It’s very common for members of Hong Kong (HK) cinema to take on multiple career paths through their lifetime. Many start as stunt people, working their way up to actor and then, often, to the position of writing and/or directing, even on the same projects they perform in. One such individual is Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, more commonly known as simply Sammo Hung, whose work in films range from A Touch of Zen (1970) with director King Hu, to any of the Dragons films alongside Yuen Biao (My Lucky Stars) and Jackie Chan (Dragons Forever) as performer/writer/director, and even one of 2024’s best films, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In. Entering The Criterion Collection with a brand-new 2K restoration is Hung’s 1987 war actioner Eastern Condors, a Vietnam War-set tale that brings together Hong Kong elements of martial arts action and physical comedy with the sincerity and brutality of war, joined by a small collection of new and old behind the scenes materials. Though not all the elements balance evenly, there’s no denying the intelligence of the stunt work or the conviction of the cast and crew.
Sammo Hung as Tung Ming-sun in EASTERN CONDORS. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Its 1976 and the Vietnam War may be over in terms of U.S. involvement, but that doesn’t mean that there still isn’t work to do. In this case, a cache of weapons and equipment hidden in the country meant to drive out the Viet Chong (VC) needs to be reclaimed before it falls into enemy hands and further bolsters their side. Tasked with a secret mission, Hong Kong-American Officer Lieutenant Colonel Lam (Lam Ching-ying) assembles a crew of prisoners with the promise of a pardon, financial reward, and relocation if they can successfully complete the mission and return. Given the extra task of retrieving a wounded sibling by Colonel Yeung (Dr. Haing S. Ngor), Lam’s mission seems fairly straight-forward until they arrive in Vietnam and the unit starts to suffer causalities immediately. With enemies closing in and little ground to go to, can Lam and his team complete the mission or will they all die trying?
L-R: Sammo Hung as Tung Ming-sun and Yuen Biao as Kiet in EASTERN CONDORS. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Eastern Condors is not the first Hung-directed film added to Criterion (Jackie Chan: Emergence of a Superstar), but it does appear to be the first solo release. The packaging for this edition is fairly simple with new artwork by Sam Hadley adorning the front and the usual release information on the back. The inside is a clear plastic case with a cast photo of everyone in costume running the length. On the right side is the disc holder for the lone Blu-ray disc and on the right is a fold-out poster instead of a booklet. On one side is Hadley’s art and the other contains the new essay from critic Sean Gilman, cast & crew credits, production credits, mastering information, and general acknowledgements. Gilman’s essay not only explores the film proper, but offers context as it relates to Hung (as a person; filmmaker; actor), his illustrious castmates, preparation for the role, and historical context for a Hong Kong-made Vietnam Era war story released in 1987. While one can appreciate the desire of Criterion to include a poster to accompany the release (a fairly standard practice with fellow boutique physical media distributor 88 Films), the integration of the booklet into the poster does make reading Gilman’s work a trifle more difficult and less enjoyable than if it were in a traditional pamphlet style.
Joyce Mina Godenzi as Cambodian guerrilla leader in EASTERN CONDORS. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Thankfully, there are zero complaints when it comes to the presentation itself. Opting for the 2K restoration of the original edition (not the English dub known as the “Export Cut” or “Export Version,” depending on whether it’s on disc or in the listed materials on the liner), this film looks and sounds wonderful. The monaural soundtrack is clean and clear, coming through the speakers in my 5.1 surround sound (obviously not providing said-surround experience) with impact during the action and balanced beautifully during the conversational quiet moments. There’s no noticeable damage, wear, or impairment to the sound in scoring, background, or dialogue. Likewise, the video presentation is lovely, the colors enhanced to be more natural in presentation, whether it’s the lush greenery of the Philippines (standing in for Vietnam) or the skin tone of the characters, which is less washed out and more indicative of individuals making their way through a sun-soaked forest. There’s absolute beauty in near every shot, which helps to visually counteract the violence that the narrative explores, creating a fascinating juxtaposition between awe for how it looks and the weight of what these characters experience.
In checking the bitrate on the Blu-ray, the presentation hovered strongly in the mid-30s, typically right on 35/36. This matters because the high-end of a standard HD disc is 40 Mbps, so that this presentation is just below it supports the on-disc presentation. Not all restorations are released equally, so it’s a delight that this release from Criterion actually delivers what it promises — a high-quality HD presentation.
Sammo Hung as Tung Ming-sun in EASTERN CONDORS. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
In terms of the on-disc bonus features, this is a collection of known/unknown materials. The knowns are fairly straightforward with two archived 2001 interviews with Hung exploring different elements of his life (“Evolution of a Legend” is more focused on his childhood and its connection to his start in HK cinema, while “Sammo Hung on Eastern Condors” focuses more specifically on the experience of making this film), a sit-down with frequent collaborator Yuen Wah (Millionaires’ Express; Dragons Forever; Kung Fu Hustle), and an on-stage showcase/stunt performance from the 1987 Miss Asia Pageant that helped advertise the release of the film. These have each been available in some form or another, but are now gathered together in one place. The new is two-fold: brand-new feature-length commentary from critic Tony Rayns (he’s written essays for Criterion and provided supplemental material for other boutique releases from Radiance Films and Arrow Video) and a new nearly-nine-minute interview with Hung from this year. The latter is more of a lookback on Hung’s entire life and career, summing up a lot of what’s covered in the archived interviews.
Yuen Wo-ping as Yam Yan-hei (center) and Corey Yuen as Woo Dik-chu (right) in EASTERN CONDORS. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
In the last few years, there’s been an uptick in restorations and remasters of HK cinema, much to the delight of cinephiles everywhere. There’s a rich history that goes beyond the assumed martial arts to include fantasy (The Shadow Boxing), horror (Magic Cop), drama (The Long Arm of the Law I & II), and comedy (The Miracle Fighters). In the case of the Sammo Hung-directed (Millionaires’ Express) and Barry Wong-written (Hard Boiled). Eastern Condors is a tale that incorporates several of these, seeking to blend an action/dramatic war story with the realistic martial arts action Hung’s known for (in front of and behind the camera) and a pinch of physical comedy. While the use of physical comedy makes sense given the cast that includes Yuen Biao (The Champions; My Lucky Stars), Dick Wei (The Champions; Project A), Corey Yuen (Yes, Madam!; Millionaries’ Express), Yuen Wo-Ping (Drunken Master; Tiger Cage), Wah, and many others, some of its use does interrupt the dramatic elements such as during life-or-death fight sequences. One expects either John Spartan or Simon Phoenix (Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes, respectively) to crack wise during their various altercations, but it’s less appropriate to see Biao’s Kiet do one of the actor’s overly-expressive responses to being hit somewhere while time bombs are counting down. Conversely, there’s something human and heartbreaking at Yuen or Wo-Ping’s characters delivering one-liners in the face of insurmountable conditions that make the despair we the audience feel in the moment more grounded and natural. As explained by Hung in the included featurettes, HK audiences have certain expectations that need to be met, which explains the inclusion of comedic aspects, even where it may seem strange. When all the gears are working together, even the somewhat outrageous sequence at a VC prison camp that features two kids using prisoners to play Russian roulette starts as something comically funny and ends with a sharp poignancy about the horror of war and the real costs that come with it. To that end, Eastern Condors could easily be just a means by which Hung could gather his friends together to have a blast in the Philippines, but, instead, actually makes a wartime feature that marries HK cinema with a narrative that pulls no punches in questioning American involvement in global politics and the bloody cost of pursuing peace via war. If you can get past the questionable ridiculousness, Eastern Condors is a film that dazzles with the martial arts action while giving you a narrative to contemplate after.
L-R: Yuen Wah as General and Yuen Biao as Kiet in EASTERN CONDORS. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Ultimately, what you want to know is whether or not this edition of Eastern Condors is worth picking up. For folks still dipping their toes into HK cinema (of which there is so much intriguing work of varying genres to discover), this is a solid set of material to not only dig into the film, but get a sense of what else one might find from the famed locales, filmmakers, and stars. For those who just want a strong quality presentation of another of Hung’s impressive works, you’re not going to be disappointed either by the on-disc presentation alone. However, if you’re coming to Eastern Condors without much exploration into HK cinema, the significance of the dizzying cast is going to be lost on you, as will the sense of the mixed genres Hung utilizes.
Eastern Condors Special Features:
- 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- 2K digital restoration of the English-dubbed “export cut” of the film
- *NEW* audio commentary featuring film critic Tony Rayns
- *NEW* Meet the Filmmakers, a new interview with actor-director Sammo Hung (8:53)
- Evolution of a Legend, 2001 Interview with Sammo Hung
- Sammo Hung on Eastern Condors, 2001 Interview with Sammo Hung
- Yuen Wah on Eastern Condors, 2001 interview with actor Yuen Wah
- Eastern Condors Live!, an onstage performance from the 1987 Miss Asia Pageant
- One (1) teaser
- Three (3) trailers
- *NEW* English subtitle translation
- PLUS: An essay by film critic Sean Gilman
- New illustration by Sam Hadley
Available on Blu-ray December 17th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official The Criterion Collection Eastern Condors webpage.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
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