Prodigal Son, The | Limited Edition | Blu-ray

The Prodigal Son stands as one of classic kung fu cinema’s tightest woven traditional martial arts narratives, at a point when the genre was largely shifting away from classic tales of master-student partnerships and traditional kung fu styles.

Despite starting his career in the early 70s alongside Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan, Biao spent most of the decade in minor background roles—either performing uncredited stunts or in small non-speaking parts. As Chan & Hung’s star started to rise, however, Biao’s career started to take off as well. His first solo starring role came in 1979’s Knockabout, but Prodigal Son is the movie that really set him apart as a leading man in his own right.

Biao’s performance as the young, prideful scion of a wealthy family, who must learn humility and true martial arts may feel like something of a cliche, but it’s rarely if ever been done with so much style and emotion. A great turn from underrated talents Ching-Ying Lam and Frankie Chan make this an essential piece of any martial arts movie collection.

Special Features (via arrowvideo.com)

• 2K restorations from the original elements by Fortune Star of both the original HK "Theatrical Release Presentation" and the "Home Release Presentation"
• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
• Original lossless Cantonese, Mandarin, and English mono options
• Optional English subtitles
• Commentary by martial arts cinema expert Frank Djeng & actor Bobby Samuels
• Commentary by action cinema experts Mike Leeder & Arne Venema
• Wing Chun 101, an interview with Wing Chun sifu Alex Richter
• Life Imitating Art, archival featurette featuring interviews with Wing Chun instructor and producer Guy Lai talking about the art, illustrated via demonstrations by Sifu Austin Goh and Jude Poyer
• The Heroic Trio, archival featurette featuring interviews with director Sammo Hung and stars Yuen Biao and Frankie Chan looking back on the making of the film
• Original theatrical trailers
• Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Joe Kim
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Joe Kim
• Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing by Peter Glagowski