The 8 diagram pole fighter = Wǔláng bāguà gùn

Author

Jialiang Liu

Call Number

• BLU-RAY FOREIGN (CEN)

Languages

Cantonese, Mandarian or English dialogue; English subtitles; English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Performers

Gordon Liu, Alexander Fu Sheng, Lily Li, Lau Kar-wing, Kara Hui.

Publication Information

[Hertfordshire, UK] : Arrow Video, [2022]

Physical Description

1 videodisc (100 minutes) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 booklet (22 pages : color illustratons ; 15 cm)

Audience

Not rated.

Summary

"After one of it's lead actors (cherub-faced action icon Alexander Fu Sheng) unexpectedly died midway through production, fight-choreographer-turned-master-director Lau Kar-leung 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 returns to his mother and two sisters, driven mad with grief; the other escapes and joins a nearby monastery while in hiding. Once he learns his sister 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 it's bone-crunching, teeth-smashing climax)."--Container.

Notes

Originally released as a motion picture in 1984.

Special features: Brand new 2K restoration from the original camera negative by Arrow Films ; original lossless Cantonese, Mandarian and English mono audio ; brand new commentary by Jonathan Clements, author of A brief history of China ; newly filmed appreciation by film critic and historian Tony Rayns ; interviews with stars Gordon Liu, Lily Li and Yeung Ching-ching, filmed by Frederic Ambroisine in 2004 ; A 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 with English subtitles ; alternate opening credits, as The invincible pole fighters ; theatrical trailer ; image gallery.