Member TheFlyingPanda Posted February 2, 2018 Member Share Posted February 2, 2018 With recent releases of classic Martial arts films on Blu-ray (if not) clean anamorphic prints on DVDs turning up from 35mm scans, you gotta wonder.... What are the real treasures collectors are waiting for and the Holy grail of Classic Martial Arts cinema? Are we near in getting to see them soon? In a manageable number, what would be the ten most valuable treasures agreed by mostly all MA Movie Fans that must be tracked down and released soon? I recently picked up a copy of the Turkish film The Sword and The Claw and included with the Blu-Ray is an obscure film most of you know as Brawl Busters scanned in 2k from its original theatrical print. The only time I ever saw this film was off a VHS bootleg and though this BD print has English audio only, scratches and dirt, I would take any of the lost treasures this way. I've read that Dan Halsted has 35mm prints of classics such as Shaolin vs Lama, Mystery of Chess Boxing and others that have played at the Hollywood theater in Portland OR. So These prints exist, how many? don't know, but lately things look a bit more promising. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted February 3, 2018 Member Share Posted February 3, 2018 On 02/02/2018 at 4:32 AM, TheFlyingPanda said: What are the real treasures collectors are waiting for and the Holy grail of Classic Martial Arts cinema? Are we near in getting to see them soon? I guess a lot depends on your tastes, and what films you persoanlly consider to be classics?. On 02/02/2018 at 4:32 AM, TheFlyingPanda said: In a manageable number, what would be the ten most valuable treasures agreed by mostly all MA Movie Fans that must be tracked down and released soon? There's so many movies I've yet to see that are availlable, I'd find it too hard to put together a list of ten titles. Still curious to know what other Kung Fu Fandom members rate as the Ten Treasures Of The Martial Arts Film World?. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tex Killer Posted February 3, 2018 Member Share Posted February 3, 2018 Tiger Boy is#1 without doubt for some. Awful thought that all film reels are destroyed or last surviving one is rotting in warehouse of cinema in hk or taiwan... 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted February 3, 2018 Member Share Posted February 3, 2018 How would I know about them if they were never released? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TheFlyingPanda Posted February 3, 2018 Author Member Share Posted February 3, 2018 4 hours ago, Tex Killer said: Tiger Boy I've heard of Tiger boy, seen photos and Posters but never saw the film on any format? Is it good? 9 hours ago, DragonClaws said: I guess a lot depends on your tastes, and what films you persoanlly consider to be classics?. That is what would be interesting to hear from hard core fans, though there are the obvious classics that have been passed around in cropped bootlegs for years Like Shaolin vs Wu Tang or Ninja in the Deadly Trap that everyone wants to see in it's theatrical glory or better. I guess depending on how good the film is overall for most would determine its value. Would finding an original Needles of Death 35mm theatrical reel be as glorious to collectors as finding an uncut original Shaolin vs Lama for BD/DVD distribution? There are also complete collection enthusiast (as in the case of Tiger Boy) the Shaw Bros collection is still incomplete. I can say easily, finding an original language theatrical print of Born Invincible would be in the top two for me, I would have an event inviting a dozen friends at my studio with dim sum and popcorn to watch on a 72" TV... but that's just my opinion. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tex Killer Posted February 4, 2018 Member Share Posted February 4, 2018 7 hours ago, TheFlyingPanda said: I've heard of Tiger boy, seen photos and Posters but never saw the film on any format? Is it good? Hard to say, it probably has not been shown in public after it`s cinema run in asia around mid-sixties...But as first chang cheh swordplay film it would be interesting. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member NoKUNGFUforYU Posted February 4, 2018 Member Share Posted February 4, 2018 Toby Russell said he saw some of Tiger Boy at the HK Film archive, so it's out there. Another missing film is Cold Blade, which only two copies exist, one with the actress Melinda Chen, and the other at an archive. Chen Kuan Tai was disappointed in an interview to hear that this film is almost impossible to find. Another one MIGHT be "the Boxers" with Chin Han. I saw the preview in the early 70's and it looked pretty hokey but it is one of the few Shaw releases that are lost. There is also Imperial Tomb Raiders, but this might have been a Taiwanese film released by Shaw Brothers. I would have to say that at least half the Cathay Wu Xia films are missing, primarily because no one is trying to acquire them (Shout! supposedly passed because they are formatted for TV and not widescreen). As some of you know, I tried to get a group buy for Fabulous Protectress, but only about 10 people were interested in contributing. I would have to say seeing films on a big screen is probably a more worthy experience then trying to find a VHS tape, even you never have. I saw probably 100 of them in my youth and they were awesome! The Shaw brothers color films in widescreen were epic. As much as I would like to find these films, it would be great for people to get their local drafthouse or remaining rep theaters to screen something, even if it is the totally overshown 36 Chambers or 5 venoms. A great film to see would be New One Armed Swordsman on the big screen. But back to missing gems- Kim Jan Pal made several films that you can't find- Tiger, which is in horrible shape and Hong Kong Connection, which seems to be gone forever. Be cool to find them. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted February 4, 2018 Member Share Posted February 4, 2018 18 hours ago, TheFlyingPanda said: Would finding an original Needles of Death 35mm theatrical reel be as glorious to collectors as finding an uncut original Shaolin vs Lama for BD/DVD distribution? Posted about a possible Special Edition release of Shaolin VS Lama here, and knowone responded yet, which is odd when you consider how popular the movie is supposed to be. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member NoKUNGFUforYU Posted February 4, 2018 Member Share Posted February 4, 2018 Needles of Death=Dragon, Tiger, Phoenix? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TheFlyingPanda Posted February 4, 2018 Author Member Share Posted February 4, 2018 (edited) 43 minutes ago, NoKUNGFUforYU said: Needles of Death=Dragon, Tiger, Phoenix? Yup! that one. Edited February 4, 2018 by TheFlyingPanda 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TheFlyingPanda Posted February 4, 2018 Author Member Share Posted February 4, 2018 7 hours ago, DragonClaws said: Posted about a possible Special Edition release of Shaolin VS Lama here, and knowone responded yet, which is odd when you consider how popular the movie is supposed to be. Indeed. A 2K trasfer would be magnificent! Why haven't distributers like Shout Factory, 88Films, DDS, or others like Arrow attempted to pick this up? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted February 4, 2018 Member Share Posted February 4, 2018 9 minutes ago, TheFlyingPanda said: Indeed. A 2K trasfer would be magnificent! It sounds sweet, hope its the UNCUT version too, but either way, a 2K scan in the original aspect ratio would be great. 9 minutes ago, TheFlyingPanda said: Why haven't distributers like Shout Factory, 88Films, DDS, or others like Arrow attempted to pick this up? They just dont see the movie as being profitable I guess?, at the end of the day their running a movie selling business. With the aim of shifting a lot of units, rather than have titles gathering dust. Sadly its a known fact, that movies from this genre end up on Torrent sites pretty quick. Not sure why anyone would want to spend their hard earned money on a movie release, just so they can offer it to the world for free?. That said, I'd love those labels to prove me wrong and release some of title from the Martial Arts genre. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Little Deer Posted February 4, 2018 Member Share Posted February 4, 2018 Shaolin vs Lama is the movie that got me hooked on the genre. A 2k transfer would literally bring tears of joy to my eyes It would also kill my SVL custom project, but that would be okay. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Killer Meteor Posted February 4, 2018 Member Share Posted February 4, 2018 2 hours ago, TheFlyingPanda said: Yup! that one. Code Red released a widescreen transfer of this a few years ago. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TheFlyingPanda Posted February 5, 2018 Author Member Share Posted February 5, 2018 (edited) 15 hours ago, Killer Meteor said: Code Red released a widescreen transfer of this a few years ago. I did pick up a copy of it amongst others on Amazon, but refereed to it as an example. Still would love a better version in original language. 17 hours ago, DragonClaws said: That said, I'd love those labels to prove me wrong and release some of title from the Martial Arts genre. I agree, and believe some labels have the skills to do it. Edited February 5, 2018 by TheFlyingPanda misspelling/ typo 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted February 7, 2018 Member Share Posted February 7, 2018 On 05/02/2018 at 1:07 AM, TheFlyingPanda said: I agree, and believe some labels have the skills to do it. They al have the skill set, they just don't seem to have any desire to release old school Kung Fu films. Sure they have good reasons from a business stand point, its just frustrating for paying fans/collectors. Since the return of Eastern Heroes, they havent even bothered releasing any films on DVD/BR, for the same reason?. The majority of what they sell is Bruce Lee related, one of the few areas of the old school market, where there's money to be made still. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member NoKUNGFUforYU Posted February 7, 2018 Member Share Posted February 7, 2018 Wu Tang channel on youtube has probably done more to destroy the market then torrents or private torrent groups. Why pay for anything when you can watch everything for free and he collects ads, claiming copyright to every kung fu movie every made through some shifty LA lawyers. Sure, he got most of his stuff through torrents himself, but who is going to pay for anything but Shaw brothers? I have been reluctant to put anything of my custom work up because he 1. Has it claimed through Exploration Group LLC and 2. Grabs it, along with FLK and puts it on his channel. And trying to secure 60 people to pay even $30, with a DVD of other custom stuff thrown in, was an impossible task when it came to Fabulous Protectress. I guess we will have to make due with the same old stuff over and over again. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted February 7, 2018 Member Share Posted February 7, 2018 23 minutes ago, NoKUNGFUforYU said: Grabs it, along with FLK and puts it on his channel Did they realize that some of your subtitles were humorous ones (at least, it's what I seem to remember from one of your post) and do they sell/upload these " as is ", or did they make the effort to change the subtitles to the right ones ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShawAngela Posted February 7, 2018 Member Share Posted February 7, 2018 On 05/02/2018 at 12:37 AM, Killer Meteor said: A superb movie that I enjoyed watching. I don't remember if I got it in original language. Is Code red a releasing company and are they legit ? I guess that they sell this movie with English language ? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted February 7, 2018 Member Share Posted February 7, 2018 1 hour ago, NoKUNGFUforYU said: Wu Tang channel on youtube has probably done more to destroy the market then torrents or private torrent groups Torrent sites do a lot of damage to NEW movies, but I agree with your points about the WT channel, having an impact on the physical market. There's multiple channels on YouTube that other these films, some that were around before that one. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member NoKUNGFUforYU Posted February 7, 2018 Member Share Posted February 7, 2018 I never bought any from FLK, so I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted February 7, 2018 Member Share Posted February 7, 2018 I'm not really a "rarities" guy simply because I don't really know my stuff. However, I would love to see a nice copy of "Shaolin & Wu Tang". 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TheFlyingPanda Posted February 7, 2018 Author Member Share Posted February 7, 2018 1 hour ago, ShawAngela said: Is Code red a releasing company and are they legit ? I guess that they sell this movie with English language ? It's Legit and on Amazon in a two move DVD combo with English only. 2 hours ago, NoKUNGFUforYU said: Wu Tang channel on youtube has probably done more to destroy the market then torrents or private torrent groups. I've never watched FLK and only watched Wu Tang Channel a couple times while traveling with no access to my own stuff, but I'm sure it dose indeed to an extent as DragonClaws mentioned. I've purchased most of the SB Blu-Rays from WVG medien and 88 Films, just got a few recently. Now... some of these are available in Privet Torrent club sights as Iv'e seen for myself and could have easily downloaded, but at the price they are selling at, along with nice cover designs or slip cover simply wins me over. We all have some of these films already on DVD or VHS, but still if there is a better version, I'll invest in it as long as its got the work and right price behind it. I've purchased Customs from 35 mm scans or various compiled sources, purchased a bunch of Jamaal's projects and it was worth it, because its all we got. If a company made the bold move and decided to give us these remastered gems, I would support it and buy them all, don't care if there is a torrent upload of it... Nothing beats the media in your hand, streaming is not a hard copy you can pop in and watch with no interruption, but I get the world isn't like this. I'm not fully against torrent sharing because there are modifications made on films we wouldn't, or couldn't get otherwise. I've downloaded movies I already have but with extended or missing scenes, Audio language, subtitles or adjustments, or movies I scratched up, or lost, or just cant plain find, but rarely download something I can get brand new that's not some ridicules price. Who knows? Now with social media and companies Like Shout Factory and so on with a good amount of FB and IG followers, maybe if enough people ask for it, they can see a profit? Or maybe I'm being too optimistic. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member sym8 Posted February 11, 2018 Member Share Posted February 11, 2018 Shaolin vs wutang would be great and also super power and a hard way to die the billy chong classics would get me fired up.Rebelious reign also deserves some good transfer treatment but as people have said there is only a select audience like ourselves who want this stuff so it may not be it terms of money making worth it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member NoKUNGFUforYU Posted February 12, 2018 Member Share Posted February 12, 2018 I was trying to get this guy to sell To Kill A Rover, a rare Cathay that is English dubbed, from an old 16 mm Audio Brandon print. Who knows what condition it is in by now, and he just ignores me. It seems like some collectors are on a power trip, but when they drop dead in old age, half that stuff will be thrown out. To what purpose? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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