Years before Shaw Brothers’ kung fu films made them the biggest film studio in Hong Kong, local audiences flocked to their wuxia pian films: mythic tales of swordfighting (and often gravity-defying) heroes fighting for honor. In his final film for the studio, Come Drink With Me, director King Hu (A Touch of Zen) broke fresh new ground in martial arts storytelling, and catapulted fresh-faced lead actress Cheng Pei-pei to stardom in the process. When the Governor’s son is taken hostage by bandits, a mysterious swordsman named Golden Swallow (Cheng) is hot on their trail to ensure the son’s release. What the bandits don’t realize, however, is that Golden Swallow is actually a woman, and that the hostage is her brother. Determined to set him free, no matter how many goons she has to fight her way through in doing so, she is aided in her quest by a drunken beggar (Yueh Hua) who may have a closer connection to the bandits’ leader than he initially lets on. Decades before Ang Lee brought the wuxia genre to international attention with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (in which Cheng played the villainous Jade Fox), King Hu set the original template in what is still considered one of Shaw Brothers’ greatest and most influential action masterpieces.
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Video Quality
Come Drink With Me comes to Blu-Ray with a 1080p master in its original aspect ratio supplied by Celestial Pictures. This new release offers a mostly striking presentation with consistent color saturation throughout, suffused with vibrant colors. The fights along the countryside really pop off the screen with its bright daytime palette. There are moments of fine detail that will leave you in awe at points, as you can see intricate facets of the production design and costumes. Yet, there are some shots presenting as soft or even a bit unfocused, which is likely an issue with the source elements available. There is not too much in the way of wear and tear, and the film does not really exhibit any chunky compression artifacts. The anamorphic framing can look a bit squeezed, and some of the darker moments give way to a small amount of crush. Even with some slight imperfections, Arrow Video has done a tremendous job presenting this feature. .
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray presents the film with a DTS-HD 1.0 Master Audio Mono track in the original Mandarin along with an English dub that will hopefully be passed up for artistic integrity. Dialogue is clear and easily distinguishable throughout the film, and the exaggerated sounds of fighting flow out with force. The film employs some hard-hitting sound effects in the mix that thankfully do not get muddled. The score mostly maintains a pleasing fidelity, although there are instances of age related wear and tear at the highest amplitudes. This release does have optional English subtitles provided. Arrow Video has once again done a pleasing job of presenting this film in the best quality possible.
Special Features
The first pressing of the Arrow Video Blu-Ray of Come Drink With Me includes a 43-page booklet featuring the essays “A Deadly Beauty” by critic Anne Billson and “King Hu and Run Run Shaw: The Clash of Two Cinema Legends” by professor George Chun Han Wang. These works provide a great analysis of the film, performers and the behind the scenes details in a thoughtfully written style. The on-disc special features are as follows:
- Audio Commentary: Japanese film expert Tony Rayns delivers a deeply informative commentary track in which he discusses the career of King Hu, the place this film occupies within both the Shaw Brothers filmography and the genre at large, the careers of some of the performers involved, audience preferences of the time, clarifying details on some cultural points and more. Rayns is always a vast reservoir of knowledge who is worth listening to for a while.
- Interview with Cheng Pei-pei: A 52-minute archival interview with the lead actress (“Golden Swallow”) conducted in 2003 in which she talks about her history as a performer, how her experience as a dancer aided her career, memories of auditions, experiences she had with her costars, the direction of King Hu, filming the fight scenes, more recent accomplishments such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and more.
- Interview with Yueh Hua: A 30-minute archival interview with the actor (“Drunken Cat”) conducted in 2007 in which he discusses his early life and entry into performing, his initial confusion with the film industry, working with the Shaws, memories of working on Come Drink With Me, what he had to learn for his performance, working with King Hu and more.
- Interview with Chen Hung-lieh: A nearly 44-minute archival interview with the actor (“Jade Face Tiger”) conducted in 2003 in which he discusses his early life and entry into performing, the innovative nature of Come Drink With Me, his respect for King Hu, learning the choreography and doing most of his own stunts, some behind-the-scenes disagreements, his evolution to becoming a director and more.
- Talk Story with Cheng Pei-pei: An 11-minute Q&A conducted in 2016 at the University of Hawaii with the lead actress in which she discusses how she was utilized in the film, the boundary pushing nature of certain choices, her working relationship with both Run Run Shaw and King Hu, her career at large and more.
- Cinema Hong Kong – Swordfighting The 50-minute second part in a three-part documentary on the Shaw brothers impact on kung fu and cinema at large from 2003 featuring interviews with Jackie Chan, Jet Li, John Woo, Sammo Hung, Gordon Liu, Lau Kar-leung, Cheng Pei-pei, David Chiang and many others. This is a stellar documentary that should not be missed. The first part can be found on Shawscope: Volume One.
- Trailer Gallery: This disc provides the Theatrical Trailer (3:49), Golden Swallow Trailer (3:39) and the Digital Reissue Trailer (1:09).
- Image Gallery: A collection of stills, behind-the-scenes photos and marketing material is provided here.
Final Thoughts
Come Drink With Me is an incredibly fun and entertaining film from the Shaw Brothers which is elevated substantially by the careful direction of King Hu. The insistence on attempting to shift the focus away from Golden Swallow to Drunken Cat is a bit unnecessary, as the dynamic badass female is way more captivating than the drunk who brings levity when it is not truly needed. Even still, the story holds together pretty well and the martial arts scenes are top-notch all the way around. Arrow Video has released a Blu-Ray featuring a strong A/V presentation and an assortment of worthwhile features. If you are a fan of old school Hong Kong martial arts films, this is an upper-tier entry from the Shaw Brothers. Recommended
Come Drink With Me is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Arrow Video has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.