Old Hong Kong cinema has become the source of some cult classics in the modern era. It’s not surprising given how the city’s film industry boomed in the 1970’s. All because of just how good their martial arts films are, which also coincided with (and may have been partially responsible for) the kung fu craze of that era. Alas, some of these older Hong Kong films have been lost to the ages, or have just become really hard to find in a viewable format. Luckily, Shout! Studios understands this problem well, and is doing something about it.
Shout! Studios is proud to announce that they are making a series of Hong Kong Cinema Classics available on demand and for digital download. According to them: “Many of these highly sought-after movies from Shout!’s Golden Princess library and seminal Hong Kong classics have been dormant and out–of–print for decades outside of Asia.” Thus, this may well be your first chance to watch these classics, and with restored footage and newly translated subtitles to boot. You won’t have long to wait either. All of these classics will become available on July 22, 2025. On that date, you can get them from Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Microsoft, and other digital platforms.
So which Hong Kong classics are Shout! Studios releasing? Well, you can view the full list below:
A BETTER TOMORROW in 4K | July 8
Directed by John Woo
Starring Chow Yun-Fat, Leslie Cheung, and Ti Lung
A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.
Two friends, Ho (Ti Lung) and Mark (Chow Yun-Fat), are triads in a counterfeiting operation who end up doing ‘one more job’ and what do you know, this one more job gets messier than they had hoped…
A BETTER TOMORROW II in 4K | July 8
Directed by John Woo
Starring Chow Yun-Fat and Leslie Cheung
Restaurant owner Ken Gor (Chow Yun-Fat), twin brother of Mark Gor, teams up with police detective Kit (Leslie Cheung) and his struggling ex-con brother Ho to avenge his old friend’s daughter’s death by a Triad gang.
A BETTER TOMORROW III in 4K | July 8
Directed by Tsui Hark
Starring Chow Yun-Fat and Tony Leung Ka-Fai
This prequel to the popular film franchise finds Chow Yun-Fat reprising his role as Mark Gor, who travels to war-torn Vietnam to get his uncle and just-out-of-jail cousin Cheung Chi-Mun to Hong Kong. Gor finds complications when he falls in love with a female gangster with a dangerous ex.
THE KILLER in 4K | July 22
Directed by John Woo
Starring Chow Yun-Fat, Danny Lee Sau-Yin, Sally Yeh
A disillusioned assassin accepts one last hit in hopes of using his earnings to restore vision to a singer he accidentally blinded.
Chow Yun-fat stars as a killer with a conscience in John Woo’s exquisite dissection of morals in a corrupt society. Replete with balletic, slow-motion gun battles on the streets of Hong Kong, The Killer mixes genres from both the East and the West.
PEKING OPERA BLUES in 4K | July 22
Directed by Tsui Hark
Starring Brigitte Lin Ching-Hsia, Sally Yeh Chian-Wen, Cherie Chung Cho-Hung
The movie is set in chaotic 1920’s China, when warlords fought each other for power while Sun Yat-Sen’s underground movement tried to establish a democratic republic. The movie tells the story of three young women and two young men who are thrown together.
That Hashtag Show
