7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A gang of ex-military guys are hired by a mysterious dame who wants them to go into Cambodia and kidnap the assassin who killed her father.
Starring: Michael Wai-Man Chan, Lung Ti, Candice On-On Yu, Yue Wong, Lung-Wei WangForeign | 100% |
Drama | 24% |
Action | 10% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Shawscope Volume Two.
The good news is if you have a martial arts fan you've been worried about finding an appropriate holiday present for, your prayers have been
answered (for
the second year in a row in fact), by the thoughtful folks at Arrow Video, who are returning to the evidently bottomless well that gave lovers of a
certain Hong
Kong studio one of 2021's most impressive releases,
Shawscope Volume One. The bad news is, if you're a martial arts fan intrigued by this new release, you're going to have to
put the rest of your life on hold to make it through not just a glut of Shaw Brothers films, but an immense assortment of supplemental material. As
with the first volume of Shawscope, there's probably no doubt that some films will appeal to some viewers more than others, but the sheer
variety of films in this set, along with an authoritative set of bonus features, will almost certainly make this a marquee item for genre aficionados.
Mercenaries from Hong Kong is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Arrow's insert booklet lumps all the films together on its page devoted to the restorations, as follows:
All fourteen films in this boxset are presented in their original aspect ratios (2.35:1 for all films except 1.85:1 for The Boxer's Omen and The Bare-Footed Kid) with their original Mandarin, English, and Cantonese (where applicable) monoaural soundtracks. Every effort has been made to present these films in their original and complete versions using the best materials available.This is another appealing looking presentation, and one which really springs to noticeable life in some of the brightly lit outdoor material, as in a relatively early scene on a golf course, but then recurrently throughout any number of subsequent moments. In these sections, the palette is really vivid and detail levels are typically excellent. Clarity can occasionally falter and grain attain a somewhat swarm like appearance in less brightly lit moments. The contemporary setting of this film means there's no hugely opulent production design to help spark visual allure, but detail on modern day costumes and props is often very appealing. Perhaps because of its relatively newer production era, there's less of the radical anamorphic squeezing seen in this presentation that is noticeable in several of the other transfers in this set. To be frank, the difference between some of the films I'm rating 3.5 and some I'm rating 4.0 in the video department are admittedly minor, and it wouldn't surprise me if some found some aspects of this presentation more down in the 3.5 range, at least in some of the darker moments.
Return to the 36th Chamber, Disciples of the 36th Chamber, My Young Auntie, Martial Arts of Shaolin and The Bare-Footed Kid were remastered by Celestial Pictures in 2003-2007, as part of an initiative to digitally restore the entire Shaw Brothers library. The High Definition masters of these restorations, which included the original Mandarin, Cantonese and English mono soundtracks, were supplied to Arrow Films by Celestial Pictures.
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin was restored by Celestial Pictures and L'Immagine Ritrovata in 2020. Additional grading was completed at R3Store Studios, London in 2021.
Mad Monkey Kung Fu, Five Superfighters, Invincible Shaolin, The Kid with the Golden Arm, Magnificent Ruffians, Ten Tigers of Kwangtung, Mercenaries from Hong Kong and The Boxer's Omen have all been newly restored by Arrow Films in 2021 and 2022, in collaboration with L'Immagine Ritrovata, Hong Kong Film Archive and Celestial Pictures. The original 35mm negatives for these films were scanned at L'Immagine Ritrovata Asia and restored in 2K resolution at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna. The films were graded at R3Store Studios, London. These restorations have used the entire film negative without resorting to the practice of "frame-cutting" resulting in the loss of film frames at each negative splice point.
The mono mixes were remastered from the original sound negatives at L'Immagine Ritrovata. Additional sound remastering was completed by Matthew Jarman/Bad Princess Productions.
All original materials supplied for these restorations were made available from the Hong Kong Film Archive via Celestial Pictures.
Excerpts from vintage 35mm feature print elements for Return to the 36th Chamber, Disciples of the 36th Chamber and My Young Auntie and vintage 35mm trailer prints for Disciples of the 36th Chamber, Mad Monkey Kung Fu, Mercenaries from Hong Kong and The Boxer's Omen were scanned and graded in 2K resolution at American Genre Film Archive (AGFA) and R3Store Studios.
Additional print materials were made available from American Genre Film Archive (AGFA), Harry Guerro, Scott Napier, King-Wei Chu and Howard Zinman.
Mercenaries from Hong Kong features Cantonese, Mandarin and English language options, all delivered via DTS-HD Master Audio Mono. Once again I'd put the Mandarin track at the head of the pack in terms of general amplitude and perhaps especially the wideness of dynamic range, something that's most noticeable in some of the rock influenced score. As tends to be the case in many of the soundtracks, while dialogue is always rendered cleanly and clearly, it often is accompanied by a somewhat hollow, boxy sound. Optional English subtitles are available.
Arrow has packaged Mercenaries from Hong Kong and The Boxer's Omen together on one disc. However, after selecting Choose Film on the Main Menu, the Special Features then also change to reflect that choice. This film features the following supplements:
- HK Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:38)
- Digital Reissue Trailer (HD*; 1:21)
Mercenaries from Hong Kong has some blistering action sequences, but it's somewhat problematic on any number of levels, including how some of its now dated aspects will sit with more "woke" modern day sensibilities. Technical merits are generally solid and the interview with Tong Kai is ingratiating, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Mai ming xiao zi / 賣命小子
1979
Guang Dong shi hu yu hou wu hu / 廣東十虎與後五虎
1980
Jin bi tong / 金臂童
1979
Chi jiao xiao zi / Chik geuk siu ji / 赤腳小子
1993
Tang shan wu hu / 唐山五虎
1979
Nan bei Shao Lin / 南北少林
1986
Nan Shao Lin yu bei Shao Lin / 南少林與北少林
1978
Feng hou / 瘋猴
1979
Zhang bei / 長輩
1981
Pi li shi jie / 霹靂十傑
1985
少林搭棚大師 / Shao Lin da peng da shi
1980
Mo / 魔
1983
1977
Liu A-Cai yu Huang Fei-Hong
1976
少林三十六房 / Shao lin san shi liu fang
1978
The Executioners of Death / Hong Xi Guan
1977
1972
1978
Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms
1978
Five Fingers of Death / Tian xia di yi quan
1972