Rent Horrible History: Four Historical Epics by Chang Cheh (1976)
3.3 of 5 from 45 ratings
7h 39min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Often described as the Godfather of Hong Kong Cinema, Chang Cheh made nearly a hundred films during a long and storied career spent at the Shaw Brothers Studio, where he directed such landmark films as The One-Armed Swordsman, Five Deadly Venoms and The Heroic Ones. Many of his films drew upon Chinese history for inspiration - and many of them were based on real people and events. Eureka Classics presents four of his best historical epics in this limited-edition set: Marco Polo (1975), The Pirate, Boxer Rebellion (1976) and Four Riders. In Marco Polo, the eponymous Venetian explorer (Richard Harrison) becomes embroiled in a battle between the Mongol Empire and Chinese rebels in the thirteenth century. In 'The Pirate', the infamous nineteenth-century raider Cheung Po Tsai (Ti Lung) must evade agents of the Imperial Court while attempting to aid the downtrodden residents of a coastal village. In Boxer Rebellion, a group of Chinese patriots use kung fu to protect their nation against invading forces at the turn of the twentieth century. Finally, in Four Riders, a Chinese veteran of the Korean War enlists three comrades to help him escape the South Korean Military Police Command after he is falsely accused of murdering an American soldier. Marco Polo, The Pirate, Boxer Rebellion and Four Riders are all fascinating examples of the rewriting of history common in popular genre cinema, directed with aplomb by a veteran of Shaw Brothers in Chang Cheh - one of the most celebrated and prolific filmmakers in Hong Kong. - Actors:
- Sheng Fu, Kuan-Chun Chi, Szu Shih, Richard Harrison, Yen Tsan Tang, Phillip Chung-Fung Kwok, Ka-Yan Leung, Lung Wei Wang, Chia-Hui Liu, Carter Wong, Hua Chung Ting, Yi-fei Chang, Hui Lou Chen, Jen Chen, Ju Lu Chen, Shen-Lin Chen, Li-Sheng Chin, Chiang Han, Wan-Yi Hsieh, Kwong Hu
- Directors:
- Cheh Chang
- Writers:
- Cheh Chang, Kuang Ni
- Aka:
- Marco Polo / The Pirate / Boxer Rebellion / Four Riders
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 09/12/2024
- Run Time:
- 459 minutes
- Languages:
- Mandarin LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.35:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Commentary: Two new commentaries by Frank Djeng (East Asian film expert) and Michael Worth (martial artist/filmmaker)
- Two new commentaries by Mike Leeder and Arne Venema (action cinema experts)
- Documentaries: 'Rewriting History'
- Interviews: Wayne Wong (Hong Kong cinema scholar)
- Disc 1:
- Disc 2: