Eureka Entertainment To Get ‘Revengeful’ With The Shaw Brothers
Two of Shaw Brothers Studio’s most compelling and underrated revenge tales Getting a Eureka Classics release
Eureka Entertainment will once again deliver your Shaw Brothers fix this coming June. Exact Revenge (The Eunuch & The Deadly Knives), are two of the studios most compelling and underrated revenge tales. Released on Blu-ray for the first time anywhere in the world as part of the Eureka Classics range
Revenge is and has always been one of the most popular and prolific themes in Hong Kong cinema, from classic wuxia epics to kung fu movies and heroic bloodshed films. During the 1970s, Shaw Brothers Studio was the largest production company operating in Hong Kong and the king of the vengeance tale. Presented here are two of the studio’s most interesting and underrated takes on the revenge story: The Eunuch and The Deadly Knives (or Fists of Vengeance).
A wuxia pian written by the legendary Lo Wei (Fist of Fury) and directed by Teddy Yip (The Black Tavern), The Eunuch begins as the eponymous eunuch Gui De-hai (Pai Ying, The Valiant Ones) survives an attempt on his life ordered by the Emperor (Lo Wei himself). After killing the Emperor and his family in cold blood, Gui notices that the Prince is missing – and sets out to complete his revenge mission. Then, Ching Li (Four Riders) and Ling Yun (Killer Clans) star in the kung fu film The Deadly Knives as young lovers Guan Yue-hua and Yan Zi-fei, whose relationship is tested when Yan’s family comes under threat by Japanese thugs led by Ogawa (Ching Miao, The Shadow Boxer). He becomes determined to avenge their honour – even if that means taking on Guan’s corrupt father.
The Eunuch and The Deadly Knives were made just as the wuxia film was giving way to the kung fu movie in the wake of Bruce Lee’s international success, and provide a fascinating insight into how the theme of revenge was retooled as one genre superseded another….
LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:
Limited edition of 2000 copies | Limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Grégory Sacré (Gokaiju) | Limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on both films in this set by writer and film critic James Oliver and East Asian cinema expert Camille Zaurin | 1080p HD presentations of both films | Original Mandarin audio tracks | Optional English dub for The Deadly Knives | Optional English subtitles, newly revised for this release | New audio commentary on The Eunuch by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema | New audio commentary on The Deadly Knives by Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) | Falling Leaves, Flying Daggers – new video essay by Jonathan Clements, author of A Brief History of China
HONG KONG | 1971/1972 | 98/86 MINS | 2.35:1 OAR | ACTION/MARTIAL ARTS | MANDARIN
The Shaw Brothers Exact Revenge (The Eunuch & The Deadly Knives) will be released on Blu-ray as part of the Eureka Classics range from 16th June in the UK and Ireland, with North America on 17th June.
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