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 S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "The Lady Assassin" or "Ching gung kai si luk" or "The Assassin's Revenge")

 

Directed by Chun-Ku Lu
Hong Kong 1983

 

From Hong Kong's legendary Shaw Brothers studio comes a blood-drenched story of ninjas, eunuchs and dark palace intrigue: the old emperor is on his last legs, and his most ambitious and amoral son plots to cheat his way to the throne. But taking power is the easy bit. Staying on top will prove much more difficult...

Based on a particularly infamous chapter of Chinese history, The Lady Assassin mixes pageantry with some of the most awesome sword fights in any Shaw Brothers film – and that's really saying something. 88 Films are proud to present this classic of swords and scheming for the first time in the UK on Blu-ray.

***

The villainous 4th Prince plots to change a royal edict proclaiming himself as heir to the throne instead of the Emperor's favoured fourteenth prince. The Fourth prince gets the backing of Han loyalists by promising that the Manchu rule of iron will soften when he is in power however he fails to keep his promise and turns against those that helped him.

Posters

Theatrical Release: January 15th, 1983

Reviews                        More Reviews                     DVD Reviews

 

Review: 88 Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover

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Bonus Captures:
Distribution 88 Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:30:33.553        
Video

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 28,673,618,193 bytes

Feature: 22,586,277,888 bytes

Video Bitrate: 29.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

LPCM Audio Mandarin 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio: 88 Films

 

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 28,673,618,193 bytes

Feature: 22,586,277,888 bytes

Video Bitrate: 29.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• From Child Actor to Fight Coordinator - An Interview with Poon Kin-Kwan (23:50)
 • Trailer (1:17)
 • Stills Gallery (2:58)
Reversible sleeve featuring original art


 Blu-ray Release Date: February 24th, 2025
 Transparent Blu-ray Case inside slipcase

Chapters 9

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: 88 Films Blu-ray (February 2025): 88 Films have transferred Chun-Ku Lu's The Lady Assassin to Blu-ray. It is on a dual-layered disc with a high bitrate. The 1080P is quite appealing with impressive detail in the frequent close-ups and bright, true colors. There are sequences of depth and the contrast looks effectively rendered. All good - perhaps more garish than earlier Shaw.

NOTE: We have added 62 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, 88 Films use a linear PCM dual-mono track (16-bit) in the Mandarin language. The Lady Assassin has crazy-fast swordplay, gravity-defying acrobatic flips, and wirework that come through with superficial depth. The score is credited to Chin Yung Shing (Dragons Forever, Five Elements Ninjas, The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter, Mr. Vampire III and Mr. Vampire IV,) and Chen-Hou Su (as Chun Hau So) (8 Diagram Pole Fighter, Five Elements Ninjas)  all sounding exaggerative-ly boisterous and fun with dramatic hints of mayhem. It sounds authentically a shade tinny in the uncompressed transfer. 88 Films offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The 88 Films Blu-ray offers a 24-minute interview with Poon Kin-Kwan entitled From Child Actor to Fight Coordinator. Kin-Kwan Poon is known for small parts in Wong Kar-wai's Days of Being Wild, Fallen Angels and As Tears Go By. There is also a trailer and a stills gallery and the package has a reversible sleeve featuring original art by Sam Green.

Chun-Ku Lu's The Lady Assassin has enjoyable style amid the chaos. It's late-period Shaw Brothers that mixes high-flying martial arts with Ching Dynasty intrigue and a tangled web of royal backstabbing. It has breathless pacing and a few less-ascertainable plot twists, but overall it's a fun ride for fans of 1980s wuxia—fast, furious, and a little unhinged. The 88 Films Blu-ray does its job well and fans may wish to add this to their library. Recommended to that niche.

Gary Tooze

 

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Box Cover

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Bonus Captures:
Distribution 88 Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray


 


 

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