Shaw Brothers: Lau Kar-Leung (BLU-RAY)

After masterminding the spellbinding martial arts choreography on dozens of Shaw Brothers' biggest hits, Lau Kar-Leung became an extraordinary director in his own right, using his inimitable talents and deeply-felt understanding of kung fu history to create his own idiosyncratic and often humorous take on the genre. Lau's second film, the thrilling and deeply personal Challenge of the Masters, draws upon the legend of the real-life Cantonese folk hero Wong Fei-hung, played here by Lau's soon-to-be-legendary adoptive brother Gordon Liu in his first starring role. Having choreographed the action for many of Chang Cheh's 'Shaolin Temple' films, Lau took on the same historical legends in Executioners from Shaolin, jam-packed with extraordinary fight scenes and unforgettable characters, not least the evil Bai Mei, the White-Browed Hermit! Lau's trademark mix of high-kicking kung fu choreography and knee-slapping physical comedy is on full display in one of the director's most acclaimed films, Heroes of the East, which pits Japanese and Chinese martial arts against one another and ultimately celebrates both. Last but not least is Dirty Ho, Lau's take on the odd couple buddy comedy, which shows off some of the most inventive action set-pieces in the Shaw Brothers canon and is not to be missed!