Daredevils / Ode To Gallantry (BLU-RAY)

During his long and industrious career, the “Godfather of Hong Kong Cinema” Chang Cheh made several films with the celebrated “Venom Mob,” a group of skilled martial arts performers – including Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng, Philip Kwok, Sun Chien, Lo Mang, and Wai Pak – who rose to fame as the stars of his own Five Deadly Venoms. Here, Eureka Classics presents two of the Venom Mob’s best: The Daredevils and Ode to Gallantry. Set in Republic era China, The Daredevils follows Yang Ta-ying (Lo Mang) as he sets out to avenge his father, a military commander who was murdered in cold blood by Han Pei-tsang (Wong Lik), a thief-turned-soldier who killed Yang’s father – along with the rest of his family – to take control of his estate and his army. With the help of his friends Chen Feng (Chiang Sheng), Fu Quanyi (Lu Feng), and Xin Zheng (Sun Chien), he sets out for justice. Then, in Ode to Gallantry, a lone martial artist nicknamed “Mongrel” is continually drawn into an intense struggle between several warring martial arts clans after he stumbles across the Black Iron Token, which entitles the owner to have any wish granted by Xie Yanke (Wong Lik), a brutal kung fu master. After forming in 1978 for Five Deadly Venoms, the Venom Mob made over a dozen films with Chang Cheh that featured at least three of their number in starring roles. Filled with thrilling action set-pieces courtesy of some of the most talented martial artists to emerge in the 1970s, The Daredevils and Ode to Gallantry are two of the finest among them.