A Pedigree of the Highest Degree From Dick Wolf and the team behind the Law & Order franchise comes an eye-opening new procedural drama. The series follows the inner workings of the FBI, bringing to bear all the Bureau's skills, intellect and mind-blowing technology to keep New York and the country safe.
Among the most praised and sought-after titles in all contemporary film, this singular masterpiece of Taiwanese cinema, directed by EDWARD YANG (Yi Yi), finally comes to Blu-ray. Set in the early sixties in Taiwan, A Brighter Summer Day is based on the true story of a crime that rocked the nation. A film of both sprawling scope and tender intimacy, this novelistic, patiently observed epic centres on the gradual, inexorable fall of a young teenager (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's CHEN CHANG, in his first role) from innocence to juvenile delinquency, and is set against a simmering backdrop of restless youth, rock and roll, and political turmoil. Special Features: New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack New audio commentary featuring critic Tony Rayns New interview with actor Chen Chang Our Time, Our Story, a 117-minute documentary from 2002 about the New Taiwan Cinema movement, featuring interviews with Yang and filmmakers Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tsai Ming-liang, among others Videotaped performance of director Edward Yang's 1992 play Likely Consequence New English subtitle translation PLUS: An essay by critic Godfrey Cheshire and a 1991 director's statement by Yang Click Images to Enlarge
Martial arts matinee idol Jet Li portrays a real life turn-of-the-century Cantonese patriot, the dauntless Fong Sai-Yuk, in The Legend. This is a much more blunt and straightforward effort than Tsui Hark's flamboyant Once Upon a Time in China films, but codirectors Ann Hui (Song of the Exile) and Yuen Kwai (Yes, Madam) deliver many lively and funny sequences. The film's revelatory performance, however, comes from Josephine Siao, a Cantonese star of the 1960s in both comedies and high-flying swordplay films, who here plays Fong Sai-Yuk's martial mother. Siao disguises herself as a man to enter a martial arts competition and ends up winning both the prize and the heart of a high official's daughter--mostly because the girl has never met a hero with so much poetic sensitivity lurking just beneath the surface. Chu Kong (Sidney in John Woo's The Killer) plays Fong Sai-Yuk's father as an anti-Manchu patriot so unbendingly upright that he's a bit of a prig. As the action heats up, political stakes emerge more clearly. In the grand finale, Fong Sai-Yuk squares off against a Manchu killer played with great panache by newcomer Chiu Man-cheuk. --David Chute, Amazon.com
It is never too late to fall in love for the first time. Writer-director Alice Wu's debut film is a heartwarming and heartbreaking romantic comedy about family tradition and changing times. Michelle Krusiec gives an outstanding performance as Wilhelmina a doctor in a Manhattan hospital who returns to Flushing's Chinatown every Friday night to participate in her extended family's weekly dance mixer. While her mother (Joan Chen) and the other women try to set her up with elig
Seriously weird as only the best, completely-barking-mad kung fu flicks can be, The Thundering Mantis is the story of Ah Chi, a martial artist who hooks up with a kid sidekick. However, an old grudge resurfaces, with the result that the boy's uncle is murdered and the boy himself kidnapped. So far so Arnie-in-Commando, but it's at this point we're reminded that indigenous martial arts movies are something else again, as Ah Chi's rescue attempt goes disastrously wrong and the boy is tortured to death before his eyes. Apparently driven to insanity by this experience, Ah Chi goes berserk, breaking free and systematically trashing everything and everyone in sight. End of movie. Devotees will absolutely want this in their collections, but those who have yet to progress beyond the Jackie Chan/Jet Li school of Americanised martial arts films will need to leave their preconceptions at the door. There's a nice touch to the dubbed English soundtrack, where the voiceover artists seem to have taken it upon themselves to imitate various British character actors: listen out for Wilfred Brambell, Kenneth Connor and so on. On the DVD: The Thundering Mantis has no extras on the widescreen DVD other than a one-screen guide to other titles in the Kung Fu Connection series. --Roger Thomas
NOTICE: Polish Release, cover may contain Polish text/markings. The disk has English audio.
The epic story of a man who challenged the limits of courage and fought for the heart of a nation. When his wife and entire village are brutally murdered by evil Manchu soldiers the master warrior Kwun (Jet Li) sets out on a mission of vengeance with the only survivor of the massacre - his son Ting. For seven years the two journey across ancient China on their quest for revenge always staying one step ahead of the deadly army. But Kwun is forced to face the past when they come ac
This Special Edition 2-disc set of 'In The Mood For Love' presents a vast and sumptuous array of the very best of director Wong Kar-Wai's selected additional features. The special bonus features will satisfy the longings for audiences who have been seduced by 'In The Mood For Love' and its timeless beauty style and sensuality. Hong Kong 1962. Chow (Tony Leung) is a junior newspaper editor with an elusive wife. His new neighbour Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) is a secretary whose husband s
Hong Kong 1962. Chow (Tony Leung) is a junior newspaper editor with an elusive wife. His new neighbour Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) is a secretary whose husband seems to spend all his time on business trips. They become friends making the lonely evenings more bearable. As their relationship develops they make a discovery that changes their lives forever... In this sumptuous exploration of desire internationally acclaimed director Wong Kar-Wai creates a world of sensuality and longing
An American businessman in Japan meets a beautiful young woman and goes to bed with her; his life turns upside down when a Ninja suddenly enters and kills her. The powerful Ninja and his Ninja cohorts set out to silence the businessman the only witness to the murder but he finds support from a samurai who protects him as an excuse to settle a centuries-old score.
In between the Hollywood productions Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon, Hong Kong's most popular export, Jackie Chan, returned home to indulge his romantic side in this modern fairy tale. He plays a modern Prince Charming, a big business mogul and notoriously eligible big-city bachelor to dreamy teenager Shu Qi, a girl from a Taiwan fishing village. When a heartbreaking message in a bottle washes ashore, she traces it back to Hong Kong, where she meets Jackie in the midst of a mid-ocean brawl on a luxury yacht. Hong Kong heartthrob Tony Leung has a grand time spoofing his image, playing a gay fashion photographer who "adopts" Shu Qi and helps her woo her handsome dream lover. It's a pleasant change to see 40-plus Jackie discard his usual goofy lovesick fool to play a suave swinger, but next to giggly teen Shu Qi, who proves to be a spunky and winning actress, he seems a little too mature. There are still plenty of opportunities to see Jackie in acrobatic action with a subplot involving a boyhood friend turned shady business rival, but at heart it's a sweet, silly little love song full of unabashed romantic imagery, elegant art design, snazzy fashions and a gooey happy ending. Jackie doesn't provide his own voice in the English dubbed edition, which makes a minor dent in his charm but does little to affect the film as a whole. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com
In the historically based Kung fu drama Legend of a Fighter director Yuen Woo Ping offers his version of the early life of martial artist Fok Yuen Gap (played by Leung Kar Yan). Set at the beginning of the 20th century, Fok is considered too weak to learn the family Kung fu style. Still, as his father can break eggs by growling, he probably considers most people weak. The teenager forms a bond with his humane Japanese tutor (Kurata Yusuaki), who secretly teaches martial arts. The story builds to a moving climax as 12 years later pupil and now ageing master are forced by honour into a deadly duel. The opening and closing acts are by far the strongest, the plentiful fight scenes being balanced by gentle humour and emotions torn between friendship and duty. Both lead actors are excellent, with Yusuaki being particularly fine as the noble warrior-teacher. The middle, a series of disconnected tableaux in which Fok establishes his stature as a Kung fu expert, goes on much too long to sustain interest. Nevertheless the story of Fok Yuen Gap, a genuine Chinese hero who was also the inspiration for Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury (1972), is fine and Woo Ping delivers the one-on-one Kung fu action with the touch of a master.On the DVD: The 1.77:1 image doesn't benefit at all from its anamorphic enhancement, the entire film being presented slightly out of focus so that by the end eyes are likely to be aching. The opening 4:3 Academy ratio archive footage has been distorted to 1.77:1, while the original trailer shows Legend of a Fighter was shot in an extremely wide format--possibly the Hong Kong equivalent of early 2.66:1 CinemaScope, or even 2.74:1 Techniscope--which means that large amounts of the original image are missing. This is very obvious as characters constantly vanish off the sides of the screen or are cropped in half. Additionally, and again compared to the crisp, sharp trailer, colours are washed out, while the mono sound distorts whenever the music gets loud. The film is available in Mandarin with optional English subtitles, or in an awful English dub littered with inappropriate obscene language. There is a nine-minute interview with Leung Kar Yan, and a 23-minute interview with Yuen Woo Ping, which is a slightly longer version of the conversation presented on the Magnificent Butcher DVD: it's notable how he expresses his love of science fiction and indicates he would like to make a SF Kung-fu movie, something he achieved with The Matrix (1999). There is a Hong Kong Legends' promo for the film, together with seven further new trailers. The photo gallery is pointless, simply cropping some shots even further than the main presentation. --Gary S Dalkin
A stash of gold has been hidden in a forest and only six imperial guards know of its location - watch the masters battle it out! A host of Kung Fu stars take to the screen in this martial arts epic!
Preston is a hot spot for UFO sightings and also has the UK's fastest-growing Chinese population. This was the starting point for artist Shezad Dawood film - a woozy socially-conscious science fiction movie. Avoiding Northern clichés Piercing Brightness is a tale of alien emissaries and interracial love that has a real sense of place with wig-out moments provided by Acid Mothers Temple and a climax on the roof of the brutalist Preston Bus Station.
Set in Singapore during the 1997 Asian financial crisis Ilo Ilo chronicles the day-to-day drama of the Lim family - troublesome grade-schooler Jiale and his overstressed parents Heck and Leng. Comfortably middle-class and with another baby on the way they hire Teresa a Filipino immigrant as a live-in maid and nanny. An outsider in both the family and Singapore itself Teresa initially struggles to manage Jiale's antics and find her footing in her new community. The two eventually form a unique bond but just as Teresa becomes an unspoken part of the family unforeseen circumstances in an uncertain economy will challenge the new normal yet again. In 2009 Anthony Chen was accorded the Young Artist Award by the National Arts Council of Singapore. In 2010 he completed his Masters in Film Directing at the National Film and Television School UK with a scholarship from the Media Development Authority of Singapore. Collectively his shorts have screened at numerous prestigious film festivals such as Cannes Berlin Rotterdam Pusan London Sao Paulo Stockholm Sydney Montreal Melbourne Chicago Hawaii etc. ILO ILO marks his feature film debut.
Jackie Chan appears as Condor an adventurer hired to track down a lost hoard of gold buried in the North African desert during the Second World War. Our hero is joined by three women in a race to get to the gold and outwit their evil pursuers.
Donnie Yen and Michelle Yeoh - Enough said! You only need mention the names of these two superstars in relation to a Hong Kong movie and you know you're dealing with a quality production. Such is the adrenaline-charged swordplay fantasy BUTTERFLY & SWORD (18) - a hugely impressive showcase for the dazzling skills of both - which also stars Hard Boiled's Tony Leung. Directed by Chin Siu-Tung (who choreographed Jet Li in Swordsman II) this breathtaking spectacle explodes into action f
The fourth feature by internationally acclaimed auteur Jia Zhangke was also his breakout success, an epic with a canvas as vast, and intimate, as its title suggests: a state-of-the-modern-world address, and a look at the insular world of a troupe of Chinese stage-performers dreaming of freedom… Zhao Tao, Jia’s muse, is one of these troupers. For Tao and the larger ensemble of pageant performers at Beijing’s real-life World Park (a sprawling hyper-pastiche of global landmarks — “famous sites from five continents”), love is respite from work, work is respite from love, and the line that extends from the past to the future loses all definition beyond the present. A testament to the wisdom of this young filmmaker who arrived in the late 1990s with Xiao Wu and, in 2000, Platform (regarded by many to be the greatest film of the 2000s), Shijie / The World provides an image of globalisation as a paradox: at once a phenomenon rooted in social control, and a network that allows connection across individual people and populations. Special Dual Format Edition: 1080p Blu-Ray transfer English subtitles Tony Rayns on The World: New and exclusive video introduction to the film Made in China: A 65 minute documentary on the making of The World The World according to Jia Zhangke: A 24 minute interview 40 page booklet
A wacky chop-socky slugfest from Taiwan where the laughs come as fast as the fists! Iron Neck Li is a brave man who sticks his neck out for the weak. A young Emperor takes Li along his travels righting wrongs. But they encounter a clan so powerful that Li has to risk his life to save the Emperor.
Twin Warriors: An action-packed high-octane tale of two boys who grew up together but whose lives took very different directions and are in later life brought back together on a collision course! Fist Of Legend: When Chen (Li) discovers that his beloved teacher and mentor has been murdered he swears to avenge his death! Then with an unwavering commitment to vengeance Chen puts everything on the line to settle the score! International superstar Jer Li explodes on the screen in this thrilling martial arts action story about courage honour and revenge! The must see modern remake of a Bruce Lee classic 'Fist Of Fury' Fist Of Legend packs hard hitting excitement and incredible hand to hand combat into one unstoppable adrenaline rush! The Legend: Hard-hitting international superstar Jet Li (Romeo Must Die Lethal Weapon4) delivers nonstop action in this thrilling story of a young martial arts expert fighting to save his father's life! A ruthless emperor is targeting members of an underground revolutionary group that is attempting to overthrow his powerful regime. When Fong Sai Yuk (Li) learns that his father is part of the resistance movement and has been marked for retribution he boldly seeks a head-on confrontation with the might of this evil empire!
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