Last Hurrah for Chivalry by John Woo

Last Hurrah for Chivalry

This is an equally classic John Woo’s Kung Fu movie and is a costume swordplay film from Golden Harvest. It looks very different from similar films then being done at the rival Shaw Bros. studio. Even then, back in the day, Woo was displaying a directorial talent that set him apart from the Shaw Bros. directors; the photography and editing here display a cinematic gloss comparable to the Japanese samurai films of the time.

Now is your chance to get this in a glorious 2k restoration on Blu-Ray from Eureka Video.

Buy it here; Hand of Death & Last Hurrah for Chivalry

The movie scene is set when Pai Kang (Lee Hoi San) interrupts Kong’s Lau’s marriage, for revenge because Kong’s father had stolen the villa from him. Kong employs Cheng San (Wei Pai, a sometime Shaw Bros. star), a notable fighter and Green Suit (Damian Lau) D, a hard-drinking wanderer who joins him on a quest to kill Pai Kang and avenge Kong’s father’s death, and leads to an their ultimate betrayal by the mutual friend who has manipulated them into battle.

The fight scenes are consistently exciting and are sprinkled throughout a well-developed storyline with a set of intriguing characters. The fight choreography is impressive, but the great Kung Fu villains in this piece, particularly those played by Fung Hak On and Lee Hoi San, steal the film. Their work is breath-taking.

Also a highlight of the film is the original music score, distinguished by a theme melody taken from its title song and deployed effectively in different variations throughout the film. This is in contrast to the standard practice of so many kung Fu films from that era in using library cues and bits taken from other soundtracks. Woo’s confidence as a filmmaker is quite noticeable here and brings an aesthetic element to the material that was not common in the genre at the time.

Last Hurrah for Chivalry is a dark and violent revenge film, featuring lightning fast swordplay and stylish cinematography from one of action cinemas all-time greats John Woo.

If you’re a serious martial arts movie buff, and aren’t we all, then this is a must for you.

The extra features includes;
Cantonese, Mandarin and English audio options,
Optional English subtitles,
A brand new audio commentaries by martial-arts cinema authority Mike Leeder,
Archival interview with director John Woo,
Trailers for both films,
Reversible inlay featuring original poster artwork
Limited Edition Collectors booklet featuring new writing by film writer Matthew Thrift [First 2000 copies only]

Buy it here; Hand of Death & Last Hurrah for Chivalry

Last Hurrah for Chivalry / Hand of Death: Two Films by John Woo (Blu-ray)

1976 Hong Kong S.A.R., China

£23.99

Eureka Video Release Date: 24th June 2019