In which Angela Miao, Whang Ing-Sik and Sammo Hung (in the roles of Yu Ying, Kao and Fan), coming from a small Korean school of Martial Arts, all take turns breaking boards and cracking skulls with their Japanese competitors!
And all they wanted was to start a school of their own!
Riding on the coattails of Lady Whirlwind, Hapkido is the second film included in Arrow Video’s fine 2K restoration of Golden Harvest offerings. The film - while being filmed just across the lot from Bruce Lee’s The Way of the Dragon - is often ignored in favor of other Raymond Chow productions but, honestly, nothing about this action powerhouse - expertly choreographed by Hung - should be ignored as Miao, Ing-Silk, and Hung all kick major ass while taking on the evil members of the Black Bear Martial Arts School.
Hung strikes first when he has to stop some unruly thugs disturbing patrons at a restaurant. These Japanese fellows are being truly lecherous and Hung, being the first to call attention to their lewdness, strikes first. Hung, as usual, is always a blast to watch. He’s heavyset and fast as hell and, with moves like his, deadly as they come but there are great reactions from him with every wince and smack that completely sell what he’s doing.
Of course, Hung wins quite easily but, as he manages to anger the entire Black Bear school, sets off a revenge thread that he didn’t mean (or want) to pull on. And the members aren’t afraid to bring innocent civilians into their melee either.
And now both of his friends are hard targets!
Golden Harvest, Shaw Brothers first major competitor for Martial Arts action, hit it big when they landed Bruce Lee in The Big Boss. Could they strike again with a female leading lady, Angela Mao Ying?
Yes. Yes, they could. 
It helped when director Huang Feng (The Shaolin Plot) jumped ship from Shaw Brothers and joined Raymond Chow’s team as he swiftly launched the career of hers, a Taiwanese actress who was ready to become one of Hong Kong’s toughest action icons of the 1970s, with the one-two shot of Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind.
Since Shaw Brothers had ignored Cheng Pei-pei in favor of Chang Cheh’s vision of male-dominated Chinese boxing, Feng knew he could easily bring the Taiwanese actress into the limelight. Alongside Sammo Hung’s excellent fight choreography, she never disappoints.
With early cameo appearances from Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao and Corey Yuen, Hapkido delivers some old school Martial Arts mayhem on its way to an ass-kicking finale which leaves very few alive.
Home Video Distributor: Arrow Films
Available on Blu-ray - January 17, 2023
Screen Formats: 2.35:1
Subtitles: English; English SDH
Video: MPEG-4 AVC
Audio: Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono; English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; two-disc set
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
Lady Whirlwind, directed by Huang in 1972, sees Mao dead set on avenging the death of her sister, only to find herself fighting a common enemy alongside the man she wants revenge on. Hapkido, made the same year, sees her once more pitted against a gang of Japanese thugs, alongside fellow soon to be kung fu legends Sammo Hung (Knockabout) and Carter Wong (Big Trouble in Little China) as disciples of the titular Korean fighting style, studying under real life hapkido grandmasters Ji Hanjae (Game of Death) and Hwang Inshik (The Way of the Dragon). Originally released in the US as Deep Thrust and Lady Kung Fu respectively, these two restored martial arts classics show Mao at her mightiest – every bit as formidable as the great Bruce Lee, whose sister she played in Enter the Dragon the following year.
Video
Hapkido arrives on Blu-ray from Arrow Video sporting an HD remaster sourced from the original 35mm camera negatives and looks wonderful. Interiors are strong. Colors pop throughout, but it is the blood effects - burning bright in the transfer - which seal the deal on this one. It’s full of great atmosphere thanks to the quick-footed script and looks visually eye-popping due to the 1080- upgrade. Black levels are strong throughout, bringing out nice details in both the loud and quiet moments of this epic adventure. The tracking shots are glorious to behold in 1080p. Blacks are solid and shadows maintain their lines. Even the costumes are noted stitch by stitch.
Audio
The original lossless Mandarin mono audio is present, plus a lossless English dubbed mono audio track, too.
Supplements:
Commentary:
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See below for the breakdown as this release, containing two films, is loaded with goodies.
Special Features:
Along with the films, fans get two discs of supplemental items (including a total of six commentaries!!!), an Illustrated collectors' booklet featuring new writing on the films by critic James Oliver, and a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ilan Sheady!
Disc One:
- Commentary by Frank Djeng & Robert “Bobby” Samuels
- Commentary by Frank Djeng & Michael Worth
- Commentary by Samm Deighan
- Lady Whirlwind Speaks, the first part of a newly filmed interview with Angela Mao
- Kung Fu Cooking, a newly filmed conversation with Mao’s son Thomas King
- Alternate English credits
- Hong Kong theatrical trailer, plus US theatrical trailer and radio spot
- Image gallery
Disc Two:
- Three options of English dub: vintage “kung fu” and “hapkido” dubs in lossless mono, plus 2006 DVD dub in 5.1 surround
- Commentary by Frank Djeng & Robert “Bobby” Samuels
- Commentary by Frank Djeng & Michael Worth
- Lady Kung Fu Speaks, the second part of a newly filmed interview with Angela Mao
- Archive interviews with Angela Mao, Carter Wong and Sammo Hung & Yuen Biao
- Original vintage featurette showing Ji Hanjae teaching the lead actors hapkido, newly restored in 2K by Fortune Star
- Three alternate opening credits sequences (textless, English and US)
- Hong Kong theatrical trailers plus US theatrical trailer and TV spot
- Image gallery
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Composite Blu-ray Grade
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MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 93 mins
Director: Feng Huang
Writer: Yan Ho
Cast: Angela Mao; Carter Wong; Sammo Kam-Bo Hung
Genre: Action | Drama
Tagline: Don't let your girlfriend see this film.
Memorable Movie Quote:
Distributor: Golden harvest Company
Official Site:
Release Date: October 1, 1972 (Hong Kong)
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: January 17, 2023
Synopsis: Three graduated Hapkido students return to China from Japanese-occupied Korea in order to set up their own school. However, problems start to arise when a local Japanese martial arts school tries to run the new school out of town.
