On November 28, 2025, Severin will be taking orders for the Limited Edition Blu-ray (Region A) for The Bronson Lee: Za Karate Collection, which will include 1974’s Za Karate, Za Karate 2, 1975’s Za Karate 4, as well as Bronson Lee, Champion (the U.S. dubbed version of Za Karate).
Following their international success with Sonny Chiba’s The Street Fighter series, Toei Company signed Japanese American 8th-degree black belt karate and kobudo (weapons) champion Tadashi Yamashita for a new action trilogy in which Yamashita’s rugged looks and ferocious skills are pitted against a murderer’s row of actual competition fighters.
In Za Karate – also included here in the recut/dubbed U.S. Version released as Bronson Lee, Champion – Ohio farm boy Yamashita is targeted by mobsters when he dares to compete in Kyoto’s World Championship. In Za Karate 2, the world’s deadliest martial artists are sent to kill Tadashi before he can avenge the theft of a priceless sword. In Za Karate 3, Yamashita must learn new fighting styles to defeat a global squad of kung fu assassins.
Asian cinema icons including Bolo Yeung (Enter the Dragon), Shingo Yamashiro (Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 2: Hiroshima Death Match) and Shunji Sasaki (Samurai Wolf) co-star in these “batsh*t fun” (Trashmen Media) films directed by Yukio Nodo (Toei’s Delinquent Boss series), now scanned in 4K from their original camera negatives for the first time ever, with nearly 3 hours of all-new Special Features starring Grandmaster Yamashita himself.
Check out the details below:
Disc 1: Za Karate/Bronson Lee, Champion Blu-ray
- Audio Commentary With Star Tadashi Yamashita, Actor/Director/Bruceploitation Expert Michael Worth And August Ragone, Author Of Eiji Tsuburaya: Master Of Monsters (ZA KARATE Version Only)
- Partial Audio Commentary With Cult Cinema Critic Lovely Jon (Bronson Lee, Champion Version Only)
- Bronson Lee, Thespian – Interview With Tadashi Yamashita
- Japanese Teasera
- Japanese Trailer
- U.S. Trailer
Disc 2: Za Karate 2 Blu-ray
- Audio Commentary With Star Tadashi Yamashita, Actor/Director/Bruceploitation Expert Michael Worth And Boxer/Fighter A.J. ‘The Rabbit’ Richardi
- Teaser
- Trailer
Disc 3: Za Karate 3:
- Audio Commentary With Star Tadashi Yamashita, Actor/Director/Bruceploitation Expert Michael Worth And Fight Choreographer John Gray
- The Donnie Williams Show – Interview With Co-Star Donnie Williams
- Scene Specific Commentary With Donnie Williams
- Trailer
Technical Specs:
- Region: A
- Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
- Runtime: Za Karate (Uncut Japanese Version): 86 mins
- Runtime: Bronson Lee, Champion (PG U.S. Version): 79 mins
- Runtime: Za Karate 2: 86 mins
- Runtime: Za Karate 3: 86 mins
- Audio: Za Karate: Japanese Mono
- Audio: Bronson Lee, Champion: English Mono
- Audio: Za Karate 2: Japanese Mono
- Audio: Za Karate 3: Japanese Mono
- Subtitles: Za Karate: English
- Subtitles: Bronson Lee, Champion: English SDH
- Subtitles: Za Karate 2: English
- Subtitles: Za Karate 3: English
Watch the Severin’s Trailer, followed by the Trailer for Bronson Lee, Champion below:
This actually looks like a cool and fun series to get into. I think I may want this
I’ve never seen any of these movies, I’d guess they will be, at best, “so bad they’re good”, but … commentaries featuring Michael Worth and Tadashi Yamashita himself?! That alone makes this a tempting blu-ray set!
True Karate film fans know about these just didn’t think they would ever do a full on boxset of all three just ordered these at midnight black friday sale can’t wait to get this.
Where can l order the Bronson Lee 3 movie blue ray set