Angela Mao: Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind (Blu-ray) standard edition

Eureka blu ray release of Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind

Angela Mao and director Wong Fung (The Shaolin Plot) were a superstar pairing that produced an incredible series of top tier kung-fu classics including Deadly China Doll, When Taekwondo Strikes and the two films presented here/

Hapkido (aka. Lady Kung Fu) was a huge hit in the West, even briefly beating Lee’s Enter the Dragon at the North American box office. Starring Angela Mao, Sammo Hung, and Carter Wong who open their own Hapkido school, only to have a rival Japanese academy challenge them – deeming Hapkido inferior to their Japanese fighting style.

Similar to the plot of Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury (a canny decision by the filmmakers, capitalising on Mao often being referred to as a “female Bruce Lee” ).

Perhaps her most iconic film, Lady Whirlwind (bizarrely re-titled as Deep Thrust in the US, to capitalise on the success of Deep Throat, which probably made its tag lines—“The Deadly Stroke of Bare Hand Combat” and “Mistress of the Death Blow”—a tad misleading) stars Mao as a deadly fighter out for revenge on the man who wronged her sister (played by Shaw Brothers veteran Chang Yi).

After tracking the man down, she finds he is on his own vengeful path against a gang of Japanese thugs and agrees to help keep him alive – as long as she gets to take her revenge when it’s all over!

Two excellent martial arts films make their debuts on Blu-ray—and the first time Lady Whirlwind has ever been available in the UK—from brand new 2K restorations!

Standard blu ray edition (slipcase version sold out)

Language: Cantonese (with English subtitles)

Country: Hong Kong

Year: 1972
Runtime: 186
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• 1080p presentations of both films across two Blu-ray discs, from new 2K restorations
• Hapkido – Original mono Mandarin and English audio options, including two variations of the classic English dub
• Hapkido – DTS-HD MA 5.1 English dub (newer dub originally created for the film’s original DVD release)
• Lady Whirlwind – Original mono Mandarin and English audio options
• Optional English Subtitles, newly translated for this release
• Hapkido – New feature length audio commentary with Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) & Michael Worth
• Hapkido – New feature length audio commentary with Frank Djeng & martial artist / actor Robert “Bobby” Samuels
• Lady Whirlwind – New feature length audio commentary with Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) & Michael Worth
• Lady Whirlwind – New feature length audio commentary with Frank Djeng & martial artist / actor Robert “Bobby” Samuels
• Lady Whirlwind – New feature length audio commentary by film journalist and author Samm Deighan
• Brand new interview with Angela Mao, filmed in 2022
• Archival interview with Angela Mao
• Archival interview with Carter Wong
• Archival interview with Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao
• Hapkido – Alternate opening credits
• Selection of trailers and TV spots
• Stills Galleries
• Reversible sleeve featuring original Hong Kong poster artwork