Often described as the “Godfather of Hong Kong Cinema,” Chang Cheh made nearly a hundred films during a long career with Shaw Brothers, where he directed such landmark films as The One-Armed Swordsman, Five Deadly Venoms and The Heroic Ones.

Many of his films drew upon Chinese history for inspiration and were based on real people and events. Now, Eureka Classics presents four of his best historical epics in a limited-edition set: Marco Polo, The Pirate, Boxer Rebellion and Four Riders.

Marco Polo: The explorer (Richard Harrison) becomes trapped in a battle between the Mongol Empire and Chinese rebels in the thirteenth century.

The Pirate: Nineteenth-century buccaneer Cheung Po Tsai (Ti Lung) must evade agents of the Imperial Court while attempting to aid the downtrodden residents of a coastal village.

Boxer Rebellion: Chinese patriots use kung fu to protect their nation against invading forces at the turn of the twentieth century.

Four Riders: A Chinese veteran of the Korean War enlists three comrades to help him escape the South Korean Military Police Command after he is falsely accused of murdering an American soldier.

All four films are presented on Blu-ray from HD masters supplied by Celestial Pictures. Extras include two new 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, interviews and essays on these films, an O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Grégory Sacré with a collector’s booklet featuring new writing on all four films in this set by writer and critic James Oliver. It’s all limited to 2,000 copies and you can get it from MVD.