Overview: A prolific writer and director, Lo Wei found fame in the 1970s following the enormous international success of The Big Boss and Fist of Fury, his collaborations with the inimitable Bruce Lee.

In the years before he kickstarted a kung fu revolution, though, he had been working on an accomplished series of wuxia pian for Shaw Brothers. Presented here are three standout films drawn from Lo Wei’s wuxia world: The Black Butterfly, Death Valley and Vengeance of a Snow Girl.

In The Black Butterfly, a good-hearted thief acts as the Robin Hood of the martial world, robbing from the rich to give to the poor - and they begin by stealing a fortune in gold from a group of five ruthless bandits holed up at Five Devils Rock.

Then, in Death Valley, the Lord of Chao Manor (Lo Wei) is murdered by his niece (Angela Yu Chien), leading to a bitter fight to claim his land and a clash between a hired swordsman (Chen Hung-lieh) and the Lord’s heir apparent (Yueh Hua).

Finally, in Vengeance of a Snow Girl, a young woman (Li Ching) takes revenge for her murdered parents, who were killed in a dispute over the legendary Tsui Feng sword - leading to a final showdown on frozen ground.

Lo Wei’s The Black Butterfly, Death Valley and Vengeance of a Snow Girl are three of the finest wuxia films produced in the years before Bruce Lee’s meteoric rise to fame would cause a tectonic shift in the Hong Kong film industry, as the era of kung fu loomed on the horizon.

Blu-ray Verdict: Up first is The Black Butterfly (1968), which in my humble opinion, is a nice looking example of late 1960’s wuxia - the restaurant on a lake where much of the film is set is a visually striking location, and the sets and costumes are of the usual Shaw Brothers standard.

The story is rather mediocre though; the plot unrolls with little real drama or tension. Even when Black Butterfly’s secret identity is revealed everybody basically goes Oh, it’s you. LOL. and moves on.

Lo Wei’s direction is typically pedestrian, taking elements from King Hu, Chang Cheh and TEMPLE OF THE RED LOTUS without adding much of his own style or vision. It’s functional, even competent direction but nothing more.

Despite being quite action packed the film doesn’t seem to have a credit for action director, but we can probably assume it was Han Ying-Chieh since he was on set. Maybe Lo Wei would have us believe it was him though, and there might even be some truth in it - he is actually pretty good with a sword, as we see in the final act - perhaps he missed his true calling.

The action is a bit slow and stagey but does feature some imaginative moments and quite intricate choreography. It’s not the best of its era, but it does show how Hong Kong filmmakers were starting to explore the possibilities of the form. Definitely watchable, but not essential viewing.

Then we get Death Valley (1968) and is a stunning, rip roaring wuxia that is a cut above the usual Shaw Brothers stuff by having a great bunch of characters that are fun to spend time with! Most impressive are Angela Yu Chien’s sexy femme fatale and Yueh Hua’s uber skillful hero.

Also, the action is of the fun, furniture smashing, swashbuckling variety rather than the intricately choreographed stuff that was more in vogue from the 70’s onwards.

Lastly we are brought forth Vengeance of a Snow Girl (1971) where Li Ching stars as martial arts expert Shen Ping Hong, who is out for revenge against the four brothers who killed her parents and left her crippled for life.

The story is great fun and the sets are wonderful. There were a few brief moments where I longed for more clarity, such as Yueh Hua grabbing the pearl in the volcano, or surviving his wound outside the cave, but these were small complaints in what ended up being a surprisingly touching adventure.

Others I have discussed this film with seem to be bothered by the decision to show Shen Ping Hong gliding as she uses her crutches. I thought it was a great choice. It shows her grace as an accomplished martial artist but it also shows her in a slightly menacing light; she moves like a spider!

Indeed, I have a major soft spot for any of the SB films with disabled heroes (Crippled Avengers, One Armed Swordsman etc.) because we so rarely get anything like that in the West. I mean sure, I want to also see all the dramas, comedies and musicals too, for there are many more reasons to love these films besides martial arts prowess, but films like these in this trilogy of action are always going to be my person go-to’s.p> Bonus Features:
Limited Edition of 2,000 copies
Limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Grégory Sacré (Gokaiju)
Limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on all three films in this set by Hong Kong cinema expert Camille Zaurin
1080p HD presentations of all three films on Blu-ray
Optional English subtitles, newly revised for this release
New audio commentaries on all three features by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
Hong Kong Hustle – new interview with Hong Kong cinema scholar Wayne Wong on the life and work of Lo Wei

Official Purchase Link

www.eurekavideo.co.uk