Shawscope Volumes

[colinr0380]

This is great news! I would also like to see some love given to their fantasy/horror output: Demon of the Lute, Seeding of a Ghost, Bewitched, Hex, Super Inframan.

I agree, though it is worth noting that 88 Films have already released Seeding of a Ghost, Bewitched and Hex a few years back on Blu-ray in the UK in their "88 Asia" line (and I seem to remember them announcing Super Inframan, but that never seemed to come out). That doesn't preclude them appearing in these Arrow sets however as a number of "88 Asia" titles have appeared again with additional/different extras (Mighty Peking Man for example, which turns up in Volume 1, or One-Armed Swordsman and Killer Constable from Volume 3: I'm keeping my 88 Asia discs of both those titles for the Bey Logan commentaries!), so they could certainly be a possibility.

I'm still waiting for someone, anyone, to release BRUCE LEE AND I!

Severin did optimistically title their Brucesploitation Collection set with "Vol. 1", so unless it turns into another MoC Naruse situation, maybe it could turn up there!

[Orlac]

Severin did optimistically title their Brucesploitation Collection set with "Vol. 1", so unless it turns into another MoC Naruse situation, maybe it could turn up there!

I think I asked them sometime ago and they said they didn't have the rights.

Celestial also released, in Hong Kong only, NEW GAME OF DEATH on DVD in 2007, which is the Taiwanese Bruce Li movie known here as GOODBYE BRUCE LEE: HIS LAST GAME OF DEATH. I'm not sure how Shaws ended up with it!

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

A Taiwanese newspaper reported in 1975 that Shaw Brothers had bought the Southeast Asian rights. I think a plausible scenario is that they mainly acquired it for a Southeast Asian release but actually bought all of the Asian rights. The Republic of China Film Yearbook for 1985 says it was released in Japan in 1977 and lists the original studio as Shaw Brothers, and the Taiwanese film database run by the Ministry of Culture also has a slim entry that names the local Shaw branch as the Taiwanese distributor. Shaw acquiring the Asian rights would explain why Celestial is the licensor for the Hong Kong and Japanese DVDs but Severin was able to release it in the U.S. without going through them, with the downside of being stuck with lower-quality elements.

[midnitedave]

I agree, though it is worth noting that 88 Films have already released Seeding of a Ghost, Bewitched and Hex a few years back on Blu-ray in the UK in their "88 Asia" line (and I seem to remember them announcing Super Inframan, but that never seemed to come out). That doesn't preclude them appearing in these Arrow sets however as a number of "88 Asia" titles have appeared again with additional/different extras (Mighty Peking Man for example, which turns up in Volume 1, or One-Armed Swordsman and Killer Constable from Volume 3: I'm keeping my 88 Asia discs of both those titles for the Bey Logan commentaries!), so they could certainly be a possibility.

88 Films did end up releasing Super Inframan (I own it!). It just appears that all those former 88 Films titles are now OOP which makes me wonder if Arrow now has those rights and will release a volume dedicated to horror/fantasy. Each Shawscope collection is a mix of older masters and new restorations, so it would be interesting to see where they go with their curation.

[colinr0380]

Ah, that explains why they are appearing again in these Arrow sets if they were only briefly available through the 88 Films line! Thanks midnitedave!

[Orlac]

A Taiwanese newspaper reported in 1975 that Shaw Brothers had bought the Southeast Asian rights. I think a plausible scenario is that they mainly acquired it for a Southeast Asian release but actually bought all of the Asian rights. The Republic of China Film Yearbook for 1985 says it was released in Japan in 1977 and lists the original studio as Shaw Brothers, and the Taiwanese film database run by the Ministry of Culture also has a slim entry that names the local Shaw branch as the Taiwanese distributor. Shaw acquiring the Asian rights would explain why Celestial is the licensor for the Hong Kong and Japanese DVDs but Severin was able to release it in the U.S. without going through them, with the downside of being stuck with lower-quality elements.

thank you very much!

It's a funny old movie. The version Severin released was the US version which begins with an interview with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but removes the scene where "Bruce" fights a very scrawny Muhammad Ali clone!

[JamesF]

Each Shawscope collection is a mix of older masters and new restorations, so it would be interesting to see where they go with their curation.

No comments on what to expect from Vol 4 (except that at least one of you will be happy), but just to correct one point - except for the first One-Armed Swordsman (which even then, is a more recent restoration by Celestial Pictures and L'Immagine Ritrovata than the one on the 88 Films Blu-ray), every single film on Volumes 3 and 4 is newly restored by Arrow, and we intend to continue that trend on any future volumes should they transpire.

[Orlac]

Each Shawscope collection is a mix of older masters and new restorations, so it would be interesting to see where they go with their curation.

No comments on what to expect from Vol 4 (except that at least one of you will be happy), but just to correct one point - except for the first One-Armed Swordsman (which even then, is a more recent restoration by Celestial Pictures and L'Immagine Ritrovata than the one on the 88 Films Blu-ray), every single film on Volumes 3 and 4 is newly restored by Arrow, and we intend to continue that trend on any future volumes should they transpire.

Woo hoo!

[midnitedave]

Ah, that explains why they are appearing again in these Arrow sets if they were only briefly available through the 88 Films line! Thanks midnitedave!

Anytime!

No comments on what to expect from Vol 4 (except that at least one of you will be happy), but just to correct one point - except for the first One-Armed Swordsman (which even then, is a more recent restoration by Celestial Pictures and L'Immagine Ritrovata than the one on the 88 Films Blu-ray), every single film on Volumes 3 and 4 is newly restored by Arrow, and we intend to continue that trend on any future volumes should they transpire.

Oh heck yeah! ...and I stand corrected. My mind mostly went to Volumes 1 and 2 but happy to see these films getting the extra love they deserve.

[yoloswegmaster]

This is great news! I would also like to see some love given to their fantasy/horror output: Demon of the Lute, Seeding of a Ghost, Bewitched, Hex, Super Inframan.

Apparently Frank Djeng posted this comment in the same thread where he confirmed the number of titles in Vol. 4:

I can’t reveal what theme volume 4 will be , I don’t want to be HEXED

Sounds like we can expect Vol. 4 to be more focused on horror. While a couple of those titles listed were released by 88 Films, they all look to be OOP, so I wouldn't be shocked if they did make an appearance in Vo;. 4. I could also see The Oily Maniac being added.

[Orlac]

CLANS OF INTRIGUE (1977)

What can I say, but that Nora Miao lesbian kiss scene is awesome! Funny between this and FIST OF FURY, she seems to be the only kung fu actress keen to do onscreen snogging!

CLANS is definetly top-tier Chor Yuen/Ku Lung, in that it's so twisted it's knotted. Lots of revelations along the lines of "I thought you were dead!"/"I was!" and saucy gender changes (which Shaws and Celestial ruined in their trailers), with an artificial but effective studio environment which creates a fantasy effect that is most sublime.

8/10