, Have Sword, Will Travel, and Vengeance! which I think are his best.

[Maltic]

I'm curious to see how My Young Auntie is going to look, since it doesn't seem to have been given the full make-over. I suppose it'll be like Heroes of the East in Vol. 1 (not bad, but not glorious either).

[Finch]

Thanks for the reply, James.

Packshot:

[Maltic]

Glad they commissioned a commentary for The Boxer's Omen, hopefully it's lively enough to match the energy of such a bonkers movie. How's Travis Crawford usually fare?

I haven't gotten around to the Mighty Peking Man track either, or the one he did on Dawn of the Dead (I think). I've liked some of his writing. He's on the "scholarly" side of genre cinema criticism, I would say. In his video essay on Legend (Arrow last year), he makes a case for Ridley Scott as a great auteur (can't say I'm convinced, but I appreciate the effort).

Btw, it's nice to see some variety in the choice of commentarians, as with the previous set.

[ryannichols7]

Eh, it's okay. I've been sitting on this one long enough (the set's been signed off for weeks).

So... everyone happy, more or less?

and you got Amazon to take it down so you can still do a pretty good launch on Friday, good stuff. to answer your second question...

I plan to do a full breakdown of the box itself when I'm done with it - I halfway did the Criterion Essential Fellini and now I'd just prefer to fully commit to the bit and finish it before throwing up any sort of long post, but I think its worth answering your question, especially in light of all the incessant bitching (I totally know you're used to it, but it still annoys me) on the other forum, on twitter, and elsewhere. I am a total novice about the Shaws - I'm one of those people who was only somewhat aware of them thanks to Wu-Tang and Tarantino and all that but had never actually seen any of the movies. I was on the fence in curiosity but after watching and enjoying Come Drink With Me (I already appreciated King Hu, so that made it easy) I felt comfortable enough swinging by Barnes and Noble picking up the box, which coincidentially came right after this post:

I obviously am familiar with Kill Bill and Enter the Dragon and what elements were influenced by the Shaw films, but this was my first real forray into their work, as a sort of test to see if I should get the Shawscope box and I think I'm going to have to.

Not sure if you have bought the Shaw set yet or not, but if you haven’t I’d recommend doing so. Like you I prefer Wuxia movies and do like the King Hu films, but actually don’t like hand to hand combat movies very much. Quite a few people on this forum told me that the movies in the box set are probably not to my liking and they were right. However, the reason I’m still recommending it, is that it is basically a film class in a box. I knew about Shaw Brothers but not enough to fully understand it’s impact on film history and the genre of martial arts films in particular. The supplements in this box provide a lot of great information that really helped me to put some of the bits and pieces I knew into context. It also made me better understand why so many people seem to like these films, even though admittedly they still do little for me.

At the same time I have to say don’t buy the set if you are hoping to find another film like Come Drink with Me, as you will be disappointed. There really isn’t any movie in this set that comes close to the artistry of King Hu nor the female driven storyline.

So while I probably won’t revisit any of the films any time soon, I’m overall glad I bought the set as it helped me to fill in lots of gaps in my knowledge of movies, especially martial arts ones.

and basically I agree with every single word going on here. I may have busted on Arrow on this forum and elsewhere many times for the lack of non-genre titles (and I'm sorry if any of it was too harsh) but as someone of (partial) Chinese descent this is the one I can usually get on board with it. three films in, I haven't loved anything yet (though The Boxer From Shantung comes closest) but you all's treatment has been absolutely amazing. it helps that you have scholars I'm already famiiliar with and love like Tony Rayns and David Desser, two guys I will usually go out of my way to seek their insights for. I haven't gotten to listen to anything from Travis Crawford or Jonathan Clements yet, and I enjoyed the one Frank Djeng commentary I've heard (Throw Down for Eureka) so I look forward to all their insights, as many here (and I read Chris' reviews frequently) have praised them. but some of the real gems have been the incredible Frédéric Ambroisine interviews - I know many devout fans of these films have probably already seen them, but as a newcomer they've been invaluable to get the insight of these performers. as vsski said, I have really learned a lot from the four films I've seen (we'll count the King Hu as I know you guys would've included it) so far and totally understand why people are such devout followers of these - I'll save my own thoughts for the films at a later time as stated earlier, as I don't think its relevant to your question.

now if you don't mind, I actually do have some questions too! totally okay if you don't answer as I know it opens a huge can of worms and your reply gets quoted all over the internet...

1. I have noticed Arrow has done their own restorations on some films but then some of the other films use significantly older restorations (Five Shaolin Masters last night being one) - what goes into the process of how this is decided? is it elements, Celestial allowing this or that transfer, or you guys feel some of these titles its less necessary for?

2. did David Desser not want to do a commentary or video piece on this set? his track on King Boxer was fantastic, and that was a film I didn't enjoy much at all (sorry if that's sacrelige!)

3. maybe this isn't a question so much as a request: I did read the entire Twitter thread you and MichaelB were involved with about doing some non-Kung Fu titles. I obviously am very in the market for the Wuxia ones (it would make my girlfriend's year as well) but am insanely curious what opera, drama, and comedy would look like in Shawscope. I know the Kung Fu titles certainly sell, and I did see Kevin's response about acquiring more titles. I certainly hope this series is successful enough to see a mix of genres going forward, especially as you guys tell the story of Shaw Brothers more going forward. I am far less likely to buy individual titles (I did for Come Drink With Me and 8 DIagram Pole Fighter since I knew they were de facto entries, and also regarded as two of the best) and appreciate the boxing and curation of these sets - I've been annoyed all morning at the complaints from enthusiasts at how its a "waste" that The Boxer's Omen is here or something, but again I'm sure you're far less bothered than I am, which is good!

please keep this going - I'm in it for the long run and no matter how many blood splattering gorefests you guys announce, I'm on board as long as you do boxsets this expertly curated and treated. thank you guys for all you do and I hope this answer was of some value!

[Maltic]

I'm generally in the anti-box camp (though not in this case), and I can understand why some would be sad that a "long-awaited" film like The Boxer's Omen would finally come out both in America and the UK only as part of a huge set. On the other hand, you would need some "main attractions" for a set like this one. Of course, Eureka have released the Golden Harvest films one by one or in much smaller sets, but one can debate whether they cumulatively measure up to the Shawscopes in terms of extras, value-for-money and so on. And then there are rights issues...

If anything, I am slightly annoyed by the tendency to massively stack individual releases (like the forthcoming Righting Wrongs from VS and 88), which then become expensive. But again, to each his own.

[beamish14]

So…when will I be able to pre-order?

[dwk]

The official announcement is on Friday. So Friday.

[yoloswegmaster]

Another solid set from Arrow! Can't wait to grab my hands on it.

I also second the suggestion of adding Men from the Gutter to a future set, as well as Chor Yuen's House of 72 Tenants, Alex Law's Painted Faces, and Wang Lung-wei's Hong Kong Godfather. With the addition of The Barefooted-Kid, I wonder if that means other Johnnie To films that he had made with Shaw/Cosmopolitan Film Productions such as Justice, My Foot, The Mad Monk, Needing You, or Lifeline will be a part of future sets (alongside early Stephen Chow titles like Love on Delivery and Out of the Dark).

[bad future]

If further sets or standalone releases are possible, I would love to see some less action-oriented titles like Li Han-Hsiang's The Enchanting Shadow and The Love Eterne, but I'd understand if those are too far outside of what people look to Shaw Bros for. The former at least has a supernatural element that might help, and I suppose Love Eterne counts as a musical, though that's probably not the kind of "genre appeal" that usually sells Arrow releases.

[sabbath]

If further sets or standalone releases are possible, I would love to see some less action-oriented titles like Li Han-Hsiang's The Enchanting Shadow and The Love Eterne, but I'd understand if those are too far outside of what people look to Shaw Bros for. The former at least has a supernatural element that might help, and I suppose Love Eterne counts as a musical, though that's probably not the kind of "genre appeal" that usually sells Arrow releases.

Kenny B of Podcast On Fire complained about The Love Eterne being skipped over on Twitter yesterday and James F's answer wasn't that promising.

[MichaelB]

It's pretty clear from that whole exchange that Kenny B's tongue was pretty firmly wedged into his cheek and that he didn't seriously expect it to be included.

At least not until volume 17.

[Orlac]

I'm still waiting for someone to release Shaws' wonderfully trashy BRUCE LEE AND I, starring Lee's, um, good friend Betty Ting-pei as herself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K06ZX5FwyA

[JamesF]

now if you don't mind, I actually do have some questions too! totally okay if you don't answer as I know it opens a huge can of worms and your reply gets quoted all over the internet...

1. I have noticed Arrow has done their own restorations on some films but then some of the other films use significantly older restorations (Five Shaolin Masters last night being one) - what goes into the process of how this is decided? is it elements, Celestial allowing this or that transfer, or you guys feel some of these titles its less necessary for?

2. did David Desser not want to do a commentary or video piece on this set? his track on King Boxer was fantastic, and that was a film I didn't enjoy much at all (sorry if that's sacrelige!)

3. maybe this isn't a question so much as a request: I did read the entire Twitter thread you and MichaelB were involved with about doing some non-Kung Fu titles. I obviously am very in the market for the Wuxia ones (it would make my girlfriend's year as well) but am insanely curious what opera, drama, and comedy would look like in Shawscope. I know the Kung Fu titles certainly sell, and I did see Kevin's response about acquiring more titles. I certainly hope this series is successful enough to see a mix of genres going forward, especially as you guys tell the story of Shaw Brothers more going forward. I am far less likely to buy individual titles (I did for Come Drink With Me and 8 DIagram Pole Fighter since I knew they were de facto entries, and also regarded as two of the best) and appreciate the boxing and curation of these sets - I've been annoyed all morning at the complaints from enthusiasts at how its a "waste" that The Boxer's Omen is here or something, but again I'm sure you're far less bothered than I am, which is good!

please keep this going - I'm in it for the long run and no matter how many blood splattering gorefests you guys announce, I'm on board as long as you do boxsets this expertly curated and treated. thank you guys for all you do and I hope this answer was of some value!

Thanks for the kind words Ryan (and everyone else who commented)! Really great to see that our attempts to make the set accessible to Shaw newcomers as well as diehard fans have landed as we hoped, and that people are generally pleased with the selection of films. You can't make everyone happy - especially with a catalogue as vast as Shaw Brothers to choose from! - but as I said in the Twitter thread you referred to, we're in it for the long haul, so we should be able to cover more ground in the years to come. We won't get to do everyone's favourites, but thankfully 88 and other companies are around to do so too.

To answer your questions as much as I can on a public forum:

1) When we initially acquired the films, our plan was to restore all of them, since the picture quality issues on many of the existing HD masters were part of the reason we'd avoided the catalogue originally. It quickly became clear, however, that these would be much more involved and expensive than our usual restoration workflow, even just in 2K, so the original budgets we'd acquired the films under wouldn't work. So in order to stick to budget and release the films in enough time to make our money back given the relatively short license period, we decided to only restore a little over half of them. We went through the existing masters and decided which ones were the least-worst (especially with regards DNR and 'framecutting') that could be released as they were, and prioritised the ones that most needed improvement. A couple of titles got swapped around (e.g. so we could remaster the longer cut of Chinatown Kid), and it's a shame we couldn't restore all of them, but I think it's a pretty good balance overall. With the hard-won lessons and efficiencies learned from these two sets, we're hoping to be able to restore every film on future volumes - fingers crossed this works out.

2) I don't remember exactly, but as both of the first two sets were initially planned simultaneously - the original plan was one big 26-film box which, again, quickly proved unfeasible! - I think it was just as simple as David getting the list of titles and only wanting to do King Boxer, as well as the two booklet essays. We also wanted to mix up the contributors a bit on Volume 2, and hope to again with future volumes.

3) I wasn't involved with picking the titles for Volumes 1 & 2 but have been more involved with the new package we're acquiring for Volumes 3 & 4, which does indeed veer away from kung fu a lot more. I picked the name Shawscope for our boxsets specifically so we could go into new territory in the future, and that is indeed the strategy: hopefully by now we've hooked enough people with the kung fu sets that will now be willing to go on a journey into other kinds of Shaws films with us. Indeed, working on the extras gave me a whole other list of films I'm desperately keen to see! That said, I doubt you'll see us doing the operas, melodramas and comedies anytime soon - they just aren't commercially viable at the scale we're working to with the new restorations and collectable packaging, which means genre films inevitably become the key focus. (Indeed, I'm not convinced a huangmei diao set would fly off the shelves even with just the existing Celestial masters, basic packaging and minimal extras to keep production costs down.) I'm sure we'll release more Shaws kung fu films in the future too, but we're happy to go on a bit of a tangent for now - especially as we have plenty of Golden Harvest films from Fortune Star lined up too.

[What A Disgrace]

I still hope AT LEAST The Love Eterne pops up in a future box. I've been wanting to see that film for years, doubting I'd ever get an opportunity. And besides, it would be rather cruel to do a 50+ Shaw Brothers series and NOT release one of their most culturally defining films, even if it does seem awkwardly wedged in.

[Glowingwabbit]

I still hope AT LEAST The Love Eterne pops up in a future box. I've been wanting to see that film for years, doubting I'd ever get an opportunity. And besides, it would be rather cruel to do a 50+ Shaw Brothers series and NOT release one of their most culturally defining films, even if it does seem awkwardly wedged in.

That was the first ever Shaw Brothers film I watched. Gorgeous film and remains one of my favorites from the studio. I noticed in the extras for the new set that they are including Cinema Hong Kong: The Beauties of the Shaw Studio which would have paired well with The Love Eterne since it's featured in the doc. I can understand not wanting to risk a low selling individual release, but throwing it on a 12-14 film set like they did with The Mighty Peking Man shouldn't be an issue (I had fun with MP but it was a random inclusion in an otherwise Kung-fu dominated set). There are plenty of other 60s genre samplings from Ho Meng-hua or Jeong Chang-Hwa's Fantomas inspired Temptress of a Thousand Faces that I know people would love to see where adding The Love Eterne would fit nicely too.