Furious Swords and Fantastic Warriors: Blu-ray review

When you think of Hong Kong Cinema, many will think of one name. That name is Chang Cheh. Chang Cheh was a prolific Hong Kong director whose career stretched for six decades. Sometimes he would release 8 films in one year. That is pretty impressive. No wonder he is called the 'Godfather of Hong Kong cinema'. 

During his illustrious career, he worked on many genres of films, including Chinese opera, kung fu, historical epics, and supernatural thrillers. Eureka Entertainment has collected a 10 of Chang's films and collected them on a Blu-ray release entitled "Furious Swords and Fantastic Warriors." 

Synopsis: Presented here are ten films that reveal the range and versatility of Chang's career as a filmmaker. Traditional wuxia pian is represented by King Eagle, Trail of the Broken Blade and Wandering Swordsman; choreographed by Lau Kar-leung, Men from the Monastery and Shaolin Martial Arts are both drawn from Chang's Shaolin Cycle, included here alongside New Shaolin Boxers; Iron Bodyguard, released at the dawn of the kung fu era, is representative of changing trends in Hong Kong cinema; and some of Chang's more esoteric work is represented by the opera film The Fantastic Magic Baby and the supernatural fantasy The Weird Man. Also included is the anthology film Trilogy of Swordsmanship, to which Chang contributed a segment alongside his contemporaries Yueh Feng and Cheng Kang.

The Complete List of the Films Included:
Men From The Monastery (1974 – 93 minutes) 
Shaolin Martial Arts (1974 – 112 minutes)
King Eagle (1971 – 84 minutes) 
Iron Bodyguard (1973 – 99 minutes)
The Fantastic Baby (1975 – 101 minutes) 
The Weird Man (1983 – 91 minutes) 
The Trail of the Broken Blade (1967 – 109 minutes) 
The Wandering Swordsman (1970 – 108 minutes)
Trilogy of the Swordsmanship (1972 – 113) 
New Shaolin Boxer (1976 – 101 minutes)

Eureka Entertainment has released all 10 of these films on Blu-ray in 1080p and are presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic for all the films. The Audio tracks are in Mandarin LPCM 2.0 mono. But there is also English dubs in LPCM 2.0 mono for Men From The Monastery, Shaolin Martial Arts, Iron Bodyguard, The Weird Man, The Trail of the Broken Blade & New Shaolin Boxers.

These transfers are crisp and clean and are a wonderful way to experience these Hong Kong classics. Now, in addition to 10 feature films in this massive box set, Eureka Entertainment included some great bonus features in this Blu-ray set. Take a look at what is included.

Bonus Materials:
* Audio Commentaries include David West on Men From the Monastery, The Weird Man and The Trail of the Broken Blade; Frank Djeng & Michael Worth on Shaolin Martial Arts, Iron Bodyguard and New Shaolin Boxer; Mark Leeder & Arne Venema on King Eagle, The Fantastic Magic Baby, The Wandering Swordsman and Trilogy of Swordsmanship; and Frank Djeng on The Fantastic Magic Baby. All feature background on the films and performers.
* Saving Shaolin: Legends of Modern Martial Arts
* Men From The Monastery VHS Footage 
* A Sword Raised To The Sky: History and the Iron Bodyguard
* Interview with Wayne Wong
* Illustrated Booklet with an essay about Chang Cheh’s career by James Oliver

If you have been enjoying all the Shaw Brothers Blu-ray releases we have been seeing here recently. This epic Blu-ray of Furious Swords and Fantastic Warriors is a must-add to your collection. Head over to MVD Shop and order your copy today!

Out of 4 Film reels (4 being the best) The Blu-ray of Furious Swords and Fantastic Warriors receives.....