Fans of action cinema and boutique Blu-ray alike were stunned to read in Variety that the Golden Princess (GP) library of titles was acquired for worldwide distribution by Shout! Studios, one of the premiere labels for high quality physical media releases. Previously, the GP library had been considered a tangle of rights issues and exorbitant licensing fees, that had kept many of the finest Hong Kong films of the late-80’s and early 90’s out of print everywhere in the world but a few select Asian territories.
The Golden Princess library is headlined by the legendary collaborations of John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat in A Better Tomorrow 2, Once a Thief, and Hard Boiled. Each among the most sought after and bootlegged Hong Kong films by collectors for their beautiful, balletic, action sequences and dark, melodramatic stories.
Frequent Shout! contributor Frank Djeng revealed on the Facebook “Hong Kong Cinema Appreciation Society” group that he had been working on commentaries and interviews for many of the ‘heavy hitters’ of the purchase; including City on Fire and Aces Go Places, as well as confirming that Shout! Factory will be focusing on a film by film strategy instead of the box-set-centric release schedule they’ve done with titles licensed from Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest.
However, the list of titles on offer here is much deeper than one director’s contributions to cinema encompassing many of the most influential and celebrated Hong Kong titles in the territory’s cinematic history. These classics have been relegated to imported DVD upscales and unlicensed releases even as Hong Kong’s rich library of classics has become the backbone of many boutique blu-ray houses’ release schedule.
With that in mind, here are the most exciting titles which are now available for worldwide release under the new licensing agreement.
John Woo’s Hong Kong Classics
As stated, this announcement is like Christmas morning for John Woo fans as it covers almost all of the foundational works in his “heroic bloodshed” style. Not only the legendary Triad action drama of the first two A Better Tomorrow films, but his little seen Godfather homage Just Heroes, and the playful Alfred Hitchcock tribute Once a Thief. We’re also bound to get the first top shelf home release of his Vietnam epic Bullet in the Head in America, and a return to print for the superlative finale to his Hong Kong career, Hard Boiled.
Ringo Lam’s “On Fire” Trilogy
Through the 80’s and 90’s, Ringo Lam made tough as nails thrillers with audacious action and an almost nihilistic contempt for any kind of social authority. 1987’s City on Fire cemented Chow Yun-Fat’s stardom after his breakout turn in the aforementioned A Better Tomorrow, and was the basis for Quintin Tarantino’s 1992 breakout Reservoir Dogs making it one of the most exciting and sought after Hong Kong films for collectors. Just as exciting is that this acquisition includes Prison on Fire and School on Fire, two films so unrelentingly bleak in their depiction of Hong Kong’s social structures that they were rarely exhibited in their uncut form, and were outright banned in territories like Malaysia and Singapore. If John Woo fans are getting the chance to revisit classics they’ve wanted, I predict no director will have his reputation enhanced in America more by making these films available than Ringo Lam.
A Chinese Ghost Story Trilogy
In the early 80’s in Hong Kong there was a revival of the period swordsman or wuxia picture with films like Golden Harvest’s The Sword and Shaw’s Bastard Swordsman. However, no film of the 80’s captured the tone and style of Chinese pulp literature like 1987’s A Chinese Ghost Story. Directed by Duel to the Death’s Ching Siu-ting and starring the late Cantopop star Leslie Cheung, A Chinese Ghost Story won worldwide critical acclaim for its combination of action, mystery, and romance.
Aces Go Places
English language discussion of Hong Kong film definitely tends to skimp over the comedies, which have always been central to the business end of Hong Kong’s moviemaking. As much as we love the dark action and melodrama, it’s the Aces Go Places films that were the actual biggest domestic hits of this line up. The Aces Go Places films star Sam Hui and Karl Maka as a master thief and a bumbling cop respectively and marry fabulous action and great production values with genuinely funny James Bond parody. Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam, and Lau Kar-Leung all took a turn directing an Aces film, and the series to this day inspires genuine nostalgia in Cantonese audiences. If you enjoyed the Lucky Stars films with Jackie and Sammo, it’s a fair bet you’ll enjoy these even more.
Peking Opera Blues
Peking Opera Blues is Tsui Hark’s ode to the Republic era Peking Opera troupes that produced Hong Kong film’s legendary stuntmen. The film has an amazing female cast headlined by Brigitte Lin, and features the intoxicating mix of genres that so many of the great Hong Kong pictures have. Equal parts farce and chase, Peking Opera Blues is Tsui Hark’s lament for China’s ill fated Republic at the same time it celebrates the cultural sensibilities that are unique to the nation. It’s energizing, brilliant, and this will be the first official remastering of the picture for an English language audience, and the first release of any kind since VHS.
The catalog also includes Swordsman, the final film work of King Hu which was a collaboration between four legendary directors, and Swordsman II the absolutely bonkers sequel which stars Jet Li and seems to play fast and loose with every convention of the wuxia film. Johnnie To’s Royal Scoundrel, a great period comedy starring Andy Lau; and Full Contact Ringo Lam’s breathtaking re-imagining of John Boorman’s Point Blank and his final collaboration with Chow Yun-Fat.
The last few years have seen an explosion of Hong Kong classics into physical media across all labels that has no precedent. Throughout that explosion, many of the most respected titles have been tied up in this catalog– keeping fans and critics from being able to rediscover and study these films along with their peers.
Shout’s acquisition is a major turning point in helping long-time fans see their favorites again, and helping the curious to discover these classics for the first time.


You must be logged in to post a comment Login