Shatter

4K UHD, Limited Collector's Edition, Region Free

Hollywood hard man Stuart Whitman and powerhouse martial artist Ti Lung star in this brutal crime thriller filmed entirely on location in Hong Kong by Hammer and the Shaw Brothers. Guest-starring Peter Cushing and sporting a funky soundtrack from Johnny Dankworth's key collaborator David Lindup, Shatter has been painstakingly restored by Hammer in 4K from the original film negatives.

Professional contract killer Shatter is double-crossed on his latest job and finds himself pursued across Hong Kong, a pawn in the game of his client's violent criminal agenda.

The discs feature:

• New commentary with academic and Asian cinema expert Leon Hunt and film historian and writer Adrian Smith.
• New commentary with Heidi Honeycutt, writer, filmmaker and film programmer, and western/crime movie expert Toby Roan.
• 1998 commentary with uncredited director Monte Hellman and contributions from Stuart Whitman.
• Once Upon a Time in the East: Screenwriter and author David Pirie and Little Shoppe of Horrors’ Dick Klemensen examine the state of Hammer in the 1970s and the numerous issues encountered filming Shatter in Hong Kong.
• Hammer and Tongs: archive interview with Renée Glynne, in charge of continuity on many Hammers, as she reflects on Hong Kong and the various issues that plagued Shatter’s production.
• Cultural Crossover: Historian and film critic Christina Newland and academic/martial arts cinema expert Wayne Wong examine Shatter’s place in the wider context of 1970s action/crime films and Asian martial arts cinema.
• Hitting the Right Notes: Musician Mike Lindup reflects on his father, composer David Lindup, and his body of work which covered film soundtracks, library music and arrangements and orchestrations for musicians like Johnny Dankworth.
• Censored: A comparison of the new, uncensored restoration and the censored master that was previously in circulation for decades.
• A gallery of stills and publicity material alongside tracks from David Lindup’s score.

The booklet features:

• New article by writer and actor Bruce G. Hallenbeck examining the making of Shatter.
• New article by film journalist Paul Bramhall that investigates “East meets West” productions and the casting of Asian stars in international films.
• New article by author and crime film expert Barry Forshaw who investigates the Golden Age of Crime Movies: the 1970s!
• New article by writer and occasional broadcaster Tim Worthington who takes a pointed look at the swirling zeitgeist of early 1970s pop culture and how it influenced Shatter.
• New article making an in-depth comparison of the different versions of the Shatter script in the Hammer Archive, how the story developed and how it compares with what’s onscreen.
• New article taking a deep dive that addresses the rumours and guesswork surrounding the making of Shatter with the aid of recently-unearthed key paperwork from the Hammer Archive.

Double-sided poster.