People were shocked when George Lazenby quit playing James Bond after only making On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. That same audience must have freaked out when a few years later, he had plans to assassinate the same Majesty. A Queen’s Ransom have Lazenby playing an Irish Republican Army member with a plan to snuff Queen Elizabeth during her visit to Hong Kong. Joining forces with him is an all-star cast of Angela Mao (Enter The Dragon), Jimmy Wang Yu (The One-Armed Boxer), Bolo Yeung (Bloodsport) and Queen Elizabeth as herself. The movie mixes actual footage from her royal visit with the plot to take her out. How will she handle 007 coming after her? It will be good to see the plot take place in a new 2K transfer when the Blu-ray comes out in May. Here’s the press release from Eureka! with all the details:
EUREKA ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF
THE EXPLOSIVE ACTION THRILLER
A QUEEN’S RANSOM
The North American Blu-ray debut stars George Lazenby
in a plot to kill the Queen of England as cover for the world’s
most dramatic gold heist!
Eureka Entertainment announces the May 28 release of A Queen’s Ransom, an explosive action thriller starring George Lazenby (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, The Man from Hong Kong), Angela Mao (Lady Whirlwind), and the legendary Jimmy Wang Yu (The One-Armed Swordsman), and presented for the first time ever on Blu-ray from a brand new 2K restoration. The first print run of 2000 copies in each territory will feature an O-card slipcase and collector’s booklet.
Perhaps even God can’t save the Queen in this Martial Arts classic. As Queen Elizabeth II arrives in Hong Kong for a state visit, a band of skilled mercenaries plan her assassination. Contracted by an Irish Republican (Lazenby), the international group of hired killers includes a Japanese explosives expert (Chang Pei-shan), a Thai boxer (Bolo Yeung), a Filipino sniper (Peter Chan Lung), and a veteran of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (Wang Yu). As the conspirators move to carry out their plot, two police officials (Ko Chun-Hsiung and Charles Heung) work with a young socialite (Tanny Tien Ni) in a race against time to save the Monarch’s head – while also trying to manage a crisis that has brought a huge number of refugees to Hong Kong, including a young Cambodian princess (Mao).
Written and directed by Ting Shan-hsi (Rebel Boxer), A Queen’s Ransom was Golden Harvest’s attempt to capitalize on the popular success of the political thriller in the wake of The Day of the Jackal. Eureka Classics is proud to present the film for the first time ever on Blu-ray from a brand new 2K restoration.
SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES:
• Limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling [First print run of 2000 copies only]
• 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray of the original Hong Kong theatrical cut from a brand new 2K restoration
• 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray of the original English language export cut from a brand new 2K restoration
• Original Mandarin and optional classic English dub (Hong Kong theatrical cut)
• Classic English dub (Export version)
• Optional English subtitles, newly translated for this release
• Brand new audio commentary on the Hong Kong theatrical version by Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
• Brand new audio commentary on the export version by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
• Brand new documentary featurette by martial artist and actor Michael Worth
• Reversible sleeve featuring original poster artwork
• Trailers
• PLUS: A limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by James Oliver [First print run of 2000 copies only]
