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When director Huang Feng (The Shaolin Plot) jumped ship from Shaw Brothers to their upstart rivals Golden Harvest, he swiftly launched the career of a Taiwanese ingenue barely out of Beijing opera school named Angela Mao, who despite her fresh-faced femininity became one of Hong Kong's toughest action icons of the 1970s. Lady Whirlwind, directed by Huang in 1972, sees Mao dead set on avenging the death of her sister, only to find herself fighting a common enemy alongside the man she wants revenge on. Hapkido, made the same year, sees her once more pitted against a gang of Japanese thugs, alongside fellow soon-to-be kung fu legends Sammo Hung (Knockabout) and Carter Wong (Big Trouble in Little China) as disciples of the titular Korean fighting style, studying under real-life hapkido grandmasters Ji Han-jae (Game of Death) and Hwang In-shik (The Way of the Dragon). Originally released in the US as Deep Thrust and Lady Kung Fu respectively, these two restored martial arts classics show Mao at her mightiest - every bit as formidable as the great Bruce Lee, whose sister she played in Enter the Dragon the following year.

Media

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Bonus Materials

• SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
• Brand new 2K restorations by Fortune Star
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of both films
• Original lossless Mandarin mono audio for both films, plus lossless English dubbed mono audio
• Optional newly translated English subtitles for both films
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ilan Sheady
• DISC ONE – LADY WHIRLWIND
• Commentary by Frank Djeng & Robert “Bobby” Samuels
• Commentary by Frank Djeng & Michael Worth
• Commentary by Samm Deighan
• Lady Whirlwind Speaks, the first part of a newly filmed interview with Angela Mao
• Kung Fu Cooking, a newly filmed conversation with Mao’s son Thomas King
• Alternate English credits
• Hong Kong theatrical trailer, plus US theatrical trailer and radio spot
• Image gallery
• DISC TWO – HAPKIDO
• Three options of English dub: vintage “kung fu” and “hapkido” dubs in lossless mono, plus 2006 DVD dub in 5.1 surround
• Commentary by Frank Djeng & Robert “Bobby” Samuels
• Commentary by Frank Djeng & Michael Worth
• Lady Kung Fu Speaks, the second part of a newly filmed interview with Angela Mao
• Archive interviews with Angela Mao, Carter Wong and Sammo Hung & Yuen Biao
• Original vintage featurette showing Ji Han-jae teaching the lead actors hapkido, newly restored in 2K by Fortune Star
• Three alternate opening credits sequences (textless, English and US)
• Hong Kong theatrical trailers plus US theatrical trailer and TV spot
• Image gallery
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors' booklet featuring new writing on the films by critic James Oliver

Sales Points

• The ball-and-chain fight in Kill Bill is an homage to Angela Mao's choreography
• Angela Mao was the subject of recent New York Times feature and retrospective screening series at Metrograph and Lincoln Center
• Angela Mao has been cited as an influence on virtually every modern female martial artist, from Michelle Yeoh to Zhang Ziyi to Ronda Rousey
• Angela Mao was the co-star of Enter the Dragon and is considered 'the Female Bruce Lee'

Press Quotes

Angela Mao was the first female kung fu star

     —J. Hoberman, The New York Times

Raymond Chow searched for a female actress with the same charisma and talent as Bruce Lee, and he found Angela Mao.

     —Ric Meyers, Inside Kung Fu

Angela Mao was a radical feminist cinematic presence before there was a language for that... She is the Lauren Bacall of kung fu

     —May Joseph, Pratt Institute

You could describe [Angela Mao] as an 'it-girl' of martial arts, but just be careful she doesn't catch you saying that!

     —Hannah Wilentz, The New Yorker

the fights come fast and furious with a particular spaghetti western influence popping up from the opening credits.

     —GREG WALTON, Movieline Online

These two films showed Angela Mao as a powerful force in action cinema.

     —JOE COREY, Inside Pulse

this highly enjoyable double feature provides not just disproof of Lawrence's debatable assertion, but also proof of why Angela Mao became one of the most distinctive (and perhaps unexpected) superstars of her era.

     —JEFFREY KAUFFMAN, Blu-ray.com

Though Lady Whirlwind is an action-heavy film, it is light when it comes to narrative. The result is a film that fans of classic martial arts should enjoy.

     —MICHAEL DEN BOER, 10k Bullets