Jet Li will always be the 80s Fei Hung for me.
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Wira is a pretty decent martial arts flick on Netflix!
Has similar beats to The Raid, but is its own thing.
The characters are likeable and are really good screen fighters.
There are some really good action sequences, including a really good one-take in a factory, a MMA fight, on a bus and in a housing block, all leading to a Big Boss showdown featuring Yayan Ruhian.
There's a whole load of action in its runtime!
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I also watched the new Millionaire's Express release from Eureka, which is a brilliant bundle.
I watched the "Hybrid Cut", which crams as much material as possible back into the film, meaning some of the confusing cuts are gone and the plot makes a bit more sense, but I'd say at the cost of pace, meaning it's a 2 hour runtime and a good hour to the first proper dust-up - Sammo Hung Vs. Yuen Biao, which is pretty intense (and painful, listening to the commentary).
However, the International and HK cuts also make it to the discs!
The finale is brilliant, though, with all the sides converging on a Western 2-horse town for a massive battle.
It's one of those "they don't make 'em like this anymore" level of awesome.
Listened to the Cynthia Rothrock interview and selected scene commentary, then listened to Mike Leeder's commentary, which was fun but a bit silly and pokes fun at the film, but there's another commentary track which is a bit more factual.
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OK, so Eureka are bringing out a 4K release of the Police Story films, but this time it also includes Police Story 3: Supercop with Michelle Yeoh.
They are also releasing the third film on its own:
SPECIAL FEATURES- Limited Edition slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling [3000 copies]
- Reversible sleeve artwork featuring new and original poster artwork
- 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray of the original Hong Kong theatrical cut [96 mins] from a brand new 4K restoration of the original film elements
- Limited Edition set of facsimile lobby cards [3000 copies]
- 1080p HD presentation of the alternate US version [91 mins]
- Hong Kong Theatrical Version – Original Cantonese mono audio, as well as an optional alternate Cantonese audio track featuring original, unaltered, sound effects
- Hong Kong Theatrical Version – Brand new Cantonese Dolby Atmos Surround Sound Audio
- Hong Kong Theatrical Version – Classic English dub track
- Hong Kong Theatrical Version – Brand new audio commentary with Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and F.J. DeSanto
- Hong Kong Theatrical Version – Brand new audio commentary with action cinema experts Mike Leeder & Arne Venema
- US Version – “American English” dub track, including Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh voicing their own characters
- US Version – Original Cantonese audio
- Newly translated English subtitles
- Brand new interview with Stunt Coordinator and Action Film Historian John Kreng
- New featurette on rarely seen Jackie Chan video games, Kung Fu Master & Fists of Fire by Arne Venema
- New featurette on the filming locations of the Police Story trilogy
- Archival interview with Jackie Chan (20 mins)
- Archival interview with Michelle Yeoh (23 mins)
- Archival interview with director Stanley Tong (20 mins)
- Archival interview with Jackie Chan’s long-time bodyguard and co-star Ken Lo (21 mins)
- Outtakes (50 mins) – a huge selection of NG (“No Good”) shots from the film
- Trailers
- A Limited Edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver, as well as archival materials, imagery, and ephemera [3000 copies]
- ***All Extras Subject To Change***
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I need to buy that. 80s action movies don’t get much better.Comment
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I’m finding it hard to get excited about that 4K box set. Eureka already released the first two films on bluray just three years ago. There’s about a million other films out there that’ll I’d like to see get a proper bluray release from the best print available with all the bells and whistles.Comment
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It’s worth it just for Supercop. I’m always up for seeing films at the best possible quality. Hopefully future releases will launch simultaneously on Blu-ray and UHD giving us the choice. I guess the costs for mastering and production of UHDs is now low enough small labels like Eureka can try it out and see if there is a market for it. Lyris would be the man to ask about that.Comment
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I’ll consider Supercop on its lonesome.
I’d love to see some of the late 80s/early 90s stuff get released. The type of film that’s only available on VCD or VHS.Comment
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Fantastic news IMO. I was planning on importing Supercop as it’s never had a BD release in the U.K. I actually rented Police Story 1 and 2, too, and have been meaning to pick them up - but now I can get the triple in UHD
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Despite how much I love Chan's films, those early 90s ones tended to blend together and detective Kevin fights with a ladder, slides down a building, dangles off a helicopter in Hong Kong, drops off the helicopter into ice then drives a monster truck and a hovercraft.
Ladder: First Strike
Bulding: Who Am I
HK helicopter: Supercop
Ice helicopter: First Strike
Monster truck: Mr. Nice Guy
Hovercraft: Rumble in the Bronx
I know, really, but I think being unable to see Supercop meant I'd possible missed it, but thought I'd seen it from the similarities.
With this bundle, there are some new extras. The original Eureka PS has no commentary track, which is a bit criminal (pun intended) and this will have 2. PS2 had 1 and will now have 3.
I'll be honest, I'm not 100% sold on Mike Leeder's commentaries. He's very knowledgeable, but he tends to poke fun at the films he's talking over and I bought the film because I like it, so you don't have to say it's perfect, but you can still give something critical appreciation and consider the time it was made.
The other thing is, he's a bit non-PC, fawning over Rosamund Kwan in both Armour of God and Millionaires' Express.
The treatment of women in some of these films is very dated, but he suggests addressing those problems could be seen as "woke".
This is particularly important because the previous king of commentaries, Bey Logan, was dethroned for his Weinstein-inspired sexual misconduct.
However, back on topic, I'd like an option for standard Blu-Ray for the set as I still have nothing to play or show 4K discs!Comment
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Blimey it’s years since I’ve seen that. I remember it being pretty decent.Comment
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I watched The Prodigal Son (1981 via DVD) last night and it was pretty decent.
It's held in pretty high regard for the fight scenes, which are suitably amazing.
Story has some weird pacing though, going from whimsical comedy to absolute outright mass murder of people having their throats slit as they sleep, then back to whimsical comedy, then a serious ending.
Like 2 minutes after all the windpipes have been slashed, there's a comedy routine where Yuen Biao is talking to a chicken he wants to eat, but a woman thinks he's talking to her.
So, the basic story is that Leung Chang (Yuen Biao) is famous all over town as an unbeatable fighter, but that's because his father gets his servant to pay off anyone who might beat him and they lose, earning him the nickname behind his back of "Prodigal Son".
When a theatre troop come to town, one of Chang's friends is attracted to the lead actress and asks her out on a date after the performance. She refuses, but he insists and even harasses her. She reveals herself to be a man, Leung Yee-tai (Lam Ching-ying), a master of Wing Chun. He beats up and humiliates Chang's friends. Chang challenges Yee-tai to a fight to avenge the insults to his friends. As usual, his servant tries to bribe Yee-tai to lose, but Yee-tai refuses, easily defeats Chang, and reveals the truth about his martial arts ineptitude to him.
From that point on, Chang follows Yee-tai around, begging to be properly trained in Wing Chun, but he refuses for over six months, but things start getting complicated when Yee-Tai is challenged by an unbeaten member of the royal family...
So, you've got some big names in here, including Sammo Hung, who also directed, so you absolutely know that the fight scenes are going to be top notch. They're more straight-up fights, rather than extensive use of weapons or scenery, but it's always exquisitely captured.
Pre-dating Ip Man by decades as a showcase for Wing Chun, Hung successfully manages to make the close-quarters style a cinematic spectacle. With Yuen Biao as the lead, you know there's going to be a ton of acrobatics. In one moment of the final battle, Biao doubles his attacker so he's literally fighting himself at times!
Definitely will get rewatched, in fact I started again with the Bey Logan commentary on straight after and will see the rest soon.
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Great film. Tonally arl owa, but the fights are classic old school.Comment
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One of my absolute faves
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