Guest evenflowDDT Report post Posted March 2, 2003 Over in HK, Celestial has started distributing a lot of old Shaw Brothers titles on DVD. Well, although I enjoy what I watch, I freely admit to not knowing anything about which titles are worth importing/hacking my DVD player for save Killer Snakes (which I rented on a beat-the-FUCK-up old Something Weird print and still enjoyed despite the murky colors and myriad of film specs), which streets this Tuesday in Hong Kong (and shocked the hell out of me, stumbled across the news on accident, and made my yesterday 'cuz I thought they'd never release that on DVD). Supposedly the company is going to release them in Region 1 as well, possibly as soon as May 2003, but since Celestial's website isn't up yet with better news and I'm impatient I'll probably just import Killer Snakes anyway. I just did a quick frantic Google search when seeing the "upcoming releases: Killer Snakes" on an HK DVD importer site, so I'm sure there are better sources for HK news that might have a lot more info. And, while I'm at it... who were the Shaw Brothers? Just famous producers? What sets their films apart from others, or are they just "big names"? Here are the titles that are out (info courtesy HKCinema.co.uk): Released 03/06/2003 The Killer Snakes The Twelve Golden Medaillons The Bastard Starlets For Sale Family Light Affair Already Released COME DRINK WITH ME (martial arts) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 THE WARLORD (comedy) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 THE KINGDOM AND THE BEAUTY (huangmei/yellow plum opera) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 LOVE IN A FALLEN CITY (drama) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 THE TEA HOUSE (action/adventure) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 THE HEROIC ONES (martial arts) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 KILLER CLANS (martial arts) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 HONG KONG NOCTURNE (musical) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 THE PRICE OF LOVE (drama) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR (sci-fi) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 THE HOUSE OF 72 TENANTS (comedy) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 TILL THE END OF TIME (drama) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 KIDNAP (drama) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 THE EMPRESS DOWAGER (period drama) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 THE BLUE AND THE BLACK (drama) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 THE ANONYMOUS HEROES (martial arts) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 THE MAGIC BLADE (martial arts) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 THE BRIDE NAPPING (huangmei/yellow plum opera) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 HONG KONG RHAPSODY (musical) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 HONG KONG PLAYBOYS (comedy) (R3) - Celestial - 12/02 THE BLUE AND THE BLACK II (drama) (R3) - Celestial Future Releases? TEENAGE DREAMERS (drama) - Celestial THE THREE SMILES (huangmei/yellow plum opera) (R3) - Celestial VERMILLION DOOR (drama) (R3) - Celestial CLANS OF INTRIGUE (martial arts) (R3) - Celestial THE LAST WOMAN OF SHANG (huangmei/yellow plum opera) (R3) - Celestial TEMPLE OF THE RED LOTUS (martial arts) (R3) - Celestial BIG BROTHER CHENG (action/adventure) (R3) - Celestial THE VOYAGE OF EMPEROR CHIEN LUNG (comedy) (R3) - Celestial THE MILLIONAIRE CHASE (comedy) (R3) - Celestial THE BLOOD BROTHERS (martial arts) (R3) - Celestial THE MONKEY GOES WEST (period drama) (R3) - Celestial THE LAST TEMPEST (period drama) (R3) - Celestial HUMAN LANTERNS (horror) (R3) - Celestial DEATH DUEL (martial arts) (R3) - Celestial HEROES TWO (martial arts) (R3) - Celestial - 02/03 THE CAVE OF SILKEN WEB (period drama) (R3) - Celestial - 02/03 THE LOVE ETERNE (period drama) (R3) - Celestial - 02/03 LOVE WITHOUT END (drama) (R3) - Celestial - 02/03 WE LOVE MILLIONAIRES (musical) (R3) - Celestial - 02/03 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest razazteca Report post Posted March 3, 2003 What sets them apart from the others? To start their movies actually had a real plot other than "hey you lets fight" for no reason at all. The 5 Deadly Venoms is probably the most well known movie by the Shaw Brothers, which sets the standard of what some elitist perceive as the greatest martial arts movie ever made. I think that the 5 actors playing the Venoms also star in several other movies by the Shaw Brothers production company. There is a difference between Shaw Brothers and the other big company Golden Harvest in production styles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Karnage Report post Posted March 3, 2003 Don't bother waiting for the American releases of the SB discs. You know they will be dubbed and edited. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest evenflowDDT Report post Posted March 3, 2003 Don't bother waiting for the American releases of the SB discs. You know they will be dubbed and edited. That's true, especially if, like I read on some site (great source I know ) that the rights are owned by Buena Vista. And we all know how their record with HK releases has been... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest razazteca Report post Posted March 3, 2003 Is that the company that has renamed nearly all of the Jet Li movies. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Karnage Report post Posted March 3, 2003 Is that the company that has renamed nearly all of the Jet Li movies. Yes, they released all the Jet Li movies titled "The _______". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest evenflowDDT Report post Posted March 3, 2003 Yea, and if I remember right haven't they also refused decent transfers and original languages on a bunch of titles? Also, I believe they have to edit/not release some movies because of violence since their parent company is Disney. Don't quote me on that though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Karnage Report post Posted March 3, 2003 Well with DVD technology today, it's not such a big deal to put the original language track on the disc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest evenflowDDT Report post Posted March 3, 2003 Well with DVD technology today, it's not such a big deal to put the original language track on the disc. That's one of the main complaints. It's not like it'd be any real problem, but for whatever reason, Disney only "allows" dubbed releases, with the exception of Iron Monkey. ...and it looks like I'll be importing my Killer Snakes after all... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest razazteca Report post Posted March 4, 2003 The only way I am going to buy the Disney edited crap is if I find then used at Blockbuster on sale 2 for 20. That way Mickey Mouse will not get any cheese from me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Karnage Report post Posted March 4, 2003 Click Here...this is a pretty good site about how Disney is mistreating Hong Kong films. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites