The 14 Amazons Blu Ray Review (Imprint Asia)

The 14 Amazons (aKa Shi Si Nu Ying Hao) is a 1972 action film written/directed by Kang Cheng (The Sword of Swords, Pursuit!, Trilogy of Swordsmanship, Immortal Warriors, The Criminals, Palace Carnage, Invincible Enforcer, and The Twelve Gold Medallions) with veteran cinematographer Shao-Yung Tung (The Eunuch, The Twelve Gold Medallions, The Goddess of Mercy, The Enchanted Chamber, and Love Without End). It was produced by Run Run Shaw (Disciples of the 36th Chamber, Blade Runner, Bloody Parrot, Revenge of the Corpse, Hex vs. Witchcraft, The Bells of Death, Cannonball!, Return to the 36th Chamber, and Tiger Killer) for the Shaw Brothers. it was remade in 2011 as Legendary Amazons. The Yang family which includes Commander (played by: Hua Tsung from Sacred Knives of Vengeance), Mu Kuei (played by: Ivy Ling Po from The Love Eterne), Tsou Lan (played by: Lin Ching from The Sword of Swords), Ma Sai (played by: Chin-Feng Wang from Pursuit!), and She Tai-Chun (played by: Lisa Lu from 2012) have served their country loyally for generations. During the last gruesome war, their last male heir General Yang is ambushed. His wife and several courageous women set out to avenge this dangerous situation and they will defend their country at any cost against the evill Wang Wen (played by: Feng Tien from A Better Tomorrow)!!!! The 14 Amazons has a Dirty Dozen meets The Lord of the Rings vibe. Shaw Brothers were very ambitious with this early 70’s action production. The script is very interesting and it highlights female action stars. It’s completely developed when it comes to it’s main characters. The cast includes Hua Tsung, Ivy Ling Po, Lin Ching, Lisa Lu, Feng Tien, Chin-Feng Wang, Bolo Yeung (Bloodsport), Chung-Hsin Huang (Fist of Fury), Hsieh Wang (A Better Tomorrow), Seok-hoon Nam (Five Fingers of Death), Ching Tien (The Boxer from Shantung), Paul Chun (Peking Opera Blues), Lo Lieh (The Lady Hermit), Han Lo (The Lady Hermit), Ping Ha (Flash Point), and Fan Mei-Sheng (Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky). The 14 Amazons mixes war, drama, revenge, adventure, and action. It takes a group of unlikely heroes formed by some widows that have suffered some pain and loss during this chaos. The 14 Amazons doesn’t shy away from violence and gore. It’s much more brutal then expected. It’s about always standing up for what you believe and never back down when your back is against the wall. It has plenty of gruesome action and the fight choreography is top notch during all the battles that hatan epic feel to them all. It’s based on real life events. It’s a nice survival tale of people trying to defend their whole world against the worst possible villains around. It’s one of the earliest examples of bad females in cinema so it was way ahead of it’s time..The 14 Amazons takes a little bit to get somewhere but it’s beyond action packed and it’s violently entertaining, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from the Imprint Asia! This 1080p (2.35:1) transfer is from a newer 2K restoration from the original camera negative courtesy of the Hong Kong Film Archive. It’s a major upgrade over the previous lower quality DVD and VHS versions from the past. It’s basically same version as the Arrow Video one from Shawscope Volume 3 home video release. Everything from the visuals, production design, and the crazy action battles are sharper now. It has a few different audio options which includes Mandarin: LPCM 2.0 Mono and English: LPCM 2.0 Mono tracks on the disc. The 14 Amazons sounds fantastic especially for a forgotten 70’s Asian feature especially during the violence. All of the dialogue is very clean, the adventure is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has a brand new exclusive “Audio Commentary” with Asian film expert Mike Leeder and filmmaker Maria Tran. They chat about it’s history and production. They talk about some of the Shaw Brothers films were hard to find back in the day. They go over the cast and it’s director. They have a conversation about this being different from other films at the moment. It actually has women as the heroes and not the men. They provide lots of information and stories about The 14 Amazons. It has the brand new exclusive almost 18 minute “The 14 Amazons and Legend Across Media”. It’s an interview with film historian Dr. Wayne Wong. He chats about it’s story and how it’s been adapted many times over the years. He talks about the real life story that grew into something else when written about during his history brief of the true events. He goes over the Shaw Brothers film. He points out some of the main themes from it. He goes over some of the awards and praise it has gotten over the years. I definitely learned a few things that I didn’t know with this extra. It has the “Trailer” for The 14 Amazons. It has an high quality slipcase in with different artwork underneath. It’s available everywhere in Australia plus select spots in the states, CHECK IT OUT!!!!