The Basher Box | Blu-ray (Pearl River)
Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for The Basher Box, a double feature set that will include Ulysess Au-Yeung Jun’s The Prodigal Boxer (1972) and Fong Long-Seung’s The Awaken Punch (1973) – both of which will be presented for the first time with a New 4K Transfer.
Read the official details below:
In a 1973 film that bares many similarities to Bruce Lee’s debut film The Big Boss, The Awaken Punch’s Henry Yu Yang plays an altruistic fighter who begins to build a name for himself as he violently cleans up a town from within its more seedier elements. But when he must abide by a promise to his dying father to give up his fighting ways, he will be faced with a new challenge in the arrival of the knife-throwing master Tien Feng (Fist of Fury) and his gang. With action from the legendary Yuen Woo-Ping (Matrix, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and a cameo from a young Jackie Chan and others, this basher is the epitome of the Punch and Block violence that began a long trend within Martial Arts cinema.
The Prodigal Boxer (1972) is an early take on the legend of martial artist Fong Sai-Yuk (later to be portrayed by the likes of Jet Li and Alexander Fu-Sheng), here played by Mang Fei. Once Fong Inadvertently kills a student of the rival school run by Iron Hand Tan (Kurata Yasuaki), this action leads to a series of near death confrontations between the men concluding in a tournament battle of the ages. Choreographed by Shaw Brothers’ Lau Kar-Wing (the brother of the great Gordon Liu and Lau Kar-Leung) this film represents the brawling style of the time as well as the genesis of the more stylistic Shapes trend of martial arts action that would soon follow.
Features:
- NEW 4K Transfer of The Prodigal Boxer from a 35mm inter-positive
- NEW 4k Transfer of The Awaken Punch from a 35mm negative
- Audio Commentary on The Prodigal Boxer with actor/director Michael Worth and Clones Cast/Cinema Bushido host Matthew Whittaker
- Creative Chaos: The Basher Genre: an interview with Michael Worth and Action Choreographer John Kreng
- Original Theatrical Trailers to both films
- Newly commissioned artwork from artist Bryan Meredith
- Essay booklet on the Basher genre within Kung Fu Cinema History
Order The Basher Box from Amazon.com today!
The trailer for the upcoming Basher Box Blu-Ray set from The Pearl River Collection featuring The Awaken Punch (Fury of the Black Belt) and The Prodigal Boxer (Kung Fu Punch of Death). Out April 13. (Edited by @KlashKyodai ) #kungfumovies @MichaelWorth @jkreng pic.twitter.com/n2lBLTbHtV
— The Bruceploitation Bible (@BruceLeeClones) March 24, 2021
Criterion’s Wong Kar Wai boxset just got some serious competition.
Prodigal Boxer is a decent pre-shapes basher. One of the few times Yasuaki Kurata plays a Chinese character.