The Valiant Ones: Limited Edition – Eureka Video (4k UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: Taiwan/Hong Kong, 1975
Director: King Hu
Writer: King Hu
Cast: Bai Ying, Hsu Feng, Roy Chiao, Han Ying-chieh, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung 

Release Date: May 27th, 2024 (UK), June 11th, 2024 (USA)
Approximate Running Time: 106 Minutes 44 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10
Rating: 12 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: LPCM Mono Mandarin
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £24.99 (UK), $49.95 (USA)

"During the reign of the Jiajing Emperor (Zhao Lei), China’s coastal regions have come under attack by wokou – Japanese pirates under the leadership of the infamous Hakatatsu (Sammo Hung). To combat this threat, the Emperor tasks a trusted general, Zhu Wan (Tu Kuang-chi), with assembling a group of skilled warriors to find and eliminate the pirates. Under the command of General Yu Dayou (Roy Chiao), the band of soldiers – including husband-and-wife sword-fighters Wu Ji-yuan (Pai Ying) and Wu Ruo-shi (Hsu Feng) – set out to draw Hakatatsu, his ally Xu Dong (Han Ying-chieh) and their pirate clan into a series of spectacular showdowns." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “a 4K digital restoration of the original negatives gifted by director King Hu to the Hong Kong Film Archive.”

The Valiant Ones comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 90.9 GB

Feature: 75.7 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones look correct, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic. Also, this is another outstanding encode from Fidelity in Motion.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Mandarin with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds excellent; the dialog always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. Also, action sequences always sound robust, with ambient sounds being well represented.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an archival interview with actor Ng Ming-choi (4 minutes 18 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Mandarin and  English with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actress Hsu Feng (16 minutes 54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Mandarin and  English with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with Roger Garcia (Hong Kong International Film Festival Society) titled Memories of Hu (26 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Ng Ming-choi titled My Father and I (25 minutes 50 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Mandarin with removable English subtitles), an interview with stuntman Billy Chan titled The Life of a Lucky Stuntman (20 minutes 54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), a video essay by David Cairns titled Tsar of all the Wuxia (21 minutes 44 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with film critic and Asian film expert Tony Rayns titled Tony Rayns on The Valiant Ones (23 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival), an O-card slipcase (limited to 2,000 copies), and a 20-page booklet (limited to 2,000 copies) with cast & crew information, an essay titled Portraits of Valour written by Jonathan Clements and information about the transfer titled Notes on Viewing.

Summary:

The narrative revolves around a group of skilled warriors given the task by their emperor to eradicate Japanese pirates who have been attacking coastal regions.

Though I am familiar with the name King Hu and his place within Chinese martial arts cinema, my only exposure to his films was Come Drink with Me. That said, as amazing as Come Drink with Me is, I was even more blown away by The Valiant Ones. Now that I have two of his films under my belt, my interest in his films has peaked considerably.

While watching The Valiant Ones, I was immediately grabbed by its use of techniques, particularly the rhythm created by its editing. And though other Chinese filmmakers would employ similar techniques that King Hu used for his fight scenes, his techniques were ahead of their time. And what is even more impressive about watching them now is how fresh they still feel after all of these years.

Another thing that sets The Valiant Ones apart from most of its contemporaries is its location. In The Valiant Ones, Taiwan locations are used instead of the usual sets or Hong Kong locations found in most martial arts films. This choice gives the film a distinctive look that enhances the viewing experience. Also, the use of real locations and only minimal use of sets is another plus. Also, the use of real locations and only minimal use of sets is another plus.

Of course, when it comes to martial arts films, no element matters more than the action sequences, and in this regard, The Valiant Ones delivers in spades. All of the action sequences are exemplary; they are dynamic in execution, and there is an abundance of inventiveness. As mentioned before, editing plays a significant role in The Valiant Ones, and nowhere is this clearer than the action sequences. Also, when it comes to the action sequences, there is an ample amount of onscreen carnage, and the quickness of the editing adds to the intensity of these sequences.

The entire cast is outstanding in their roles. The Valiant Ones is truly an ensemble cast where everyone perfectly complements each other and no one performance outshines another. Sammo Kam-Bo Hung (The Magnificent Butcher), who had yet to achieve leading man status, makes an appearance in the role of Hakatatsu, the leader of the Japanese pirates. Jackie Chan, working as an extra, played the parts of several pirates who were killed, according to King Hu's statement, despite not being credited for it.

From a production standpoint, there is no area where The Valiant Ones does not excel. There is a good balance of exposition moments and action sequences and the narrative does a phenomenal job building momentum towards an epic finale. Another strength of the action sequences, specifically the finale, is how the skilled warriors use superior fighting tactics to gain an upper hand when greatly outnumbered. Ultimately, The Valiant Ones is cinematic bliss that is a must-see if you're a fan of 1970s martial arts films.

The Valiant Ones gets a definitive release from Eureka Video, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer