The Magnificent Chang Cheh Double-Feature Blu-ray Review

Eureka Entertainment

Blu-ray Release: April 29, 2025

Video: 2.35:1/1080p/Color (both films)

Audio: Mandarin LPCM 2.0 Mono (both films), English LPCM 2.0 Mono (Magnificent Wanderers only)

Subtitles: English (both films)

Run Time: 108:32 (Magnificent Trio), 86:54 (Magnificent Wanderers)

Director: Chang Cheh and Wu Ma

No other director had a bigger impact on Hong Kong action cinema than Chang Cheh, who directed and/or wrote around 100 movies across six decades. His films were steeped in a formula now known as ‘heroic bloodshed,’ which emphasized brotherhood, redemption, and violent sacrifice, but his style evolved with the times and helped usher in the Hong Kong New Wave style that, in turn, took Hollywood by storm in the mid-to-late ‘90s. While he was not the first filmmaker of his kind and borrowed from other great filmmakers, Chang might still be the single most influential wuxia/kung fu director of all time.

The following double-feature, united by the fact that they feature the word ‘Magnificent’ in their titles, represent Chang’s career in the mid ’60s, at the onset of his stardom, and in the late ‘70s, at the peak of his filmmaking powers.

The Magnificent Trio (1966)

Swordsman Lu Fang (Jimmy Wang Yu) and fellow warriors Yen Tzu-ching (Lo Lieh) and Huang Liang (Cheng Lui) lend their martial arts prowess to a group of oppressed farmers after they kidnap the daughter of their local magistrate. (From Eureka’s official synopsis)

Released the same year as King Hu’s groundbreaking, genre-defining Come Drink with Me (1966) and one year before his own The One-Armed Swordsman (1967), which set the high box office standard for Shaw Bros., The Magnificent Trio was an important stepping stone for Chang and actor Jimmy Wang Yu, whose own star would rise after appearing in One-Armed Swordsman. Confined by stage sets and burdened with an overly busy screenplay (credited to five writers, including Chang), The Magnificent Trio can’t quite match the impactful and visual panache of Hu’s film or Chang & Yu’s upcoming collaboration. Nevertheless, its ambitious and frothy approach to historical melodrama demonstrates a developing sense of refinement and formula that would soon define Shaw’s industry domination.

While couched in wuxia themes and clichés, The Magnificent Trio isn’t exactly a martial arts showcase. Chang’s penchant for macho heroism and blood-splatter are present (including requisite torture sequences and selfless sacrifices), but, aside from the climatic showdown, the sword fights tend to be short-lived and to the point, functioning more as they would in a Hollywood costume drama (swords are drawn, someone is stabbed, they die, moving on). This isn’t meant as a criticism – to the contrary – it‘s further evidence of the stylistic shifts that characterize this era of Hong Kong filmmaking. No one is credited as fight choreographer, but Lau Kar-Leung appears as a background performer, so I assume he and/or members of his family were responsible for coordinating stunts with Chang.

Magnificent Wanderers (1977)

Three nomads – Lin Shao You (Fu Sheng), Shi Da Yong (Chi Kuan-chun), and Guan Fei (Li Yi-min) – attempt to join Chinese patriots in their struggle against invading Mongol armies with the help of the wealthy Chu Tie Xia (David Chiang). (From Eureka’s official synopsis)

Like Magnificent Trio, Magnificent Wanderers represents Shaw Bros. and Hong Kong martial arts cinema in flux. In some ways, it is a predecessor to Chang’s Venom Mob movies, which were increasingly sold on their ensemble all-star casts (future Venoms Phillip Kwok and Lu Feng even make an appearance as Mongol wrestlers), but is more clearly a harbinger of the comedic kung fu movies that eventually overtook Chang’s brand of violent melodrama. Chang didn’t make many comedies over his astonishingly prolific career and wasn’t as comfortable with timing jokes as the filmmakers he inspired. As a result, Magnificent Wanderers makes a curious counterpart to action dramas, like Disciples of Shaolin (aka: Invincible One, 1975), which was made only a couple of years prior and also features Fu Shen and Chi Kuan-chun in leading roles.

It’s not without laughs – Fu and Chiang are both on their game here – but Chang Tzu-Nan and Li Yung-Chang’s screenplay is extremely episodic and only stumbles onto a plot via exposition scenes that pause both the action and gags. Perhaps in an attempt to nullify Chang’s comedic shortcomings, Magnificent Wanderers was co-directed by Wu Ma, who teamed-up with Chang on several features during this period. Today, he is better remembered as an actor, having collaborated with Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Ricky Lau, and Tsui Hark. The dual direction might also explain the strange, though not unenjoyable tonal shifts. At the very least, the film’s climax, in which the title characters are challenged to a series of martial bouts by the Mongolians, successfully blends silly antics with typically top-notch (and gory) action from Chang.

Video

Neither film was released on official US DVD, but both were importable from Hong Kong and Taiwan, though as PAL-to-NTSC conversions. Additionally, Magnificent Trio was available from the UK and France. As per usual, these new 2.35:1, 1080p transfers were provided directly to Eureka by Celestial Pictures and the image quality matches the standard set for the company’s other Shaw Bros. HD masters. Magnificent Trio is arguably the better transfer, despite some noisy moments, because it features more prominent textures and stronger dynamic range. This seems to be the case for several ‘60s era Shaw transfers and is likely due to the moodier lighting schemes of those earlier films. Magnificent Wanderers, in turn, has the same slight DNR sheen seen from other ‘70s/early ‘80s releases, along with a few halo-effected shots during the climax. It does, however, have advantages in terms of color quality, thanks to more vibrant costumes and backdrops.

Audio

Both films are presented with their original Mandarin mono dubs in uncompressed LPCM sound and The Magnificent Wanderers has an additional English mono dub option, also in LPCM. Like the video quality, the tracks meet expectations set by similar releases. There are minor issues with muffling throughout, probably due to setting the sound floor too low in order to cover up inherent buzz or static. Vocal performances and effects work is consistent with slight distortion at high volumes. Magnificent Wanderers’ English track is significantly more quiet than its Mandarin counterpart, emphasizing dialogue over effects work. 

Magnificent Trio’s mix emphasizes the lush, classical score, which is credited to Wang Fu-Ling, but is mostly (entirely?) library music, including pieces from Tchaikoksky's Swan Lake. No composer is credited for Magnificent Wanderers’ familiar De Wolf soundtrack selections. Frustratingly, I couldn’t place the title track, which I think is from a spaghetti western. IMDb and Shazam were of no help.

Extras

• The Magnificent Trio commentary with Frank Djeng and Michael Worth – The always reliable team of Djeng, a NY Asian Film Festival programmer, and martial artist/filmmaker/critic Worth delivers another info-packed commentary that covers the making-of and release of the film, the careers of the cast & crew, and how they fit larger Shaw studio history.

• Magnificent Wanderers commentary with Mike Leeder and Arne Venema – Casting director/stunt coordinator/producer, Leeder, and his critical companion and Neon Grindhouse: Hong Kong co-writer, Venema, discuss the ins & outs of the production and the wider work of the studio, cast, and crew, all in their usual personable manner.

• Chang Cheh Style (29:20, HD) – Gary Bettinson, the editor-in-chief of Asian Cinema Journal, explores the director’s career, his influence, the macho themes of his films, and the specific visual trademarks that he developed between Magnificent Trio and Magnificent Wanderers.

The images on this page are taken from the Blu-ray and sized for the page. Larger versions can be viewed by clicking the images. Note that there will be some JPG compression.