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Last Hurrah for Chivalry/Hand of Death: Two Films by John Woo – Eureka Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Hong Kong, 1979 (Last Hurrah for Chivalry), Hong Kong, 1976 (Hand of Death)
Director: John Woo (Both Films)
Writers: John Woo (Both Films)
Cast: Pai Wei, Damian Lau, Kong Lau, Chiu-Hua Wei, Hark-On Fung, Hoi Sang Lee (Last Hurrah for Chivalry), Tan Tao-Liang, James Tien, Jackie Chan, Ching Chu, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Carter Wong (Hand of Death)

Release Date: June 24th, 2019
Approximate running times: 106 Minutes 33 Seconds (Last Hurrah for Chivalry), 97 Minutes 5 Seconds (Hand of Death)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Films)
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Stereo Cantonese, LPCM Mono Cantonese, LPCM Stereo Mandarin, LPCM Mono English (Last Hurrah for Chivalry), LPCM Stereo Mandarin, LPCM Mono Mandarin, LPCM Stereo Cantonese, LPCM Stereo English, LPCM Mono English (Alternate Mix titled “Classic”) (Hand of Death)
Subtitles: English (Both Films)
Region Coding: Region B
Retail Price: £20.99 (UK)

"In Last Hurrah for Chivalry, two killers (Wei Pai and Damian Lau) agree to help a man exact revenge upon a kung fu master. Woo’s first cinematic masterpiece, Last Hurrah for Chivalry is a dark and violent revenge film, featuring lightning fast swordplay and stylish cinematography.

In Hand of Death, a young Shaolin monk must train to defeat a dangerous Manchu warlord (James Tien) who is intent on wiping out the Shaolin once and for all. Featuring early performances from Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung (both also handled the film’s stunts, along with third “brother” Yuen Biao), Hand of Death is an exquisitely stylish example of old school kung fu filmmaking." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (Last Hurrah for Chivalry), 4.25/5 (Hand of Death)

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "from brand new 2K restorations".

Last Hurrah for Chivalry comes on a 50 GB dual layer BluRay.

Disc Size: 36.1 GB

Feature: 33.6 GB

Hand of Death comes on a 50 GB dual layer BluRay.

Disc Size: 35 GB

Feature: 31.7 GB

The sources for both films are in great shape, and quality-wise, they are comparable. Colors and flesh tones look correct, contrast and black levels look very good, details look crisp, and there are no issues with compression. That said, Hand of Death has a few moments where the black levels are not as strong as they should be.

Audio: 4.25/5 (LPCM Stereo Cantonese, ,LPCM Stereo Mandarin, LPCM Mono English - Last Hurrah for Chivalry), (LPCM Mono Mandarin, LPCM Stereo Cantonese, LPCM Stereo English, LPCM Mono English (Alternate Mix titled “Classic” - Hand of Death), 4/5 (LPCM Mono Cantonese - Last Hurrah for Chivalry), 3.75/5 (LPCM Stereo Mandarin - Hand of Death)

Last Hurrah for Chivalry comes with four audio options, a LPCM stereo mix in Cantonese, a LPCM mono mix in Cantonese, a LPCM stereo mix in Mandarin, and a LPCM mono mix in English. All the audio mixes are in good shape. Dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. The sound effects and fight scenes sound robust, and range-wise, the differences between these audio mixes are minimal. The Cantonese mono track is the weakest of these four audio mixes. Included with this release are removable English subtitles. It should be noted that the Cantonese audio tracks have a song, and the subtitles translate the song’s lyrics.

Hand of Death comes with five audio options, a LPCM stereo mix in Mandarin, a LPCM mono mix in Mandarin, a LPCM stereo mix in Cantonese, a LPCM stereo mix in English, and a LPCM mono mix in English (an alternate mix titled "Classic"). All the audio mixes are in good shape. Dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. The sound effects and fight scenes sound robust, and range-wise, the differences between these audio mixes are minimal. It should be noted that the Mandarin stereo mix sometimes sounds muffled. Included with this release are removable English subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for Last Hurrah for Chivalry include a theatrical trailer (4 minutes 34 seconds, LPCM mono Cantonese with burnt-in English text), an archival interview with John Woo (15 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with martial-arts cinema authority Mike Leeder and Arne Venema.

Extras for Hand of Death include a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 58 seconds, LPCM mono Cantonese with burnt-in English text), an archival interview with John Woo titled From Hong Kong to Hollywood (22 minutes 50 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with martial-arts cinema authority Mike Leeder and Arne Venema.

Other extras include reversible cover art, a slipcover (First 2000 copies only), and a 34-page booklet (First 2000 copies only) with cast and crew credits for both films, an essay titled John Woo: Road to a Better Tomorrow written by Matthew Thrift, an essay titled John Woo’s Last Hurrah for Chivalry written by Frank Djeng, an artwork gallery, and information about the transfer titled Notes on Viewing.

Summary:

Last Hurrah for Chivalry and Hand of Death was written and directed by John Woo, who is most known for his heroic bloodshed films. Notable films directed by John Woo include A Better Tomorrow, A Better Tomorrow II, The Killer, and Hard Boiled.

Last Hurrah for Chivalry: Last Hurrah for Chivalry can be seen as a turning-point film. It was the last film that John Woo directed for Golden Harvest. And it was also made during a time when there was a shift towards humor in martial arts cinema. In the 1980s, Golden Harvest was the movie studio that released the films that made Jackie Chan a household name worldwide.

Though John Woo had directed martial arts films before he directed Last Hurrah for Chivalry, those films were more in line with the type of martial arts films that became prominent because of Bruce Lee. And with Last Hurrah for Chivalry, John Woo would make one of his rare forays into the realm of fantasy.

Content-wise, Last Hurrah for Chivalry has all the elements that have become synonymous with Wuxia films. Last Hurrah for Chivalry is a film that also foreshadows some of the elements that would become synonymous with his heroic-bloodshed films.

From a production standpoint, Last Hurrah for Chivalry is an extraordinary film that achieves its goals. The well-executed narrative is a satisfying balance of action set pieces and dramatic moments. And when it comes to the action set pieces, John Woo once again delivers—and then some.

Performance-wise, the cast is all very good in their respective roles. With Last Hurrah for Chivalry’s most memorable performance being Damian Lau (Royal Tramp) in the role of a swordsman named Tsing Yi, whose skills improve the more he drinks, Other notable performances include Hark-On Fung (Dragon Lord) in the role of a master swordsman named An Tien-Ming (Pray, his name in the English language version), and Hoi Sang Lee (The 36th Chamber of Shaolin) in the role of Pai Chung-Tang, the man who murdered the protagonist's family.

Standout moments include an opening sequence massacre that has ninjas, the scene where two sword fighters duel by a tea house in the middle of nowhere, the scene where Tsing Yi starts a brawl at a gambling house after he discovers they have been cheating, and the scene where the protagonist and Tsing Yi take on Pai Chung-Tang and the thirty-six fighters who protect him.

Hand Of Death: Revenge is a theme that dominates the martial arts genre. There are so many revenge-themed martial arts films that it would be impossible not to get a feeling of déjà vu watching them. That being said, Hand of Death falls into many of the same trappings that viewers of these types of films have become accustomed to. The way that John Woo handles these familiar elements is what ultimately distinguishes Hand of Death from other revenge-themed martial arts films.

When one thinks of John Woo films, they are remembered for their action set pieces. And though the action set pieces in Hand of Death are well executed, their leisurely pacing is in direct contrast with the frenetic pacing that has become synonymous with John Woo’s heroic bloodshed films. Fortunately, this contrast in style is not a deal breaker, and the result is an action-packed film that even the most die-hard John Woo fans should thoroughly enjoy.

Without a doubt, Hand of Death’s greatest asset is its superb cast. With Hand of Death’s most memorable performance being James Tien (Above the Law) in the role of this film’s main villain, a traitor named Shih Shao-Feng. Other notable performances include Jackie Chan (Police Story) in the role of a rebel fighter who joins forces with the protagonist and Sammo Kam-Bo Hung (Eastern Condors) in the role of a henchman with an overbite.

Standout moments include the Shaolin massacre that opens the film and a scene where the protagonist’s impatience to get revenge puts his own life in peril. The last third of the film is wall-to-wall action where the protagonist, who’s assembled his own elite fighting crew, takes on Shih Shao-Feng and his eight bodyguards.

Eureka Video gives two John Woo films solid audio/video presentations, and each film comes with an informative audio commentary, highly recommended.