Director: Ting Shan-hsi
Screenplay: Ting Shan-hsi
Starring: Jimmy Wang Yu, Angelo Mao, George Lazenby, Ko Chun-hsiung, Judith Brown, Charles Heung, Dean Shek, Tien Le, Chan Pei-shan
Country: Hong Kong
Running time: 98 min
Year: 1976
BBFC Certificate: 18
George Lazenby is best remembered for his one appearance as James Bond in the outstanding On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Yet the Australian actor also appeared in a string of other features, including some classics of their genres such as Italian Giallo Who Saw Her Die? and John Landis anthology comedy The Kentucky Fried Movie. Lazenby also starred in three features for Golden Harvest, The Shrine of Ultimate Bliss, The Man from Hong Kong, and the subject of this review, A Queen’s Ransom (AKA International Assassin). Before we get into the review, a small bit of trivia: Lazenby was also set to appear in Game of Death, the final Bruce Lee film, but his appearance fell through following Lee’s death.
A Queen’s Ransom opens with a brief pre-credits sequence including archival footage setting up how the Hong Kong police are stretched: preparing for a visit by Queen Elizabeth II, but also dealing with an influx of refugees due to the Indo-Chinese war ending, which means they don’t have the time to keep an eye on criminal activities, so it’s the perfect time for criminals to put their plans into action.
We then meet the gang of mercenaries who Lazenby’s character, Irish Republican George will bring together in a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II, which forms the main thrust of the film – as it’s a race against time for the police to stop the attempt on the Monarch’s life, although there are some twists to the plot along the way including the reason the mercenaries are in Hong Kong, which I won’t spoil here. The introduction includes a brief sparring fight between Wang Yu’s Jimmy and Bolo Yeung’s Ram, which is a theme I’ll return to; brief fight sequences – this is very much a political thriller and those expecting a martial arts fest are unlikely to get what they expect. We also meet other characters – many other characters – including those like the police, who will work together to stop the plot, as well as other characters including refugees like Cambodian princess portrayed by Angelo Mao, who bring their own challenges for the police.
That’s the basic setup for a plot that was inspired by recent political thriller hits like The Day of the Jackal. The film uses actual footage of The Queen’s 1975 visit to Hong Kong to add an air of authenticity – to the point that The Queen is even listed on the IMDb website as portraying herself in the film. The footage certainly adds to the spectacle and gives the film a grander feel, as it features helicopters and thousands of people welcoming the Queen and Prince Philip to the country.
It’s very much an ensemble piece focusing on a number of characters rather than any one in particular, and that’s, unfortunately, another of the issues with the film for me – there are too many characters, and everyone essentially gets short-changed. Of the leads, Lazenby is solid as the mercenary leader but, like all the characters, comes and goes, Wang Yu maintains an air of seriousness and excels in the brief fight sequences, and Mao’s talents are sadly wasted for much of the film. There are also numerous other familiar faces , including a few who appeared in Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon, not least Mao, Yeung and Li-Jen Ho, all of whom have been given much more to do in a number of Hong Kong classics.
Now, if you’re watching a film with Wang Yu and Mao, you’d be forgiven for expecting some excellently choreographed martial arts sequences. Sadly, the fisticuffs are few and far between and when they do materialise they’re short, and far from the best examples of the genre. A shame, given the cast. The action does pick up for the final act though, although it’s mostly gunfire and explosions until a final couple of martial arts fights, making for a generally thrilling finale
A Queen’s Ransom spends a lot of time setting up the plot and some of the characters but it never really all comes together and no-one has much time to shine. The plot is interesting, there’s some political subtext, and the occasional explosion of action but it feels lukewarm for the most part rather than boiling over into the entertaining classic it threatens to be. Things pick up a little in the finale (including several fight sequences for Wang Yu and one brief one for Mao, which puts her against Lazenby). The finale and the use of real stock footage of The Queen’s 1975 visit to Hong Kong make this a more decent film than it otherwise would have been, although it could (and should) have been better.
Film: 
A Queen’s Ransom is released on limited edition Blu-ray on Eureka’s Classics range on 27 May 2024. The brand new 2K restoration looks fabulous, rich in detail and colours, with no blemishes and consistently strong picture quality. There are a choice of the original Mandarin audio and the English dubbed audio, both of which are great.
The disc contains two cuts, the original Hong Kong theatrical cut and the shorter export cut. The latter is seven minutes shorter, with some trims and the loss of the two sex scenes amongst other changes, though there is some unique footage. Both cuts have been restored and each looks excellent.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling [2000 copies]
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 East Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and Michael Worth
Brand new audio commentary by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
Furious George: Training with Michael Worth featurette
Reversible sleeve featuring original poster artwork
Trailer
A limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by James Oliver [2000 copies]
First up in the extras we have a commentary on the theatrical cut by Frank Djeng and Michael Worth. It’s a typically enthusiastic track, which opens by outlining the film’s place in the box office at the time, the use of the pre-credits sequence in Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars, and an overview of the cast. Both Djeng and Worth speak fondly of the film and provide some interesting factoids, including pointing out elements that a viewer may miss such as some of the pictures that adorn a wall of one of the character’s bedrooms, brief biography details on some of the stars including other films they appeared in, and some details about the stock footage of the Queen’s actual visit. An excellent commentary.
The second commentary is on the export cut and features Mike Leeder and Arne Venema. This complements the other commentary well with a different, but still enthusiastic take on the film. Both speak of the movie with a lot of warmth, and again provide different details, including background to a company who is featured on the side of a helicopter. They echo my thoughts that the cast is too big, with many actors short-changed. There is a deep look at Lazenby’s career and more detail about some of the other actors. One of the highlights is discussion about the filming locations. Another fantastic commentary.
The Furious George: Training with Michael Worth featurette runs for 16 minutes, is wonderful and features Worth discussing training Lazenby in 1999. It’s a great feature with some lovely recollections from Worth of his time with Lazenby when they discussed stars Bruce Lee, Sammo Hung, Jimmy Wang Yu and others. It’s a brilliant watch, including a great story about Bruce Lee.
The trailer runs for five minutes, opening with the entire pre-credits sequence from the film that sets the scene, and followed by an introduction to the characters and a good sell for the action, that makes the film look more thrilling than it is.
I wasn’t provided with the booklet for this review, but the essay is written by James Oliver who is always worth a read, so I suspect it’ll be up to Eureka’s usually high standards.
A Queen’s Ransom is a decent Golden Harvest film that entertains and frustrates in equal measure (on the frustrating front, it’s a complete waste of Wang Yu and Mao, and to an extent Lazenby) but fans of the movie and its stars are likely to be pleased with this excellent release from Eureka. The disc features a fantastic 2K restoration of two cuts of the movie, two audio options, and some enlightening and informative extra features, headlined by two outstanding commentaries.
Disc/Package: