"Actor: Wang Ying"

• Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon | DVD | (18/06/2001) from £5.22   |  Saving you £16.03 (404.80%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Director Ang Lee’s return to Chinese cinema is an action packed and critically acclaimed epic tale of ancient China.

• The Sadness (uncut) - 2-Disc Limited SteelBook (UHD Blu-ray + Blu-ray) | Blu Ray | (15/04/2022) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Magnificent Butcher | DVD | (23/07/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Based on the real-life exploits of Butcher Wing, Magnificent Butcher is an action-packed kung fu comedy filled with lowbrow physical slapstick and breathtaking, if repetitive fight scenes. Sammo Hung is the well-intentioned 19th-century butcher whose unerring ability to misread a situation leads to trouble. When Wing's long-absent brother comes to town, Ko Tai-Hoi (Hark-On Fung) imprisons his wife, and our hero joins forces with an old drunken kung fu master played by Siu Tien Yuen (reprising his title role from Drunken Master which brought Jackie Chan to fame). This is Siu Tien Yuen's last film and it's obvious he's been replaced by a stunt double at times, although it remains a fine tribute to his remarkable martial arts talent. Taking an unexpected turn with a brutal attempted rape and murder, farce gives way to bloody retribution. The gradual return of comical elements may seem at odds with the later more realistic violence. While the uneven tone jars, the film is an impressive showcase for some of the greatest talents in Hong Kong cinema. Director Woo-ping Yuen has since found fame as the kung fu/action choreographer on The Matrix (1999) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000).On the DVD: Considering how poor most 1970s Hong Kong films looked on video, the anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 image here is superb; pin sharp with accurate colours and barely a hint of grain. Unfortunately there is still a little of the image missing at the sides, though it is a vast improvement over any panned and scanned cassette. The mono audio is generally good, though the music distorts occasionally. There are two soundtracks: the original Cantonese with optional subtitles, and a bad English dub. Additionally there is an outstanding audio commentary by Bey Logan packed with fascinating information about martial arts, Hong Kong cinema and the historical characters the film is based on. A 12-minute interview with Sammo Hung and 20-minute interview with Woo-ping Yuen are both interesting, though are not specific to Magnificent Butcher. Beyond these there are detailed biographies of star and director, an extensive stills gallery, stills from deleted scenes, two trailers and text information and photos of the real Butcher Wing. Finally, making stylised ultra-violence look extremely cool, there are ten anamorphically enhanced widescreen trailers for further releases. When "Hong Kong Legends" say they want to produce the best quality DVDs in the world they clearly mean it. This is a fine package assembled with the loving care of true fans. --Gary S Dalkin

• Axis Of War: My Long March | DVD | (24/05/2010) from £7.99   |  Saving you £8.00 (100.12%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Axis Of War: The Long March

• Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon -- Superbit | DVD | (14/10/2002) from £5.96   |  Saving you £7.03 (117.95%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is so many things: an historical epic on a grand scale, an Asian martial-arts flick with both great effects and fantastic fighting (choreographed by The Matrix's guru Yuen Wo Ping), a story of magic, revenge and power played with a posse of star-crossed lovers thrown in for good measure. Set during the Qing dynasty (the late 19th century), the film follows the fortunes of righteous warriors Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien (Asian superstars Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh, respectively) whose love for one another has lain too long unspoken. When Li Mu Bai's legendary sword Green Destiny is stolen by wilful aristocrat's daughter Jen (exquisite newcomer Zhang Ziyi), who has been trained in the way of the gangster by Li Mu Bai's arch-rival Jade Fox, the warriors must fight to recover the mystical blade. The plot takes us all across China, from dens of iniquity and sumptuous palaces to the stark plains of the Western desert. Characters chase each other up walls and across roof and treetops to breathtaking effect, and Tan Dun's haunting, Oscar-winning East-West inflected score. Directed by Taiwanese-born Ang Lee and co-written by his longtime collaborator American James Schamus, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon joins the ranks of the team's slate of high-quality, genre-spanning literary adaptations. Although it superficially seems like a return to Ang's Asian roots, there's a clear throughline connecting this with their earlier, Western films given the thematic focus on propriety and family honour (Sense and Sensibility), repressed emotions (The Ice Storm) and divided loyalties in a time of war (Ride with the Devil). Nonetheless, a film this good needs no prior acquaintance with the director's oeuvre; it stands on its own. The only people who might be dismissive of it are jaded chop-socky fans who will probably feel bored with all the romance. Everyone else will love it. --Leslie Felperin On the DVD: As might be expected this superb anamorphic widescreen version of the original 2.35:1 theatrical ratio presents Peter Pau's spellbinding cinematography in its full glory; the same goes for the Dolby 5.1 audio track that showcases Tan Dun's haunting score. Annoyingly, however, the default language option is the dubbed English soundtrack, which means you have to select the original Mandarin version before playing. The extra features are good but not exceptional, with an obligatory "making-of" documentary and commentary from Ang Lee and James Schamus being the best options: the director and producer/cowriter chat amiably and in some detail about their martial arts version of Sense and Sensibility. But it's the breathtaking delight of the seeing the movie in such quality that really counts, and this disc does not disappoint. --Mark Walker