Magnificent Chang Cheh (Blu-ray) ***Preorder*** 4/29

Collected here are two films by this maestro of martial arts cinema that showcase his considerable talents at both ends of his career.

One of the Shaw Brothers Studio's most prolific directors, Chang Cheh - or the "Godfather of Hong Kong Cinema" - is the filmmaker behind Five Deadly Venoms, Chinatown Kid and Boxer Rebellion. Collected here are two films by this maestro of martial arts cinema that showcase his considerable talents at both ends of his career: The Magnificent Trio, produced when wuxia films ruled the Hong Kong box office in the mid-1960s, and Magnificent Wanderers, made at the height of the kung fu craze at the end of the 1970s.

In an early role that pre-dates his star-making turn in Chang's The One-Armed Swordsman, Jimmy Wang Yu stars in The Magnificent Trio as swordsman Lu Fang, who - along with fellow warriors Yen Tzu-ching (Lo Lieh) and Huang Liang (Cheng Lui) - lends his martial arts prowess to a group of oppressed farmers when they kidnap the daughter of their local magistrate. Then, in the kung fu comedy Magnificent Wanderers, the three nomads Lin Shao You (Fu Sheng), Shi Da Yong (Chi Kuan-chun), and Guan Fei (Li Yi-min) attempt to join Chinese patriots in their struggle against invading Mongol armies with the help of the wealthy Chu Tie Xia (David Chiang).

From straight-faced wuxia pian to farcical kung fu comedy, The Magnificent Trio and Magnificent Wanderers display the full range of Chang Cheh, a filmmaker who sat in the director's chair for over three decades. Eureka Classics is proud to present both films on Blu-ray for the first time in North America.

Bonus Materials

• Limited edition of 2000 copies
• Limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Grégory Sacré (Gokaiju)
• 1080p HD presentations on Blu-ray from masters supplied by Celestial Pictures
• Original mono audio tracks
• Optional English subtitles, newly translated for this release
• New audio commentary on The Magnificent Trio by East Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and martial artist and filmmaker Michael Worth
• New audio commentary on Magnificent Wanderers by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
• Chang Cheh Style – new video essay by Gary Bettinson, editor-in-chief of Asian Cinema journal
• PLUS: A limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on Chang Cheh by writer and critic James Oliver
• * All extras subject to change