Arrow Films acquires Hong Kong classics from Shout Factory for the UK market

[filmlover22]

Originally Posted by dykesy

Just go on holiday to the UK and buy all the titles you want whilst here.

Unfortunately, if I did that, I may not be able to come back to the US as a citizen!

[cooey]

Originally Posted by oneway23

Frank Djeng discussing the Shout deal.

As for Shout/Arrow...Restorations will be exactly the same for the main feature.
Not yet confirmed whether extras will be consistent across releases. Artwork/booklets up to each label.

The Mighty Frank Djeng returns to tease out Shout's upcoming Hong Kong Cinema Classics Releases! - YouTube

[filmlover22]

aha! so now it is clear that Shout bought WW rights to these films and are licensing them out to various geographically based boutique labels. All part of the deal and planned.

[Jackie Scanlon]

Originally Posted by cooey

The Mighty Frank Djeng returns to tease out Shout's upcoming Hong Kong Cinema Classics Releases! - YouTube

Wonderful to hear some love for Tiger On The Beat.


Upcoming major mystery title - a proper release/4K of Drunken Master II?

[side__on]

I hope they do a proper release for Full Contact.

[Jackie Scanlon]

Originally Posted by side__on

I hope they do a proper release for Full Contact.

I think it basically has been confirmed that every single Lam, Woo and Hark film in the catalogue will be getting proper full releases. Which makes things interesting when it comes to School On Fire and Dangerous Encounters.

I think the only films that might be packaged together (other than the obvious trilogies/franchises that Frank mentions in the video) and/or go to streaming only will be the films that will appeal to relatively few people outside of HK and China, purely because they don't really travel well - I'm thinking the also-ran comedies, dramas and super schmaltzy romances with stars and crew not very familiar to people in the west and that have lots of Cantonese/Mandarin wordplay that doesn't really translate at all into English without taking a lot of wild leaps in interpretation (I think it was Bey Logan who said that it would be like trying to translate Stanley Unwin into Cantonese or Mandarin), that have never been officially released at all in the US or UK. The sort of stuff that would have taken up 75% of the shelf space in shops in London that sold east Asian laserdics and VCDs in the 90s and 00s.

[apollo828]

Originally Posted by Jackie Scanlon

I think it basically has been confirmed that every single Lam, Woo and Hark film in the catalogue will be getting proper full releases. Which makes things interesting when it comes to School On Fire and Dangerous Encounters.

- Not everything is confirmed. Just Heroes is still technically not confirmed to be part of the deal. It probably is, IMO, but I haven't seen any paperwork confirming it.
- School on Fire will be tricky. I seriously doubt a fully uncut version still exists outside of that Rainbow Video tape. Fingers crossed that I'm wrong!
- Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind was never part of the CC/GP catalogue.

[Mr. Chaverria]

Originally Posted by Jackie Scanlon

Wonderful to hear some love for Tiger On The Beat.


Upcoming major mystery title - a proper release/4K of Drunken Master II?

Would WB even let it go?

[cooey]

If Frank is saying the news for 2026 is going top this year then the only thing I can think of that would top the GP catalogue is the likes of WB giving up the movies they have to the likes of Arrow/88/Eureka/Shout to release.

Pedicab Driver, Encounters of the Spooky Kind 2, Thunderbolt, Who Am I, Rumble in the Bronx, DM2, etc... now that would be glorious.

[Jackie Scanlon]

Originally Posted by apollo828

- Not everything is confirmed. Just Heroes is still technically not confirmed to be part of the deal. It probably is, IMO, but I haven't seen any paperwork confirming it.
- School on Fire will be tricky. I seriously doubt a fully uncut version still exists outside of that Rainbow Video tape. Fingers crossed that I'm wrong!
- Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind was never part of the CC/GP catalogue.

Just Heroes definitely will be as it has been confirmed all 156 titles are part of the deal. What Shout, Arrow and the other labels internationally do with it is another question, but if Once A Thief will be getting a proper release (which I think has been specifically namechecked somewhere) I don't see why Just Heroes won't.

School On Fire - that's why I said it would be interesting. I don't even think that Rainbow vid is 100% complete is it?

And I just assumed Dangerous Encounters was a GP/CC title. I didn't realise it wasn't, so my bad.

Originally Posted by Mr. Chaverria

Would WB even let it go?

Originally Posted by cooey

If Frank is saying the news for 2026 is going top this year then the only thing I can think of that would top the GP catalogue is the likes of WB giving up the movies they have to the likes of Arrow/88/Eureka/Shout to release.

Pedicab Driver, Encounters of the Spooky Kind 2, Thunderbolt, Who Am I, Rumble in the Bronx, DM2, etc... now that would be glorious.

The WB films is what my mind immediately went to, and Drunken Master II being the most obvious in that lot for a film that warrants a specific announcement. The mystery film announcement and big news in 2026 could be two entirely separate and unrelated things, of course.

On the other hand, how many times have we heard "major all-time banger that we know you're all going to love!!!!" liberally used and then it ends up being Baby Geniuses 2 (I am, obviously, exaggerating for effect)

[side__on]

What about Saviour of the Soul, Angel Terminators, Naked Killer? are they part of the GP/Shout deal?

[Jackie Scanlon]

Originally Posted by side__on

What about Saviour of the Soul, Angel Terminators, Naked Killer? are they part of the GP/Shout deal?

From the US thread:

Originally Posted by apollo828

I assume the Cinema City catalog is also included. I can't swear to it but it'd make sense. That should bring the total right up around 156. It'd be these films and these films.

EDIT: D'oh! I missed a couple of titles in the announcement that were Cinema City titles. Those films are definitely included.

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

Yeah, I was actually using this one as this is the most comprehensive one I've found so far, but it misses most of the Golden Princess ones.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_City_Enterprises

I think between them that covers everything, so Angel Terminators definitely yes (and I would be surprised if it didn't get a proper blu or 4K, as it was a popular title in the VHS days). Angel Terminators 2 - which most people think is better than the first one (although they're only related in name and themes), Saviour Of The Soul and Naked Killer weren't GP or CC productions.

[side__on]

I hope one of the UK boutiques can release Saviour & NK, I love those 2 films.

[Jackie Scanlon]

I am surprised Naked Killer hasn't appeared anywhere yet as it was always one of the biggest sellers on both VHS and DVD and a firm fan favourite. Presumably there are reasons for its absence.

[side__on]

I just got She Shoots Straight and Long Arm of the Law 1&2, I've seen SSS but not Long Arm 1&2.

[Jackie Scanlon]

Originally Posted by side__on

I just got She Shoots Straight and Long Arm of the Law 1&2, I've seen SSS but not Long Arm 1&2.

Both Long Arms are great, if you can get past the couple of short moments where they bizarrely slip into slapstick comedy. 88 said that 3 and 4 were also coming, but no update for a long while now.

[apollo828]

Originally Posted by Jackie Scanlon

Just Heroes definitely will be as it has been confirmed all 156 titles are part of the deal.

Yes, but there are more than 156 titles associated with Golden Princess and Cinema City. That's why titles like Wild Search and God of Gamblers have been released by other labels.

Anyway, I explained all this here. AFAIK, three of the 156 titles are unknown. I'd say there's a good chance Just Heroes is one of the three but, short of an announcement, somebody somewhere filing public legal paperwork, or possibly somebody having a chat with Frank or some other insider, we just don't know.

School On Fire - that's why I said it would be interesting. I don't even think that Rainbow vid is 100% complete is it?

AFAIK, it's complete. You can find comparisons here and here that explain the differences. The links reference Tai Seng but, AFAIK, they just distributed Rainbow's tapes, and didn't make their own version. My copy of the Rainbow tape is definitely uncut based on the comparisons. (It's also kinda crappy quality, despite being a factory original. I'd definitely fall to my knees and weep tears of joy if Shout could somehow create a fully uncut version of the film from film materials.)

The WB films is what my mind immediately went to, and Drunken Master II being the most obvious in that lot for a film that warrants a specific announcement. The mystery film announcement and big news in 2026 could be two entirely separate and unrelated things, of course.

We'll see, now won't we! I always assumed that, in his quest to maximize profits, Zaslav would order Warner to license anything they could. These deals take time, so maybe 2026 will be the year that bears some fruit? It would be the final major piece of the puzzle, IMO.

[side__on]

Did John Woo make Just Heroes before or after ABT 1?

[Mr. Chaverria]

I believe the best version of Drunken Master 2 is still a bootleg, no?

[Mr. Thomsen]

Originally Posted by Anthony Thorne

With the investment wanting to be recouped and Arrow having a lock on the UK market, and a likely total lock on 'which edition globally has the best extras and is the best overall package', Arrow will be releasing these films on 4K, Blu-Ray, eventually digital, and any other method of getting them out there they can think of.

Hopefully.

But there is a chance that Arrow will just release the very same disc as released by Shout! in the US, similar to their deal between Arrow and Synapse for some of the Argento titles.