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.
- Region Code:
- Region B
- Duration:
- 440 minutes
- Original Language:
- Mandarin/Cantonese
- Extras:
- Language(s): Mandarin, English, 'The Five Venoms': Cantonese, Hard of Hearing Subtitles: English, Subtitles: English, Interactive Menu, Screen ratio 1:2.35, Mono, Mono, Bonus Footage, Commentary: 'The Five Venoms': Simon Abrams (critic), Documentaries: 'Elegant Trails: David Chiang'; 'Elegant Trails: Ti Lung'; 'Chang Cheh: The Master', Image Gallery, Interviews: Kong Do (actor); Lo Meng (actor), Appreciation of Chang Cheh by Tony Rayns (critic/film historian); Alternate opening credits sequences for 'Shaolin Temple'; Alternate opening credits from 'Five Masters of Death' (US version of 'Five Shaolin Masters');, Trailers