7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
When a ruthless Premier Hu Wei Yung, writes a self-incriminating letter that ends up in the wrong hands (the delicate but deadly hands of the lovely Su Lin), he will stop at nothing to get it back. Premier kidnaps Miss Lin's father and she risks everything to free him. She poses as a male guard to access the castle where he's being held ; aided by General Lu, they find and rescue the...
Starring: Polly Ling-Feng Shang-Kuan, Peng Tien, Carter Wong, Cheung Yeh, Kang Chin (I)Foreign | 100% |
Martial arts | 34% |
Drama | 17% |
Action | 16% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: LPCM Mono
English: LPCM Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (A, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Cinematic Vengeance: 8 Kung Fu Classics from Director Joseph Kuo.
The hits (and/or kicks, smacks and whacks) keep on comin', with this set from Eureka! Entertainment following releases like Shawscope Volume One from Arrow and a number
of offerings from 88 Films like The Chinese Boxer and
Disciples of Shaolin in my review queue. The big
difference between those films and the ones featured in this huge collection is that these were the handiwork of one Joseph Kuo, a name
which may frankly not be all that familiar even to lovers of the "kung fu" genre. Kuo was, as they say, a "multi-hyphenate" who frequently wrote,
produced and directed his films, which tended to be independently financed far, far away from the riches and "studio system" of facilities like the Shaw
Brothers. As commentator Frank Djenge mentions on more than one disc, that meant Kuo often tried to film outside, where he didn't have to pay for
things like sets, which can give these films a kind of distinctive ambience at times. According to the press sheet Eureka! sent with the (check) discs,
seven of the eight films in this set are making their worldwide debuts on
Blu-ray.
The Shaolin Kids is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka! Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. This is one of my favorite looking presentations in this set, one that benefits from (once again) an almost spectacularly suffused palette and some appealing fine detail levels on things like fabrics and even the dense foliage in the many outdoor scenes. A number of other films in this set tend to emphasize some bold primaries like reds and yellows, and while those are certainly on display here, it was the almost shockingly vivid yellows that really stood out to me. This presentation also has fewer of the anamorphic anomalies that I note in some of the reviews of the other films in this set. Grain resolves naturally throughout. My score is 4.25.
Shaolin Kids features LPCM Mono tracks in either Mandarin or English. This is the rare feature in this set where I could see liking both tracks for different reasons, though on the whole I'd still give the edge to the Mandarin track. Both tracks can actually vary in amplitude when compared to the other one, in either direction (i.e., the music on the Mandarin track at the opening sounds louder than on the English track, whereas later in the film, other music sounds louder on the English track than on the Mandarin track). The English track sounds more "compact", for want of a better word, with a narrower, shallower sound, but with still quite forceful midrange. The Mandarin track has arguably more consistent fidelity. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
The Shaolin Kids has more on its mind than simply getting to the next fight sequence, which will probably be seen as either a boon or bust, depending on how much nonstop action you want. Technical merits are generally solid, and The Shaolin Kids comes Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
迷拳三十六招 / Mi quan san shi liu zhao
1979
酒仙十八跌 / Jiu xian shi ba die
1979
Jue quan / Hu bao long she ying / 絕拳 / 虎豹龍蛇鷹
1977
Shi fu chu ma / 師父出馬
1979
少林寺十八銅人 / Shao Lin Si shi ba tong ren
1975
少林功夫 / Shao Lin gong fu
1974
贊先生與找錢華 / Zàn xiān sheng yǔ zhǎo qián Huá
1978
Shi ba ban wu yi / 十八般武藝 / 88 Asia Collection #30
1982
Chi jiao xiao zi / Chik geuk siu ji / 赤腳小子
1993
Liu A-Cai yu Huang Fei-Hong / 陸阿采與黃飛鴻
1976
瘦虎肥龍 / Sau foo fei lung | Eureka Classics
1990
新精武門 / Xn jīng wǔ mén
1976
Hong quan xiao zi / 洪拳小子 / 88 Asia Collection #28
1975
Feng hou / 瘋猴
1979
皇家戰士 / Huáng jiā zhàn shì / In the Line of Duty | Eureka Classics
1986
Zhang bei / 長輩
1981
皇家師姐 / Huang jia shi jie / Police Assassins | Eureka Classics
1985
雜家小子 / Zá jiā xiǎo zǐ / Eureka Classics
1979
三德和尚與舂米六 / Sān dé hé shàng yǔ chōng mǐ liù | Eureka Classics
1977
Lan tou He / 爛頭何
1979