Shout! Studios Announces Its First Batch of Classic Hong Kong Cinema Releases
Back in January, Shout! Studios made action and martial arts cinema fans very happy with the news that they had acquired the worldwide rights to 156 classic Hong Kong films from the Golden Princess film library — including titles from such iconic filmmakers as John Woo, Ringo Lam, and Tsui Hark.
And now, just a few months later, they’ve launched their Hong Kong Cinema Classics sublabel and announced the first batch of digital and physical releases from their deal.
Digital Releases:
- June 24, 2025: John Woo’s Hard Boiled and Ringo Lam’s City on Fire
- July 8, 2025: John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow, A Better Tomorrow II, and A Better Tomorrow III
- July 22, 2025: Tsui Hark’s Peking Opera Blues and John Woo’s The Killer
- August 5, 2025: Tony Ching’s A Chinese Ghost Story, A Chinese Ghost Story II, and A Chinese Ghost Story III
- August 19, 2025: John Woo’s Bullet in the Head
All of these films, with the exception of the Chinese Ghost Story trilogy, will be released in 4K.
Physical Releases:
- July 29, 2025: The Jet Li Collection: Fist of Legend, Tai Chi Master, Fong Sai Yuk, Fong Sai Yuk II, and The Bodyguard from Beijing
- August 26, 2025: Ringo Lam’s City on Fire
- September 23, 2025: Tsui Hark’s Peking Opera Blues
These will be released on 4K UHD + Blu-ray. Given the level of care and attention to detail outlined in Shout!‘s announcement, they promise to be fantastic additions to any genre film fan’s library. For a complete list of special features and technical specs, check out Blu-ray.com’s coverage.
Despite their influential status, these films have been nigh-impossible to acquire for a very long time. Years ago, I bought VHS and DVD copies of some of them (e.g., Tai Chi Master, The Bodyguard from Beijing) from now-defunct distributors like HKFlix.com and Tai Seng. Suffice to say, I can’t wait to replace them with shiny new 4K editions.