Retro Reviews

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THE MAGNIFICENT CHANG CHEH Eureka Blu-Ray Review: Essential Viewing For All Fans Of The Classics

The Magnificent Chang Cheh arrives on Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment on April 29 from Eureka Classics. Pre-orders are up and running at MVD Shop. Classic wuxia and kung fu and hijinks are on the menu and for this, we turn to Eureka Entetainment’s latest Eureka Classics packaging, The Magnificent Chang Cheh. First up is the late autuer’s 1966 adventure, The Magnificent Trio boasts the casting of screen stalwarts Jimmy Wang Yu, Lo Lieh, and Cheng Lei, along with Lui Ming, Fanny Fan Lai, Chin Ping, and Margaret Tu. We firstly meet Lu Feng (Wang Yu), a wandering swordsman who stumbles upon a scene that looks more unsavory than it is. Indeed, it’s a kidnapping of the local magistrate’s daughter, implemented by a villager and his sons desperate to hold him accountable for his tyrannical ways. Wei’s first order of business is to assemble a band of as many henchmen as […]

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JFF Theater: KIMBA, THE WHITE LION Review: The Tezuka´s classic that inspired The Lion King

The Japanese foundation continues spreading Japanese culture on their free streaming platform, offering from February, 1 until May, 1, a wide variety of films that comes from intimate dramas such as “My Broken Mariko” or “I am what am”, to stories with gluttony as their central axis, such as “The God of Ramen” or “School´s meals time of graduation” or delicious tales as “Bread of happiness” to funny comedies as “Project Dreams- How to build Mazinger Z´s hangar“, this month including animes such as Ozamu Tezuka´s classic, “Jungle Emperor Lion aka Kimba, the white Lion.” The movie I will comment on in this review The success of Osamu Tezuka‘s manga and its subsequent animated adaptation for television led to Kimba making the leap to the big screen in Japanese cinemas with this adventure that is basically a montage in the form of a 70-minute feature film of the television series. […]

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BY A MAN’S FACE SHALL YOU KNOW HIM (1966) Review: A Gangster’s Tale Of Unwavering Resolve

By A Man’s Face Shall You Know Him comes to VOD, Digital, and Film Movement Plus on January 31. Late filmmaker Tai Kato is the latest centerpiece of Film Movement Classics’ VOD and digital releases for the first month of 2024. First up among a pair of titles forthcoming is By A Man’s Face Shall You Know Him, Kato’s 1966 crime drama starring Noboru Ando as a post-WWII medic-turned-doctor who reflects on his life of turmoil, heartache, and violence when an old friend is admitted as his patient. Fans of Showa-era productions like these might be more than familiar with Kato’s work, or even that of Ando or the actor’s own history as a former gangster in his heyday. The same can likely be stated with respect to the distinguishable scar Ando bares on his left cheek, which certainly makes Ando’s performance here an inspired one, it not enhanced. Optically, […]

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RUNNING ON KARMA (2003) Eureka Blu-Ray Review: A Myriad Of Bewildering Excellence

Eureka Entertainment’s Running On Karma arrives on Blu-Ray on January 28. Order it today at the MVD Shop. Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai’s Running On Karma hit me differently twenty years ago, so I wasn’t too keen on it. Nowadays my mind is more open to different types of films in the field I cover, and I’ve come to realize that it’s a film that holds a little something for several kinds of audiences. Andy Lau wears an albeit convincing muscle suit in his second role after donning a similar suit for a portly character in Love On A Diet, a 2001 rom-com from the same directing duo. The muscular build for the role Lau plays this time around takes a life on its own as an aspect to the inherently transformative nature of the story To and Wai proffer to viewers. The long and short? Lau stars along with […]

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Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan in PROJECT A

THE PROJECT A COLLECTION – 88 Films Review: A Treasure Trove Of Action Comedy Delight, Memorabilia, Stories And More!

Tap the following for anchors: • INTRODUCTION • STORY • REVIEW • PROJECT A Features (Taiwanese Cut – Extras) • PROJECT A2 Features (Extras) • Conclusion INTRODUCTION: I remember first setting eyes on Project A a long time ago before Blu-Rays would exist. It was on TV, it was dubbed in English, and I didn’t even know who Yuen Biao was at the time. It was post Jackie Chan 2.0 in the mid 2000s though, and I had already become enamored by Hong Kong cinema’s revival via home media, and having turned away Miramax’s dubbed version, I always hoped I would be able to see the original in its Cantonese audio. I was obsessed with seeing these titles as intended in their regional output, and lo and behold, 88 Films has packaged one hell of a gem for U.S. fans. The bundle comes in a Blu-Ray box-set, as well as […]

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