Exact Revenge is a double feature of Shaw Brothers movies. Since most Shaw Brothers movies revolve around revenge, it could have been almost any two but these are both new to me.
The Eunuch is quite a soap opera of a martial arts plot. A Eunuch finds out he fathered a child before he became a eunuch, and that’s a problem. He’s looking to kill the last prince of the royal family, but now the prince is being trained by the Eunuch’s daughter. Of course this also involves an old man who happens to be a martial arts master.
Don’t worry about the plot. They still kick each other a lot and Sammo Hung shows up at the end.
The Deadly Knives is another film about the Japanese-Chinese conflict, made the same year as Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury. This one stands out because fights ensue on a train, in a forest and some different sets than the usual Shaw Bros. courtyards and temples. And there are a lot of massive melees, not just one on one, or one hero against a group of four.
Mike Leeder and Arne Venema do the commentary on The Eunuch and they know many of the participants personally. Frank Djeng does The Deadly Knives and has his usually dense background information.
A video essay on Deadly Knives explains the Japanese history that pertains to the film.
Deadly Knives would certainly be worthy for inclusion in a Shawscope set but who knows when Vol. 4 will be so I’m glad to add both of these to my Shaw Bros. filmography.