Triple Threat: Three Films With Sammo Hung (1974-1990) Eureka! Blu-ray Review

The Manchu Boxer (1974) Plot: A young man must enter a martial arts tournament to clear his name and regain honor.

Review: A young man (played by Liu Yung) is in the village one day when fate intervenes and he’s attacked by a group of thugs who try to rob and kill him. He defends himself, but one of his attackers – the son of a wealthy man – ends up dead. Yung goes home and explains what destiny has wrought upon his life, and his father makes him vow never to fight again. Meanwhile, in a nearby village, a martial arts competition is shaping up, and one gang (watch for Sammo Hung as one of the gang’s enforcers) is plotting to ensure that they win the tournament, no matter what, even by cheating. They go around nearby towns and beat the crap out of even kill strapping young hopefuls who intend on entering the competition, which is why Lung was attacked in the first place. Lung sees what’s happening and realizes that the only way to clear his name and regain his honor is to enter the tournament – despite his father’s demand that he refrain – and prove that he’s the best.

Shot in South Korea, the simply plotted fight film The Manchu Boxer is pretty basic as far as these types of movies go, and co-star Sammo Hung has a few notable scenes, but his prospects as a tough guy are cut short when he destroys his leg in a pivotal moment in the film. It’s interesting because he also choreographed all of the fights in the movie (and there are plenty), which is telling because he was pulling double duty on this one. One thing I kept noticing in the movie was that it was obviously incredibly cold when they shot this; you can see the condensation coming from everyone’s mouths when they speak, but everyone is dressed normally as if it was Hong Kong. It might be the first time I’ve ever seen one of these ’70s kung fu movies where it was clearly freezing. Wu Ma directed.

Paper Marriage (1988) Plot: A boxer with a mountain of debts agrees to a fake marriage for money, leading to complications in his life.

Review: A plump single man named Chien Pao (Sammo Hung) is living in Canada, struggling to stay afloat in a rising mountain of debt because he loves betting on the races. He takes any and all paying gigs, including being a human guinea pig for test trials for pain at sketchy medical institutes, but he makes an acquaintance who offers him a well-paying gig: Agree to marrying an immigrant from Hong Kong for money. He immediately agrees, not realizing how complicated things will become for both of them. His “wife” is the cute Jade Li (Maggie Cheung), and of course they must learn to live with each other without knowing each other at all, which is a disaster at first, but when immigration officers begin testing them and showing up unannounced at Chien’s apartment at all hours of the day and night, they must work together to make sure neither of them are arrested for their “paper marriage.” Meanwhile, Chien gets back into boxing for money – while Jade tries working as well (as a mud wrestler!) – but it’s Chien who finds some success at boxing. Turns out, he can take a beating and keep on ticking, and when he’s forced to go the distance in a Thai kickboxing match, he wins the purse, but incites the wrath of a gambling syndicate who lose big time when Chien wins. When they come after his winnings, he and Jade must literally fight to survive as the thugs come to reclaim their money.

A romantic comedy with an all-out action-packed finale that takes place in a shopping mall and water park (with a pirate ship in a lagoon), Paper Marriage is a pretty fun and engaging vehicle for star Hung and his cute co-star Cheung, who have pretty nice chemistry together. Hung showed how appealing he was as a lead in comedies and action films, and it’s truly shocking how agile he was despite his weight and deliberately dumpy appearance. Alfred Cheung’s direction is sometimes a little heavier than the material suggests with cutthroat bad guys and real consequences, but ultimately it’s a fun time.

Shanghai Shanghai (1990) Plot: A man’s first time in Shanghai proves to be wildly dangerous when he crosses a gangster without realizing it.

Review: Fresh off the boat, Little Tiger (Yuen Biao) arrives in Shanghai to visit his brother, who is a police officer, but Little Tiger gets on the wrong transport and ends up with a crew of thugs who intend to murder a gangster and burn down his entire headquarters. As soon as Little Tiger can break away without being caught or killed in the crossfire, he intervenes and manages to save some high ranking gangsters and thwart a robbery of several million dollars, which makes him a hero to the wrong (or right?) people, and suddenly he becomes enemy #1 of the other faction. The gangster in question is Chin-Hung-Yun (Sammo Hung), who takes on a partner, Mary (Anita Mui) who should be helping his business out, but because of the robbery, his business and corruption are exposed, and they want Little Tiger eliminated. With help from the police (because his brother is well connected with the police force and military), Little Tiger is able to have protection from Chin-Hung-Yun, but he also manages to both charm and aggravate Mary, who is completely befuddled by Little Tiger’s affable innocence and ability to take care of himself. There will be a reckoning, though, and Little Tiger will need an entre crew of men to protect him when the time comes for all wrongs to be made right.

A drama with some showstopper action scenes and one centerpiece dance / martial arts scene between Biao and Mui, who are equally matched against / with each other. Their dance becomes a brawl, and the movie only builds from there. Director Teddy Robin Kwan really lights the film up with attractive lighting, snappy cinematography, and a classic feel, despite the movie itself not quite becoming a classic in its own right. It’s adequate, and with incredible stars such as Biao and Hung (and Mui, who sadly passed away at the age of 40 but was able to accrue some amazing credits before she died), the film is entertaining and engaging.

Eureka! has just released a three-disc set of these three titles, and along with extended versions of two of the films, there are some choice special features, crystal-sharp 2K transfers, a booklet, new artwork, and much more. All three films include English dubs, as well as original language (with subtitles) versions. This is a limited edition release, with only 2000 copies produced.

Bonus Materials

• Limited edition of 2,000 copies
• Limited edition exclusive bonus disc
• Limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Sam Gilbey
• Limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on Sammo Hung by film critic and writer James Oliver
• 1080p HD presentations from brand new 2K restorations of the original Hong Kong theatrical cuts of all three films
• Original mono audio tracks
• Optional English dubs on Paper Marriage and the theatrical versions of The Manchu Boxer and Shanghai, Shanghai
• Optional English subtitles, newly translated for this release
• New audio commentary on The Manchu Boxer with East Asian cinema expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and martial artist & filmmaker Michael Worth
• New audio commentary on Paper Marriage with genre cinema experts Arne Venema and Dominie Ting
• New audio commentary on Shanghai, Shanghai with Frank Djeng and producer/writer F.J. DeSanto
• Happily Ever After – new interview with Paper Marriage director Alfred Cheung
• Trailers
• LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE BONUS DISC – 1080p HD presentations from brand new 2K restorations of the extended international versions of The Manchu Boxer and Shanghai, Shanghai