Shout! Studios Unveils Hong Kong Cinema Classics Line, Including Digital and Physical Releases of Movies from John Woo and Jet Li

Shout! Studios has unveiled Hong Kong Cinema Classics Line, “a new entertainment label spotlighting a treasure trove of Hong Kong’s most captivating and cinematic masterpieces on digital entertainment platforms in 4K and definitive-edition physical releases (UHD and Blu-ray) for collectors’ home entertainment shelves,” according to the official release. The first titles will be released this summer.

The home video company “in collaboration with the Hong Kong Film Archives, has been working diligently to remaster and restore several prized hits, all scanned in stunning 4K from the original camera negatives. The video and audio have been restored, and the subtitles have been newly translated. With fans in mind, Shout! Studios is currently producing a variety of bonus content for each physical media release for this numbered and deluxe home entertainment series.”

Many of these titles have long been out-of-print or unavailable in the west, so to have them with brand-new transfers and festooned with extra features is really exciting.

There will be a number of digital releases first, including John Woo’s “Hard Boiled” in 4K, and a huge 4K box set of Jet Li classics including “Fist of Legend,” “Tai Chi Master,” “Fong Sai Yuk,” “Fong Sai Yuk II” and “The Bodyguard from Beijing” in a massive 10-disc set.

The first titles to be released digitally (in 4K), along with their release dates: John Woo’s “Hard Boiled” (June 24); Ringo Lam’s “City on Fire” (June 24); John Woo’s “A Better Tomorrow” and “A Better Tomorrow II” (July 8) along with Tsui Hark’s “A Better Tomorrow III” (also July 8); Tsui Hark’s “Peking Opera Blues” (July 22); Joh Woo’s “The Killer” (July 22); Tony Ching’s “A Chinese Ghost Story,” “A Chinese Ghost Story II” and “A Chinese Ghost Story III” (all Aug. 5); and John Woo’s “Bullet in the Head” (Aug. 19).

As for physical media, which you know we’re all about, “each highly collectible edition boasts an exciting movie presentation and will contain insightful bonus features.” The first physical release is the Jet Li Collection, featuring the aforementioned titles, which will serve as Hong Kong Cinema Classics #1 – 5. On Aug. 26, a 4K UHD and Blu-ray edition of Ringo Lam’s “City on Fire” will be released (HKCC #6) and on Sept. 23, the 4K UHD and Blu-ray release of Tsui Hark’s “City on Fire” (HKCC #7) will make its debut. More titles, including the physical releases of some of the John Woo classics, are expected by the end of the year.

Below are the list of special features for the titles in the Jet Li box set, which you can preorder at ShoutFactory.com.

FIST OF LEGEND

Starring Jet Li, Siu-Ho Chin, Billy Chow | Directed by Gordon Chan

In 1937, a Chinese martial artist returns to Shanghai to find his teacher dead and his school harassed by the ultranationalist Black Dragon Clan.

FIST OF LEGEND Bonus Content

Presented In Dolby Vision 

• NEW Audio Commentary With James Mudge, Hong Kong Film Critic at easternKicks 
• NEW Optional English Subtitles Newly Translated for this Release 
• NEW Interview With Director Gordon Chan 
• NEW Interview With Professor Aaron Moore 
• “The Man Behind The Legend” – Interview With Director Gordon Chan 
• “Brother In Arms” – Interview With Actor Chin Siu-Ho 
• “The Way Of The Warrior” – Interview With Actor Kurata Yasuaki 
• “The School Of Hard Knocks” – Karate Seminar With Actor Kurata Yasuaki 
• A Look At Fist Of Legend – Interviews With Director Brett Ratner and Critic Elvis Mitchell 
• Deleted Scenes 
• Trailer 

TAI CHI MASTER

Starring Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, Siu-Ho Chin | Directed by Woo-Ping Yuen

Two Shaolin monks – one placid and humble, the other fiery and competitive – are expelled from their temple after a false accusation of cheating. They embark on two radically different paths before being reunited when one betrays the other and nearly kills him in combat. While recuperating, the more balanced monk discovers the power of the slow, graceful martial art of tai chi.

TAI CHI MASTER Bonus Content

Presented In Dolby Vision 

• NEW Audio Commentary With James Mudge, Hong Kong Film Critic at easternKicks 
• NEW Optional English Subtitles Newly Translated for this Release  
• NEW “Tai Chi Madam – The Michelle Yeoh Effect” Featuring Interviews With Actress Cynthia Rothrock, Author Ric Meyers, Film Critic David West and Academic Leon Hunt 
• “Nemesis” – Interview With Actor Chin Siu-Ho 
• “The Birthplace Of Tai Chi” – On Location In Chen Village 
• “Meditations On the Master” – Director Brett Ratner and Critic Elvis Mitchell On Director Yuen Wo-ping 
• “Twin Warriors” – Director Brett Ratner And Critic Elvis Mitchell On Actors Jet Li And Michelle Yeoh 
• English Language Opening Credits 
• Trailer 

FONG SAI YUK  

Starring Jet Li, Josephine Siao, Michelle Rei | Directed by Corey Yuen

Self-assured with the kung fu skills to back it up, Fong Sai-Yuk (Jet Li) is one of the best fighters in the area. When a wealthy merchant (Sibelle Hu) devises a competition to win the hand of his daughter (Li Jia Xing) in marriage, Fong jumps at the chance. However, a case of mistaken identity compels Fong to forfeit, leaving his mother (Zhu Zhang) to win back his honor. Meanwhile, Fong’s father invites more problems as a member of a secret anti-government organization.

FONG SAI YUK Bonus Content

Presented in Dolby Vision 

• NEW Optional English Subtitles Newly Translated for this Release 
• NEW Interview With Leon Hunt, Author Of Kung Fu Masters and East Asian Cinemas 
• NEW Audio Commentary With James Mudge, Hong Kong Film Critic At easternKicks 
  Trailer 

FONG SAI YUK II

Starring Jet Li, Josephine Siao, Jeffrey Lau | Directed by Corey Yuen

Having failed a secret mission for the Red Flower Society, Chinese folk hero Fong Sai Yuk (Jet Li) must try to get his hands on a special document by wooing the governor’s daughter, Man-Yin (Amy Kwok). This doesn’t sit well with his fiancée, Ting Ting (Michelle Reis), or with his martial arts-master mother (Josephine Hsiao). Fong enters a martial arts competition, where he faces off against the villainous Yu (Chuen-Hua Chi) as he battles to restore the Ming Dynasty.

FONG SAI YUK II Bonus Content

Presented In Dolby Vision 

• NEW Optional English Subtitles Newly Translated for this Release 
• NEW Interview With Sound Assistants Steven Avila and Trip Brock On Translating Classic Hong Kong Films To The West 
• NEW Audio Commentary With James Mudge, Hong Kong Film Critic at easternKicks 
• Trailer 

THE BODYGUARD FROM BEIJING

Starring Jet Li, Christy Chung, Kent Cheng | Directed by Corey Yuen

A witness to a gangland murder (Christy Chung) falls for the bodyguard (Jet Li) hired to protect her.

THE BODYGUARD FROM BEIJING Bonus Content

Presented In Dolby Vision 

• NEW Audio Commentary With James Mudge, Hong Kong Film Critic at easternKicks 
• NEW Optional English Subtitles Newly Translated for this Release 
• NEW Interview With Co-writer Gordon Chan 
• Trailer 

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