Triple Threat: Three Films With Sammo Hung – Eureka Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Hong Kong, 1974 (The Manchu Boxer), Hong Kong, 1988 (Paper Marriage), Hong Kong, 1990 (Shanghai, Shanghai)
Directors: Wu Ma (The Manchu Boxer), Alfred Cheung (Paper Marriage), Teddy Robin (Shanghai, Shanghai)
Cast: Tony Liu, Tao Min-Ming, Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, Wilson Tong, Wu Ma, Kim Ki-Joo, Kao Chiang (The Manchu Boxer), Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, Maggie Cheung, Alfred Cheung, Dick Wei, Joyce Godenzi, Billy Chow, Hsiao Hou, Chin Ka-lok, Tony Morelli, Philip Ko (Paper Marriage), Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, Yuen Biao, George Lam, Anita Mui, Lawrence Cheng, Sandy Lam, Lo Lieh, Tien Niu (Shanghai, Shanghai)

Release Date: December 8th, 2025 (UK), December 9th, 2025 (USA)
Approximate Running Times: 86 Minutes 39 Seconds (The Manchu Boxer - Hong Kong Theatrical Cut), 92 Minutes 53 Seconds (The Manchu Boxer - Extended Cut), 92 Minutes 8 Seconds (Paper Marriage), 87 Minutes 55 Seconds (Shanghai, Shanghai - Hong Kong Theatrical Cut), 93 Minutes 24 Seconds (Shanghai, Shanghai - Extended Cut)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (The Manchu Boxer - Both Versions), 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Paper Marriage, Shanghai, Shanghai - Both Versions)
Rating: 18 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: LPCM Mono Mandarin (The Manchu Boxer - Both Versions), LPCM Mono Cantonese (Paper Marriage, Shanghai, Shanghai - Both Versions), LPCM Mono English (The Manchu Boxer - Hong Kong Theatrical Cut, Paper Marriage, Shanghai, Shanghai - Hong Kong Theatrical Cut)
Subtitles: English (All Films)
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: £34.99 (UK), $74.95 (USA)

"Just as the kung fu film seemed to be losing steam as the 1970s came to a close, a new generation of martial arts stars rose to the top of Hong Kong cinema. Amongst them were Yuen Biao, Jackie Chan and the irrepressible Sammo Hung, who found fame as the director and star of The Iron-Fisted Monk, The Magnificent Butcher and Encounter of the Spooky Kind. Presented here are three films spanning Hung’s career, from a supporting role in The Manchu Boxer to stardom in Paper Marriage and Shanghai, Shanghai.

In Wu Ma’s The Manchu Boxer, Hung (who doubles up as the film’s fight choreographer) plays the villainous foil to a roaming martial artist who enters a boxing tournament to defeat a gang of bandits. Then, in the action comedy Paper Marriage, Hung stars as a down-on-his-luck Chinese boxer living in the United States who is paid to marry an immigrant from Hong Kong (Maggie Cheung). She wants to gain American citizenship, but he just wants to keep the loan sharks off his back. Finally, in Shanghai, Shanghai, a young man (Yuen Biao) goes looking for his brother, a police officer, in the big city – and also finds himself embroiled with a ruthless gangster played by Hung." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.5/5 (The Manchu Boxer - Both Versions), 4.5/5 (Paper Marriage, Shanghai, Shanghai — Both Versions)

Here’s the information given about the transfer, "brand new 2K restorations of the original Hong Kong theatrical cuts of all three films and brand new 2K restorations of the extended international versions of The Manchu Boxer and Shanghai, Shanghai."

The Manchu Boxer - Hong Kong theatrical cut and Paper Marriage come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 44 GB

Feature: 19.6 GB (The Manchu Boxer - Hong Kong Theatrical Cut), 20.9 GB (Paper Marriage)

Shanghai, Shanghai - Hong Kong theatrical cut comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 27.4 GB

Feature: 26.5 GB

The Manchu Boxer - extended cut and Shanghai, Shanghai - extended cut come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42.7 GB

Feature: 21.2 GB (The Manchu Boxer - Extended Cut), 21.4 GB (Shanghai, Shanghai - Extended Cut)

Paper Marriage and Shanghai, Shanghai sources are notably stronger than The Manchu Boxer’s source. That said, The Manchu Boxer has moments where flesh tones and colors look slightly off, and image clarity and black levels are not as convincing as they should be. Paper Marriage and Shanghai, Shanghai are in excellent shape; flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, and image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid. None of the sources have any issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4.5/5 (Paper Marriage - Both Audio Tracks, Shanghai, Shanghai - Cantonese Language Tracks), 4.25/5 (Shanghai, Shanghai - English Language Track), 3.75/5 (The Manchu Boxer — All Audio Tracks)

Both versions of The Manchu Boxer come with a LPCM mono mix in Mandarin with removable English subtitles. The Manchu Boxer, the Hong Kong theatrical cut, also comes with a LPCM mono mix in English and removable English subtitles for Mandarin text.

Both audio tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced; that said, they are limited range-wise.

Paper Marriage comes with two audio options, a LPCM mono mix in Cantonese with removable English subtitles for the Cantonese language track and a LPCM mono mix in English with removable English subtitles for a song and text in Cantonese when watching the English language version.

Both versions of Shanghai, Shanghai come with a LPCM mono mix in Cantonese with removable English subtitles. Shanghai, Shanghai, the Hong Kong theatrical cut, also comes with a LPCM mono mix in English and removable English subtitles for a song and text in Cantonese.

All audio tracks for Paper Marriage and Shanghai, Shanghai are in excellent condition; however, the Cantonese language track of Shanghai, Shanghai sounds fuller compared to its English language counterpart. That said, dialogue always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and action sequences sound robust.

Extras:

Extras on disc one include a theatrical trailer for The Manchu Boxer (3 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Mandarin with burnt-in English subtitles), a theatrical trailer for Paper Marriage (3 minutes 25 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with Paper Marriage director Alfred Cheung titled Happily Ever After (21 minutes 32 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with East Asian cinema expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and martial artist & filmmaker Michael Worth for The Manchu Boxer, and an audio commentary with genre cinema experts Arne Venema and Dominie Ting for Paper Marriage.

Extras on disc two include a theatrical trailer for Shanghai, Shanghai (3 minutes 22 seconds, LPCM mono Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles) and an audio commentary with Frank Djeng and producer/writer F.J. DeSanto for Shanghai, Shanghai.

Extras on disc three include The Manchu Boxer: The Extended Cut and Shanghai, Shanghai: The Extended Cut. Disc three is limited to 2,000 copies.

Other extras include reversible cover art, a O-card slipcase (limited to 2,000 copies), and a 24-page booklet (limited to 2,000 copies) with cast & crew information for each film, an essay titled The Big Boss on Sammo Hung written by James Oliver, and information about the transfer titled Notes on Viewing.

Summary:

The Manchu Boxer: A skilled martial artist's father disowns him, and he abandons martial arts after taking a man's life. While traveling, he accidentally kills an old man who attacked him. Overcome with guilt, he decides to care for the man's family. This decision leads to a series of events that ultimately compel him to participate in a martial arts tournament.

Wu Ma directed The Manchu Boxer. Notable films he’s directed or co-directed include The Water Margin, All Men Are Brothers, From China with Death, Along Comes a Tiger, The Heroes, The Dead and the Deadly, Picture of a Nymph, and Just Heroes. Besides directing, he was also a prolific actor, appearing in over 300 films.

Although The Manchu Boxer has most of the core elements that one would expect from a martial arts film, the result is a film that is too formulaic and lacks inspiration. Its opening setup does a solid job laying the foundation for a tale about redemption, and yet the protagonist's journey is lacking any true obstacles and gets bogged down in its predictability. A lethargic-paced narrative that never establishes momentum, let alone builds it, further hinders things.

Star power is an integral factor in all of the martial arts films that are considered classics, and this is an area where The Manchu Boxer is sorely lacking. Tony Liu (The Lady Assassin) is in the cast in the role of the hero, a martial artist who goes on a soul-searching mission after killing two men. While he’s lacking in charisma, the narrative is so weak that even a more notable actor could not save The Manchu Boxer. The most notable cast member is Sammo Hung Kam-Bo (The Magnificent Butcher); he portrays an evil henchman.

The most disappointing aspect of The Manchu Boxer is its action sequences, which is even more surprising since Sammo Hung Kam-Bo was also this film’s action choreographer. That said, the biggest and best action set piece is a tournament sequence saved for the finale. Uncredited music cues are all too common in 1970s martial arts cinema, and The Manchu Boxer appropriates Pink Floyd’s Time and a music cue from Once Upon a Time in the West. Ultimately, The Manchu Boxer is a forgettable martial arts film that even the most dedicated fans of 1970s martial arts cinema may struggle to endure.

Paper Marriage: A man who owes a loan shark a large sum of money agrees to marry a woman so she can get a green card and become an American citizen.

Alfred Cheung directed Paper Marriage. He’s known for Let’s Make Laugh, On the Run, Her Fatal Ways, The Banquet, and Green Hat.

Paper Marriage is a different kind of film for Sammo Hung Kam-Bo (Wheels on Meals); while he had firmly established himself as a leading man in 1980s Hong Kong cinema, he was not what one would expect for a romantic lead. Maggie Cheung (In the Mood for Love) is cast opposite of Sammo Hung Kam-Bo in the role of Jade Lee, a Hong Kong immigrant trying to become an American citizen. Both actors deliver exceptional performances, and their solid onscreen chemistry reinforces them.

The premise is full of elements that lend themselves to comedy, and the two leads embrace every situation enthusiastically. The best moments come from the absurd situations that the two leads find themselves in. Some of these include taking a job where they conduct painful experiments and a mud wrestling scene with Maggie Cheung’s character. Much of the humor relies on physical comedy, arising from characters inadvertently causing harm to themselves and others.

What starts off as a story about two characters forced to take desperate measures evolves into a story about two characters who fall in love. The well-executed narrative does a superb job drawing you in and building momentum to a very satisfying finale. The stuntwork and action sequences are exemplary, and Sammo Hung Kam-Bo always surprises with his athleticism. Ultimately, Paper Marriage is a well-crafted romantic comedy that works as well as it does because of its two lead performances.

Shanghai, Shanghai: A man from a small town quickly finds himself in trouble after getting caught between two rival criminal organizations while searching for his older brother in Shanghai.

This film is a period drama set in 1930s Shanghai, and its outstanding production design immerses you in the world it portrays. Although this film is a star vehicle for Yuen Biao (Knockabout), who is cast in the role of the protagonist, he’s actually surrounded by a solid ensemble cast. That said, a cast of colorful characters, acrobats, revolutionaries, and criminals ensure there is always something that holds your attention.

All around, all the cast are outstanding, especially Yuen Biao in the role of a country rube named Little Tiger, Anita Mui (Rumble in the Bronx) in the role of a revolutionary, and Sammo Hung Kam-Bo (Heart of Dragon) in the role of a crime boss. Other performances of note are George Lam (The Owl vs Bombo) in the role of Little Tiger’s brother, a military officer named Big Tiger, and Sandy Lam in the role of Pao, an acrobat who becomes romantically involved with Little Tiger.

Although there is a lot of gunplay and explosions, that does not mean that this film veers away from traditional martial arts action. The stuntwork is impressive and the action set pieces are exemplary. Although the film gives Yuen Biao ample opportunities to show off his athleticism, Sammo Hung Kam-Bo's character delivers the most memorable action moments. The film reserves its most impressive moments for the finale, where Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung Kam-Bo engage in an epic showdown.

The narrative does a superb job drawing you in; it moves briskly and is very effective in building momentum to its excellent finale. The most surprising aspect of the narrative is just how exposition-heavy it is. Another strength of this film is its effective use of humor, which enhances the unfolding story. Ultimately, Shanghai, Shanghai is a skillfully made and highly entertaining movie that is sure to appeal to fans of 1980s Hong Kong action.

Eureka Video’s Triple Threat: Three Films With Sammo Hung is a solid release that comes with strong audio/video presentations and informative extras; highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer