88 Films Blu-ray Synopsis: Although made when the mighty Shaw Brothers studio were stepping away from film production, Eight Diagram Pole Fighter shows they had plenty of fight left in them: indeed, it's one of the best films they ever produced. It's based on a story from Chinese history: a heroic general is betrayed on the battlefield. He and five of his sons are killed, but two of his sons are able to escape. Haunted by what happened to their father and brothers they begin to think of revenge but they will have to tread with care. The traitor and his troops are on their tail, and he means to finish the job he started. Tragically, co-star Alexander Fu Sheng (Heroes Shed No Tears, The Brave Archer) died in a car accident mid-way through filming. But under the careful hands of master filmmaker Lau Kar Leung (The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Drunken Master 2), the finished film is a worthy tribute to this great star. 88 Films are proud to present the UK Blu-ray premiere of one of the true masterpieces of Hong Kong cinema.

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Dragon Dynasty US DVD Synopsis: Sensational training sequences and ferocious battles highlight this epic collaboration between acclaimed director Liu Chia Liang (The 36th Chamber of Shaolin) and martial arts legends Gordon Liu (Kill Bill films), Kara Hui (My Young Auntie) and Alexander Fu Sheng (Shaolin Temple). After his family is ambushed and slaughtered, one surviving brother escapes to a monastery, where he masters bone-crushing pole-fighting techniques and plots his revenge. “Beginning with the intro (a real gem) and continuing through to the bloody finale, this classic tale of revenge is stuffed to the gills with great martial arts action” (Rob Larsen, DrunkenFist.com). (97 Mins)

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Warner Home Video UK VHS: Fu Sheng plays a noble young warrior who masters the lethal art of pole fighting to avenge the death of his father. In the inimitable style of the Shaw Brothers, The Invincible Pole Fighters is a furious foray into the deadly world of martial arts.

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Views: Loosely based on the historical Yang Family, the film opens with an impressive battle scene where the Yang brothers and their father have been ambushed by the enemy due to a set-up by a jealous General. The line-up of the sons is pretty damn good, leading you to believe you're in for a big named cast throughout. Unfortunately, due to the high numbers and powerful weapons of the enemy, Shaw Brothers stars such as Lau Kar Wing, Wong Yu, Robert Mak, Hsiao Ho, and others, don't get to stick around for long. Surviving the attack is Fu Sheng and Gordon Liu, with the latter disappearing mid-battle and Fu Sheng returning home to his kick-ass mum, played by Lily Lee, and sisters Kara Hui and Yeung Jing Jing. Unfortunately, Fu seems to have lost his mind after seeing the tragic deaths of his father and brothers. Elsewhere, a lost and injured Liu stumbles upon an old shack in the mountains and soon meets a hunter, played by director Lau Kar Leung. It doesn't take long for the enemy to catch up though, so Lau helps the injured Yang member escape as he takes them on in a bloody battle that sees him sacrifice himself in honour of the Yang family. Alone, Liu makes his way to the nearest Shaolin Temple – putting him back in familiar territory (ala the hit 36th Chamber Of Shaolin) where he must convince the monks to let him in. Of course, from there, we all know it's about training him in heart, mind, and moves, so that when the time comes - he can take revenge for the murder of his family...

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8 Diagram Pole Fighter is quite simply astounding and without a doubt, one of my favourite Shaw Brothers movies as well as one of my all-time favourite kung-fu films. The classic 8 Diagram Pole Fighter finally gets a release it deserves from 88 Films in the cleanest, crispest print I've seen yet with more stunning artwork by Kung Fu Bob O'Brien. Infamously known as superstar Alexander Fu Sheng's last movie, due to his untimely death in a car crash during production, the script was quickly rewritten to have Gordon Liu's character go on Fu Sheng's journey making him the hero, and the better man for the job in my opinion. While I like Fu Sheng and more-so in his comedy roles, this to me is definitely a role made for Gordon Liu. Although he had already made quite the name for himself in films such as Shaolin Martial Arts, Challenge Of The Masters, 36th Chamber Of Shaolin, Heroes Of The East, Legendary Weapons Of China, and Dirty Ho, Gordon proves to be outstanding in his performance here and pulls off some of his best on-screen fighting across many different fight scenes. As one of Lau Kar Leung's final films for the mighty Shaw Brothers, we are treated to a fantastically dark tale packed with beautiful sets and costumes, incredible kung-fu battles, and emotional performances from all involved, and especially Gordon Liu who quite clearly shows his pain at the loss of his good friend Alexander Fu Sheng, in the second half of the film.

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This was the 16th directorial piece from Lau Kar Leung (or 17th if you count his co-directing role on Breakout From Oppression with Gordon Liu), and I have to say that it is one of his finest. Lau joins prolific writer Ni Kuang for the screenplay, with Ni having already written well over 100 movies for Shaw Brothers since his debut with the classic One-Armed Swordsman, and had also penned the most of Lau's previous titles. Due to the success of those films and thanks to many years of dedication to the studio, Sir Run Run Shaw had given Kar Leung much more freedom for this next project which is quite evident upon viewing. By the mid-80s though, the love for traditional kung-fu movies was fading and after directing Jet Li in Shaolin Temple 3: Martial Arts Of Shaolin in 1986, Lau turned his talents to more modern action flicks such as Tiger On The Beat 1 & 2, and Aces Go Places 5 as well as working as the action-director on films such as The Dragon Family, The Barefooted Kid, Evil Cat, Operation Scorpio/The Scorpion King, and New Kids In Town with Moon Lee. Lau's return to kung fu would come courtesy of Jackie Chan's fantastic Drunken Master 2. But when things didn't go so well on that project – with creative differences cited as the reason for his departure – Lau set out to make his own sequel of the tale, released as Drunken Master 3 (albeit a pretty unofficial entry in regards to Jackie Chan's titles). Although it had some star power with Andy Lau, Simon Yam, Gordon Liu, Adam Cheng, and Lau himself, Drunken Master 3 was somewhat of a rushed mess – panned by critics and fans alike, and was most likely the main reason as to why Lau Kar Leung stepped down as a director for almost a decade. In 2003, Lau bounced back with the fun Drunken Monkey (the film that helped launch Wu Jing's career), before going-on to star in and work the action-choreography for Tsui Hark's underrated Seven Swords. Lau Kar Leung pretty much retired from the industry soon after and passed in 2013 due to cancer, leaving behind a solid piece of cinema history by starring in over 200 features, directing 25, and lending his martial arts talents to just as many as a choreographer...

 

I just love this movie! It's quite possibly Lau Kar Leung's finest moment as a director and choreographer as he delivers many incredible battles and one-to-one fights, both with weapons and good old-fashioned hand-to-hand. Everyone looks amazing during the action including the great Philip Ko as a scene stealing Shaolin monk. Ko Fei had already been wowing fans of kung-fu cinema for over a decade by this stage, and went onto star in over 250 films during his career - many of which he had directed or choreographed. 8 Diagram Pole Fighter was 1 of 12 films he starred in, in 1984 alongside titles such as Return Of The Bastard Swordsman, Opium And The Kung Fu Master, Profile In Anger, and Secret Service Of The Imperial Court from director Tony Liu. I'm a huge fan of the man and think he was one of the greatest stars and movers of the 70s and 80s, before his choices and career started to get a little wonky by the mid-90s (unfortunately). The beautiful Kara Hui stars as Sister Eight and, much like her kung-fu brothers and director, had already been impressing audiences for years starring in many Shaw Brothers titles. A young Yuen Tak gets to show off a few impressive moves as he tries to help the Yang's, and looks great doing so. Apart from a few jobs as a stuntman, Tak got into the industry a little later when he started acting and directing fight scenes for the Shaw Brothers studios in the late 70s including classics such as The Snake Prince, Fighting Fool, Boxer From The Temple, Coward Bastard, and more. Of course, he has went onto star in and choreograph some highly memorable stuff, and just adds to the 'already' brilliant cast on offer in 8 Diagram Pole Fighter. As usual, Shaw Brothers productions always offer an amazing array of villains with Johnny Wang Lung Wei shining as one of their best. As usual, Johnny kicks-ass and shows why he is one of Hong Kong cinema's most memorable bad guys. It all leads to an incredible finale, with some incredible weapons battles, stunt work, choreography, and acrobatics that show all involved at the top of their game. Amazing!

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More recently adapted as the fantastic Ronny Yu epic, Saving General Yang...

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Overall: A bona fide kung-fu classic and one of Hong Kong cinema's finest, 8 Diagram Pole Fighter should not be missed!

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88 Films Blu-ray Extras: Audio Commentary by Scott Harrison

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Dragon Dynasty DVD Extras: Trailers

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