On Monday at an event in Beijing, China Movie Channel and HBO Asia have since re-officiated their Asia-exclusive partnership re: their slate of martial arts films two years after the success of Master of the Drunken Fist: Beggar So and Master of the Shadow-less Kick: Wong Kei-Ying.

Director Guo Jianyong, who shepherded both films, is back at the helm for Master of the White Crane Fist: Wong Yan-Lam, a legendary martial artist who biographically shares history as one of the “Ten Tigers Of Kwangtung”. The film will air on both platforms on February 20, 2019, followed by Master of the Nine Dragon Fist: Wong Ching-Ho from director Si Xiaodong on February 21.

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MASTER OF THE WHITE CRANE FIST: WONG YAN-LAM (龙藏深泉王隐林) is set in ancient China during the late Qing dynasty and tells the story of four constables escorting a criminal crossing paths with a theatre troupe and a mysterious priest, setting off a series of events that will lead to the murder of a constable. Amongst them is the legendary Master of the White Crane Fist, who will unravel the consequences of greed, revenge, betrayal and opium-smuggling. MASTER OF THE NINE DRAGON FIST: WONG CHING-HO (龙形侠影黄澄可) is set in China in the early 19th century. A British businessman, Mr. James, sells opium as a “longevity enhancement medicine” that saw many locals become addicted to opium. The head of Guangzhou’s martial arts alliance, Wong Ching-Ho, decide to take action into his own hands and destroy Mr. James’ opium warehouses. To save his business, Mr. James instigated a Kung Fu master, Man Sing, to eliminate his enemy, leading Wong to develop his legendary Nine Dragon Fist.

Both titles were announced during HBO Asia’s 25th anniversary last year following the success of Guo’s initial 2016 films which grossed over 1.2 billion viewers between platform releases, reaching more than 20 Asian countries in the process. Other territories including the U.S. and Europe soon followed.

“The global audience’s demands for action films have risen to a higher level, I hope my new film could do better than the previous two,” director Guo said. Si added: “Martial art is a universal body language that is liked and accepted by foreign audiences. I hope to put more traditional Chinese cultural elements into the film production to allow more people know something about the essence of Chinese kung fu.”

Again, it’s worth pointing out that these titles aren’t releasing stateside anytime soon after February, so it’s pretty much a wait-and-see until trailers arise. At any rate, if the first two Master films met your needs, then this will definitely be more kung fu cinema to bask in in due time. (China.org.cn)

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Lee B. Golden III filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com | Website Native New Yorker. Lover of all things pizza, chocolate, pets, and good friends. Karaoke hero. Left of center. Survivor. Fond supporter of cult, obscure and independent cinema - especially fond of Asian movies and global action cinema. Author of the bi-weekly Hit List. Founder and editor of Film Combat Syndicate. Still, very much, only human.