Media publisher Eureka Classics presents two of the original Shaw Brothers Studio’s Venom Mob cult classics – The Daredevils and Ode to Gallantry – on Blu-ray video on March 25, 2025.

During his long and industrious career, the “Godfather of Hong Kong Cinema” Chang Cheh made several films with the celebrated “Venom Mob,” a group of skilled martial arts performers – including Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng, Philip Kwok, Sun Chien, Lo Mang, and Wai Pak. The Hong Kong performers rose to fame as the stars of Cheh’s Five Deadly Venoms. Eureka Classics presents two of the best examples of Shaw’s Venom Mob classics.

Set in Republic era China, The Daredevils follows Yang Ta-ying (Lo Mang) as he sets out to avenge his father, a military commander who was murdered in cold blood by Han Pei-tsang (Wong Lik), a thief-turned-soldier who killed Yang’s father and the rest of his family – to take control of his estate and his army. With the help of his friends Chen Feng (Chiang Sheng), Fu Quanyi (Lu Feng), and Xin Zheng (Sun Chien), he sets out for justice.

Ode to Gallantry centers on a lone martial artist nicknamed “Mongrel,” who is continually drawn into an intense struggle between several warring martial arts clans after stumbling across the Black Iron Token, which entitles the owner to have any wish granted by Xie Yanke (Wong Lik), a brutal kung fu master.

After forming in 1978 for Five Deadly Venoms, the Venom Mob made over a dozen films with Chang Cheh that featured at least three of the original actors in starring roles. Filled with thrilling action set-pieces courtesy of some of the most talented Asian martial artists to emerge during the 1970s, The Daredevils and Ode to Gallantry are two of the finest among them.

Blu-ray Features

• O-Card slipcase featuring original artwork created for the release by Chris Malbon
• 1080p HD presentations on Blu-ray from masters supplied by Celestial Pictures
• Original mono audio tracks
• Optional English subtitles, translated exclusively for this release
• Two commentaries by East Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and martial artist and filmmaker Michael Worth
• Two new commentaries by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
• Deadly Venoms – an interview with Hong Kong cinema scholar Wayne Wong on the Venom Mob
• A limited edition collector’s booklet featuring writing by film critic James Oliver

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