Release Date: June 1st, 1972 (Lady Whirlwind) / October 1st 1972 (Hapkido) / September 3rd, 2022 (blu-ray)
Run Time: 1 hour 28 minutes 56 seconds (Lady Whirlwind) /
Region Code: A + B
Picture: 1080p (2.35:1 aspect ratio) (both films)
Sound: Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 (Lady Whirlwind) / Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 (Kung Fu dub), English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 (Hapkido dub), English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (Hapkido)
Subtitles: English (both films)
Slipcover: Yes
Digital Copy: No
Starring: Chang Yu, Angela Mao, Pai Ying, Oh Kyung-Ah, Liu Ah-Na, Chin Yuet-Sang, Sammo Hung (Lady Whirlwind) / Angela Mao, Carter Wong, Sammo Hung, Wong In Sik, Ji Han Jae (Hapkido)
Written by Hua Yi-Chung (Lady Whirlwind) / Ho Yan (Hapkido)
Directed by Huang Feng (both films)
Rating: BBFC: 15 (strong violence) (Lady Whirlwind) / BBFC: 15 (violence) (Hapkido)
NOTE: I have discovered that this release is actually a dual release. The UK version was released by Eureka while the US release is being released by Arrow Video. They worked on these releases together. If you put this disc into a REGION B player (or a REGION FREE player set to REGION B) you get the Eureka menus and whatnot. However, if you put this disc into a REGION A player (or a REGION FREE player set to REGION A) then you get the Arrow Video menus and whatnot. Everything, picture and sound quality and special features are exactly the same. So, if you are in REGION A and want this release, then go ahead and buy it.
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What's It About?
In Hapkido (aka. Lady Kung Fu in the West), a group of martial artists (Mao, Sammo Hung, and Carter Wong) start their own school to teach the Korean martial art, HAPKIDO, but a rival Japanese academy attempts to crush them – deeming Hapkido inferior to their Japanese fighting style. Similar to the plot of Bruce Lee’s FIST OF FURY (a canny decision by the filmmakers, capitalising on Mao often being referred to as a “female Bruce Lee” ), HAPKIDO was a huge hit in the West, even briefly beating Lee’s ENTER THE DRAGON at the North American box office.
Perhaps her most iconic film, LADY WHIRLWIND (bizarrely re-titled as DEEP THRUST in the US, to capitalise on the success of DEEP THROAT, which probably made its tag lines—“The Deadly Stroke of Bare Hand Combat” and “Mistress of the Death Blow”—a tad misleading) stars Mao as a deadly fighter out for revenge on the man who wronged her sister (played by Shaw Brothers veteran Chang Yi). After tracking the man down, she finds he is on his own vengeful path against a gang of Japanese thugs and agrees to help keep him alive – as long as she gets to take her revenge when it’s all over!
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Video/Audio
Sourced from brand new 2K restorations and presented in the films' original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, both films great. Previously released on DVD by Shout! Factory, these films are a marvel to look at. Anyone who bought that Shout! Factory double feature are in for a treat as that DVD set was not very good. Film grain is present in both transfers and there is a nice depth to the image. Colors and skin tones are nice.
Each film has the original language track as well as an English track. Both tracks are nice with the English track sounding just a tad worse than the Mandarin track. Both tracks are worth a listen, though.
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Extras/Packaging
Disc 1: Lady Whirlwind (1972)
Commentaries:
Commentary by Frank Djeng and Bobby Samuels
Commentary by Frank Djeng and Michael Worth
Commentary by Samm Deighan
Lady Whirlwind Speaks with Angela Mao (13m 19s, HD, 1.78:1) A newly filmed interview with star Angela Mao, produced by Frank Djeng in 2022. In Chinese with English subtitles
Kung Fu Cooking with Thomas King (31m 49s, HD, 1.78:1) A newly filmed conversation between Frank Djeng and Angela Mao's son Thomas King, produced in 2022. In English
Alternate English Credits (1m 34s, HD, 2.35:1)
Trailer Gallery:
HK Theatrical Trailer (3m 23s, HD, 2.35:1)
US Theatrical Trailer (1m 55s, HD, 1.85:1)
US Radio Spot (1m 1s, SD)
Image Gallery (25 images)
Disc 2: Hapkido (1972)
Commentaries:
Commentary by Frank Djeng and Booby Samuels
Commentary by Frank Djeng and Michael Worth
Lady Kung Speaks with Angela Mao (18m 1s, HD, 1.78:1) A newly filmed interview with star Angela Mao, produced by Frank Djeng in 2022. In Mandarin with English subtitles.
Archive Interviews:
Angela Mao (16m 59s, SD, 1.33:1) In Mandarin with English subtitles
Carter Wong (17m 1s, SD, 1.33:1) In English)
Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao (9m 21s, SD, 1.33:1)
Original Vintage Featurette (6m 40s, HD, 2.35:1) This short film, showing hapkido master Ji Han Jae instructing the stars of the film, was produced by Golden Harvest to promote the film in 1972. In Mandarin with English subtitles
Alternate Opening Titles:
Textless Opening (1m 32s, HD, 2.35:1)
Hapkido (English) (1m 44s, HD, 2.35:1)
Lady Kung Fu (1m 44s, HD, 2.35:1)
Trailer Gallery:
HK Theatrical Trailer (Mandarin) (4m 21s, HD, 2.35:1)
HK Theatrical Trailer (English) (4m 3s, HD, 2.35:1)
US Theatrical Trailer (1m 33s, HD, 1.85:1)
US TV Spot (58s, HD, 1.33:1)
Image Gallery (66 Images)
The special features included here are very nice. The commentary tracks are each worth a listen as they bring different perspectives to the film. The new interviews with Angela Mao are informative and laid back. The older interviews are kind of shallow and I don't see anyone watching them more than once. My favorite feature is on the HAPKIDO disc. It is an original featurette shot by Golden Harvest during production. This is a great look behind the scenes of a Hong Kong production, something we hardly ever get. I just wish it was longer.
The packaging on the set is gorgeous. The artwork on the slipcover is done by Darren Wheeling, who has worked with Eureka a lot. He has done cover art for many of their releases including THE SHAOLIN PLOT, ODD COUPLE, and KNOCKABOUT, just to name a few. His artwork is always nice and adds to the film it is presented.
Underneath the slipcover is a 15mm clear blu-ray case that features reversible artwork, with one side featuring the original theatrical poster for LADY WHIRLWIND and the other the original theatrical poster for HAPKIDO. Inside case is a 36-page booklet featuring a new essay about each film along with info about each film and posters and lobby cards.
Last but not least is a folded poster that is also in the slipcover that features poster art for each film.
Both discs are REGION B (locked)
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Overall
These films are fun with some great choreography by Sammo Hung. Angela Mao proves with these two films that she could go toe-to-toe with the best of the Hong Kong film scene in the 70s and 80s. Eureka really did a great job with this set as they usually do. The films look and sound great and the special features package is nice. It is easy for me to recommend this set.
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Extras/Menus
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Film
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Packaging
 Blu-ray Review + 1080p Screenshots + Packaging Shots){kind=link}
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