flixtime

Had some free time so I figured I'd post a sort of update/follow-up to the list of Rarescope titles I mentioned in post #36 of this thread.

Starting with Rarescope in 2006, three smaller labels started releasing some bargain-priced martial arts/swordplay DVDs in Region 1 (note: Rarescope also releases in R2 UK). The other two R1 labels are Fusian and Crash Masters Unearthed Classics, both of which started in 2007. Rarescope and Fusian seem to be continuing, but Crash Masters Unearthed Classics line seems to have been put on hold (or maybe cancelled?) as their scheduled releases from July onward have yet to appear.

Anyway, for those who might be interested in picking up the titles I thought I'd post the list of releases (hopefully it is accurate, and I relied heavily upon the hkfilmnews blog and hkflix.com to come up with this list). So here goes:

RARESCOPE
Along Comes the Tiger
Choi Lee Fat Kung Fu
The Cub Tiger from Kwang Tung
Duel at the Supreme Gate
The Dream Sword – coming November 11
Drunken Dragon
The Elimination Pursuit
The Face Behind the Mask
The Lost Sword Ship
Love and Sword
Ninjas and Dragons
Showdown at the Cotton Mill
A Sword Named Revenge – coming November 11

FUSIAN
Absurd Brave
Bloody Mask
Duel with the Devil
Eight Immortals
Famous Swordsman
Fight for the Agreement
Fire Bulls
King of Kings
Lady 9 Flower
Ringing Sword
Whirlwind Knight
The Young Avengers

CRASH MASTERS UNEARTHED CLASSICS (?cancelled after June?)
13 Worms
Axing of the Coffin
Beautiful Swordswoman
Bloody Duel Life & Death
Broken Sword
Flying Swordsgirl
Iron Mistress
Knight of Old Cathay
The Last Days of Hsin Yang
Son of the Swordsman
The Sword

a58chevy

I'm just curious as to know if some of these films (presented on lables like rarescope, fusian, crash masters, etc..) are actually restored as best as possible? As a fan of older cinema in general I know a lot of older movies can look amazing, but alot of the kung fu movies still look pretty ragged. Is this due to source materials or restoration budgets? Is this really the best quality we'll see most of these films?

also just wondering if any of you guys in the know can give me any hope of seeing a widescreen dvd of Thundering Mantis aka Insane Mantis? One of my favs I rented from the local video store back in the day.

flixtime

a58chevy, given my relative newbie status when it comes to this genre, it would be misguided of me to try and offer a direct answer to your first inquiry, I'll opt instead to refer you to a previous discussion amongst those in the know. Reading it should provide some insight into how best to accept the outflow coming from Rarescope/Fusian/Crash Unearthed.

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=495242

I regret I can be of no assistance in regard to your "Thundering Mantis" query.

asianxcore

How many films did Media Blasters buy licenses for in the U.S?

I ask because I was going to order Chinese Super Ninja (Five Element Ninjas) this week and realized both Xploited Cinema and HKFlix will not ship the disc to U.S addresses.

After being a fan of this movie since I first watched it on VHS as a kid, I'd really like to own a PROPER copy someday (Uncut, Widescreen, Original language track)

Takeshi357

Well I'm glad to live in Europe where such monopoly-abusing distributors can't prevent me from importing superior DVDs from abroad.

I have the 2-disc releases of all Bruce Lee films (Enter the Dragon by Warner, all the others by Hong Kong Legends). Is it worth the cash obtaining the US/HK releases as well for the original Mandarin audio (except Fist of Fury which HKL did include it in)?

mrwilson

I assume you're referring to the IVL Region 3 Hong Kong DVD? Try http://www.dddhouse.com/ They'll ship to the US. Or you can PM me, I have an extra.

asianxcore

Thanks a bunch

I'll probably order from there when I get back home next week. I saw that some people on these boards had ordered it from CD-WOW. For some reason though I can never get that site's search engine to work for me.