Exact Revenge: The Eunuch & Deadly Knives

When a new album comes out, every band likes to claim that their sound is evolving. But from a fan perspective, I’ve always preferred the “same but different” approach. If I wanted things to sound different, I’d just buy something from another band! All of which leads to the review of Eureka’s Blu-ray release of Exact Revenge, a curated double feature of Shaw Brothers titles that focuses exactly on what the studio does best: blood-spitting, high-jumping, double-bladed action films that no one should ever get tired of.

The Eunuch (1971) is a wuxia in the classic style, with a power-hungry political tyrant out to eliminate the sole heir to the throne and keep his illegitimate daughter under wraps. But when both of them team up to take him down, family secrets and old grudges threaten to destroy his evil plan.

Made up mostly of beautiful master shots that take advantage of the Shaw Brothers’ meticulously painted sets and some impressive location photography, The Eunuch is another comfortable period piece that saves most of the action for the finale. Of particular note is the casting of age-appropriate elder masters, avoiding the bad dye jobs and makeup effects so common in mentor-pupil stories. That does, however, lead to a lot of stunt double work (shot from behind to cheat the camera) during the choreographed battle scenes. Taiwanese actress Lisa Chiao Chiao (The One-Armed Swordsman) gets the most screen time and puts on one heck of a martial arts display.

1972’s Deadly Knives is also set on repeat, but this time focuses on the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, a setting that also fueled Bruce Lee’s early overseas success. Here, Yan Zi Fei (Ling Yun) returns from school to prevent the takeover of his family lumber business by greedy Japanese industrialists. Bouncing between swordplay, fistfights, and the titular knife-throwing, this one throws in some random nudity for kicks as well. The fight scenes themselves are uniquely chaotic—almost reminiscent of Japanese yakuza films in execution—while the camera dollies willy-nilly through the action.

Eureka’s limited-edition double bill features remarkably colorful transfers for each film, plus audio commentaries, a video essay, collector’s booklet, and slipcase.

 

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