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Eureka! will release Last Hurrah for Chivalry and Hand of Death by John Woo as part of their June line-up

SYNOPSIS

A decade before he would change action filmmaking forever with A Better Tomorrow and The Killer, director was directing martial-arts films for the two biggest studios in Hong Kong, Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest. Under the mentorship of the great Chang Cheh (Five Deadly Venoms), Woo began to develop his signature style, films that featured slick, stylish and often violent choreography, with dramatic plots that revolved around brotherhood, honour and redemption. Presented here are two of his early works from this period.

In , two killers (Wei Pai and Damian Lau) agree to help a man exact revenge upon a kung fu master. Woo’s first cinematic masterpiece, Last Hurrah for Chivalry is a dark and violent revenge film, featuring lightning fast swordplay and stylish cinematography. 

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In , a young Shaolin monk must train to defeat a dangerous Manchu warlord (James Tien) who is intent on wiping out the Shaolin once and for all. Featuring early performances from Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung (both also handled the film’s stunts, along with third “brother” Yuen Biao), Hand of Death is an exquisitely stylish example of old school kung fu filmmaking. 

Obscure and largely unseen for many years, Eureka Classics is proud to present these two early films from one of action cinema’s all-time greats for the first time ever on Blu-ray, from brand new 2K restorations.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Stunning 1080p presentation of both films on Blu-ray, from brand new 2K restorations

Cantonese, Mandarin and English audio options

Optional English subtitles

Brand new audio commentaries on both Last Hurrah for Chivalry and Hand of Death, by martial-arts cinema authority Mike Leeder

Archival interviews with director John Woo

Trailers for both films

Reversible inlay featuring original poster artwork

Limited Edition Collector’s booklet featuring new writing by film writer Matthew Thrift [2000 copies]

About the author

Rouven Linnarz

Ever since I watched Takeshi Kitano's "Hana-Bi" for the first time (and many times after that) I have been a cinephile. While much can be said about the technical aspects of film, coming from a small town in Germany, I cherish the notion of art showing its audience something which one does normally avoid, neglect or is unable to see for many different reasons. Often the stories told in films have helped me understand, discover and connect to something new which is a concept I would like to convey in the way I talk and write about films. Thus, I try to include some info on the background of each film as well as a short analysis (without spoilers, of course), an approach which should reflect the context of a work of art no matter what genre, director or cast. In the end, I hope to pass on my joy of watching film and talking about it.

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