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Sill causing a stir with it’s Asian release, Jackie Chan’s dark, dramatic The Shinjuku Incident (banned in China!) is released on Blu-ray and two-disc DVD on 22 February by Cine Asia. Provocative, compelling and underscored with hard-hitting action, the pulse-pounding thriller, The Shinjuku Incident explodes with tension and delivers a career-defining performance from international action-superstar, Jackie Chan.

Further ahead, Cine Asia will also be releasing – through their new distribution deal with Weinstein’s US Dragon Dynasty (move over Momentum, that lasted long!) – the Jet Li classic Fist Of Legend, at last! The holy gail of Jet Li’s movies, previously unavailable in the UK outside of the (dreadful!) English dubbed release by Dimension, debuts on Blu-ray and Two-disc DVD on 22 March. Yay!!!

The new tie-up with Dragon Dynasty will also FINALLY see the release of S.P.L. aka Kill Zone – the first and undoubtedly best of the collaborations between director Wilson Yip and star/action choreographer Donnie Yen. This debuts on UK Blu-ray and two-disc DVD on 8 March.

Some very lucky readers will get their copy of Kim Jee-woon’s fantastic The Good, The Bad, The Weird on Blu-ray in the next few days. And don’t forget, there’s still time to enter our competition and you can win an exclusive Blood: The Last Vampire t-shirt and this original Anime version on DVD!

» Click here to enter!

In 2005, “Ong-Bak” introduced a whole new level of martial arts mayhem to unsuspecting action movie fans around the world and raised the bar as far as on-screen, in-your-face fight and action choreography was concerned. Now, producer Adirek Watleela (Bang Rajan; Bangkok Dangerous) and director Thanakorn Pongsuwan (Opapatika; The Story Of X-Circle) take things in a new direction with the electrifying and relentlessly violent Fireball, starring popular Thai rock star Preeti “Bank” Barameeanant in the dual roles of twin brothers who become dangerously involved in Thailand’s ultimate underground bloodsport.

Eschewing plot complexities in favour of all-out action sequences, Fireball combines the breakneck paced sport of basketball with the bone crushing brutality of Muay Thai fighting and mixed martial arts for an action movie experience quite unlike any other.

Recently released from prison, Tai discovers that his twin brother Tan is in a coma after being beaten to near-death by a rival. Further investigation reveals that in order to raise money to secure Tai’s early release, Tan had become involved in an illegal and deadly but highly lucrative underground sport known as Fireball, a no-holds-barred combination of basketball and martial arts in which ruthless murder is simply part of the game.

Seeking revenge on the man responsible for his brother’s condition, Tai poses as Tan and infiltrates the gangster-run world of Fireball by joining a team consisting of equally desperate individuals, including a Thai boxing champion out to prove himself, a Thai-African in need of money to support his impoverished family, and an old friend of Tan’s with a mysterious past.

After entering the latest Fireball tournament, Tai and his teammates are forced to risk everything, including their lives, by fighting their way to the final round of the championships in an arena from which several of them may not return. Along the way, Tai determines to identify his brother’s attacker and exact his revenge no matter what the cost to himself or those around him.
Breathtakingly paced from start to finish and featuring numerous extended scenes of stunning sports and explosive martial arts choreography, Fireball is a truly exhilarating action movie guaranteed to bludgeon viewers into submission and leave them as exhausted as its protagonists by the time the final credits begin to roll.

Fireball is released on DVD & Blu-ray by E1 Entertainment on 18th January 2010. Prior to its DVD release the film will be showing at selected cinemas throughout the UK, courtesy of Premiere Films, from 8th January 2010 – check www.fireballmovie.com for further details.

Japanese director Tetsuya Nakashima (Memories Of Matsuko) has rapidly earned himself a reputation as a hugely talented and idiosyncratic auteur whose genre-busting films have been favourably compared to the work of directors such as Tim Burton (Charlie And The Chocolate Factory; Big Fish), Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge; Romeo And Juliet) and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (A Very Long Engagement; Amelie). Now, the pop culture phenomenon that has taken Japan by storm, Nakashima’s KAMIKAZE GIRLS, comes to DVD and Blu-ray as a Special Edition release courtesy of Third Window Films.

Based on the bestselling novel-turned-manga by cult author Novala Takemoto, KAMIKAZE GIRLS concerns 17-year-old Momoko (Kyoko Fukada), a self-absorbed dreamer and ‘Lolita’ fashion obsessive whose love of all things Rococo sees her fantasizing about fleeing her backcountry home and living life in 18th Century Versailles.

While selling off her father’s supplies of bootleg designer fashion goods in order to fund her expensive obsession, Momoko unexpectedly meets the rebellious Ichigo (Anna Tsuchiya), a rough-and-tumble ‘Yanki’ biker chick. The girls begin a tentative and unlikely relationship that soon sees the two seemingly incompatible misfits forming a unique friendship. Together, they embark on a vividly coloured, sugar sweet, hyper-stylized odyssey of female bonding all set to a pounding J-Pop beat.

Described as ‘a wild, surreal speed-freak’s walk on the kitsch side of pop culture obsessions’ by The Sunday Times and by Metro as ‘everything you’d want in a slice of Japanese pop culture and more,’ Nakashima’s adaptation of Takemoto’s novel is a full-on bubblegum-laced extravaganza – the cinematic equivalent of a sweet-toothed teenager being given the keys to the candy store.

Starring J-Pop idol Kyoko Fukada (The Ring 2; Dolls) and pop star turned actress Anna Tsuchiya (Dororo; Sakuran), KAMIKAZE GIRLS is delightfully exuberant trip through teenage alienation terrain in the company of two of the most fun and endearing girls ever to grace the screen.

KAMIKAZE GIRLS (cert. 12) will be released as a two-disc DVD (£14.99) and single-disc Blu-ray (£14.99) by Third Window Films on 8th February 2010. Special Features include: anamorphic widescreen presentation; 5.1 audio; optional English subtitles; “Making Of” featurette; interviews with director Tetsuya Nakashima and actresses Anna Tsuchiya and Kyoko Fukada; “Birth Of Unicorn Ryuji” – short film; workprint footage; Anna Tsuchiya music video; trailer; trailers of other Third Window releases.

Directed by Gordon Chan (The Medallion; Beast Cops) and starring martial arts superstar Jet Li (The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor; The Forbidden Kingdom; Fearless; Hero), Fist Of Legend gets the Ultimate Edition treatment courtesy of Cine Asia with an extra features-packed Blu-ray and two-disc DVD release on 22nd March 2010.

A stunning reinvention of Bruce Lee’s timeless 1972 classic, ‘Fist of Fury’, Fist Of Legend delivers scene upon scene of intense and magnificently composed martial arts action for what is now considered by many to be the greatest kung fu movie of all time.

In the most electrifying performance of his celebrated career, international superstar Jet Li plays Chen Zhen, the matchless number-one student of China’s preeminent kung fu master, Fok Yun-gap. Upon returning home to Shanghai after a period of study abroad, he discovers that his homeland has been devastated by a brutal Japanese occupation and that his once proud martial arts academy has fallen into disarray following the untimely demise of his beloved Master, allegedly in a challenge match with a member of the Japanese Black Dragon Clan.

Disgusted by the official verdict on his teacher’s death, Chen embarks on a heroic and uncompromising one-man quest to uncover the true killer and restore dignity to his fallen people – a journey that will bring him into deadly confrontation with Japan’s most formidable fighters.

Showcasing exceptional action-choreography from ace martial arts director, Yuen Woo-ping (The Matrix Trilogy and Kill Bill), Fist Of Legend is a brilliant martial arts masterpiece that justifiably has been awarded iconic status by fans and critics worldwide.

Fist Of Legend (cert. tbc) will be released on DVD (£17.99) and Blu-ray (£24.99) by Cine Asia on 22nd March 2010.

Special Features include: audio commentary by Hong Kong Cinema expert Bey Logan; ‘The Man Behind The Legend’ – an exclusive interview with director Gordon Chan; ‘Brothers In Arms’ – an exclusive interview with kung fu impresario Chin Siu-ho; ‘The Way Of The Warrior’ – an exclusive interview with Japanese action legend Kurata Yasuaki; ‘The School Of Hard Knocks’ – a screen fighting seminar at the celebrated Kurata Action School; a look at ‘Fist Of Legend’ with director Brett Ratner and critic Elvis Mitchell; deleted scenes gallery; trailer gallery; DTS HD MA English 5.1 audio (Blu-ray); Dolby Digital Cantonese 2.0 Stereo, Mandarin 2.0 Stereo and English 5.1 audio options (DVD); optional English subtitles.

Winner of the Best Action Choreography Award at the 2006 Hong Kong Film Awards and hailed by Variety as “a must see” for martial arts and action movie fans, the action-thriller Kill Zone comes to Blu-ray and DVD (as a two-disc Ultimate Edition) in March packed with special features that include behind the scenes featurettes, plus exclusive interviews with the stars and filmmakers.

Directed by Wilson Yip and featuring the work of many of the creative talents who helped him in bringing ‘Ip Man’, ‘Flashpoint’ and ‘Dragon Tiger Gate’ to the screen, Kill Zone stars Donnie Yen (Ip Man; An Empress And The Warriors), Simon Yam (Ip Man; Triangle), Sammo Hung (Three Kingdoms; Kung Fu Hustle; The Medallion) and Jacky Wu (Invisible Target; Fatal Contact) and combines hard-hitting martial arts action with gritty police thriller conventions.

Finally apprehended by veteran detective Chan Kwok Chung (Yam) after years of ruling the Hong Kong underworld, brutal gangster Wong Po (Hung) manages to escape justice by arranging the execution of the prosecuting attorney and the witnesses who could have sealed his fate and kept him behind bars. As Po walks free, the soon-to-retire Chan is diagnosed with terminal cancer and, with nothing left to lose, persuades his team of detectives to bring down their nemesis no matter what the cost.

However, their plans to operate outside the law are uncovered by Chan’s future replacement, Ma Kwun (Yen), a cop with a fearsome reputation who suddenly finds himself at odds with both the criminals he is trying to catch and the men he needs to trust. But Ma’s ethics are brought into question when Po hires a deadly assassin (Wu) to kill Chan’s men with ruthless efficiency and he is forced to join forces with his predecessor in order to wage bloody war on Po and his henchmen.

Climaxing in a long-awaited, extended screen showdown between martial arts legends Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen and featuring a breathtaking mano-a-mano face-off between Yen and Jacky Wu, Kill Zone is an electrifying and suspenseful thriller guaranteed to keep action fans on the edge of their seats from start to finish.

Kill Zone (cert. tbc) will be released on DVD (£17.99) and Blu-ray (£24.99) by Cine Asia on 8th March 2010.

John Woo’s superb return to form Red Cliff, makes its way to UK DVD and Blu-ray on 5 October, released by Entertainment in Video.

Kim Jee-Woon’s (A Tale Of Two Sisters, A Bittersweet Life) fantastic The Good, The Bad, The Weird, starring Song Kang-Ho, Lee Byung-Hun and Jung Woo-Sung, will be released on UK on DVD and Blu-Ray on 1 June by Icon Home Entertainment. A big-budget take on the Western genre set in the 1930s Manchurian desert, a search for a map brings together three very different men who seem to exemplify the characteristics of the title. In this Korean-language film, all of the actors – including the top-billed stars – performed their own stunts.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD (SPECIAL EDITION) will be released as a two-disc DVD (£19.99) and single disc Blu-ray (£24.99) by Icon Home Entertainment on 15 June 2009. Special Features include: “Running Fast” – making of featurette; “The Good, The Bad, The Weird And The Vicious” (interview with the director and cast); “Analogue” (cinematography, lighting, action sequences, sound); “Space” (production design, costumes, set decoration); deleted scenes with optional director’s commentary; alternate endings (with multi angles); trailers.

The Good, The Bad, The Weird is released on Blu-Ray and two-disc DVD on 15 June (postponed from 1 June).

Action movie superstar Jackie Chan and Hong Kong director Stanley Tong reunite for their first collaboration in a decade since their double-whammy of “Rumble In The Bronx” and “Jackie Chan’s First Strike” in The Myth, the multi-period action-comedy that combines sci-fi, martial arts and historical fantasy in one spectacular adventure, released in the UK by Cine Asia on DVD and blu-ray on 4 May.

han stars as Jack, an intrepid and world-renowned archaeologist who has begun having dreams of a past life as a warrior in ancient China. When a fellow scientist asks for Jack’s help in locating the mausoleum of China’s first emperor, the past collides violently with the present as he discovers his amazing visions are based in fact.  When they discover an ancient sword and a magical gemstone that can defy the laws of gravity, the past collides violently with the present with often comical consequences.
Coming to DVD as a two-disc Ultimate Edition featuring over four hours of extras, the film sees Jackie Chan (playing dual roles) starring alongside fellow Hong Kong star Tony Leung (Election; New Dragon Gate Inn), Korean actress Hee-seon Kim (Bichunmoo) and Bollywood sex symbol Malika Sherawat (Murder).  Special Features;    Disc 1
;   Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo Cantonese and 5.1 English audio options; English subtitles
; ‘Making of
’ featurette; trailer and music videos gallery

.

Disc 2

;  Interviews 
with Jackie Chan, 
Tony Leung Ka Fai, 
Kim Hee Seon, 
Mallika Sherawat, 
Stanley Tong
, Sun Zhou and 
Choi Min Soo; 
deleted scenes; lost scenes
; behind the scenes (11 featurettes)
; Just For Laughs; HK Premiere; Easter Egg – Cannes Festival.

The Myth (cert. tbc) will be released on DVD (£15.99) and Blu-ray (£19.99) by Cine Asia on 4th May 2009.

Heartbroken, his life descends into darkness and petty crime quickly escalates to murder. With blood on his hands, he will risk everything to secure a future for his people, as they face an increasingly brutal onslaught from a criminal empire protected by a secret code. However, ancient traditions will not be broken and his defiance will lead to all-out war as both factions fight for control of the infamous Shinjuku district in the heart of Japan’s greatest city.

Ultimately pursued by forces on both sides of the law, Steelhead must fight for redemption and the survival of those he loves in the darkest night he has ever known…

Provocative, compelling and underscored with hard-hitting action, the pulse-pounding thriller, The Shinjuku Incident explodes with tension and delivers a career-defining performance from international action-superstar, Jackie Chan.
 Coming to Blu-ray and to DVD as a two-disc Ultimate Edition featuring a host of extras, including behind the scenes featurettes, cast interviews and deleted scenes, this is a must-have for Jackie Chan fans and lovers of action cinema.

Special Features include: Making of; behind the scenes featurettes; extended and deleted scenes; trailer gallery; interview gallery (Jackie Chan, Daniel Wu, Xu Jinglei, Masaya Kato, Naoto Takenata, Chin Kar Lok, Pater Kam Pau-Tat); Dolby Digital original language 2.0 and 5.1, plus English 5.1 audio tracks (DVD); DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 original language and 5.1 English, plus Dolby Digital original language 2.0 audio tracks (Blu-ray).

THE SHINJUKU INCIDENT (18)  is radical, uncompromising cinema with the most unforgettable finale of any Jackie Chan film to date! Released on two-disc DVD (£17.99) and single disc Blu-ray (£24.99) by Cine Asia on February 22.

Dodgeball meets Rollerball in this violent bloodsport flick, but before you go thinking we’re back to the excesses of 80s martial arts films, think again… (more…)

This week sees the start of the Barbican’s annual festival focusing on the best of Korean cinema by presenting a brand new batch of box office hits, independent features and animated films from the country. Highlights this year include an exclusive Opening Night Gala Screening of the Director’s Cut of Park Chan-wook’s vampire thriller Thirst (some 10 minutes longer than the theatrical release currently screening), which will be introduced by the director himself, plus a screening of Yang Ik-june’s impressive debut feature, Breathless, followed by a Q&A session with Yang. The London Korean Film Festival 2009 will be held at the Barbican from 5th to 12th November.

» For full details, visit the Barbican website.

For Korean film fans, particularly of Park Chan-wook’s back catalogue, then this week sees the release of several notable films from Palisades Tartan on Blu-ray for the first time, including Sympathy For Mr Vengeance and Lady Vengeance, alongside Kim Jee-woon’s A Tale Of Two Sisters, recently remade as The Uninvited. (Not to be confused with the Korean film of the same name, also recently re-released by Palisades… Oh, don’t get me started!)

There’s also the DVD and Blu-ray release of the live-action version of Blood: The Last Vampire – and don’t forget you can still win a copy of the DVD here! The original animation is also released by Manga on Blu-ray today.

And if you still can’t get enough of Samurai sword slinging gore, then there’s Samurai Princess, from the creators of Tokyo Gore Police. Set in an alternative version of feudal Japan, a pair of human-android hybrids is on the rampage raping, torturing and dismembering young women in the name of “art”. Directed by Kengo Kaji (co-writer of Tokyo Gore Police), featuring special effects produced by director and FX wizard Yoshihiro Mishimura (Tokyo Gore Police, Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl) and starring adult video star Aino Kishi.

(…phew! I think that’s it for this week’s releases?)

An astounding visual mash-up of pop cultural references, welcome to the work of director Tetsuya Nakashima… (more…)

Just time for a quick round-up of other notable releases to look out for in the UK in the next few months:

Wilson Yip and Donnie Yen’s latest collaboration – following S.P.L., Flashpoint and Dragon Tiger Gate –Ip Man, gets released in selected cinemas from 5 October. Celebrating the life of the Wing Chun master who taught a young Bruce Lee his first kun fu lessons, the impressive action choerography by Sammo Hung follows the close-range fighting particular to the style. Look out for a review and, hopefully, interviews soon…

John Woo’s fab return to form, Red Cliff, makes its way onto DVD and Blu-ray on 5 October courtesy of Entertainment In Video. Out the following week, 12 October, comes the DVD and Blu-ray release of the live-action version Blood: The Last Vampire.

Yukihiko Tsutsumi’s second film in his live-action adaption of 20th Century Boys, Chapter 2, also makes its way on to UK DVD, but be prepared for the wait – it’s not until 31 December 2009!

Finally out in the UK on DVD and Blu-Ray, S.P.L.: Kill Zone, starring Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung and Simon Yen. Here’s the UK promo to give you a taster…

Read our full review here »

It’s a good day for fans of Tetsuya Nakashima, as today sees the release of both his scripted comedy Lala Pipo, directed by Masayuki Miyano, and his own highly enjoyable feature Kamikaze Girls, released in a new special edition 2-disc DVD and single disc Blu-ray boasting plenty of new features including the short film ‘Birth Of Unicorn Ryuji’, a making of featurette, interviews with cast and crew, and a music video with star Anna Tsuchiya.

Both Lala Pipo and Kamikaze Girls are available today from distributor Third Window.

Easily the most palatable Chinese historical drama in ages, John Woo’s Red Cliff comes to UK DVD and Blu-ray today courtesy of Entertainment in Video. Oh, and it’s the best film he’s done in a long time too, so if you’ve yet to catch it, this is a must!

(Shame it’s not all four hours plus??)

Chen Kaige’s The Promise finally crawls its way on to UK DVD and Blu-Ray, courtesy of Momentum Pictures. Originally released way back in December 2005 and reviewed by us shortly afterwards, it failed to spark any interest from UK distributors despite being given a limited release in the US, France, Germany, Greece, Russia – in fact just about everywhere else! Unsurprisingly Chen’s attempt to follow rival Zhang Yimou into wu xia territory met with mixed reactions. Indeed the core story itself holds a neat fable with beautifully baroque costume design (pre-empting Yimou’s Curse Of The Golden Flower), but relies perhaps a little too heavily on CGI to make it all happen.

Sadly, this is a ‘bonus feature lite’ DVD release, and worse still, it’s the edited US release, running some 20 minutes shorter. Mind you, guess better to have it than not at all (?)

Also out today, Afro Samurai: Resurrection on DVD from Manga Entertainment.

After a delay in production that put back the release a couple of weeks, Kim Jee-woon’s The Good, The Bad, The Weird finally arrives on UK DVD and Blu-ray, and what an awesome package it is! Sure, this might not be quite the Korean 3-disc First Press limited edition release, but it’s still a pretty fine DVD set – particularly for an Asian release, which invariably end up missing out all the best features.

There’s a fantastic hour and a half long ‘making of’ documentary, featurettes on cinematography, action sequences, production and set design, costumes and much more, over 50 minutes of deleted scenes and alternative endings, and an entertaining four-way interview with the director and his three leads. You can read our updated review here.

And don’t forget there’s still plenty of time to bag your self the film on Blu-ray – enter our competition here!

The Good, The Bad, The Weird is released on Blu-Ray and two-disc DVD today by Icon Home Entertainment.

Just a quick round-up of some future releases to look forward to:

Of course, the chief one will be Park Chan-wook’s Thirst, coming to DVD and Blu-ray on 25 January 2010, an undoubtedly one of the biggest releases for the newly reborn Palisades Tartan label.

January also sees the release of The Twins Effect and Sniper director Dante Lam’s The Beast Stalker as a two-disc collectors edition. Starring Nicholas Tse (Dragon Tiger Gate; New Police Story; The Medallion) and Jingchu Zhang (Rush Hour 3; Seven Swords), this kinetic crime-thriller gets released on 4 January 2010 by Cine Asia.

There’s also the Ong-Bak styled Thai martial arts film, Fireball, from producer Adirek Watleela (Bang Rajan, Bangkok Dangerous) and director Thanakorn Pongsuwan (Opapatika, The Story Of X-Circle). Fireball is released on DVD and Blu-ray by E1 Entertainment.

Just to remind you that the Tetsuya Nakashima scripted sex comedy Lalo Pipo is on limited release around the UK. Those based in the UK and fully digital (shouldn’t we all be) may be interested to know that Film4 is showing Nakashima’s epic Memories Of Matsuko and (the arguably more impressive) Kamikaze Girls, as well as Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Tokyo Sonata, so set your PVRs.

Out this Friday from Cine Asia, Jackie Chan’s historical fantasy AND martial arts comedy spectacular The Myth on DVD and Blu-ray. With a cast including Tony Leung (Election, New Dragon Gate Inn), Korean actress Hee-seon Kim (Bichunmoo) and Bollywood sex symbol Malika Sherawat (Murder), The Myth – directed by Chan collaborator Stanley Tong (Police Story 3: Supercop, Rumble In The Bronx, Jackie Chan’s First Strike) – one could think Chan was intent on hitting every conceivable market!

The 2-disc DVD includes over four hours of extras, including a ‘Making of
’ featurette; trailer and music videos gallery

; interviews 
with Jackie Chan, 
Tony Leung Ka Fai, 
Kim Hee Seon, 
Mallika Sherawat, 
Stanley Tong
, Sun Zhou and 
Choi Min Soo; 
deleted scenes; lost scenes
; behind the scenes (11 featurettes)
; Just For Laughs; HK Premiere; Easter Egg – Cannes Festival.

The Myth is released on DVD and Blu-ray on Monday 4 May.

Finally released in the UK – thanks to a tie-up between Cine Asia and Weinstein’s US-based Dragon Dynasty label – one of the best martial arts films of the last decade…! (more…)

With the DVD and Blu-ray release of Kim Jee-woon’s enormously entertaining The Good, The Bad, The Weird now imminent (though a little less than it was due to production problems!) we’re all looking forward to a pretty decent, feature-packed UK version. Here’s an exclusive look at in-case character cards that will be available in DVD and Blu-ray copies for a limited time from HMV only…

To celebrate the release of Blood: The Last Vampire on DVD and Blu-ray, we have three copies to give away… (more…)

Fancy owning Kim Jee-woon’s fantastically entertaining The Good, The Bad, The Weird on Blu-ray? Well, it’s your lucky day, as we have three to give away! (more…)