GammaRay and Celestial Pictures announced they will be streaming 44 classic Shaw Brothers kung fu movies from the 1970s and early 1980s starting Monday, February 4 through Friday, February 8, 2019. The livestream will take place on the GammaRay Twitch TV channel. For those who miss the weeklong kung fu marathon – GammaRay will also be streaming ‘double feature’ nights at 5 PM PST the following Thursdays and Fridays for four weeks.

The Shaw Brothers kung fu films have heavily influenced pop culture over the years especially in music and modern movies. This will most likely be an excellent way for newcomers to appreciate these classic films which contain themes not often seen in movies today like patience, apprenticeship, vengeance, and revenge. Thus far we know of three movies that will be included in the kung fu marathon: King Boxer (1972), Five Deadly Venoms (1978) and Crippled Avengers (1978).

shaw brothers marathon twitch tv

Five Deadly Venoms is often hailed as a great starting point for those looking to jump into the Shaw Brothers kung fu legacy of films. The actors in the Five Deadly Venoms movie were dubbed ‘the venom mob‘ and went on to star in numerous other Shaw Brothers movies alternating between hero and villain within the studio system. Crippled Avengers features four of ‘the venom mob’ members and like Five Deadly Venoms was directed by Chang Cheh. We expect to see some other classics in the marathon like The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) and The Deadly Mantis (1978).