Blu-ray, DVD Release: A Touch of Zen

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: July 19, 2016
Price: DVD $22.99, Blu-ray $27.99
Studio: Criterion


King Hu’s 1971 A Touch of Zen has been described by many as a “visionary” masterpiece of Chinese cinema and martial arts moviemaking.

Hsu Feng in A Touch of Zen

Hsu Feng in A Touch of Zen

The film depicts the journey of Yang (Hsu Feng), a fugitive noblewoman who seeks refuge in a remote, and allegedly haunted, village. The sanctuary she finds with a shy scholar and two aides in disguise is shattered when a nefarious swordsman uncovers her identity, pitting the four against legions of blade-wielding opponents.

At once a wuxia film, the tale of a spiritual quest, and a study in human nature, A Touch of Zen is an unparalleled work in Hu’s formidable career and an epic of the highest order, characterized by breathtaking action choreography and widescreen landscapes, and innovative editing.

Presented in Mandarin with English subtitles, Criterion’s DVD and Blu-ray editions of the movie contain the following:

  • New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
  • Documentary from 2012 about director King Hu
  • New interviews with actors Hsu Feng and Shih Chun
  • New interview with filmmaker Ang Lee
  • New interview with film scholar Tony Rayns
  • Trailer
  • New English subtitle translation
  • An essay by film scholar David Bordwell and notes by Hu from a 1975 Cannes Film Festival press kit
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About Laurence

Founder and editor Laurence Lerman saw Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest when he was 13 years old and that’s all it took. He has been writing about film and video for more than a quarter of a century for magazines, anthologies, websites and most recently, Video Business magazine, where he served as the Reviews Editor for 15 years.