The Valiant Ones Limited Edition Eureka Video Blu-Ray [NEW] [SLIPCOVER]
The Valiant Ones Limited Edition Eureka Video Blu-Ray [NEW] [SLIPCOVER]
Shot back-to-back with The Fate of Lee Khan (but not released until two years later), it stands as a worthy follow-up to his earlier works Come Drink with Me, Dragon Inn and A Touch of Zen.
During the reign of the Jiajing Emperor (Chao Lei), China’s coastal regions have come under attack by wokou – Japanese pirates under the leadership of the infamous Hakatatsu (Sammo Hung). To combat this threat, the Emperor tasks a trusted general, Zhu Wan (Tu Kuang-chi), with assembling a group of skilled warriors to find and eliminate the pirates. Under the command of General Yu Dayou (Roy Chiao), the band of soldiers – including husband-and-wife sword-fighters Wu Ji-yuan (Wing Bai) and Wu Ruo-shi (Feng Hsu) – set out to draw Hakatatsu, his ally Xu Dong (Han Ying-chieh) and their pirate clan into a series of spectacular showdowns.
Inspired by historical events and featuring several storied figures drawn from Chinese history, The Valiant Ones is a standout wuxia film produced during the dying days of the genre, as audience tastes were shifting towards more grounded kung fu cinema.
Special Features:
- Limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Grégory Sacré (Gokaiju)
- 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray from a 4K digital restoration of the original negatives gifted by director King Hu to the Hong Kong Film Archive
- Uncompressed original Mandarin mono restored from the original soundtrack negative
- Optional English subtitles newly translated for this release
- Brand new audio commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
- Tony Rayns on The Valiant Ones – Brand new interview with critic and Asian film expert Tony Rayns
- Brand new video essay by David Cairns
- The Life of a Lucky Stuntman – Brand new interview with stuntman Billy Chan
- My Father and I – Brand new interview with actor Ng Ming-choi
- Archival 2003 interview with actress Hsu Feng by Frédéric Ambroisine
- Archival 2003 interview with Roger Garcia (Hong Kong International Film Festival Society) by Frédéric Ambroisine
- Archival 2016 interview with actor Ng Ming-choi by Frédéric Ambroisine
- PLUS: A collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Jonathan Clements