{"product_id":"the-8-diagram-pole-fighter-1","title":"The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter *DAMAGED*","description":"\u003cp\u003eAfter one of its lead actors (cherub-faced action icon Alexander Fu Sheng) unexpectedly died midway through production, fight-choreographer-turned-master-director Lau Kar-leung (The 36th Chamber of Shaolin) retooled his latest film, The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter, as the ultimate action spectacular in tribute to his young star. Loosely based upon the legendary Yang dynasty chronicled in Chinese folklore, the film starts as a family patriarch and all but two of his sons are brutally wiped out in a bloody battle with a rival family. One surviving son (Fu Sheng) returns to his mother and two sisters, driven mad with grief; the other (Gordon Liu) escapes and joins a nearby monastery while in hiding. Once he learns his sister (Kara Hui) has been captured by their enemies, however, the warrior-turned-monk realizes he must renounce his peaceful ideals in order to mount a rescue mission and avenge his family. One of Shaw Brothers' final all-star martial arts epics before they ceased filmmaking altogether, The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter is often regarded as Lau's masterpiece, as elegiac and suffused with anguish as it is thrillingly violent (not least in its bone-crunching, teeth-smashing climax).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBonus Materials\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBrand new 2K restoration from the original camera negative by Arrow Films\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHigh Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOriginal lossless Cantonese, Mandarin and English mono audio\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOptional English subtitles, plus hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBrand new commentary by Jonathan Clements, author of A Brief History of China\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNewly filmed appreciation by film critic and historian Tony Rayns\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInterviews with stars Gordon Liu, Lily Li and Yeung Ching-ching, filmed by Frédéric Ambroisine in 2004\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA Tribute to Fu Sheng, a short film commemorating the late actor that played before early screenings of The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter, presented via a German-dubbed telecine (the best available copy) with English subtitles\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlternate opening credits, as The Invincible Pole Fighters\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTheatrical trailer\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eImage gallery\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Marc Aspinall\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MVD","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45217018904620,"sku":"760137100775D","price":22.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0359\/2201\/8348\/products\/the-8-diagram-pole-fighter-damaged-new-blu-ray-760137100775d-5078923.jpg?v=1772341273","url":"https:\/\/www.orbitdvd.com\/products\/the-8-diagram-pole-fighter-1","provider":"Orbit DVD","version":"1.0","type":"link"}