Hero (1997) (88 Films)

[MifuneFan]

88 Films have officially announced, and confirmed a US release of Hero (1997) with their cover reveal. Another stunner from Kung Fu Bob! The Blu-ray will be released on July 5th.

Hero Blu-ray Pre-order

Bonus Materials
High Definition (1080p) Presentation in 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio
2.0 DTS-HD MA English Soundtrack
2.0 DTS-HD MA Mandarin Soundtrack with newly translated English Subtitles
Audio commentary with Asian cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
Hong Kong Trailer
English Trailer

From director and writer Corey Yuen (Righting Wrongs, Red Cliff, The Transporter) comes this high-octane tale of criminal gangs, betrayal and greed. When brothers Ma Wing-jing (Taksehi Kaneshiro) and Ma Tai-cheung (Yuen Wah) flee their impoverished homeland to seek their fortune in Shanghai, they at first find more grinding penury when they are forced to work as lowly coolies, however Wing-jing soon becomes embroiled in the seedy world of big city triads and his once insignificant life becomes an arrogant lust for power. This fabulous remake of Cheh Chang's classic The Boxer from Shantung (1972) from the legendary Shaw Brothers studios is given a 90s makeover chock full with stunts, fights and awe inspiring action sequences. A must for collectors of martial arts cinema.

[DukeTogo84]

Nice. One of the few Shaw films I've watched prior to the Shaw invasion during the last few months. This one is really good and the art rocks. Keep them coming Kung Fu Bob!

[dr727]

ALL PRAISE KF BOB

[MifuneFan]

Official release date for the US version is July 5th.

Here's the preliminary list of extras:

Bonus Materials
High Definition (1080p) Presentation in 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio
2.0 DTS-HD MA English Soundtrack
2.0 DTS-HD MA Mandarin Soundtrack with newly translated English Subtitles
Audio commentary with Asian cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
Hong Kong Trailer
English Trailer

[navydavey]

Hope it comes with a booklet, 88 Films booklets have been pretty good with their martial arts releases over the last couple of years.

[WaverBoy]

This is up for preorder on Amazon UK but I can’t find it on Amazon US yet.

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by WaverBoy

This is up for preorder on Amazon UK but I can’t find it on Amazon US yet.

Sometimes it’s easier to get the link from the release page here.


Amazon

[Dave_Zero1]

Also up for Preorder on Amazon.ca for those you you in the people's Glorious Republic of Canadia

[MifuneFan]

There's been some discussion of this in the UK 88 Films thread, but figured I'd mention it here too. Movie Censorship found over 5 1/2 minutes that have been cut from this release as compared to the German DVD:

https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=993084

[darkness2918]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

There's been some discussion of this in the UK 88 Films thread, but figured I'd mention it here too. Movie Censorship found over 5 1/2 minutes that have been cut from this release as compared to the German DVD:

https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=993084

I’ll still be getting this but I guess I’ll also be holding on to my Asian import DVD.

[MifuneFan]

Yeah, I'm getting it too. I've never seen it, so I guess it wouldn't impact me as much (if at all) compared to those that are familiar with the uncut version.

[DukeTogo84]

Hmm. The differences seem minimal. Apparently the biggest cut is 2 minutes of black screen during the credits which is pretty odd.

[Killer Meteor]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

There's been some discussion of this in the UK 88 Films thread, but figured I'd mention it here too. Movie Censorship found over 5 1/2 minutes that have been cut from this release as compared to the German DVD:

https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=993084

Fairly par for the course for Celestials' mid 00s remasters - they removed tons of frames from numerous films to streamline the restoration process and likely save a buck or two.

[DukeTogo84]

Just got home and decided to watch this first. Reading the booklet, the reviewer seemed to not be that big of a fan of the film. Kinda odd that they would publish this in the booklet when it mainly focuses on what they see as faults. Just seems strange.

[Volvo242Turbo!]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

Just got home and decided to watch this first. Reading the booklet, the reviewer seemed to not be that big of a fan of the film. Kinda odd that they would publish this in the booklet when it mainly focuses on what they see as faults. Just seems strange.

Ive had this impression on a few titles. Its sad, I read the booklet before watchning the movie sometimes and it takes away a lot of the excitement instead of building it up

[Mushi Minion]

Originally Posted by Volvo242Turbo!

Ive had this impression on a few titles. Its sad, I read the booklet before watchning the movie sometimes and it takes away a lot of the excitement instead of building it up

"Hey, I hope you enjoy wasting your money because you just did."

[navydavey]

I was quite surprised the booklet was a downer on the film too, a bit of a strange inclusion really as the movie is alright and definitely not without merit.

Then again maybe everyone really hates the film so this was the least objectional writing they could get

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by navydavey

I was quite surprised the booklet was a downer on the film too, a bit of a strange inclusion really as the movie is alright and definitely not without merit.

Then again maybe everyone really hates the film so this was the least objectional writing they could get

I actually really like the film and is a favorite of mine from the Shaw library. I was pretty shocked after reading the booklet.

[MifuneFan]

This dropped down to $15.81 at WM and Amazon has matched

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hero-Blu-...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VLJBYS3...hk_typ_imgToDp

[trentdiesel]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

I actually really like the film and is a favorite of mine from the Shaw library. I was pretty shocked after reading the booklet.

I enjoyed it immensely, I'm a huge Yuen Biao fan and it was nice seeing him in a good role later on in his career. This along with Righting Wrongs coming out has been great for me personally. Nothing beats his performance in Knockabout though, he does some of the craziest things in that film, unbelievable athleticism.