A MAN CALLED HERO is part of our Vinegar Syndrome Archive collection, celebrating forgotten cinematic oddities from the video store era. This collection was inspired by our own brick & mortar video stores, with locations in Bridgeport, CT; Aurora, CO and Toronto, ON!
Unique to this line, each hand numbered limited edition release will come fitted in a specially designed, bottom loading VHS inspired slipcase, while also including a double-sided poster.
These releases will ONLY be available on our website and at participating indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them. This slipcase edition (designed by Tony Stella) is strictly limited to 5,000 units and may (but probably not) be followed by a standard edition in the future.
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Hero is a gifted martial artist who is honored to be chosen for training by his mentor, Pride. Upon arriving home to tell his family about this achievement, Hero discovers that his parents have been murdered by a group of foreign gangsters. Hero then uses his family's mystical red sword to exact revenge on his parents' killers. Now a wanted man, Hero is forced to leave behind his lover Jade and his best friend Sheng in order to start a new life in America. 16 years later, Sheng and Hero's now grown son, Sword, travel to 1930s New York City in search of him. Sword learns of his father's time in America through a series of stories told by those that knew Hero best. However, now in this new land, Sword undergoes some of the same treatment as his father and is forced to face many new enemies, such as violent gangsters and racist mine workers.
Loosely based on the popular Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword comic book series and directed by one of Hong Kong's most celebrated directors, Andrew Lau (Infernal Affairs, Initial D), A MAN CALLED HERO is an epic tale of revenge and redemption told mostly through flashbacks and is remembered in part for its comic book style cinematography and innovative effects. Starring Ekin Cheng (Heroic Duo, Tokyo Raiders) as Hero, Nicholas Tse (Raging Fire, New Police Story) as Sword, and featuring a strong supporting cast including Hong Kong's notorious Anthony Wong (Ebola Syndrome), martial arts master Yuen Biao (Righting Wrongs), and the lovely Kristy Yeung (Storm Riders), Vinegar Syndrome Archive is proud to present A MAN CALLED HERO on Blu-ray for the first time in North America, newly restored from a studio provided master, complete with all the stylized martial arts action one could ask for, including a memorable fight scene on the top of the Statue of Liberty.
directed by: Andrew Lau starring: Ekin Cheng, Nicholas Tse, Anthony Wong, Yuen Biao, Kristy Yeung 1999 / 116 min / 2.35:1 / Cantonese 5.1 Surround with English subtitles + English Stereo dub + Mandarin Stereo dub
Additional info:
Region A Blu-ray
Newly restored by Vinegar Syndrome from an existing studio master
Presented in its original Cantonese language 5.1 surround soundtrack with newly translated English subtitles, an English language dub 2.0 stereo soundtrack and a Mandarin language dub 2.0 stereo soundtrack
Brand new commentary track with film historian Frank Djeng
"A Blood Sword in the Road: A Man Called Hero’s Place in Hong Kong Cinema’s Action Movie Landscape" (17 min) - a video essay by Justin Decloux of The Important Cinema Club
Reversible sleeve artwork
Newly translated English subtitles
Overall rating: 4.34359 / 5 from 195 reviews.
AI Generated Review Summary
A Man Called Hero, part of the Vinegar Syndrome Archive collection, is celebrated for its visually stylish cinematography and innovative effects. Customers praise the film's great cover art, memorable scenes, and stylish action sequences. The packaging and art are highly regarded, though opinions on the effects are mixed. The story is well-made and hits home nicely, making it a great addition to the VSA line.
Summary topics
Film Experience (10%): It was reported by customers that A Man Called Hero is a wild ride and a great addition to the VSA line.
Visual Aesthetics (7%): It was observed by customers that the film looks great and the packaging and art look beautiful.
Product Release (9%): Customers expressed satisfaction with the release, as it was described as great, fantastic, and excellent.
Packaging Quality (8%): It was observed by customers that the packaging of the film is great and of excellent quality.
Action Sequences (14%): Customers loved the action in the film 'A Man Called Hero' and found it stylish and action-packed.
"Great cover art and fun movie with memorable scenes" — Charles W.
"Nevertheless, the film is nicely shot, and the occasional action is well choreographed." — Vance T.
"The artwork for this one is really nice and the movie looks great!" — Guillaume O.
Reviews
An Ambitious Hong Kong Comic Book Spectacle
"A Man Called Hero is a hugely ambitious fantasy-action film that feels like a live-action comic book brought to the screen. Based on Ma Wing-shing's manhua, it combines martial arts, melodrama, romance, fantasy, and sweeping historical adventure into an enormous genre spectacle. Ekin Cheng has the right presence for Hero, while the supporting cast and elaborate production design give the movie a scale that was unusual for Hong Kong filmmaking of the period. The visual effects are very much products of the late 90s, but that's part of the charm. Director Andrew Lau uses them aggressively to create impossible fights and exaggerated comic-book imagery rather than attempting strict realism. Overall, A Man Called Hero is messy, imaginative, and visually extravagant in exactly the way a big-screen comic adaptation should be."
— Tim L. (5/5)
Fantastic
"Not only is the image quality crisp but they even improved on some of the cg effects. This cut also includes the controversial scenes that the Asian version deleted. It’s overall beyond what the theatre can deliver."
— Tai T. (5/5)
Another awesome release from VS
"Another awesome release from VS"
— Lucas J. (5/5)
Entertaining martial arts movie
"Entertaining martial arts movie. Fun storyline that transcends generations and has a decent amount of action scenes. I was fortunate enough to snag the edition with the nifty solid bottom losing slipcover."
— Kresh R. (4/5)
Pretty fun
"This movie is dumb as hell with some pretty bad CGI, but I would be lying if I didn't say it's still a fun watch. Solid transfer, good translation."
— Tyler B. (4/5)
Super fun late 90s/early 2000s
"Super fun late 90s/early 2000s action/martial arts film with goofy effects. Beautiful restoration and a really solid action movie!"
— Edward l. (4/5)
Melodrama and bad CG
"The movie is too long, the plot is overly melodramatic (I mean, the KKK and speeches about equality in America?) and is told through a series of flashbacks that get pretty annoying after a while. The movie is filled with terribly dated CG that looks awful. The story meanders all over the place and doesn't make much sense. Some fight scenes are cool and Yuen Biao is good as always, but that isn't enough to save this. Overall, not recommended."
— Kai Y. (2/5)
A Frayed Tapestry
"The production values of the movie are great. Decent dubbing, good special effects for the time, a score that just starts and doesn't stop, and interesting characters fill this action packed movie. Even with all of that, there seemed to be a lot of loose ends at the end of the movie and no real resolution, it kind of leaves you feeling empty and wanting more. If this was part of a series of movies and some of the supporting characters became more fleshed out - such as learning why Brother Shadow has no arms, this could be forgiven and I would give 4 stars instead of 3. The scenes between the flashbacks feel like unnecessary padding considering the movie would still be in chronological order with them removed. This is worsened by the fact that the special features documentary states that this film is based off of a Manhwa series and there are scenes that could have been present instead. Would recommend the watch and maybe a dive into the comics."
— Emma G. (3/5)
worth it for a few scenes
"Has all the elements for the genre, but aspects have aged poorly. Disc itself is good!"
— Kevin F. (4/5)
Not enough Shu Qi!
"Heavily CG-assisted Wuxia that feels rushed, and whose budget and production year technology falls far short of the visual spectacle it’s trying to achieve—though there are a couple fantastic special effects sequences (including a sword duel with water projectiles) that are nicely aided by immersive sound design. It makes me think of how three decades of Wuxia movies from the ‘60s to the ‘80s would be even better with the richness, detail and clashing weight of modern DTS surround sound. Honestly, this feels like a Chinese take on a comic book movie pre-Marvel cultural domination, and for its many shortcomings, including a wooden Canto Pop lead who never feels heroic enough, I’ll still take this every time over anything involving a member of The Avengers. None of those films would have martial artists beating the shit out of members of the Ku Klux Klan. Takes an hour for Shu Qi to show up (why I bought this) but before that, you get two Hong Kong legends of different eras; an extended cameo from my favourite of the Three Dragons, Yuen Biao, and a one scene appearance from Queen of Swords, Cheng Pei-Pei."
— Timothy E. (2/5)
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