QUICK SCHLOCK: The SHAWSCOPE VOL. 2 Box Set, Part 1

One year after releasing their monumental Shawscope Vol. 1 box set, perhaps the best single presentation of Shaw Brothers films in the American home video market, Arrow Video returned to fray with another action-packed box set of films from this storied Chinese film studio. Shawscope Vol. 2 dishes out a whopping 14 films, not mention countless extras and another two CD's worth of sound library music used to score the films in this set.

Here is the first part in a three-post series devoted to exploring the films in this set. This installment serves up no less that four films masterminded by the great Lau Kar-Leung, including some all-timer favorites with martial arts film fans in The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin and Mad Monkey Kung Fu. Rounding out this quintet is a look at Five Superfighters, a comedy kung fu extravaganza that makes up what it lacks in budget or name stars with a jaw-dropping work ethic expressed via an array of intricately choreographed fight and training sequences.

THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN: "...shows both Gordon Liu and Lau Kar-Leung operating at the top their abilities and is one of the great training-themed martial arts films, to boot." https://boxd.it/3F2KaX

RETURN TO THE 36TH CHAMBER: "...an underrated film that might surprise you if you look beneath the comedy for the skills underpinning it.." https://boxd.it/3F2KNb

DISCIPLES OF THE 36TH CHAMBER: "...arrived late in the game but was welcome nonetheless, playing like a nostalgic closer for the Shaw Brothers house style of kung fu outing." https://boxd.it/3HzXYl

MAD MONKEY KUNG FU: "This Joe Bob Briggs favorite reflects Shaw Brothers meeting the comedy kung fu trend head on but with Lau at the helm... it uses the subgenre to its own ends." https://boxd.it/3HzXsJ

FIVE SUPERFIGHTERS: "The storyline is elemental at best and the comedy is silly as all get out but the work ethic is damned impressive." https://boxd.it/3JRn6r