A light release week in the States sees two Japanese flicks make their way across the Pacific. This includes blockbuster fantasy actioner DORORO and low-budget action thriller THE LEGEND OF RED DRAGON, not to be confused with Sony Pictures’ re-titled U.S. release of THE NEW LEGEND OF SHAOLIN. Yuen Clan fans may rejoice for we finally get a licensed Hong Kong DVD release of their screwball kung fu comedy TAOISM DRUNKARD.

U.S. Releases

DORORO (2007 – trailer) – Based on a manga title by Osamu Tesuka, this unusual fantasy film from Akihiko Shiota, the director of YOMIGAERI, tells the tale of a young samurai who is aided by a female warrior (Kou Shibasaki) in recovering 48 body parts that he lost when his father made a pact with demons. A guest reviewer to Twitch states, “DORORO is a pure popcorn fantasy in the same spirit as such ’80s sword/sorcery fantasies like WILLOW, LEGEND and HIGHLANDER.” Hong Kong wire master Ching Siu-tung joins Hiroyuki Yoshida (DEATH TRANCE) in providing action choreography.

THE LEGEND OF RED DRAGON (2006) – From Westlake Entertainment comes this low-budget action thriller starring Kenichi Endo (AZUMI 2). Members of a yakuza clan are being slaughtered by a professional killer. When one of the yakuza leaders investigates, he comes up against a revenge-seeking “sekiryu” (red dragon). Based on a teaser slideshow on the official site, the only impression I have of this movie is that some of the cast have really bad make up. The English title is the same as Sony Pictures’ title for Jet Li’s THE NEW LEGEND OF SHAOLIN. It was enough to fool the staff at Amazon but buyers should not be.

U.K. Releases

There is nothing particularly interesting out in the U.K. Uwe Boll’s BLOODRAYNE 2: DELIVERANCE arrives on Blu-ray and DVD from Metrodome. Boll is infamous for luring big-name talent to universally panned video game-to-movie adaptations. This sequel replaces Kristanna Loken as blade-wielding vampire Rayne with Natassia Malthe (DOA: DEAD OR ALIVE) who goes up against Zack Ward (POSTAL) as Billy the Kid.

YO-YO GIRL COP arrives on DVD from 4Digital Asia. It’s a BUFFY-like feature-film update to a popular Japanese franchise. It involves a secret crime-fighting division that hires a rebellious, yo-yo-wielding girl to investigate a terrorist plot at a school.

Japanese Releases

ONECHAMBARA: THE MOVIE (2008 – trailer) – Previously screened at the New York Asian Film Fest is this video game-to-movie adaptation now on DVD from Geneon minus English subtitles. The premise doesn’t get much more inane. A bikini-clad cowgirl battles zombies. ‘Nuff said.

Hong Kong / Chinese Releases

It’s really sad to see the sorry state of Hong Kong genre releases. About the only bright spot is that Joy Sales continues to roll out Golden Harvest classics from licensee Fortune Star. There are a few gems this week, unfortunately some only available on VCD for the time being. THE MIRACLE FIGHTERS (VCD – trailer) and TAOISM DRUNKARD (DVD – trailer) are two Yuen Clan classics from the 1980s featuring zany comedy and kung fu action from director Yuen Woo-ping and his team. Yuen made a handful of these films and they’re either loved or reviled by viewers.

Sammo Hung-produced and choreographed comedy classics POM POM (1984 – trailer) and THE RETURN OF POM POM (1985 – trailer) were previously available on VCD and now have DVD versions out. Comic actors Richard Ng and John Sham are bungling police investigators who get into a series of madcap misadventures while on the job. For action fans, the films are notable for featuring supporting roles and guest appearances from kung fu movie veterans including Chung Fat, Dick Wei, Kara Hui, Lam Ching-ying, James Tien, and Lau Kar-wing.

THE SHOALIN PLOT (VCD) is a 1977 kung fu classic starring Chan Sing as an evil prince who infiltrates Shaolin Temple in order to steal a kung fu manual. It’s a similar plot to Joseph Kuo’s RETURN OF THE 18 BRONZEMEN, except this one has Sammo Hung in a supporting role and working behind the camera as action director. Casanova Wong also appears.

Next Week:

• THE ART OF WAR (DVD – Optimum Releasing)
• DAREDEVIL [Director's Cut] (Blu-ray – 20th Century Fox)
• DEADLY DUO (DVD – Media Blasters)
• LEGEND OF THE WOLF (DVD – Tai Seng)
• MONGOL (Blu-ray – Universal Pictures UK)
• MONGOL (DVD – Universal Pictures UK)
• NOMAD (DVD – Optimum Releasing)
• THE REBEL (DVD – Dragon Dynasty)
• THE VANGUARD (DVD – Anchor Bay)

Related Topics

DVD