Well Go USA's Shaw Brothers releases

[bobo]

i just found on CDUNIVERSE that shaw bros TWO CHAMPIONS OF SHAOLIN and BROTHERS FIVE are being released on JULY 15th 2008--> both listed as having english dubs. listed under some company called WELL GO USA as the SWORD MASTERS collection. does anyone know anything about these--are they legit or what ? i must admit that it would be nice if BROTHERS FIVE had a dub.

[magicpoe]

You know this is where Linn would have jumped in and said, "Well guys I couldn't say anything until it was offical but......"

I miss him.

This is the first I'm hearing of these and deepdiscount has Two Champions up also for $8.10. Like to know if these are legitimate or not.

[oldeschool17]

I get the feeling it might not be legit cause if it were, surely, we would have heard something about them by now. Can anybody cross reference their corporate address to panmedia?

Well Go USA, Inc.
Bowser Tech Complex
990 N. Bowser Road. Suite 700
Richardson, TX 75081
Telephone: 972-671-5200
Fax: 972-671-5204

[magicpoe]

http://www.wellgousa.com/NA/aboutus.html

[bobo]

what i am wondering is---> where would they have gotten a dubbed version of BROTHERS FIVE if they are not legit.

[oldeschool17]

what i am wondering is---> where would they have gotten a dubbed version of BROTHERS FIVE if they are not legit.
That would be saying panmedia is a legit company since they "release" sb movies with dubs. panmedia either steals the work done by others or takes english dubs from vhs copies and syncs them up to the IVL remastered copies. I swear we have this kind of conversation every 3 months.

[Chemical Lemon]

this isn't definitive proof that they're legit, but pretty close.

http://www.wellgousa.com/NA/press/release/20080319ShawBros.pdf

ah... now that I actually read it, it says that Two champs and the heroic ones will be their first 2 releases. I wonder if they re-arranged the order of releases, or possibly there was a mistake in how the movies are being listed/marketed. That might explain the english dub.

[oldeschool17]

this isn't definitive proof that they're legit, but pretty close.

http://www.wellgousa.com/NA/press/release/20080319ShawBros.pdf

ah... now that I actually read it, it says that Two champs and the heroic ones will be their first 2 releases. I wonder if they re-arranged the order of releases, or possibly there was a mistake in how the movies are being listed/marketed. That might explain the english dub.

good find. i wonder what other titles they have acquired.

[magicpoe]

I'll give them a shot. Deepdiscount has both titles up for preorder at $8.10 a piece.

I'll contact the company and see if they are willing to disclose the names of all the titles they acquired.

[Markgway]

Would be nice if just one of these companies put out a bunch of titles that haven't already been released. There's plenty rares waiting to be rediscovered.

[magicpoe]

I spoke, via phone, with Chrissy from Well Go Usa who informed me that they have acquired the rights to 10 films but she couldn't be specific about which ones yet because they are working on making an official announcement.

They are a legit company and have the same feelings we do about the current bootleg situation surrounding these films.

She was able to confirm that Heroic Ones is one of the films. She also confirmed that the films they are releasing will have the original English dub if they are able to source it from Celestial. More info later.

[bobo]

yes---i,ve been checking them out as well and i would say they are legit. this must be one of the hidden companies that LINN was hinting about. i sent them an email with some questions and hopefully they will get back to me. i wonder what the 10 titles are?

[magicpoe]

I sent Chrissy an email with a link to our forum.

I sent a few suggestions to her about trying to source the original Chinese Mono soundtracks along with ensuring the DVD is flagged as progressive in the authoring stage of DVD production. In addition, I suggested they have Celestial provided the high def master where available and provide original trailers, outtakes, and any other bonus material.

So if she chooses to post here asking for our feedback, lets be supportive so that we can help them make their releases a success.

[oldeschool17]

looks like i jumped the gun on that one. sorry for being an ass. good investigative work magicpoe. hopefully, we'll get some good news from them

[Shaolin Patriot]

It seems Well Go is a distribution partner with Navarre Corporation, who are behind the Shaw BCI Eclipse releases. Looking forward to the official press release of the 10 titles.
Also seem to recall Linn once saying that another US distributor will go public in 2008 (besides BCI and MB), who might carry some of the other Venoms titles. Let's see if Well Go is the one!

[Killer Meteor]

Well, with Dragon Dynasty, Media Blasters, two BCI divisions and, to a much lesser extent, Image, it's a great time to be a Shaw fan. I hope all these companies can survive together!

I wonder why there seems to be zero interest amongst US distributors in the Golden Harvest old school films?

[clayk]

It seemed from many posts I saw Linn sometimes hinted at a To Kill A Mastermind release...maybe this is the company to take it on?

Maybe just wishful thinking...

[clayk]

Or would these be considered the BCI releases since this company and BCI appear to be under the same umbrealla of Navarre?

[Killer Meteor]

True, but the BCI titles Linn listed a while back were different

[Shaolin Patriot]

Or would these be considered the BCI releases since this company and BCI appear to be under the same umbrealla of Navarre? These should be two different sets of releases: BCI has 15 and Well Go has 10. Here is the BCI listing, where there is no mention of either Two Champions or Heroic Ones. http://hkfilmnews.blogspot.com/2008/...-us-shaws.html

[Shaolin Patriot]

Here is the correct link to the BCI titles:

http://hkfilmnews.blogspot.com/2008/01/bci-and-celestial-ink-deal-of-us-shaws.html

[oldeschool17]

BCI Titles:
Life Gamble
Opium and the Kung Fu Master
The 14 Amazons
Shaolin Hand Lock
Hong Kong Godfather
Shaolin Prince
Invincible Shaolin
The Bastard Swordsman
The Duel
Return of the Bastard Swordsman
Shaolin Rescuers
Soul of the Sword
The Lady Hermit
The Supreme Swordsman
The Sword of Swords

[chen lung]

Wow, this is interesting: a 5th US distributor! Yes, Linn would have probably surprised us with this ;).

I've emailed them with the same as magicpoe said (also said about the languages and to appeal to KFC forumers for resources) and also added to retranslate (aka "make comfortable to read") subtitles and use seamless branching for versions shorter than the other.

I think the reason GH doesn't go anywhere else is because FS may only want to sub-license their stuff to one company per region. DD in the US, HKL in the UK, but Germany's a tad strange: NEW are doing remastered titles and non-remastered titles (the latter possibly from non-STAR TV sources), whilst Splendid are doing non-remastered titles. Perhaps they are two separate contracts? God, it's all bizarre!

[tdb]

I wonder why there seems to be zero interest amongst US distributors in the Golden Harvest old school films?

I remember someone talking about this (it could have been Linn). One of the big studios/distributors (Sony or maybe Warner Bros...ah! I can't remember. It's one of the major players) has licensed a good chunk or maybe all of Golden Harvest's library. And they're just sitting on it. They're not putting anything out or even sub-licensing titles. They're just sitting on them.

[chen lung]

I remember someone talking about this (it could have been Linn). One of the big studios/distributors (Sony or maybe Warner Bros...ah! I can't remember. It's one of the major players) has licensed a good chunk or maybe all of Golden Harvest's library. And they're just sitting on it. They're not putting anything out or even sub-licensing titles. They're just sitting on them.
You're thinking of the 100 titles Warner bought from Golden Harvest (and possibly other parties?) in which Bey Logan confirmed.

We were talking about titles sub-licensed from Fortune Star :).

[thundered mantis]

It would be nice if this new company would know about the interest of the fanbase for the previously unreleased Shaw films, above all:

To Kill A Mastermind
Thunderclap
Ghosts Galore
I´ll Finally Knock You Dow, Dad
Hong Kong Godfather (that one we are gonna see it seems)

[ironfistedmonk]

And the Meng Yuen Man film Lovers Blades and Chu Yuans The Killer, these need to see the light of day too

[thundered mantis]

Lovers Blades, of course. How could I forget it. With that one, the modern kung would be complete

[TimB]

Amazon has the Heroic Ones from Well Go USA as being released on September 16th

[oldeschool17]

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_d?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=well+go+usa+sword+masters&x=0&y=0
talk about a lack of promotion from this company. They might as well hire the people on this board to do it.

[bobo]

i find it strange that this company is getting their movies out ahead of BCI.

[Shaolin Patriot]

Amazon has the Heroic Ones from Well Go USA as being released on September 16th
Actually, Two Champs of Shaolin and Brothers Five are due out first - July 15th. Amazon only mentions Chinese audio and not English dub. Nothing yet on HK Flix as a pre-order.

[TimB]

Actually, Two Champs of Shaolin and Brothers Five are due out first - July 15th. Amazon only mentions Chinese audio and not English dub. Nothing yet on HK Flix as a pre-order.

Did I say Heroic Ones comes out first? No, I was just posting the date for the Heroic Ones DVD.

[bobo]

on cduniverse all these releases are listed with english dub---including BROTHERS FIVE.

[clayk]

Here are links to images Amazon has up for the first two releases:

Brothers Five:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B0017RFXRU/sr=1-1/qid=1211238140/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=130&s=dvd&qid=1211238140&sr=1-1

Two Champions of Shaolin:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B0017RFXRK/sr=1-2/qid=1211238140/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=130&s=dvd&qid=1211238140&sr=1-2

They look quite similar to Image's "Eastern Masters" covers if you ask me.

[oldeschool17]

Here are links to images Amazon has up for the first two releases:

Brothers Five:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B0017RFXRU/sr=1-1/qid=1211238140/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=130&s=dvd&qid=1211238140&sr=1-1

Two Champions of Shaolin:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B0017RFXRK/sr=1-2/qid=1211238140/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=130&s=dvd&qid=1211238140&sr=1-2

They look quite similar to Image's "Eastern Masters" covers if you ask me.

Two Champions of Shaolin cover sucks. Are they taking design cues from IVL's photoshop department? I really cant stand covers that dont convey or represent the movie accurately. How hard would it have been to make a cover where Lo Meng and Chin Siu Ho were the main focus but not done in the lazy way they did with the Siren or IVL covers? Brothers Five is marginally better but i do agree this has a IMAGE Eastern Masters artwork feel to it.

[venoms5]

Quite odd that Yu Tai Ping is featured prominently on the cover considering he's in the movie for all of 10 minutes. He was also the centerpiece on the old SUPER NINJAS VHS cover.

[oldeschool17]

Quite odd that Yu Tai Ping is featured prominently on the cover considering he's in the movie for all of 10 minutes. He was also the centerpiece on the old SUPER NINJAS VHS cover.
Yeah i never understood that
http://www.asianjunction.com/image.php?productid=16354

[venom10463]

Yeah i never understood that
http://www.asianjunction.com/image.php?productid=16354
Maybe they just liked the shot of him jumping in the air :D

Clayk, I thought of the exact same thing when I saw the covers. There definitely look a lot like Image's eastern masters covers.
Maybe both companies are using the same graphic designer.

[bobo]

july 15th --for BROTHERS FIVE and TWO CHAMPIONS

[oldeschool17]

http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5424

[bruiselee]

What a crappy cover for a Venoms movie. How do you not have one single Venom featured on the cover or even Chin Siu Ho for that matter?!

[Killer Meteor]

Yu Tai Ping was the centrepiece on the aborted Momentum UK DVD of Two Champions - remember them folks?

[chen lung]

TCOS is more Kung Fu orientated, what a **** line about the swords.

And yes, they certainly didn't do their research. Whilst not photoshopped, they're still a bunch of idiots.

Still not had a response from another seemingly clueless bunch doing these Shaws.

[oldeschool17]

TCOS is more Kung Fu orientated, what a **** line about the swords.

And yes, they certainly didn't do their research. Whilst not photoshopped, they're still a bunch of idiots.

Still not had a response from another seemingly clueless bunch doing these Shaws.

They should have renamed the movie to "One 10 Minute Villain from Wu Tang Clan" based on that cover:D. I know the old saying to not judge a book by its cover, but i hope this is not an indication of whats to come:confused:

[bobo]

just got an email from chrissy--she says dub for TWO CHAMPIONS but not for BROTHERS FIVE - she couldn,t annouce the titles but said most will have dubs.

[chen lung]

just got an email from chrissy--she says dub for TWO CHAMPIONS but not for BROTHERS FIVE - she couldn,t annouce the titles but said most will have dubs.
Thanks. Could you also ask her if the subtitles will be translated, all soundtracks will be mono and that the film will be proper progressive?

[venoms5]

TCOS is more Kung Fu orientated, what a **** line about the swords.



Well, in their "defense", there is a scene where the heroes brandish swords and dance around with them for a minute or so.:D

....And Chin Hsu Ho fights with one at the end.

[chen lung]

Well, in their "defense", there is a scene where the heroes brandish swords and dance around with them for a minute or so.:D

....And Chin Hsu Ho fights with one at the end.
I did think about it and yeah, they do dance with them. And at the end, those are sabres I think;).

[Killer Meteor]

TCOS is more Kung Fu orientated, what a **** line about the swords.

And yes, they certainly didn't do their research. Whilst not photoshopped, they're still a bunch of idiots.

Still not had a response from another seemingly clueless bunch doing these Shaws.

Lets wait till we see a DVD eh? It's not like they're the first company to do odd covers

[chen lung]

Lets wait till we see a DVD eh? It's not like they're the first company to do odd covers
Yeah, right.

[venoms5]

I did think about it and yeah, they do dance with them. And at the end, those are sabres I think;).

No need. I was just being silly. This is more of a kung fu movie than swordplay, though.:)

[bobo]

i think this may have already been posted but if anyone has questions for WELL GO USA you can contact chrissy at-->chrissy@wellgousa.com

[gravedigger666]

i think this may have already been posted but if anyone has questions for WELL GO USA you can contact chrissy at-->chrissy@wellgousa.com
Dun forget to curse her into 7th level of hades because 2 champions cover art is not pleasing you and brothers five does not have dub:rolleyes:

[chen lung]

Thanks for the email bobo.

I don't like that temple generically snuck into the back either. Will email them with my thoughts (at the third attempt lol - contact form, 'info' address and this).

[Killer Meteor]

Temple, shemple. I want them to get the transfer right!!!

[HAZ]

Brothers Five cover looks pretty good. The other one, not so much.

[gorhama]

The covers are.....ok. I like how every company releasing martial arts movies has the DD look with the black at the top of the packaging and some kung fu looking logo.

That being said I'm excited for another company to be releasing Shaw Brother's movies on Region 1 DVD!!

[The Running Man]

HAZ,
can you check your PM box please?

[Morgoth Bauglir]

What do people rate Brothers Five?

[venoms5]

What do people rate Brothers Five?

How do you rate early 70s swordplay?

It's a good, if overly familiar actioner with some very nice set pieces. However, Cheng Pei pei takes a back seat to the other hired swordsmen she recruits.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

hmmm, I like 70's swordplay, so I will have to check this out. Even if a lot of people say it's bad, I'll probably still have to see it because of the cast.

[venoms5]

The ending features a crazy 5EN type formation if I'm remembering it right. The heroes all stand atop each other and spin around with their sword arms outstretched while fighting the bad guy. Only saw it once but do remember enjoying it.

[oldeschool17]

The ending features a crazy 5EN type formation if I'm remembering it right. The heroes all stand atop each other and spin around with their sword arms outstretched while fighting the bad guy. Only saw it once but do remember enjoying it.
Human voltron?:)

[Morgoth Bauglir]

You'v said enough, I really want to see it now. Hopefully it shows up at stores.

[venoms5]

Human voltron?:)

That's not too far from the truth if it is the way I remember it. It was actually pretty funny. The part where the bad guys wait for an injured swordsman to come down from the top of a large structure to kill him was quite good. If this release has nothing new to offer than I am quite satisfied with the IVL.

[venoms5]

I'll check the ending now to make sure I'm not confusing it with something else...

[venoms5]

Dudes!! I forgot Tien Feng was the main bad guy here. He takes on the five brothers with his Kwan Dao. And yes there's some 5EN style spinning array at the end. Yueh Hua uses a weapon similar to Lo Lieh's in KILLER CLANS. Forgot the cast of this one--Lo Lieh (using a whip and darts), Yueh Hua, Chin Han and Chang Yi.

[Lo Lieh]

july 15th --for BROTHERS FIVE and TWO CHAMPIONS

I'm not to impressed with these covers at all.Out of all them I like the "Two Champions of Shaolin" cover the most however theres one thing wrong with it.....Its got the wrong actor on the cover.LOL! Shouldn't Lo Mang be the one thats emphasized?

[clayk]

It appears that Amazon has The Battle Wizard available for pre-order ($9.99) for a proposed Sept. 19 release:

http://www.amazon.com/Sword-Masters-Battle-Wizard/dp/B001B3LIT2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1213558787&sr=1-2

[Grady-San]

Hrmm did they change the date? Amazon is now listing July 1rst..

[Morgoth Bauglir]

So that would mean this is going to be their first release. I wonder if it's going to be in places like Best Buy and Walmart.

[clayk]

Hrmm did they change the date? Amazon is now listing July 1rst..

Looks like they have changed it since I posted that. I think that listing was added today, but can't be for certain.

[magicpoe]

When I spoke with Chrissy on May 7th she mentioned this was one of the titles but she asked that I keep it to myself until it had been put up for order.

[clayk]

Looks like they have changed it since I posted that. I think that listing was added today, but can't be for certain.

It looks like Battle Wizard's date was changed to December 2nd, according to Amazon's site.

And they've also posted a pre-order for Journey of the Doomed with a current release date of September 16:

http://www.amazon.com/Sword-Masters-Journey-Tung-Wei/dp/B001BCUB8W/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1213993160&sr=1-3

[magicpoe]

Really...Journey of the Doomed. They're going to release Journey of the Doomed. Man oh Man, from out of left field.

[venoms5]

This title could have been thrown into whatever their deal was. Sometimes to get some good titles, you have to take some lesser ones, too.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

I just looked this up and I had no idea TUng Wei did any Shaw movies. Does he get to show his stuff properly?

[BCIKungFu]

Or would these be considered the BCI releases since this company and BCI appear to be under the same umbrealla of Navarre?

BCI's parent company Navarre is distributing WellGo to their customer base just like they distribute majors like Paramount or Warner and independent labels like Media Blasters. It's a non-exclusive distribution deal.

Cliff
BCI

[BCIKungFu]

i find it strange that this company is getting their movies out ahead of BCI.

I choose to take my time in releasing them to ensure they are done correctly.

Losing my consultant and guide, Linn also set us back. I truly miss his help and his great love and enthusiasm for these films. The releases will be dedicated to him.

We go into production on the bonus content very soon....and thank you to those who have contacted me with things to add to the extras.

Best regards,
Cliff
BCI

[bobo]

i just hope BCI gets all the english dubs for their releases--including LADY HERMIT. say has anyone else noticed that hkflix makes no mention of the well go titles ? curious

[Morgoth Bauglir]

Hey Cliff do you know if the Well Go titles will be in any stores?

[tylerpistol]

My copies shipped from Deepdiscount.com today! I live in Canada, though, so I probably won't actually get them until you've all reviewed them to death...or late next week.

[chen lung]

My copies shipped from Deepdiscount.com today! I live in Canada, though, so I probably won't actually get them until you've all reviewed them to death...or late next week.
Well, tyler :P?

[Morgoth Bauglir]

I have Brothers Five shipping out from netflix today. It didn't sound like a great movie so I just rented it.

[magicpoe]

Received both today from Deepdiscount. Here are the details

Both DVDs have original trailer. The Two Champions trailer has added sound effects and synths. A shame about that.
Cases list these as Region 1 but they are basically all region, ie 1,2,3,4,5,6.
Both DVDs have slipcases.
Both DVDs are anamorphic widescreen.
Both DVDs are DVD-5. Two Champions is 4.0GB and Brothers Five is 4.07GB

Two Champions has English and Chinese audio, both 5.1 The English dub is 5.1 but has no added effects. The Chinese has some light added folley effects and some added synth music in places.
Brothers Five has Chinese only, 5.1
Picture quality is on the level of IVL or better.
White subtitles on both DVDs, see below for examples of font used and readability.

Two Champions Chinese Subs Example
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/magicpoe/Two_Champions_Chinese_Sub.jpg
Two Champions English Subs Example
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/magicpoe/Two_Champions_English_Subs.jpg

[chen lung]

Thanks. Bunch of idiots - a few of us wrote in, but they didn't do much, if anything.

Your screencaptures have come out at 1024x576 (1024x768 as you may have captured it whilst on fullscreen in your XGA display). NTSC stuff should be 852x480 unless it's the native resolution in which it's 720x480.

Is this a conversion job?

[venom10463]

I'll post some screen caps of the ivl version (two champions) tomorrow.

I'm placing my order for both, 8 dollars ea. with free shipping sounds good to me:D

[Markgway]

No Chinese mono? Muppets! :(

[magicpoe]

I'll modify my post above so that only the subtitles are shown as it does not represent the exact aspect ratio of the DVD. The images were ment to show how the subs looked.

[monque]

$8 where?

[venom10463]

$8 where?
http://www.deepdiscount.com/viewproduct.htm?productId=43451530
http://www.deepdiscount.com/viewproduct.htm?productId=43451532

[vengeanceofhumanlanterns]

It describes Two Champions as being english language. Does the Well Go USA version actually have the english dubs?

[oldeschool17]

It describes Two Champions as being english language. Does the Well Go USA version actually have the english dubs?

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/9488/picob6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Morgoth Bauglir]

No Chinese mono? Muppets! :(

Yeah it sucks. I'm watching Brothers Five right now and in the first fight it has those bad sound effects and a lot of echoing.

[Killer Meteor]

awful! Especially when one considers the Australian Two Champions is Mandarin/english mono and I think the HK Brothers Five was mono

IDIOTS!!!

[Killer Meteor]

So yet another distributor screws up. Another in the long line of distributors in HK, the UK and the US who had a good opportunity and instead botched up

[gfanikf]

Well you have to understand that this is their First DVD releases and by the time they knew the discs may have been locked. I wish I could get in touch with them. I would like to review the discs.

[Markgway]

I think we're past the point of excuses. Any company worth their salt knows by now what's acceptable and what fans want. How long have we been harping on about remixes, interlacing, incorrect languages, etc...

[oldeschool17]

I think we're past the point of excuses. Any company worth their salt knows by now what's acceptable and what fans want. How long have we been harping on about remixes, interlacing, incorrect languages, etc...
Not to mention several people on this board emailed their contact person inquiring/suggesting how to make these releases the best that they can be. Scratch that up as another company not giving a flying f_ck what their fan base wants.

[magicpoe]

Another forum member will post comparisons with the Siren Visual version later.

Below is the Well Go USA version with Power DVD set as progressive.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/magicpoe/TwoChampionsScreenCapture1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/magicpoe/TwoChampionsScreenCapture2.jpg

[oldeschool17]

Thanks Magipoe. I'll post my comparison up later tonight

[gfanikf]

Not to mention several people on this board emailed their contact person inquiring/suggesting how to make these releases the best that they can be. Scratch that up as another company not giving a flying f_ck what their fan base wants.

I was under the impression that this some of Well Go's first releases, but like I said I haven't even talked to them yet and have no vested interest. I'm happy MB is fixing problems and BCI is going Shaws BR :cool:

[Killer Meteor]

I was under the impression that this some of Well Go's first releases, but like I said I haven't even talked to them yet and have no vested interest. I'm happy MB is fixing problems and BCI is going Shaws BR :cool:

Being an early release should be no excuse. This is 2008. The market for niche DVDs in the states is shrinking, as stores focus on major studio output. Why Hong Kong movies continue to attract this half assed attitude bewildres me.

And how I kick myself for trading my Siren Two Champions. Anyone got one to trade?

[chen lung]

Those don't look like progressive captures, did you set it to weave instead? Prefer weave ones sorta so you can see the original state.

I emailed them and essentially, they're just another version of Image. I'm yet to see a DVD good in every department of a Shaw film.

gfanikf, do you still intend to post an interview with MB?

[Killer Meteor]

Those don't look like progressive captures, did you set it to weave instead? Prefer weave ones sorta so you can see the original state.

I emailed them and essentially, they're just another version of Image. I'm yet to see a DVD good in every department of a Shaw film.

gfanikf, do you still intend to post an interview with MB?

[/I]

I think DD's Heroes of the East is good. Otherwise none seem to cover the following bases

Anamophic
and progressive
and with decent subs

[magicpoe]

It was set to none instead of weave. I can repost with weave.

[chen lung]

[/I]

I think DD's Heroes of the East is good. Otherwise none seem to cover the following bases

Anamophic
and progressive
and with decent subs
Is that one not just the same as IVLs? Sub positioning is up on the picture where it should really be on the bar/picture (one-liners in bar) to avoid obstruction to the picture.

Non-genuine English mono.

If the correction job is good with re-layout (unlike the others), it wouldn't be too bad (retranslation for certain instances would be nice). From the capture at DVDBeaver, it didn't seem too bad actually. However, it's still feels sub-par without translation assistance.

It was set to none instead of weave. I can repost with weave.
Weave aka None - you done correctly :).

[oldeschool17]

Thanks to Magicpoe for the well go usa screens. Here are the siren caps to compare. I used WinDVD with Deinterlacing:Force Weave
Well Go USA:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/magicpoe/TwoChampionsScreenCapture1.jpg
Siren:
http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/6162/twochampionsofshaolin2tq3.png (http://imageshack.us)


Well Go USA:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/magicpoe/TwoChampionsScreenCapture2.jpg
Siren:
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/2427/twochampionsofshaolin0aa3.png (http://imageshack.us)

Subs for Well Go USA:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/magicpoe/Two_Champions_English_Subs.jpg[/QUOTE]
Subs for Siren:
http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/6209/twochampionsofshaolin7bz0.png (http://imageshack.us)

[oldeschool17]

And how I kick myself for trading my Siren Two Champions. Anyone got one to trade?
PM me and we'll talk

[chen lung]

Siren's subtitles has strange a strange history of using quotation marks and fading.

Is this an HD title? If not, then it probably won't have an anamorphic master (IVL's upconverted it).

[Shaolin Patriot]

I'm sure Cliff @ BCI has taken note of all of this. I look forward to seeing the best product from BCI ;)

[Shaolin Patriot]

And how I kick myself for trading my Siren Two Champions. Anyone got one to trade?
Is the Siren version anamorphic? According to the Siren product page, it is not. http://www.sirenvisual.com.au/Product/DVD/171.php?genre=MartialArts

[oldeschool17]

Is the Siren version anamorphic? According to the Siren product page, it is not. http://www.sirenvisual.com.au/Product/DVD/171.php?genre=MartialArts
It is Non-anamorphic.

[GwaiLoMoFo]

I was not able to find either of the Well Go titles at any local retail stores (Best Buy, Sm Goody, Circuit City, Hastings, ect...). Just have to go Deepdiscount as usual (cheaper anyway). And really fellas, what did you expect from a budget $8 Kung Fu DVD release?

[Morgoth Bauglir]

I expect to hear the original sound effects. Bad sound effects ruin fight scenes, which obviously sucks big time.

[venom10463]

Well Go USA:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/magicpoe/TwoChampionsScreenCapture1.jpg

Siren:
http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/6162/twochampionsofshaolin2tq3.png

IVL:
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/4131/ivl2xa6.jpg

Well Go USA:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/magicpoe/TwoChampionsScreenCapture2.jpg

Siren:
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/2427/twochampionsofshaolin0aa3.png

IVL:
http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/9500/ivl1ba7.jpg

Well Go USA Subtitles:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/magicpoe/Two_Champions_English_Subs.jpg

Siren Subtitles:
http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/6209/twochampionsofshaolin7bz0.png

IVL Subtitles:
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/8294/ivl3vt4.jpg

[chen lung]

Thanks for the comparisons.

IVL should be interlaced?

Checked and Celestial didn't do it in HD, so it's most likely IVL is a blow-up to anamorphic (it's soft too) and WGUSA ported that over.

Siren's the best folks - seemingly progressive non-converted with both Mandarin/English mono. Subtitles are a bit bad though sadly.

[David Rees]

Awful loking caps, im happy with my R3 dvd as im not bothered about English dub.

[gfanikf]

Awful loking caps, im happy with my R3 dvd as im not bothered about English dub.

Only reason I'll get it is for the dub, at least thats on there. I would hate for these releases to be dubless, then would have been totally worthless.

Damn you Chemical Brothers and your catchy music video for Two Champions of Shaolin!

[chen lung]

Only reason I'll get it is for the dub, at least thats on there. I would hate for these releases to be dubless, then would have been totally worthless.
WellGo or Siren?

[Killer Meteor]

Siren's had the dub in original mono. Good dub I thought - much better than the sleep-inducing Mandarin track

[gfanikf]

Siren's had the dub in original mono. Good dub I thought - much better than the sleep-inducing Mandarin track

Sweet I'll have to grab it.

If you haven't seen this video, you need to now.

[gfanikf]

http://www.youtube.com/v/ojmxYR_6GNk&hl=en&fs=1

[Shaolin Patriot]

Siren's had the dub in original mono. Good dub I thought - much better than the sleep-inducing Mandarin track

Definately sounds like the better buy. Does Siren also include the original trailer?

[Killer Meteor]

Definately sounds like the better buy. Does Siren also include the original trailer?

No. I don't know if the HK DVD did - I never saw it

[magicpoe]

The original trailer was not on the Region 3 Celestial DVD. I was happy that it was included on the Well GO USA dvd but unfortunatley it has been given the synth and extra folley effects treatment. Yes the original trailer, Celestial took the time to added extra synth and folley effects to the trailer. Sad really.

f7l4T6OvjyE

[Killer Meteor]

New foley on a trailer??? Is nothing sacred?

[chen lung]

The alternative Shaw logo is interesting - didn't feature on the main film of my IVL DVD.

Looks like an export trailer - remixing something and labelling it 'original and restored' is sick.

[BCIKungFu]

I'm sure Cliff @ BCI has taken note of all of this. I look forward to seeing the best product from BCI ;)

oh man... the pressure is on... :eek:

[chen lung]

oh man... the pressure is on... :eek:
Yep.

:D

[spannick]

Celestial tampered with Trailers before. the MAGIC BLADE Trailer on the HK DVD is remixed too.

[tylerpistol]

I got my DVDs in the mail today. While I'm disappointed they are from PAL masters, I'll take that over the Image stretched-out PAL junk any day. At least the picture quality is good. I'm just not a fan of the sped-up video look of PAL transfers.

[jackson]

...

[Lorenzol]

So are these releases worth getting?

[chen lung]

So are these releases worth getting?
Two Champions = No (get Siren).
Brothers Five = No (get IVL as I believe it has mono which is at least a guarantee of no new crap added).

[magicpoe]

Link below is to deepdiscount:

http://www.deepdiscount.com/viewproduct.htm?productId=48057371

Sword Masters - The Heroic Ones
Runtime: 121
Rating: Not Rated
Language: Original: Cantonese/Mandarin; Dubbed: English

[chen lung]

Link below is to deepdiscount:

http://www.deepdiscount.com/viewproduct.htm?productId=48057371

Sword Masters - The Heroic Ones
Runtime: 121
Rating: Not Rated
Language: Original: Cantonese/Mandarin; Dubbed: English
No worries, I believe Siren did this one - so did Momentum (although no dub):rolleyes:. Maybe French is anamorphic.

[magicpoe]

chen lung,

I sent Well Go an email using part of the suggestions you sent me for Image. The part I sent was about how to best make the DVD progressive and I also suggested they obtain the original MONO soundtracks in the correct language, Mandarin or Cantonese.

But your right, none of the releases so far of this film has been anamorphic. This was one of the first films released by Celestial and the 5.1 mix on the original IVL/Celestial DVD was terrible.

[spannick]

No worries, I believe Siren did this one - so did Momentum (although no dub):rolleyes:. Maybe French is anamorphic.

French and German DVDs are both anamorphic. French is the only one yet to feature the Original HK Trailer. both have Original Mandarin Mono.

[magicpoe]

So there are some releases of this anamorphic. Thanks for the information. God only knows what Well Go will release then. Spannick, do the French and German DVDs look like they are just blown up letterbox transfers into anamorphic or new masters created after the non anamorphic IVL DVD release?

[chen lung]

Righteo.

I believe a number of folks have contacted WellGo and they showed interest, but it didn't get good results.

If your gonna buy the rights to movies, do your research first to what people want and not just jump in there.

Was there a response from Image BTW?

[magicpoe]

I'll give him a few more days, then maybe I'll give him call.
Or just say screw it, depends on the mood I wake up in some days it would seem.
I'm starting to not give a flying f**k again.



I think we'll have much better luck with BCI Eclipse. I've only communicated with Cliff from BCI Eclipse via email but I can tell you he's a fan who cares and is in the position to give these films the release they deserve.

[spannick]

So there are some releases of this anamorphic. Thanks for the information. God only knows what Well Go will release then. Spannick, do the French and German DVDs look like they are just blown up letterbox transfers into anamorphic or new masters created after the non anamorphic IVL DVD release?

to me they looked really good, not as bad as the first blown-up 16:9 DVDs issued in HK. same goes for INTIMATE CONFESSIONS, which looked ugly on HK DVD but really nice on the French DVD. btw, no Framecuts at all on any HEROIC ONES DVD (Celestial did cut HEROES TWO for the 16:9 remaster for example)

[TimB]

Here's the cover for the Heroic Ones DVD

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/6495/519p915obdlss500zr3.jpg

[venoms5]

They've added a sword to this picture.

[Grady-San]

Hrmmm sorta has that MGM cover look. Atleast to me it does, I am not sure how I stand yet on hating/liking it.

[chen lung]

Cover is rather different and sorta cool :).

[Shaolin Patriot]

I'm surprised Celestial approved the cover; it's drastically different from the other versions. Most versions of the same title seem to resemble each other. Personally, I would rather have seen a few actors from the film, since the title implies a group. Ti Lung does look impressive, though.

[venoms5]

The original poster artwork is extremely good for this one so that would have been suitable for this release. At least a reversible cover.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

Hopefully they stop using those horrible sound effects, because I won't buy a movie if I know going into it that it has those bad sound effects. I'll just rent it from netflix.

[The Running Man]

Hrmmm sorta has that MGM cover look.

EXACTLY what I was thinking. :)

I wonder if Ti Lung keeps walking far enough, if he'll get to bump into Kurt Russel. :D

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VJDK4X66L._SS500_.jpg

[Mark Pollard]

As I recall, and the poster confirms it for me, David Chiang was the real star of this movie. Chiang front and center, surrounded by a few supporting characters would have been nice.

[HAZ]

I've been meaning to get the IVL dvd & Bey Logan has a commentary track on it which must be cool, but many people tell me this film is overrated. Are there any "Heroic Ones" fans here?

[Winfred]

I am not a fan of this movie Haz. Except for Ti Lung's death scene fight, nothing was exciting enough.

[KUNG FU BOB]

I've been meaning to get the IVL dvd & Bey Logan has a commentary track on it which must be cool, but many people tell me this film is overrated. Are there any "Heroic Ones" fans here?

I agree with Winfred. the movie is worth seeing, but overrated IMO. Bey's commentary was good though.

The original poster artwork is extremely good for this one so that would have been suitable for this release. At least a reversible cover.

I love the reversible covers! Even though the poster is cool, that's not a very good likness of Ti Lung.

[TimB]

And here's Journey of the Doomed

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/4034/51ftkniantlss500ea9.jpg

[magicpoe]

Oh sweet Lord, forgive them for they know not what they do.

Thank you for posting it nonetheless though TimB.

[The Dragon]

I've been meaning to get the IVL dvd & Bey Logan has a commentary track on it which must be cool, but many people tell me this film is overrated. Are there any "Heroic Ones" fans here?

I have the IVL HAZ, and I love the film. Ku Feng is great and the death scene of David Chiang was unbelievable for it's time.I was most happy when those rebellious ones, got theirs!:D This movie is a lot better than some of those other titles people throw around as classics.
Surprisingly, I haven't listened to the commentary yet... Think I will.

[magicpoe]

Bit more on my dealings with Well Go USA.

I contacted Chrissy, via email, 2 weeks ago letting her know that I had HIGH QUALITY lobby card scans from my collection for The Heroic Ones. She said email one to her and she would pass it on to the people who would make the decision on to include stuff like that or not on the DVD. I said no problem and sent her one of the scans.
I gave them a week to decided and when I didn't hear anything I sent her an email asking if they would be able to use them or not. Her response floored me. Let me paraphrase it below:



She passed the lobby card along to her colleagues and they were not interested in the them. They feel like we are spending the extra money on the fancy sleeve is enough and the retailers agree.



Now if they don't want to use the lobby cards, that's one thing, but to say that they are spending the extra money on a fancy sleeve is enough, that's crazy. I emailed her back and said that I was offering the use of the Lobby Cards scans at no charge and only asked that if they were used that I be credited as the source on the DVD. I haven't heard back from her on that.

I could understand if they said "no we're just not interested in this as a special feature", but to say that the "fancy DVD sleeve" is how they are spending extra money on these releases is a joke.

[spannick]

typical. these crap companies don't care for anything GOOD, only for bucks. their bullsh't output shows that they don't care a bit what they are releasing. i hope they don't make any bucks as we don't need folks who release worthless DVD-5 crap with only 5.1 Remix nonsense on them.

[Markgway]

No wonder Pan Media piss themselves laughing.

[venoms5]

Are there any "Heroic Ones" fans here?

I guess I am the single biggest fan of this film here. Seen this one at least a dozen times. Exciting from beginning to end, IMO. Great characters, big, bombastic battle scenes which, for the time, were quite spectacular and still are in my eyes. The first time I saw it on television, it was titled SHAOLIN MASTERS of all things.

[teako170]

This, unfortunately, sounds like typical PR rhetoric from someone who really has zero knowledge of the genre and doesn't care. Like you said, luckily we have Cliff from BCI who does care and will hopefully make their releases the best possible.


She passed the lobby card along to her colleagues and they were not interested in the them. They feel like we are spending the extra money on the fancy sleeve is enough and the retailers agree.

Now if they don't want to use the lobby cards, that's one thing, but to say that they are spending the extra money on a fancy sleeve is enough, that's crazy. I emailed her back and said that I was offering the use of the Lobby Cards scans at no charge and only asked that if they were used that I be credited as the source on the DVD. I haven't heard back from her on that.

[HAZ]

I wish someone would do reversable covers already. I picked up some pinku films with cool reversable covers with poster art. And it wasn't put out by some big budget label. I'll look at some of the wellgo discs, but, unless they're extremely cheap, I'm not that impressed.

And thanks for the Heroic Ones opinions. I may have to finally pick it up.

h

[bobo]

hi--got the cover from amazon. release date is listed as sept 16th /2008. cduniverse release date listed as sept 23rd /2008. so who knows. anyway its listed as english dubbed. so is this movie actually any good?

[TimB]

Well Go USA will release The Duel of the Century on Nov. 25th according to DVD Empire.

http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?userid=99366197461495&item_id=1425146&searchID=7481732

[mantis FIST]

anyone know if the heroic ones is still comming out on this tuesday? Journey of the Doomed got pused back until december. Thanks!

[magicpoe]

It's still listed for release next Tuesday at deepdiscount but who knows. They still list Journey for release this month also.

I've given up attempting to communicate reasonably with Well Go USA as I didn't get a reply from my last email. I guess I've moved on. It's official, I don't give a flying f**k again concerning their releases

I didn't pre-order The Heroic Ones and probably will not buy it either. I'll rent it through Netflix. Get my fix that way.

[mantis FIST]

yeah magic. Never been a fan of this movie but I buy all the movies released in the US of A that have the eng dub.

Now if someone would release Men from the Monastery in the USA with the eng DUB! I need this movie dubbed with a w/s print!

[oldeschool17]

It's still listed for release next Tuesday at deepdiscount but who knows. They still list Journey for release this month also.

I've given up attempting to communicate reasonably with Well Go USA as I didn't get a reply from my last email. I guess I've moved on. It's official, I don't give a flying f**k again concerning their releases

I didn't pre-order The Heroic Ones and probably will not buy it either. I'll rent it through Netflix. Get my fix that way.

I got the Siren version if you need it(heroic ones).

[magicpoe]

Thank you for the offer. I have the IVL dvd, with all it's flaws, and the jumper dvd.

[TimB]

anyone know if the heroic ones is still comming out on this tuesday? Journey of the Doomed got pused back until december. Thanks!

Both of these were shipped to me yesterday from DeepDiscount.

[bobo]

so does JOURNEY OF THE DOOMED have an english dub? also is this movie any good ? i notice most of the time this movie gets bad reviews.

[TimB]

I'll let you know when they get here. But seeing as how slow DD's shipping is for me, those questions may be answered before my copies arrive.

[TimB]

Got them in today. Journey of the Doomed doesn't have an English dub and is non-anamorphic at about 1.85:1. It does have the original trailer. The Heroic ones also has the original trailer and it is anamorphic. The Heroic Ones also has an English dub. I've got a lot of stuff to do today, so I probably won't get to watch them for a while, but I can put up some screen grabs later tonight if anyone is interested.

[magicpoe]

TimB,

Thank you for the details.

[Shaolin Patriot]

It seems the Well Go titles are only "bare bones" releases - just film and trailer. For bonus content, we'll have to look towards the other distributors. But still, I'm glad to see a release!

[TimB]

Artwork for The Battle Wizard. The release date has been pushed back to Jan 6th.

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/1980/battlewizardkn6.jpg

It's like they're not even trying.

[oldeschool17]

Artwork for The Battle Wizard. The release date has been pushed back to Jan 6th.

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/1980/battlewizardkn6.jpg

It's like they're not even trying.

That text looks like Spinal Tap or something heavy metal related circa 80s'. Is there an actual dragon in this movie?

[greenfan]

No. There is a rubber snake and a man in a gorilla costume, but I'm guessing they wouldn't have looked as 'hard' on the cover.

[bobo]

what about DUEL OF THE CENTURY ? its listed as nov 25th--- is there an english dub for either of these ? both are listed on cduniverse as being dubbed.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

so does JOURNEY OF THE DOOMED have an english dub? also is this movie any good ? i notice most of the time this movie gets bad reviews.

The English dub (lack of) was answered so I'll answer the second question.

For me, this is by far the worst of the R1 Shaw Brothers releases (seen all except for The Thunderbolt Fist which I just got). It starts off as an exploitation nudity picture but changes genres throughout the film with none of them being coherent or done well (well some of the ending was decent, not the Kung Fu though). The acting was suspect, the set design was so-so, the costumes were weak for a Shaw Brothers film and the plot meandering with annoying whiny acting.

I would rather watch Corpse Mania three times in a row followed by Killer Snakes than watch this movie again.

[TimB]

Here's the cover for Duel of the Century which now has a release date of March 17th. Nice that they used the poster art for the cover.

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/4296/duellm3.jpg

[Sentswordsman]

Nice!!!

[inframan]

I ordered Two Champions of Shaolin from deepdiscount and its out of stock. I guess they are expecting to get more. Hopefully that means they are selling some copies.

[Chemical Lemon]

This might have already been covered elsewhere, but in case it hasn't.

I picked up Battle Wizard the other day and the following bits on the packaging are wrong

"New English Language Track" is the original dub, a good thing
"Original Trailer" is the celestial trailer, a not good thing

otherwise the disc seems pretty consistant with the IVL dvd. I bought it for the english dub, the only real plus over the IVL.

[chen lung]

Cluuuuuuuless!

For the walk through a long puddle of shit (a term in Celestial's contract), WellGoUsa chose flippers, whereas Image did it in a more stylish manner with clogs, but still ended up a mess (technically speaking, they're still walking through it). Other lots are savable with either trainers or boots, but shit still gets in.

[HAZ]

It may be that Duel Of The Century has been cancelled. Just heard from a friend that his amazon order for it has been cancelled & in Amazon's email, they say that the film will not be released.

[inframan]

Just got my disc in the mail, watched half of it, looks good so far. I'll post a review when I'm done watching.

[chen lung]

Just got my disc in the mail, watched half of it, looks good so far. I'll post a review when I'm done watching.
lol I'll do it for you:p.

PAL>NTSC, sub-par subs, 5.1, no mono;)?

[Nakadai]

It may be that Duel Of The Century has been cancelled. Just heard from a friend that his amazon order for it has been cancelled & in Amazon's email, they say that the film will not be released.

That would explain why strangely I haven't heard back from Well-Go recently. :S

Anyways, here's a review I did for The Battle Wizard a while back that hasn't gone live yet:

http://infini-tropolis.com/reviews/the_battle_wizard.html

[Chemical Lemon]

Is wellgo owned by Navarre like BCI was, or does Navarre just distribute their dvds for them?

I'd somewhat pegged wellgo as Navarre's #1 option for unloading BCI's SB properties without having to put any kind of effort into it. But then it seems I just assumed they owned WellGo.

I can't imagine WellGo's SB dvds can possibly be selling all that well. Alot of them are not well known titles, and they're sorta slipping under the radar. I do appreciate the releases with dubs though, I'd never seen Battle Wizard before the IVL release, so getting to see it dubbed was a real treat, even if it was a barebones, bare quality dvd.

[David Levine]

Is wellgo owned by Navarre like BCI was, or does Navarre just distribute their dvds for them?

I'd somewhat pegged wellgo as Navarre's #1 option for unloading BCI's SB properties without having to put any kind of effort into it. But then it seems I just assumed they owned WellGo.


No, Navarre doesn't own WellGo.

Navarre is essentially a distribution company. They place DVDs into retail for numerous studios (major and independent).

Because distribution is a high volume/low margin business, over the past decade Navarre bought 3 privately held publishing companies (lower volume sales/much higher margin).

The companies are:

Funimation: Which is about 95% Anime.

Encore: Budget software.

BCI: DVD (and at one time music).

[Nakadai]

Duel Of The Century is back up for pre-order on Amazon, and Well Go assures that it will not be folding in the 2009 and will only be "bigger and better".

[Nakadai]

Well Go's next title after Duel will be Heroes Shed No Tears.

[magicpoe]

Maybe we'll luck out and get the English dub with it.

Well Go's next title after Duel will be Heroes Shed No Tears.

[bigwulee]

Amazon is saying WELL GO USA is releasing "HOLY FLAME OF THE MARTIAL WORLD" on May 12 2009

http://www.amazon.com/Holy-Flame-Martial-World-Chung/dp/B001UJUH26/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1239645824&sr=1-1