HOME VIDEO: Summer preview, Well Go USA’s SB releases

It’s a good time to be a martial arts movie collector as this summer’s home video lineup reveals. We’ve already had some great releases this year but it gets better with more Shaw Brothers classics, new Korean and Chinese blockbuster titles, and a smattering of rare and independent gems all coming out in the next three months. (Scroll to the bottom of the page for cover art.)

Dragon Dynasty has formally announced the release of director Benny Chan’s INVISIBLE TARGET (2007 – trailer), a gritty urban actioner starring Wu Jing, Shawn Yue, Nicholas Tse, Jaycee Chan, Andy On, and Taiwanese actress Lin Feng-Jiao. The film concerns a renegade cop, a young officer and a veteran detective who are thrown together to try to take down Hong Kong’s most lethal mercenary gang and their ruthless leader.

The Two-Disc Ultimate Edition DVD comes with audio commentary by Jaycee Chan, Shawn Ye, Andy On, and Bey Logan. That may be the most people on a Bey Logan commentary yet and should be interesting. There are also six deleted/extended scenes, a “Making Of” featurette, interviews with cast and members and the director, an action featurette, storyboard comparisons, gala premiere footage, and trailers.

INVISIBLE TARGET goes on sale June 10th.

Well Go USA

I received a call yesterday from a Well Go USA representative confirming news that the company has acquired 10 Shaw Brothers classics for release in the U.S. A full title list was not revealed but so far we know they have TWO CHAMPIONS OF SHAOLIN and BROTHERS FIVE (trailer) confirmed for July 15th and THE HEROIC ONES coming Sept. 16th. They are hoping to release two titles quarterly.

As for features, Well Go USA has stated that they will include original English dubbing when available. Original Cantonese or Mandarin tracks will be in 2.0 mono. As I receive more information I’ll post updates.

Along with all of the original Cantonese and Mandarin audio tracks, Shaw Brothers smartly hung on to all of their English dub tracks, usually featuring a small group of familiar voices beloved by genre fans who grew up watching English-dubbed SB classics in theaters or on VHS back in the early ’80s. In contrast, newer English-dubbed tracks created by companies like The Weinstein Company are not in demand. If the tracks are presented in 5.1 surround, it’s a sure bet they’re not the classic dubs.

New Releases

This week’s release list is light, with only a couple flicks to mention. Connoisseurs of mondo grindhouse entertainment will want to check out Tokyo Shock’s release of THE MACHINE GIRL (2008 – trailer). This over-the-top, action gorefest from Japan is aimed squarely at KILL BILL fans, yet the blood-soaked violence and general absurdity is perhaps more in line with Hong Kong cult favorite STORY OF RICKY (1992 – trailer).

Paramount slips in a couple more Blu-ray titles, the sci-fi actioner AEON FLUX (2005 – trailer) starring Charlize Theron and Walter Hill’s cult classic THE WARRIORS.

Buyers craving something a little more conventional by martial arts movie standards may want to look overseas where Hong Kong distrib IVL has released a Chinese-subtitled version of CHOCOLATE (2008 – trailer). This is Prachya Pinkaew’s latest Thai actioner featuring action director Panna Rittikrai’s latest protégé, Nicharee Vismistananda. Unless you don’t mind watching the film without English translation my recommendation is to wait for Dragon Dynasty’s upcoming U.S. release which will undoubtedly come packaged with a superior set of extras and language options for English audiences.

There is something for old school fans too. Joy Sales releases two Golden Harvest classics on DVD. LADY WHIRLWIND (1971 – trailer) is a kung fu classic starring genre queen Angela Mao and Chang Yi, both under the action director of a young Sammo Hung. THE GHOST SNATCHERS (1986) is a supernatural horror flick from producer Wong Jing that features Michael Chan, Joey Wong and Sammo Hung’s future wife Joyce Godenzi in only her second film role. She had a standout performance in Hung’s action classic EASTERN CONDORS (1986 – trailer).

The U.K. gets little love again this week. Their only new release of note is THE BANQUET courtesy of Metrodome.

Summer Preview

This summer is producing an amazing crop of DVD releases. I’m going to point out a few highlights and follow with a complete list. In the coming weeks I’ll talk about these films in greater detail.

Korean cinema’s invasion of the U.S. continues with period fantasy actioners THE RESTLESS (2006 – trailer) from CJ Entertainment and LEGEND OF THE SHADOWLESS SWORD from New Line. I should have known we couldn’t get through one summer without an Asian film having “Legend” added to it. Ryoo Seung-wan’s gritty actioner NO BLOOD NO TEARS will be making its second appearance on U.S. DVD from CJ Entertainment. The film was previously released here in 2005 by ADV.

Fusian looks to continuing their release of classic wuxia titles from Taiwan with the release of SECRET OF THE SWORD. Their last titles, released in September of 2007 included RINGING SWORD (1968) and LADY NINE FLOWER. It remains to be seen if this latest one is the start of another run or just a remainder.

Lots of big-budget Chinese actioners are coming from multiple distribs. First Look is releasing BLOOD BROTHERS (2007 – trailer), a period crime actioner starring Andy Lau and Jacky Cheung. Image Entertainment is delivering Peter Chan’s historical war epic THE WARLORDS (2007 – trailer) starring Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro. Probably the biggest news is that Universal is releasing the director’s cut of Ronny Yu’s Huo Yuenjia biopic FEARLESS, starring Jet Li. It will feature over 30 minutes of footage previously only available on an import.

Now that Well Go USA has joined Image, Dragon Dynasty and Media Blasters, we’re going to see even more Shaw Brothers classics coming to DVD, most of them upgrades to their Hong Kong counterparts. Titles coming this summer include HUMAN LANTERNS, BAT WITHOUT WINGS, BROTHERS FIVE, CHALLENGE OF THE MASTERS, TWO CHAMPIONS OF SHAOLIN, KISS OF DEATH, and THE HEROIC ONES. Many of these but not all will include original English dubbing.

There are a few interesting odds and ends. On the indie front, there is ADVENTURES OF JOHNNY TAO (2007 – trailer), an unusual family-oriented martial arts and musical actioner featuring the talents of actor James Hong, stunt actor Matt Mullins, action director J.J. Perry, and a rare action performance from Donnie Yen’s sister Chris.

Oddball Italian actioner AMAZONS VS. SUPERMEN (aka SUPER STOOGES VS. THE WONDER WOMEN) (1975 – trailer) is coming to the Rarescope label courtesy of BCI Eclipse. This surreal adventure film features COME DRINK WITH ME star Yueh Hua in one of his few international roles. The film is a freakshow of costumed fighting insanity that defies description. For lovers of strange and horrible movies this is a real find.

A surprise find for me is the complete box set of BIRDS OF PREY (2002-03 – trailer), a canned comic-to-TV series from 2002 starring Ashley Scott as Helena Kyle, aka The Huntress. Set in Gotham, it’s a spinoff series from the Batman franchise that completely flew under my radar. Action choreography looks solid and was overseen by Hollywood veteran Hiro Koda, who subsequently moved on to diverse action films like DAREDEVIL, SPECIAL FORCES and SERENITY (2005 – trailer).

I couldn’t end this summer home video preview without mentioning three upcoming Dragon Dynasty titles. A film that should be on just about everyone’s short list is Vietnamese martial arts actioner THE REBEL (2006 – trailer) starring Johnny Nguyen. Also, we get to see a worthy re-release of THE TAI CHI MASTER, Yuen Woo-ping’s wire-fu extravaganza starring Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh. The timing of this release is perfect given two actors will be seen together on screen about the same time in THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR (2008 – trailer). Another Jet Li classic coming in September is FIST OF LEGEND. DD is planning something special for that one as they’re putting together a two-disc set.

June:
• LONEWOLF & CUB TV SERIES: VOL. 2 (DVD – Tokyo Shock)
• THE RESTLESS (DVD – Genius Products)
• SECRET OF THE SWORD (DVD – Fusian)

July:
• ADVENTURES OF JOHNNY TAO (DVD – Mti)
• AMAZONS VS. SUPERMEN (DVD – Rarescope)
• BAT WITHOUT WINGS (DVD – Image Entertainment)
• BATMAN BEGINS (Blu-ray – Warner)
• BATMAN BEGINS: LIMITED EDITION (Blu-ray – Warner)
• BATMAN BEGINS: LIMITED EDITION (DVD – Warner)
• BIRDS OF PREY: THE COMPLETE SERIES
• BLOOD BROTHERS (2007) (DVD – First Look)
• BROTHERS FIVE (DVD – Well Go USA)
• CHALLENGE OF THE MASTERS (DVD – Tokyo Shock)
• EAGLE SHOOTING HEROES (DVD – Kino International)
• FEARLESS: DIRECTOR’S CUT (DVD – Universal)
• LEGEND OF THE SHADOWLESS SWORD (DVD – New Line)
• NEVER BACK DOWN (DVD – Summit Entertainment)
• THE NINJA COLLECTION (BIONIC NINJA / DEATH CODE: NINJA / NINJA: AMERICAN WARRIOR / NINJA IN THE KILLING FIELD) (DVD – BCI Eclipse)
• ROBIN HOOD: SEASON 2 (DVD – BBC Warner)
• SHOGUN ASSASSIN 5: COLD ROAD TO HELL (DVD – AnimEigo)
• TAI CHI MASTER (DVD – Dragon Dynasty)
• THE TIGER BLADE (Blu-ray – BCI Eclipse)
• TWIN DAGGERS (DVD – Lionsgate)
• TWO CHAMPIONS OF SHAOLIN (DVD – Well Go USA)
• WALKER, TEXAS RANGER: FIFTH SEASON (DVD – Paramount)
• WALKER, TEXAS RANGER: SEASONS 1-5 (DVD – Paramount)

August:
• KISS OF DEATH (DVD – Image Entertainment)
• THE LAST EVE (DVD – Vanguard Cinema)
• LONEWOLF & CUB TV SERIES: VOL. 3 (DVD – Tokyo Shock)
• NO BLOOD NO TEARS (DVD – Genius Products)
• THE REBEL (DVD – Dragon Dynasty)
• THE WARLORDS (DVD – Image Entertainment)

September:
• FIST OF LEGEND (DVD – Dragon Dynasty)
• THE HEROIC ONES (DVD – Well Go USA)

Next Week:
• HUMAN LANTERNS (DVD – Image Entertainment)
• INVISIBLE TARGET (DVD – Dragon Dynasty)
• ICONS OF ADVENTURE COLLECTION (THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER / THE DEVIL-SHIP PIRATES / THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY / THE TERROR OF THE TONGS) (DVD – Sony Pictures)
• NINJA RESURRECTION (DVD – Adv Films)
• SALVATION (DVD – York Home Entertainment)
• SHAOLIN VS. VAMPIRE (DVD – Rarescope)
• WARRIOR KING / ONG BAK (DVD – Contender)