36th Chamber vs. Shaolin Master Killer (1 Viewer)

[Phil Florian]

Howdy!
I searched and couldn't find a thread on this, so if I missed it, I apologize. I was wondering if anyone knows about any possible new DVD of Gordon Liu's 36th Chamber of Shaolin. There is the American version called "Shaolin Master Killer" (who in god's name title's these things over here???) and that DVD is out of print. I really want to get it as I am getting more excited about 70's HK cinema since seeing the amazing "Magnificent Butcher" and a wonderful find "Master of the Flying Guillotine." These are a hoot and cool at the same time. Now that I have the Kill Bill movies to thank for introducing me to Gordon Liu (x2!) I want to catch up on his movies and 36th Chamber seems to be the highest recommendation.

Now, with it going out of print AND with his possibly newfound popularity with a whole new generation of fans, can we expect a new DVD of this classic? Is one already in the works? Any ideas? I think it is a no-brainer to buy the current DVD as I can get it for 10 bucks on E-Bay right now. Sure, it is dubbed (shudder) but the visuals are intact and that is important to me.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

Phil


PS I already thought about getting a Region Free player and just getting Region 3 versions of it, but my budget can't stand it!

 

[JonZ]

I got the Pioneer 363K for $185. Well worth it. Since going region free Ive picked up about 20 Shaw Bros titles.

You can find Master Killer (get the one with the black case)on ebay cheap.

Also Amazon has some...

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...v=glance&s=dvd

I still see this stuff at Media Play near me so if u have one near you check them out.


Also HIGHLY recommended:

Avenging Eagle (My fav Martial arts flick-remaster coming at the end of the year)
8 Diagram Pole Fighter
Shaolin Temple
Invincible Shaolin
Five(Deadly)Venoms
Shaolin Martial Arts
The Invincible One
Chinatown Kid
Anonymous Heroes
All Men Are Brothers
Blood Brothers
Duel of Fists
The Magic Blade

This is a great site for Shaw Bros reviews...

http://www.kungfucinema.com/movies/reviews_a.htm

 

[Phil Florian]

Good list! Thanks for the links, too. I see a ton of HK stuff at local video stores, but they are usually these "Boxed sets" of stuff that look really bad. My fear is really poor transfer and the like or just bad movies gotten for a song and thrown on a DVD for quick sale. WIll keep eye out for those you mentioned!

Ciao,

Phil

 

[Brian Thibodeau]

Hong Kong online retailer DDDHouse.com has all the available Shaw Brothers releases for sale. Price are mostly around $12US a piece, but many are $10.50 and a few go up to $13.50. Not bad pces for these, plus they're legit, widescreen, subtitled, original language editions, several with special features. 36TH CHAMBER and it sequel RETURN TO THE 36th CHAMBER are both there. Shipping is reasonable compared to other Asian retailers.

Here's the link to their Shaw page. Each individual entry has a photo.

http://www.dddhouse.com/dddhouse/en/...&categoryID=25

One caveat: these are region code 3. if you have one of the zillions of region-free players available in the U.S. these days, you're fine. Otherwise, you should get one, lest you prefer waiting until you have gray hair to see these great films!

 

[JonZ]

I use http://www.hkflix.com/home.asp and theyre great

Funny to see people interested in these movies now.I was tormented in the 80s for watching this stuff

 

[Brian Thibodeau]

They also called you Superfuzz.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...82#post2035882

Oh, the humanity!

Supa Supaaaa....

 

[JonZ]

Yup, I was a geek - still am actually.

I was overjoyed today when I saw Rhino is releasing the complete series of Gatchaman/Battle Of The Planets set in May

Actually back in the day when Fox,before it was Fox, used to show Shaw Bros films every saturday, when I got to school on monday 2 guys I had in social studies woudl ask if I saw the movies on saturday and then pick them apart and tell me how stupid they were."Theres no way a guy with 2 arrows in his gut scould take on 40 guys" "That was stupid when the guy kicked down the tree"

Yet they watched them every week

 

[Max Knight]

Phil,

Buy a region free player. The initial cost of the player will be offset by the great deals you can get from dddhouse.com and other non-region 1 retailers. The R3 Celestial releases of the Shaw classics are fantastic. Anamorphic widescreen, cleaned up transfers, extras, you really can't miss!

 

[JonZ]

Agreed.Just ordered Magic Blade and Invincible Pole Fighter from HKflix for under $40!!!!

I highly recommend the Pioneer 363K, which u can get online for under $200.DTS,plays JPG Cds, anything and everything Ive put in it.

It also has a very neat feature - memory option which will start DVDs where u left off last time you had the DVD in the player. You wont have to sit thru interactive menus(not sure how common this feature is, but I love it)

Ive played DVDs from region 2,3 and 4 with no problems.

 

[Benjamin Ricci]

Go to hkflix.com you'll find all the old Shaw Brothers titles (including 36th Chamber and the other Gordon Liu movies) are being re-released by Celestial in r3, with original language tracks and in widescreen. Definitley time for you to pick up a region free player.

 

[ChrisBEA]

For best prices I'd recommend you all go to www.dddhouse.com their prices are fantastic. Just scroll down and click on Shaw Brothers on the left side.

 

[Phil Florian]

Huh...I wonder if I should get a region free player (/sarcasm). Man, you all make it sound like I am hemoraging money if I DON'T get the player! Must...get region free...player...


Thanks for the advice. Will keep an eye out for good deal on one and make the leap...my hobby demands it!

Ciao,

Phil

 

[ChrisBEA]

Well there are some easily hackable units that are cheap. I still wanna pick up one of those $40 Cyberhome units. ANyway I just found a hack for my DVD-ROM and use that. I watch mostly on my PC anyway.

 

[Brian Thibodeau]

Phil

Two extremely reliable places to go for region-free player info:

http://www.nerd-out.com/forum/

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks


The forums at these places are an indispensible resource, particularly for info regarding the "low-end" players like Malata, Cyberhome, Apex, Daytek, etc. (I put that in quotes because they're often as good as the mid- to high-end players) These players can almost always be found for around $50 to $90. The trick is doing enough research on available models to make sure you're getting something with the necessary features to enjoy DVDs from around the world. The two most important features are:

Region free, preferably out of the box, which a lot of them are (though unadvertised) or via a simple remote control code. Anything that requires downloading software, firmware, etc, usually brings an added layer of potential problems, at least from what I've read.

PAL/NTSC conversion. Most players do this properly now, but some still don't. Most Hong Kong, Japanese and Korean discs are NTSC (same as American stuff), so they'll display correctly, but European discs, which almost always use the PAL broadcast system, won't display properly if the player can't convert the signal to NTSC. Instead, the player will stretch or zoom in on the frame to fill the screen. Very frustrating.

Other features, like DTS, 5.1, etc are generally available on almost everything these days. Purists might argue the quality issues of these players over a high-end Sony or whatnot, but if your goal is simply to see as much Asian cinema as you can without being told what to watch by Hollywood, then this is the most cost effective way to go.

Best bet is to look for the "bargain" players in your weekly Circuit City, Best Buy, Wal-Mart or Target flyer, then look them up on one of these websites to find out how they're shaping up.

I did this up here around Christmas time when our Future Shop chain offered a Malata DVP-500 for $79CDN. Turns out it was easily made region free, had PAL-NTSC conversion, but you had to make sure you bought a version manufactured in Sept. 2003, as previous models and the Oct. models all had different components, crappier menu displays and other problems. The word on these particular units was so good that I bought an extra one, programmed it, and stored it for the day when the first one eventually dies.
I've been using this unit steadily since then, nearly every single day, and the only problem I've experienced was a slight buzz when certain discs were spinning (and it took about three months to make itself heard), but now that problems so rare it's hardly an issue. If the thing died tomorrow, it's paid for itself, although I suspect I'll run it for a while still.

Oh, and be wary of the smaller players. Many of them are prone to overheating.