An action-packed double bill starring ‘Queen of Kung-fu’ Angela Mao is heading to Blu-ray and DVD on August 22nd as part of the Eureka Classics range.
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Angela Mao and director Huang Feng (The Shaolin Plot) produced a popular series of top tier kung-fu classics including Deadly China Doll, When Taekwondo Strikes, Hapkido and Lady Whirlwind – the last two of which are included in this new release; Angela Mao: Hapkido & Lady Whirlwind.
In Hapkido (aka. Lady Kung Fu in the West), a group of martial artists (Mao, Sammo Hung, and Carter Wong) start their own school to teach the Korean martial art, Hapkido, but a rival Japanese academy attempts to crush them – deeming Hapkido inferior to their Japanese fighting style.
Similar to the plot of Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury (a canny decision by the filmmakers, capitalising on Mao often being referred to as a “female Bruce Lee” ), Hapkido was a huge hit in the West, even briefly beating Lee’s Enter the Dragon at the North American box office.
Perhaps her most iconic film, Lady Whirlwind stars Mao as a deadly fighter out for revenge on the man who wronged her sister (Chang Yi).
After tracking the man down, she finds he is on his own vengeful path against a gang of Japanese thugs and agrees to help keep him alive – as long as she gets to take her revenge when it’s all over!
Both films are being presented from brand new 2K restorations.