Arrow Video UK Blu-ray Synopsis (Book): Veteran boxer Song Wuyang is beaten up by Wan Hongjie, and saved by his daughter Ying-ying and a disciple, Zhao Zhihao. Later, the old boxer advises Shao to improve his technique at the Shang Wu Institute in order to capture the All China Boxing Trophy. On the way, Zhao rescues a girl, Yan Zhuhong, from Wan Hongjie and his thugs. At the institute, Zhao discovers that the manager, Meng Dongshan, his son, Meng Tianxiong, and a thug, Chen Lang, scorn Song Wuyang and the institute's coach, Sun Xinpei, and are bullying the locals. Chen Lang becomes Zhao's bitter enemy, and the latter leaves the institute to further his training with Sun Xinpei in order to oppose Wan Hongjie, Chen Lang, Meng Dongshan, and his son. When a jealous former classmate, Han Long, injures Zhao's hands in a fight, Yan Zhuhong rescues him and they fall in love. Soon, though not fully recovered, Zhao is picked to fight in the great tournament. The same evening, old Song Wuyang dies. Meng Dongshan now finds little use for Han Long and has his eyes gouged out. After Zhao wins the trophy, the blind Han Long kills Meng Dongshan and his son, and gains Yan Zhulong's love. Zhao and Song Ying-ying set off together for home. (106 Mins)

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Celestial Pictures HK DVD Synopsis: Months before Bruce Lee burst onto the international scene with Enter The Dragon, this powerful story of tragedy, torture, redemption, and revenge premiered across America under the unforgettable title Five Fingers Of Death. It went on to become the first international martial arts movie hit and made a continent-spanning star of LoLieh. Now, finally, after more than thirty years, the original King Boxer takes its rightful place as the film that started it all for the Western world. (97 Mins)

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Views: There are certain titles of the film world that need no introduction, and many of which are from the Shaw Brothers studio. In fact, King Boxer is one of those titles – although more popularly known in the west as Five Fingers Of Death – the film that boosted Lo Lieh's credentials as a leading man and jumped the gun on a certain Bruce Lee to become the first kung-fu movie that would capture a western audience, beating his film The Big Boss to screens by about 5 months. Lieh plays Zhao, a skilled martial artist whose talents are a burden unto himself and those he loves. Challenged by many and hung-out to dry by a jealous classmate, Zhao soon finds himself on a journey of love, revenge, and redemption as he faces off against the local thugs and strives to win the All China Boxing Tournament!

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I absolutely love this movie! Released as the first film in the gorgeously packaged Shaw Scope Vol.1 box set from Arrow Video, King Boxer has never looked better and still proves to be as amazing today as it did 50 years ago (if not better). Wonderfully directed with strong dramatic storytelling and fantastic kung-fu fights, the film has long inspired and been referenced to throughout pop-culture over the years – and none more famously than in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill which would also borrow the Claxton sound (or angry siren) that King Boxer had actually borrowed from the late 60s television show, Ironside. I would also say that this is one of my favourite Lo Lieh titles, with the actor oozing a fantastic coolness and charm that is more-often-than-not portrayed by Jimmy Wang Yu in his movies. Interestingly enough, King Boxer plays in many ways like a retread of The Chinese Boxer with Jimmy Wang Yu and Lo Lieh, or at the very least continues to build on the foundations set by it (and even that of The Big Boss). And while it may seem familiar at times, the story never feels boring or forced to any degree – still managing to deliver something a little more non-traditional than everything else that was coming out of the studio at this point. This would be down to director Chung Chang Wha, a South Korean director better known by his given name as Jeong Chang Hwa. Staring off in the early 50s with his directorial debut Final Temptation, Jeong then wrote, produced, and directed his second feature called Street Of Temptation just a year later. This action crime-drama set after the Korean war, clearly made enough of an impression that saw him dish out close to another 30 titles before making the move to Hong Kong in the late 60s. After a few titles for lesser known studios, Jeong made his first film with Shaw Brothers in 1969 called Temptress Of A Thousand Faces – an action flick starring Tina Chin Fei and Chan Leung. Obviously the film was well enough received to keep Jeong on the books, and the brilliant Heads For Sale soon followed, along with The Sword Hand and Valley Of The Fangs all in the same year, with the latter marking the first time he would work with Lo Lieh. 1971 would see him direct Six Assassins with King Boxer co-star James Nam, and The Swift Knight straight after – again, with Lo Lieh in the leading role as well as a few other cast members from this production. Although King Boxer was a great success around the world, Jeong soon made the leap to Golden Harvest to work under producer Raymond Chow who had defected from the Shaw Brothers studios just a couple of years before. It's here that Jeong could loosen his belt for his final decade as a director making films such as The Devil's Treasure, The Skyhawk, The Association, Double Crossers, and the classic Broken Oath...

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Born in Indonesia to Cantonese parents, the great Lo Lieh started life in the film industry when he joined the Shaw Brothers studio in 1964. After a bit part in The Dancing Millionairess, Lo quickly climbed the ladder as an actor appearing in films such as Temple Of The Red Lotus, The Twin Swords, The Sword & The Lute, Tiger Boy, Magnificent Trio, and Golden Swallow – all alongside Jimmy Wang Yu – as well as roles in King Cat, The Thundering Sword, Dragon Swamp, and Brothers Five for director Lo Wei (which also featured choreography by Sammo Hung). More prominent roles in the aforementioned Valley Of The Fangs and The Chinese Boxer (again with Wang Yu) took him through to a busy year in 1971 where he would star in no less than 10 feature films, right through to the production of King Boxer in '72. From there, Lo Lieh went on to star in (and appear in) hundreds of fantastic titles right through to the turn-of-the-century, just before his death at the end of 2002. Respectively, Lo made his own directional debut the year after King Boxer with Devil & Angel – a martial arts crime-thriller also starring Wu Ma and Chan Wai Man, which was also produced as part of his own film company, Lo's Film. For that film, Lo also secured the fight choreographers from King Boxer – Lau Kar Wing and Chan Chuen – and went onto direct a further 8 films including the highly regarded Clan Of The White Lotus, Black Magic With Buddha, and Zen Master 6. South Korean born actor James Nam stars as Han, the jealous kung-fu student who double-crosses Lieh and loses his eyeballs in a vicious attack when karma comes back to bite him. Nam is great in the role and impresses with some great moves – as he always does. Starting with the Shaw Brothers in 1970, Nam appeared in 4 productions including Chang Cheh's brilliant epic, The Heroic Ones. Another 4 would follow in 71, such as Six Assassins and The Golden Lion, before he upped his game the following year by starring in 5 features for the studio which were The Water Margin, 14 Amazons, The Thunderbolt Fist, Flower In The Rain, and this. While he never did reach A-list status, Nam went on to star in almost 50 films over the next decade including titles like the fun Gambling For Head, The Devil's Treasure (for director Jeong), The Secret Rivals (of which he also worked on as an assistant director) Fist Of Fury 2, Bruce & Shaolin Kung Fu, Deadly Angels, Enter The Game Of Death, and many more – as well as directing a handful of titles over the years. On another note, Nam had already been an established singer and actor back in South Korea and after arriving in Hong Kong at the start of the 70s, went on to share an apartment block with a young John Woo, as both would be under a similar contract with the Shaw Brothers studio. The rest of the cast would be filled out with a number of great actors including Wang Ping as the love interest of Lieh's, and an actress that appeared in plenty of great titles over two decades such as The Chinese Boxer, The Duel, The Killer, 14 Amazons, Hurricane, and Magnificent Bodyguards with Jackie Chan. Wong Gam Fung – a Taiwanese Shaw Brothers actress who only appeared in 13 productions including Pursuit, 14 Amazons, and The Thunderbolt Fist – co-stars as the drumming singer, and prolific actor Tien Feng appears as the patriarchal villain of the piece. Starting his film career in the late 1940s, Feng went on to star in over 170 films across 4 decades from The One-Armed Swordsman and its original sequel to 14 Amazons and The Fate Of Lee Khan, as well as roles in classics such as Jackie Chan's Young Master and Dragon Lord, Ninja In The Dragons Den, A Better Tomorrow, Sex & Zen, and so much more. His wicked son is played brilliantly by Tung Lin, with Fang Mian as Lo Lieh's master of the Iron Palm technique. Ku Wen Chung stars as Lo's teacher and Korean actor Kim Ki Ju lights-up the screen as Chen Lang – the head-butting martial artist who eventually changes his ways. It was great to see Bolo Yeung cameo as a Mongolian fighter scamming people for bets, and a host of recognisable faces show-up throughout including younger stars and stuntmen such as Yen Shi Kwan, Brandy Yuen, Chui Fat, Yuen Shun Yi, and Lau Kar Wing, who also doubled up as one of the fight choreographers alongside kung-fu journeyman, Chan Chuen.

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The wonderful Lau Kar Wing (brother to the legendary Lau Kar Leung) began his film career as an actor in the early 60s, moving into the role as a martial arts director just a few years later starting with The Elusive Golden Butterfly for director Suen Lun in 1966. A few years later, Chan Chuen followed a very similar path having started as an extra with Shaw Brothers around 1966, then going into martial arts direction soon after that with his first project being The Protectors in '71 for director Wu Ma – which incidentally, also starred Lo Lieh in the lead role and had Chan in a small role himself. The same film would see Chan work under the watchful eye of Lau Kar Wing, marking the first time the pair would direct action together before going-on to work on a lot of titles as a team, over the years. Of course, both would go on to star in well-over 100 titles each as well as turning their hand to directing with Lau delivering titles such as He Has Nothing But Kung Fu, Odd Couple, Treasure Hunters, The Dragon Family, City Cops, and the awesomely fun Sammo Hung film Skinny Tiger Fatty Dragon. Chan would direct titles including Kung Fu Vs Yoga, Energetic 21, Fearless Hyena 2, Friendly Ghost, and It Takes A Thief with Yukari Oshima and Chin Siu Ho. Between the two of them, Lau and Chan manage to bring some incredibly exciting martial arts battles to the screen – most of which are packed with fast and furious choreography, violent strikes, and more excitement than any Chang Cheh classic. I don't think I could ever bore of King Boxer and even 50 years later, still find the film to be just as exciting and well made today as it was upon release. Highly recommended!

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Overall: Wonderfully made and packed with fantastic martial arts action, King Boxer is one of the finest kung-fu classics out there!

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Arrow Video Blu-ray Extras: 2k Restoration of 4K Scan, Audio Commentary by David Desser, Appreciation Film with Tony Rayns, Interview with Director Chung Chang Wha, Interview with Korean Cinema Expert Cho Young Jung, Cinema Hong Kong: Kung Fu Documentary Part 1, Alternate Opening Credits from Five Fingers Of Death, Trailers, TV Spots, Radio Spots, Image Gallery

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Celestial Pictures DVD Extras: Production Notes, Trailers, Photo Gallery

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Watch my unboxing video of this Arrow Video release HERE