Retro Reviews

wp-17452655521567916620874830942098

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 […]

More

maxresdefault

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. […]

More

wp-17345377271193147244700725494533

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, […]

More

54052050243_37b835d5fc_k

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 […]

More

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 […]

More

Untitled

THE CRIPPLED MASTERS Is A Kung Fu Classic For All The Right Reasons

These days, if a film were to heavily feature, say, someone in a wheelchair (besides, perhaps, Charles Xavier), it wouldn’t be long before it was bombarded with cries of “woke!” or “leftism gone mad!”. Back in 1980, this wasn’t the case. In fact, in 1980, exploitation cinema was still thriving. These films often toed the line, highlighting more taboo subjects, such as sex crimes, racism, homosexuality and, of course, extreme violence, as well as many more. Exploitation became its own genre, despite being comprised of several other genres. There’s action exploitation, horror exploitation, Blaxploitation, exploitation porn (which seems redundant, I suppose)… The list goes on. Kung fu cinema has always been mildly exploitational. Or at least it’s gently held hands with exploitation throughout its existence. Sammo Hung often liked to make his films gritty with the inclusion of a rape scene or two, many martial arts films feature animal cruelty, […]

More

wp-17172733961595885383316805660077

HEROES SHED NO TEARS Review: Early John Woo At His Burgeoning Best

Heroes Shed No Tears has been restored in 2k and streams on Film Movement+ on June 7. The Hollywood appeal for a director like John Woo is something that never should have lapsed after Paycheck. Indeed it wasn’t his best, and still his work warrants longer consideration for industry progression. His most recent return with Silent Night was a blast, and 2024 is looking to keep the energy up some as Film Movement Classics antes up its streaming library with the 1986 war thriller, Heroes Shed No Tears. A cursory scan of the film’s Wikipedia page alludes to the film’s rough history, coupled with Woo’s apprehension to seeing the finished product. I don’t know if that’s still the case and I can’t blame him for moving on. Although, apart from some of the film’s perceived flaws, it’s worth noting Woo’s tactful handling of many areas of the story, including the […]

More

Boxset for Abashiri Prison I-III

THE PRISON WALLS TRILOGY Eureka Classics Blu-Ray Review

This was a pretty big task to take on in the past week, but I really wanted to dive into some classic Japanese cinema. Eureka Entertainment remains on the ball as one of the foremost niche outlets priming throwback titles out of banners like Toei, including the Prison Walls Trilogy culminating the first three movies of the “Abashiri Bangaichi” franchise. The trilogy is now available in a box set containing the first three films on two blu-ray discs. The movies are presented in original Japanese Mono with optional subtitles, and commentaries from experts on the stars and subject matter, and much more. I had a blast with these, and if you didn’t pre-order these discs yet, I highly recommend ordering them now. It’s a must-have for anyone in the western world who discovered actor Ken Takakura in Tony Scott’s Black Rain like I did, and is purely keen on venturing […]

More

Load More