Back in the spotlight: Joseph Koo, director of the 1970s martial arts films Gems as 18 Bronze and The 7 Grandmasters

Joseph Kuo Nan-hong is a lesser-known director of martial arts films, but that is changing rapidly. The latest edition of New York’s Old School Kung Fu Fest is devoted entirely to his work, and last month in the UK Eureka Entertainment released a four-disc Blu-ray set of films made between 1974 and 1979. The independently minded Kuo, who worked in Taiwan but used Hong Kong fight choreographers Corey Yuen Kwai and Yuen Woo-ping, to create low-budget martial arts films such as The 7….