By the early-1970s, Chang Cheh was already Shaw Brothers' most prolific and well-known director with a plethora of box office hits (including the One-Armed Swordsman franchise) to his name and renowned for discovering the hottest young talents to star in his films. Three of those stars - David Chiang, Ti Lung and Alexander Fu Sheng - all feature in Five Shaolin Masters and Shaolin Temple, two selections from his instant-classic 'Shaolin Temple Cycle', based on the real-life tales of fighters training to face off against the ruthless Qing armies taking over China. A few years later, Chang outdid himself with the formation of the all-powerful posse of kung fu experts known to fans as the Venom Mob, whose talents would be showcased most famously in The Five Venoms and Crippled Avengers. Blood-soaked, brutal, and a marked influence on the 'heroic bloodshed' films by Chang's sometime assistant director John Woo, these four films show one of Shaw's greatest directors working at the height of his talents.
Bonus Materials
DISC ONE - FIVE SHAOLIN MASTERS / SHAOLIN TEMPLE
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
Uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio for both films
English subtitles for both films, plus English hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub
Appreciation of Chang Cheh by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
Interview with star Kong Do, filmed in 2003
Elegant Trails: David Chiang and Elegant Trails: Ti Lung, two featurettes on the actors produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003
Alternate standard-definition version of Shaolin Temple
Alternate opening credits from Five Masters of Death, the US version of Five Shaolin Masters
Alternate opening credits sequences for Shaolin Temple
Trailers
Image galleries for both films
DISC TWO - THE FIVE VENOMS / CRIPPLED AVENGERS
2K restorations of both films from the original negatives by Arrow Films
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
Uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio for both films plus Cantonese mono for The Five Venoms
English subtitles for both films, plus English hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dubs
Commentary on The Five Venoms by critic Simon Abrams
Interview with star Lo Meng, filmed in 2003
Chang Cheh: The Master, a featurette about the director produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003
Trailers for The Five Venoms
Hong Kong theatrical trailer for Crippled Avengers
