Something interesting appears in the bonus DVD materials for The Anonymous Heroes, an otherwise-forgettable Hong Kong action comedy from 1971: a mini-documentary about the film’s director, Chang Cheh. Chang, who died five years ago, remains a largely unheralded figure in the west despite his hero status to the likes of Quentin Tarantino; but, as the most prolific director of the Shaw Brothers Studios, he almost single-handedly jumpstarted the kung fu movie craze of the 1960s and 1970s, directed some of its most iconic films (including One-Armed Swordsman, Five Deadly Venoms and Flag of Iron), and gave the world a number of its most beloved movie tropes. The DVD isn’t available in the West, but this YouTube clip helps give a sense of what a towering figure Chang was in his time. — Leonard Pierce
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