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Fans of the golden age of martial arts action is about to get a new exciting release from The Criterion Collection. The special preservation and remastering label has released Bruce Lee’s famous films in an amazingly crisp 4K restoration, as well as Jackie Chan‘s biggest films, including Police Story and Police Story 2. Fans of this era of Golden Harvest also have Sammo Hung’s My Lucky Stars, which also features Jackie, and Michelle Yeoh‘s Heroic Trio to view in incredible transfers.

Now, Criterion has announced that on December 17, Eastern Condors — Sammo Hung’s ode to The Dirty Dozen, which co-stars fellow Peking Opera performer Yuen Biao, will be available in an all-new 2K restoration with a new Blu-ray release. Criterion has also revealed all the special features that will be included with the release. You can pre-order the item here.

The description reads,

“Legendary actor-director Sammo...

Looks like cinephiles will need to make a little more space on their shelves. As has become customary, The Criterion Collection announced its four upcoming December releases today, and you may just need to make room for all of them on your holiday shopping lists. First up, set to be available on December 3, the new 4K restoration of Wim Wenders’ Palme d’Or-winning masterpiece “Paris, Texas,” starring Harry Dean Stanton, Dean Stockwell, and Nastassja Kinski.

In his 1984 review of the reflective western drama, film critic Roger Ebert wrote, “‘Paris, Texas’ is a movie with the kind of passion and willingness to experiment that was more common fifteen years ago than it is now. It has more links with films like ‘Five Easy Pieces’ and ‘Easy Rider’ and ‘Midnight Cowboy,’ than with the slick arcade games that are the box-office winners of the 1980s. It is true, deep, and brilliant.”

On...

In the blink of an eye, Criterion’s 2024 is done. Though there’s still a cornucopia of discs awaiting arrival, we have a stem-stern view of this year’s line-up with today’s announcement of the December set. Entering the collection on sparkling 4K is No Country for Old Men, a film that’s (shockingly) never had home-video treatment above a 2000s Blu-ray; Roger Deakins-approved Dolby Vision likely marks an improvement.

Meanwhile, 4K upgrades are been bestowed upon Paris, Texas and 8½, two titles that are as flagship as flagship gets––the latter’s cover getting a makeover is like Coca-Cola tweaking their font. And receiving a standalone Blu-ray (what we might call “the noble silver”) is Sammo Hung’s Eastern Condors, a film I’ve not seen but can surmise from the director and artwork is superb.

See artwork below and more details at Criterion:

The post The...

In the mid-eighties, Jackie Chan was the biggest star in Asia. After failing to break out like Bruce Lee in the North American market, he focused on Asia, with his film Police Story making him one of the biggest box office draws of his day. At the same time, Chan was frequently working with two other action stars, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, with whom he had been raised at the brutal Peking Opera School. Their movies, Project A and Wheels on Meals, where big hits, but 1988’s Dragons Forever was the breaking point for their relationship, with them never again headlining a film together. What happened?

Part of it may have been jealousy and a heavy dose of ego. At the time, Chan was the biggest star to emerge from Hong Kong since Bruce Lee. While the late seventies and early eighties were good for him, leaving to a string of popular hits,...

Going into its third year of film programming, The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Museum has an established style: unabashedly eclectic. This winter it will showcase everything from an Oscar-friendly George Stevens Lecture with Christopher Nolan, who will present a 70th anniversary screening of classic western “Shane;” the first-ever retrospective on Korean actor Song Kang-Ho (“Parasite”); a 10th-anniversary screening of Oscar-winner “12 Years a Slave” with director Steve McQueen; a spotlight on African cinema guest programmed by Mo Abudu and co-presented with the NAACP; and a series on natural disasters in movies that kicks off with “Twister” in 35 mm.

“There are multiple histories of cinema,” said chief audience officer Amy Homma over Zoom. “And what better way to show that than with screening as many wildly diverse, broad-ranging series, genres, and decades-spanning titles as possible? Our cinematheque program is hundreds of screenings per year and we’re screening eight to 10 titles per week.

When "John Wick" dropkicked its way into theaters in 2014, it raised the bar on U.S. action films but didn't quite feel like a total game changer at the time. Keanu Reeves as the sympathetic rogue assassin was undeniably cool and relatable without reaching instant icon status. The gun-fu interplay felt fresh and exciting with clear influences from Hong Kong cinema that most audiences were already at least somewhat familiar with. Director John Woo, for example, imported his unique blend of action and artistry with the shoot 'em up classics "The Killer" and "Hardboiled," introducing international audiences to a rebirth of cool in hitman movies that also had a soul.

Fast forward to "John Wick: Chapter 4." Reeves, director Chad Stahelski and the entire creative and technical teams have taken all of their influences from some of the greatest choreographers and martial artists to truly transcend the action genre. At nearly three hours long,...

As modern action cinema becomes ever more beautified, it’s incredible to look back at who became stars and wonder if they would ever get the opportunity today. Sammo Hung is one in particular as he doesn’t “look” like a star but has the presence and talent that befits one of the legendary figures of the industry. If you wanted an example, just watch this feature as it remains one of the masterworks that probably doesn’t get as much recognition as it deserves.

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Lo Tung (Sammo Hung) is a pedicab driver in 1930’s Macau. The pedicab drivers and coolies are frequently at odds over picking up customers and a peace-making meeting accidentally degenerates into a brawl. Malted Candy (Max Mok) collects Hsaio Tsui (Fennie Yuen) as a fare and they are instantly attracted to each other. Unbeknownst to Malted Candy, it transpires that...

Do you remember sitting down in the holidays and watching on television one of those all start cast epics such as “Around the World in 80 Days” that frequented Hollywood in the 1960’s. Well now imagine that with a cast of Hong Kong’s finest from the 1980’s and throw in a lot of martial arts amidst the comedy. Now imagine it in the style of a western-only set in the Orient. Sammo Hung certainly liked variety in his directorial career and at his creative peak in the late 1980’s, came up with this polar opposite to the more vicious war epic “Eastern Condors”. A more family friendly, action filled entertainer that throws everything into the mix and finds most of it sticking.

Ching Fong Tin (Sammo Hung) returns to his hometown after attempting to steal goods from Russian soldiers and nearly being captured by bounty hunter...

Even Bruce Lee once acknowledged the elephant in the room regarding modern day martial arts action. The problem being a bad guy could simply just use a gun. So often this dilemma would simply be ignored by filmmakers, which on occasion would make characters look a bit ridiculous. This paradox would be faced head on by Sammo Hung in what was a rarity for the local industry: a war movie.

Hong Kong cinema doesn’t have a large history in this genre if you discount the period epics. Whilst some may have had a conflict as a back drop, Chang Cheh‘s “Seven Man Army” and John Woo‘s troubled production “Heroes Shed No Tears” are the only two actual war pictures that spring to mind during that era. The 1997 handover has resulted in more gung ho Chinese productions but prior, a full on war movie was a rarity.

“Eastern Condors” is considered one of Sammo Hung’s best work and for good reason, since both him (he lost 30 pounds to play the part) and Yuen Biao are in top form, and the script is at least partially logical.

The story, whichseems to loan much from “The Dirty Dozen”, “Rambo” and even “The Deer Hunter”, revolves around a group of Chinese and Chinese-Vietnamese convict soldiers who are enlisted by Lieutenant Colonel Lam to enter Vietnam and destroy an old American bunker filled with missiles, before the Viet Cong can get to them, in exchange for a pardon and $200,000. Their objective, however, is not what it seems initially, and after a sudden change of orders, they find themselves lost in enemy territory, having to face Vc patrols as they try to escape. Eventually, they stumble upon three female guerillas who help them seek refuge in a small town.

Jeffrey Lau's A Chinese Odyssey - Part One: Pandora's Box and A Chinese Odyssey - Part Two: Cinderella (2015) are showing August and September on Mubi in the United States.During the last Golden Age of Hong Kong cinema, the period between the 1984 Joint Declaration and the 1997 Handover, generic cycles moved with lightning rapidity. The speed and sheer volume of production, combined with the relatively small group of creative professionals, meant that a genre could be born, reach its peak, and die out within a few short years. The Heroic Bloodshed cycle, for example, can be said to have started in 1986 with A Better Tomorrow, reached its peak with The Killer and A Better Tomorrow III in 1989, and had its last gonzo gasps in 1992 with Hard-Boiled and Full Contact. By the time of the genre’s decline, Chow Yun-fat’s stardom in the colony had been eclipsed by Stephen Chow,...

The final film is King Hu’s “Inn Trilogy”, and the follow-up to his highly-acclaimed A Touch of Zen, The Fate of Lee Khan once again shows the master filmmaker’s impeccable talent in creating drama out of a single setting. An espionage thriller with a unique wuxia twist and shades of Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, the film chronicles a tense showdown between warriors on opposing sides of a civil war in a rural inn.

When Lee Khan a dangerous and cunning Mongol official, and his equally deadly sister Lee Wan-erh (Hsu Feng; A Touch of Zen), arrive at the Spring Inn to obtain a battle map that reveals the location of the Chinese rebel army, a group of resistance fighters, including an all-female group of ex-convicts plan to recapture the map, whatever the cost.

As much a pre-cursor to the ‘hangout’ movie as it is an action packed wuxia adventure,...

One of the most prolific figures in the history of Hong Kong action cinema, Sammo Hung (Hung Kam-bo, or more affectionately, “Da Goh Da” [Big, Big Brother]) has worked as a stuntman, actor, choreographer, producer and director in a career spanning almost 60 years (his first film appearance was in 1961). Presented here are three highlights from his incredible career, showcasing his incredible skill and artistry both in front of, and behind the camera.

The Iron-Fisted Monk [1977]– Sammo Hung’s directorial debut, The Iron-Fisted Monk introduced many of the choreographic and editing techniques that would become commonplace in modern action cinema. A significantly darker and more violent film than audiences were used to, the film was originally cut when released on UK home video, but is presented here fully uncut for its worldwide Blu-ray debut from a brand new 2K restoration.

The Magnificent Butcher [1979] – Directed by the legendary Yuen Woo-ping...

16 January 2019 (Hong Kong) – Legendary action master Sammo Hung is the 43rd Hong Kong International Film Festival’s Filmmaker in Focus, it was announced today.

This is a well-deserved recognition for the all-round virtuoso who stands as a living testimony of Hong Kong cinema’s Golden Age and for his trailblazing career, having worked his way from actor, stuntman, martial arts choreographer, to director and producer for over half a century.

The 43rd Hong Kong International Film Festival will be held from 18 March to 1 April 2019. Festival tickets for the public can be booked online (at www.hkiff.org.hk) and all Urbtix and Hk Ticketing outlets from 28 February 2019.

The retrospective honoring Hung will feature 10 of his seminal works, along with a newly published commemorative book. Hung will also attend a Face to Face seminar at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on 30 March 2019, to share his views of and experiences in the...

The first “Project A” was an enormous success in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, with the emperor of Japan insisting for Jackie Chan to shoot a second part, a request that was eventually met. The result was a Part II, although Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao did not appear in this, because they were shooting the film “Eastern Condors.”

The story continues where the first part left off, with Sergeant Dragon Ma given the task of cleaning up crime and corruption in one of the roughest districts in Hong Kong, Sai Wan. His placement, however, has another purpose, since the local government puts an effort to strip Superintendent Chun, who is in charge of the police districts in three areas, of some of his responsibilities, as they are sure that he has been staging the arrests that have made him famous in Hong Kong. Dragon soon realizes...