In The Black Butterfly, a good-hearted thief acts as the Robin Hood of the martial world, robbing from the rich to give to the poor – and they begin by stealing a fortune in gold from a group of five ruthless bandits holed up at Five Devils Rock. Then, in Death Valley, the Lord of Chao Manor (Lo Wei) is murdered by his niece (Angela Yu Chien), leading to a bitter fight to claim his land and a clash between a hired swordsman (Chen Hung-lieh) and the Lord’s heir apparent (Yueh Hua). Finally, in Vengeance of a Snow Girl, a young woman (Li Ching) takes revenge for her murdered parents, who were killed in a dispute over the legendary Tsui Feng sword – leading to a final showdown on frozen ground.
What We Thought:
Martial Law: Lo Wei’s Wuxia World is the type of collection Wuxia fans will enjoy and is also a good way to introduce new fans to the genre. Lo Wei is a very well known name in the world of Kung-Fu movies especially his films with Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, but he made some solid films before that time period as well and this features three of those films.
When I watch movies like this I’m looking for great cinematography, great set design and costuming and solid action/martial arts scenes. Lo Wei knew how to handle all of that with great sets and backdrops, period specific costuming and hair and fun action sequences either one on one or with chaotic group action with these films focusing on the ladies of the martial arts world.
The Black Butterfly is about a thief stealing from the rich to give back to the poor, but soon is tied up with bandits and a stockpile of gold. It’s a pretty solid film with great fight sequences and direction. Death Valley finds a lord killed by his niece leading to a battle over his land. There’s a hired killer, the heir apparent and everyone wanting to stake their own claim. Vengeance of a Snow Girl is a classic Wuxia revenge flick that finds a woman seeking revenge for the murder of her parents in a fight over a legendary sword. This actually came out the same year as The Big Boss with Bruce Lee.
If you’re a fan of films from Shaw Brothers or Golden Harvest you’ll enjoy Martial Law: Lo Wei’s Wuxia World. All three movies in the collection are very watchable and make for a fun binge. I watched two movies one night and the third the next. The quality of filmmaking is what you expect from Lo Wei and the Wuxia genre that would eventually shift towards to lesser period stories and action oriented films that starred Lee and Chan.
Special Features:
- Limited Edition of 2,000 copies
- Limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Grégory Sacré (Gokaiju)
- Limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on all three films in this set by Hong Kong cinema expert Camille Zaurin
- 1080p HD presentations of all three films on Blu-ray
- Optional English subtitles, newly revised for this release
- New audio commentaries on all three features by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
- Hong Kong Hustle – new interview with Hong Kong cinema scholar Wayne Wong on the
life and work of Lo Wei - All extras subject to change
The Nerds Templar 