The Swordsman of All Swordsmen (1968) / The Mystery of Chess Boxing (1979) (Eureka)

[MifuneFan]

Eureka Entertainment will be releasing Joseph Kuo's classic wuxia film The Swordsman of All Swordsmen (Yi dai jian wang) (1968) on Bu-ray, in a special 2-disc Limited Edition on March 18th. The LE release will also include Kuo's The Mystery of Chess Boxing as a bonus, from only known surviving print.

The Swordsman Of All Swordsmen (Limited Edition Set) (Blu-ray) (includes The Mystery of Chess Boxing)

https://eurekavideo.co.uk/movie/the-...d-edition-set/

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Limited Edition Two Disc Set [2000 copies]
• Limited Edition Bonus Disc - The Mystery of Chess Boxing
• Limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Grégory Sacré (Gokaiju)
• A Limited Edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on both films by James Oliver
• Limited Edition Set of facsimile lobby cards and Double-sided poster featuring original release posters

DISC ONE - The Swordsman of All Swordsmen

• 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray from a 2K digital restoration completed by the Taiwan Film Institute
• Original Mandarin audio
• Optional English Subtitles
• Brand new feature length audio commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng and film writer John Charles (The Hong Kong Filmography, 1977–1997)
• Archival interview with director Joseph Kuo

DISC TWO- The Mystery Of Chess Boxing

• 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray, scanned from the only known surviving print of the film supplied by collector Dan Halsted (Head Programmer at the Hollywood Theatre, Oregon)
• Original Mandarin, Cantonese and "classic" English dubbed audio options
• Brand new feature length audio commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng and martial artist / filmmaker Michael Worth
• Brand new feature length audio commentary by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
• Limited edition reversible artwork by Darren Wheeling
• *All extras subject to change*

A tale of honour and revenge by a celebrated master of wuxia cinema, Joseph Kuo!

Having witnessed the brutal slaying of his entire family as a small child, Tsai Ying-jie (Tien Peng, A Touch of Zen) spends several years wandering in search of those responsible. After years in training, he intends to use his expert swordsmanship to exact violent revenge on Yun Chun-chung (Tsao Tsien, Dragon Inn) and his four accomplices, who murdered his father in order to obtain a legendary weapon known as the Spirit Chasing Sword. But after dispatching several rival swordsmen that stand in the way of his righteous vengeance, Tsai comes to contemplate the futile nature of revenge after Yun Chun-chung’s daughter, Flying Swallow (Polly Shang-Kuan Ling-Feng, Back Alley Princess), saves his life.

Followed by The Bravest Revenge and The Ghost Hill, The Swordsman of All Swordsmen is the first entry in Joseph Kuo’s Tsai Ying-jie trilogy and a landmark work in the wuxia genre. Eureka Classics is proud to present the film for the first time ever in the UK from a new 2k restoration, along with Kuo’s influential kung fu masterpiece The Mystery of Chess Boxing, available ONLY in this Limited-Edition set.

*Please note that due to the only surviving materials available being a release print, The Mystery of Chess Boxing is presented with burnt-in-subtitles. To the best of our knowledge these are the best surviving materials.*

THE SWORDSMAN OF ALL SWORDSMEN (Eureka Classics) New & Exclusive Trailer - YouTube

[Labor_Unit001]

Interesting that it's a 2 disc release. Perhaps it will come with a documentary?

[MifuneFan]

Now official! It'll include Kuo's The Mystery of Chess Boxing (1979) on disc 2 from its only known surviving print.

[MobFu72]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Now official! It'll include Kuo's The Mystery of Chess Boxing (1979) on disc 2 from its only known surviving print.

Wow..... Unreal News!! All Time Old School Classic !!
"GHOSTFACE KILLER!!!!!!!"
Hopefully we can see one day other Gems get this treatment (Born Invincible )!!

[NathanLurker]

I don't know if this ltd edition will last a while before selling out but I'm definitely not going to wait to find out. I'm not familiar with either film but liked the previous Kuo set that Eureka did, and it feels like if I want to watch/own "Chess boxing", it might be the only way to do so. Preordered.

[deatheats]

Thanks Dan Halsted! For this and everything you do to keep Cinema alive!

[Broomey]

I love the Mystery of Chess Boxing so much that it seems a crime to hide it away inside this limited edition.

I wonder if it will get a separate release later or is it like one of thoughs limited time Radiance releases. Once it's gone it's gone.

[Labor_Unit001]

The addition of Mystery of Chessboxing easily makes this an insta-buy! It's a shame that Eureka weren't able to find better elements, but it should still look fine as it's the same print that's been shown online before. Never seen The Swordsman of all Swordsmen before but it looks fantastic.

Originally Posted by Broomey

I love the Mystery of Chess Boxing so much that it seems a crime to hide it away inside this limited edition.

I wonder if it will get a separate release later or is it like one of thoughs limited time Radiance releases. Once it's gone it's gone.

Hopefully, it does get a separate release as well. They also went through the trouble of giving it 2 commentaries as if it were a standard Eureka release.

[russweiss1]

This is the only title I purchased this time around. I already own the Bodyguard Kiba films and while I enjoyed them, they aren't worth a double dip to me. Swordsman is a good release for me as I haven't seen either film.

[grim_tales]

Never seen (and not familiar with) either of these movies Might order this one.

[rapta]

I mean how can any self respecting Wu Tang fan turn this release down? I'd probably pre-order it with just the first film but the bonus disc secures it for me.

PS: Kinda regret skipping the Joseph Kuo box set, but I wasn't really sold on the art. Will get the standard editions at some point.

[grim_tales]

I didn't realise they're releasing standard editions of those films

[rapta]

Originally Posted by grim_tales

I didn't realise they're releasing standard editions of those films

They're already out:

[filmlover22]

reading the reviews of Chess Boxing on the web, that seems the most interesting film to me!

[WaverBoy]

Excellent! I hope they can dig up the original trailers for inclusion as well.

[KIDplus]

Preordered! I’m unfamiliar with the other film but Mystery of Chess Boxing is a stone cold classic. I still have an old bootleg copy my cousin dubbed for me back when I was in college.

[WaverBoy]

So great that we’re getting two more Joseph Kuo classics in HD! Keep ‘em coming, Eureka! Howzabout Born Invincible, eh?

[russweiss1]

Originally Posted by KIDplus

Preordered! I’m unfamiliar with the other film but Mystery of Chess Boxing is a stone cold classic. I still have an old bootleg copy my cousin dubbed for me back when I was in college.

I'm interested to know if "my cousin dubbed for me" was literal or a typo.

[KIDplus]

Originally Posted by russweiss1

I'm interested to know if "my cousin dubbed for me" was literal or a typo.

By dubbed I mean “made a copy.”

[MifuneFan]

Eureka corrected the language options for Mystery of Chess Boxing, showing it will have the original Mandarin, in addition to Cantonese and English:

Original Mandarin, Cantonese and "classic" English dubbed audio options