The Heroic Trio & Executioners | 4K UHD & Blu-ray (Criterion)
Today’s Deal on Fire is for Criterion Collection’s 4K UHD + Blu-ray for both Johnnie To’s 1993 female-centric Hong Kong actioner, The Heroic Trio, as well as its sequel, Heroic Trio 2: Executioners.
Collectively, the films star Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy), Anita Mui (My Father is a Hero, Miracles) and Maggie Cheung (Hero, In the Mood for Love).
Co-stars include Yen Shi Kwan (Fearless Hyena), Paul Chun Pui (The Trough), Damian Lau (Last Hurrah for Chivalry), Eddie Ko Hung (Burning Ambition), Anthony Wong (Ebola Syndrome), Kaneshiro Takeshi (House of Flying Daggers) and Lau Ching Wan (Call of Heroes).
Read the official details:
The star power of cinema icons Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui, and Michelle Yeoh fuels these gloriously unrestrained action joyrides from auteur Johnnie To and action choreographer Ching Siu-tung. The Heroic Trio and its sequel, Executioners, follow a new kind of justice league: a team of blade-throwing, shotgun-toting, kung fu–fighting heroines who join forces to battle evildoers in a dystopian, noirish city. Blending dazzling martial-arts mayhem with exhilarating blasts of comic-book lunacy, these beloved superhero movies reimagine the genre through the giddy genius of the Hong Kong film industry at its height.
The Heroic Trio:
With this outrageously entertaining cult favorite, director Johnnie To and his lineup of legendary stars gave Hong Kong cinema something new: its own homegrown superhero cinematic universe. Thief Catcher (Maggie Cheung), Wonder Woman (Anita Mui), and Invisible Girl (Michelle Yeoh) are kick-ass crusaders who must overcome their dark pasts in order to defeat an evil, baby-snatching eunuch terrorizing the city. Eye-popping motorcycle stunts, bloodthirsty undead, cannibal infants, and kinetically choreographed wirework are all part of the wall-to-wall delirium in this irresistible showcase for three of the coolest women warriors ever to hit the screen.
Heroic Trio 2: Executioners:
Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui, and Michelle Yeoh return in this gritty, postapocalyptic sequel to The Heroic Trio. Following a devastating nuclear attack, Hong Kong’s supply of clean water has fallen into the hands of a masked maniac (Anthony Wong) intent on seizing political power—forcing the three fearless fighters to settle their differences and unite to stop him. Darker in tone than the original, Executioners finds Johnnie To and codirector/martial-arts choreographer Ching Siu-tung continuing to push their whirlwind action set pieces to new levels of cartoon craziness, while adding an abundance of grungy, dystopian atmosphere and a fresh dose of antiauthoritarian attitude.
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I wish they’d included Executioners as well. Seems wrong to have one but not the other
I agree. I remember suggesting to Criterion that they should do a Johnnie To double feature with Trio & Executioners, since they did released To’s other film Throw Down…
You might have the magic touch. Can you tell them to release A Hero Never Dies, Too Many Ways to Be Number One, etc?
I can only see The Executioners as an extra feature. I felt like it was the antithesis of Heroic Trio which was fun while the sequel was gloomy, rushed, and had no light at the end of the tunnel.
That bad?? Wow. Wonder what the story was. Most likely rushed it out due to the success of the first.
From what I’ve read, Executioners was filmed immediately after Heroic Trio and the cast was given no time to rest.
I was completely shocked to the core, yeah a true life-changing movie experience, by watching the awesome action in Hard Boiled featured at a film society or filmclub in Norway, back in 1992. I still rember the utter joy of happiness after finding a used retail vhs-tape of The Heroic Trio about two years later. I was again shocked by all the new crazy action and gravity-defying stunts. From that day on I knew that I needed Hong Kong movies in my life.
I spent so much money during 1994-1998 buying imported Australian vhs tapes in Norway. The introduction of the DVD format in 1998 got me to start importing myself. Great to see ads for DDDHOUSE on this site. It was my favorite site to use in my old DVD years.
Good stuff. I felt the same way when I discovered New York’s DRAGON VIDEO in the late 80s/early 90s. Buying a bootleg VHS tape of all these Jackie Chan films (they were about $50.00 a piece with UPS 2nd Day Air C.O.D.). Even then, they were worth every penny because there was no other way! =)
When I was around 6-7 years old my farther was the victim of my relentless nagging trying to get him to rent “real” movies with live action stars. I got to watch The Cannonball Run on its vhs rental release day. It was my first time seeing Jackie Chan in a movie. I just HAD to find more of his movies, but I remember only being allowed to see a few of the most kid-friendly Jacky Chan movies. Like Project A and similar movies like the Lucky Stars trilogy. But I remember actually renting the more crazy Mad Mission (Aces Go places) movies more than any Jackie Chan movies, more fun for kids and the awesome looking Norwegian vhs covers for the Mad Mission series drew me in. Since every Hong Kong movie had english dubbing I always regarded Jackie Chan and his Hong Kong friends to be Americans. The Norwegian vhs rental versions were always a very streamlined, every non-Chinese as any “weird” humor or Chinese songs were cut out. I didn’t even know about the original versions until the Internet became a thing.
They should release both movies.
Or simply much better To movies: The mission, Election 1 and 2, Exiled, Breaking news, Fulltime killer, A life without principle,…
Clearly a step in the direction of 88 Films, Eureka, Spectrum Films,…
Will there be a Region B release
Any news on when it’s showing up?
Great movies and the kind of megastar casting that you just don’t get anymore from HK. If it was released today it would definitely be called woke by the alpha male incels and then they’d make 200 youtube vids on how they are marginalised people now!
Can’t wait to upgrade from my DVD’s with this release!