December is now Shaw Brothers kung fu movie season
Hurry up and get your holiday viewing out of the way this year because the presents are arriving early. On Dec. 22, Mubi, the highly curated, cinema-forward streaming service, is unleashing a collection of films celebrating the high-impact fight films of Shaw Brothers Studio. Founded in 1958, the Chinese studio became synonymous with martial arts movies, with classics ranging from straight wushu fight dramas to more fantastical wuxia odysseys.
The program, dubbed Shaw Brothers: Wuxia Warriors and Kung Fu Masters, will include 14 fight films all in one place. Here’s the full rundown:
The One-Armed Swordsman, directed by Cheh Chang
The Five Deadly Venoms, directed by Cheh Chang
Five Elements Ninjas, directed by Cheh Chang
Crippled Avengers, directed by Cheh Chang
The Boxer from Shantung, directed by Cheh Chang
Hsueh Li Pao Five Fingers of Death, directed by Jeong Chang-hwa
Come Drink with Me, directed by King Hu
Clan of the White Lotus, directed by Lieh Lo
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, directed by Liu Chia-Liang
Dirty Ho, directed by Liu Chia-Liang
Legendary Weapons of China, directed by Liu Chia-Liang
The Eight-Diagram Pole Fighter, directed by Liu Chia-Liang
Heroes of the East, directed by Liu Chia-Liang
Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan, directed by Yuen Chor
While Quentin Tarantino and the Wu-Tang Clan get a lot of credit for converting everyday American pop culture devourers into martial arts fans, the major crossover moment for the Shaw Brothers happened much closer to the studio’s actual heyday. To hear more about the exact moment kung fu blew up in the United States, read this excerpt from the fabulous book, These Fists Break Bricks: How Kung Fu Movies Swept America and Changed the World.
Shaw Brothers:
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