14 Amazons, The (Blu-ray Review)
Director
Cheng KangRelease Date(s)
1972 (July 30, 2025)Studio(s)
Shaw Brothers Studio/Celestial Pictures (Imprint Asia/Via Vision Entertainment)- Film/Program Grade: B+
- Video Grade: B-
- Audio Grade: C+
- Extras Grade: C
Review
[Editor’s Note: This is a Region-Free Australian Blu-ray import.]
The 14 Amazons (aka Shi si nu ying hao) was released in 1972 in Hong Kong. It was never officially released in the US but it did play with subtitles in Honolulu that same year, and in San Francisco the following year. During an intense and bloody battle for control of the border of their homeland, General Yang Tsung Pao (Tsung Hua) and his men are ambushed, all but two killed by invading forces from Western Xia, including Pao himself. Back home, his birthday is being celebrated by the female leaders of the Yang clan, including Pao’s wife Mu Guiying (Ivy Ling-Po), his son Yang Wenguang (Lily Ho Li-Li), and Grandmother She Saihua (Lisa Lu Yan). Appalled by the corrupt prime minister Wang Qin’s (Ching Miao) lack of retaliation, the entire clan forms an army and sets out for revenge against them, including the leader, the King of Western Xia (Tien Feng) and his sons (Wang Hsie, James Nam Seok-Hoon, Tien Ching, Paul Chun Pui, and Lo Lieh). Other cast members include Yueh Hua, Shu Pei-Pei, Wang Ping, Liu Wu-Chi, Karen Yip Leng-Chi, and Li Ching.
A lavish production based upon Chinese folklore surrounding the Yang family’s defense against opposing forces during the reign of the Song dynasty, The 14 Amazons is one of Shaw Brothers’ most impressive pictures when it comes to scale. To viewers, a mighty cast with a sprawling story of war and revenge can seem daunting at a little over two hours, but the film is so entertaining that the minutes just fly by once the story is underway. There are some amazing and memorable set pieces, including Western Xia soldiers attempting to set fire to the marching Yang soldiers in a narrow canyon, a nonsensical but no less fun moment when the Yangs must create a human bridge across a chasm in order to proceed, and a blood-soaked finale in which the Yangs slowly but surely press the Western Xia fighters back and defeat them. Ivy Ling-Po steals the show as the newly-widowed Mu Guiying hellbent on ridding the land of the Western Xia warriors, and in a memorable sequence, swinging from a spinning rope in order to take out encircling foes. The 14 Amazons was a hit with audiences upon release, subsequently receiving much acclaim and winning many awards, but it unfortunately gets lost in the shuffle of Hong Kong cinema for Western audiences, especially since it was never released theatrically for US consumption.
The 14 Amazons was shot by director of photography Charles Tung Shao-Yung on 35mm film with anamorphic lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Imprint Films presents what appears to be the Celestial Pictures restoration of the film, which is about three minutes shorter and features digitally re-created titles. It’s definitely a smoother and more processed experience in comparison to Arrow’s presentation, with less natural grain and detail, but fares better than Imprint’s recent release of The Lady Hermit on Blu-ray. This is a much more recent restoration with bitrates sitting in the 30 to 40Mbps range with very nice color and flesh tones, as well as deep blacks. It’s clean and stable, but features the same repeated shot as the Arrow Video restoration, at the 35:54 mark.
Audio is included in Mandarin or English 1.0 DTS-HD Master Audio with optional English subtitles for the Mandarin audio and English SDH for the English audio. The Mandarin option has distortion and sibilance issues, but supports the various elements well enough. Both tracks seem to have been aggressively cleaned up, the English dub even more so, with detail in the audio stripped out entirely. The English dub isn’t too bad when it comes to performances, but the Mandarin option is by far the better choice, especially in terms of its aural quality.
The Imprint Films Region-Free Blu-ray release of The 14 Amazons, as part of their Imprint Asia line, sits in a clear Amaray case with what appears to be new artwork on the front and a still from the film on the inner sleeve. Everything is housed in a slipcase featuring the original Hong Kong poster artwork, but with English text. The following extras are included in HD:
- Audio Commentary by Mike Leeder and Maria Tran
- The 14 Amazons: A Legend Across Media (17:56)
- Digital Reissue Trailer (1:10)
The new audio commentary with Asian film expert Mike Leeder and filmmaker Maria Tran is a far less interesting track than the one included with Arrow Video’s release, helmed by author Jonathan Clements. While Leeder and Tran do get into a discussion of the importance of female-led action and adventure cinema, it’s more of a fan-driven chat. It’s certainly not a poor commentary, but if you’re looking for deeper knowledge about the making of the film, its key cast and crew, and some background on its story, you’re not going to get much out of it. A Legend Across Media features an interview with Dr. Wayne Wong, film scholar and assistant professor at the School of East Asian Studies at The University of Sheffield in England, who explores the story’s origins and how it has been executed in different forms. It’s definitely the best piece of bonus material in regards to information about the history of the film. Last is the film’s digital reissue trailer.
Not carried over from Arrow Video’s Blu-ray release of the film, included in their Shawscope: Volume Three boxed set, is an audio commentary with author Jonathan Clements; three interviews with actress Sharon Yeung, and film critics Bede Cheng and Law Kar; and three theatrical Hong Kong trailers for the film, two in Mandarin and one in English. Also not included from the French DVD release by Wild Side Video is the featurette Shaw’s Martial Waistcoat, the documentary Hong Kong Cinema: The Stars of the Shaw Brothers, a photo gallery, a video trailer, and a Kung Fu Instructor video trailer. This release also featured interviews with Bede Cheng and Sharon Yeung, which one would assume were sourced from the same materials included with Arrow’s release.
As with The Lady Hermit, it was clear going into this release that Arrow Video’s 2024 restoration of The 14 Amazons would come out on top. Imprint’s presentation offers a much better experience than their prior disc, but unless you’re a die-hard Shaw Brothers fan and simply must own every release of the film on Blu-ray, you’re not going to miss much here. It’s otherwise a fine alternative.
- Tim Salmons
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