Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #110936 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-06-18
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Colour, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Cantonese Chinese
• Subtitled in: English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish
• Dubbed in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Snake in the Eagle's Shadow is the film that marks the beginnings of Jackie Chan as a Hong Kong action star. Set in early 20th century China, it is a traditional kung fu action picture invigorated by Chan's good humour and charm. The heart of the film is Jackie's surprisingly emotional relationship with the elderly Yuen Siu Tien, whom the star rescues and befriends. In return, the old man trains Chan in the art of Snake's Fist kung fu, which he later combines with the Cat's Claw to develop the technique of the title. The action, directed by Yuen Woo Ping, includes Chan in an exciting battle with a sword-wielding preacher and a striking showdown with arch-villain Hwang Jang Lee. The sequences in which Chan learns new fighting techniques are both inventive and humorous, with the charismatic Yuen Siu Tien (a veteran Chinese film star and father of the director) offering a sober version of the character he would play in Chan's follow-up Drunken Master (1978), and in Magnificent Butcher (1979). The film features a regular ensemble cast of classic Hong Kong kung fu film actors, and regardless of its obviously low budget mixes violence, comedy and emotion into an enduringly popular success.

On the DVD: The image is variable, with some shots displaying considerable grain and print damage while the colours are weak throughout. Worse, the original 2.35:1 film has been reformated to 1.77:1 widescreen TV ratio. While this has been done with some care it inevitably damages the compositions and loses information in the dynamic fight scenes. The sound is functional mono. Soundtrack options are the original Mandarin with English subtitles, or an English dub. Extras include the original English language theatrical trailer, Hong Kong Legends' own trailer, plus promos for further releases and a photo gallery. There is a detailed text biography and filmography of Jackie Chan, and a text interview with producer Ng See Yuen. There is also a text biography of Hwang Jang Lee linked to a kicking showcase which is another short fight scene. Most of these features are identical to those on the Drunken Master DVD.--Gary S Dalkin

Customer Reviews

It is a very good movie but it is not a very good version
i saw this movie on vhs before 9 years ago , you cant compare this dvd version with the vhs that i saw because it was a very poor version but it is better than this dvd version on one thing.
the vhs version(that i saw ) is uncut version and this dvd version is the cut version and that is sad because they cut two scene.
the most beutiful scene that they cut when jackie get kicked by the bad guy in the last fight in the movie when he uses snake fist technique in the first when the bad guy broke his teeth and cut his shirt before he shows the cat claw technique and combine it with the snake technique.

in my opinion they ruin the most beutiful secne in the the most beutiful movie for jackie chan... that is sad : (

Snake in the eagles's shadow
For me this is one of the best Kung fu films ever made. You have Jackie Chan at his best in terms of comedy and fighting and you have Sam Seed as his friend/teacher, but its the performance given by Hwang Jang Lee that really made me watch this film over and over again. I cant think of a better villain or a better fighter then Hwang Jang Lee. The picture quality and sound are great and the extra features are also good ecspecally the kicking showcase by the master of kicking combat himself, yes its Hwang Jang Lee.

Excellent !!!!
This was Jackie Chan's first real chance to show the world what he's got. It moves away from what was the traditional kung fu film and adds humour, style and class to the action. The choreography in this just doesn't compare to any other martial arts actor I've seen. The plot is strong the dialogue is clear and the action never stops. Not forgetting the high performance of kung fu!!

I you see this film you will not be disappointed. I would also recommend seeing Drunken Master if you haven't already done so!!!