"Actor: Fai Chan"

• Island On Fire | DVD | (22/05/2000) from £8.97   |  Saving you £-2.98 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Island on Fire is, as the trailer says, "five films in one!". Despite the packaging headlining Jackie Chan this violent modern-day prison drama is an ensemble piece with Chan, a pool-player in prison for accidentally stabbing a man to death, on screen for no more than a quarter of the 92 minutes. Anyone buying this as a Chan movie may be seriously disappointed, for apart from the brevity of his role there is no trademark Chan humour. Also in the brutal and corrupt prison is Andy Lau, an undercover cop searching for the murderer of his professor, and Sammo Hung offering comedy and pathos as an inmate who keeps escaping to visit his son. There are many more characters, together with one subplot involving a mouse which anticipates The Green Mile (1999) and another concerning an assassination conspiracy which parallels Nikita, also released in 1990. Island of Fire is an uneven, always entertaining, sometimes moving film which packs an incredible amount of incident into its running time. However, it should be noted that it is an imitation of, rather than an official entry in, Ringo Lam's Fire series, which includes Prison on Fire (1987) and City on Fire (1987). On the DVD: The anamorphically enhanced 1.77-1 picture is a very good transfer of a rather grainy print, though given the many darkly lit scenes, this grain is probably part of the original film. The mono sound is fine. The film can be watched with the original Mandarin soundtrack and English subtitles, or with a much better than average English dub. The packaging claims there are over 60 minutes of extras. In fact there are nine deleted/extended scenes of variable quality, the best of which give more emotional depth to Sammo Hung's character, together with video interviews with Sammo Hung, Jimmy Wong Yu and director Chu Yen Ping. These total around 20 minutes and are interesting but not specific to the film. Also included is the theatrical trailer, Hong Kong Legends' own "music promo" trailer and eight trailers for further releases. There is also a six-page "animated" biography of Jackie Chan. --Gary S Dalkin

• The Fifth Element | UMD | (05/12/2005) from £8.08   |  Saving you £7.91 (97.90%)   |  RRP £15.99

  In the year 2257 a planet-sized sphere of supreme evil is approaching the earth at relentless speed threatening to exterminate every living organism unless four ancient stones representing the elements of earth wind fire and water are united with the mysterious fifth element.From Luc Besson the acclaimed director of 'Leon' and 'Nikita' comes a film that turns science fiction inside out.

• Police Story 2 | DVD | (25/03/2002) from £16.02   |  Saving you £6.96 (53.42%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Police Story 2 (1989) is one of those rare sequels that's more fun than its predecessor. Jackie Chan plays his usual rule-breaking cop, loyal to superiors that carp at the destruction he leaves in his wake but are prepared to take credit for every success he has. Here he finds himself up against vengeful gangsters whose plans he frustrated in the first of the series; but he also has to combat a ruthless team of extortionists with a taste for explosions both large and small--blowing up large buildings, turning people into human bombs and torturing people with firecrackers are all part of their repertoire. He has girlfriend trouble, too, since his fiancée is worried that he always puts the job first. Like its predecessor and the quasi-sequel First Strike (1996), Police Story 2 is transitional between Chan's early more fight-orientated Hong Kong movies and his later, blander Hollywood films. The fights and stunts here are most of the point of what is essentially a very good generic Jackie Chan vehicle; he takes on progressively larger groups of opponents, coping, for example, with a dozen gangsters armed with swords in a terraced garden by leaping from level to level and paying each opponent individual attention. The final fight in a fireworks factory is a Chan classic, depending as it does as much on the comedy of frustrating repetition as on daring stunts. --Roz Kaveney

• Beast Cops | DVD | (27/12/2001) from £8.47   |  Saving you £11.52 (136.01%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Violent action and an even more bloody finale is the result of conflicts between rival gangs and mismatched cops. Winner of many awards including 'Best Film' 'Best Director' (Gordon Chan) 'Best Actor' (Anthony Wong) and 'Best Screenplay'.

• The Blade | DVD | (17/04/2000) from £29.99   |  Saving you £-10.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Legendary Hong Kong Director Tsui Hark blends violent action and stunning swordplay in his remake of the Shaw Brothers classic One-Armed Swordsman. The Blade is a sweeping epic which highlights the incredible fighting talent of Chiu Cheuk Hong Kong's latest action start. When a master sword-maker adopts the son of a murdered friend (Chiu Cheuk) the boy learns the master's craft well. As a young man he learns about his fathers death at the hand of a mysterious tattooed killer (Xiong-Xin-Xin). He takes fathers broken blade and sets out to seek vengeance. The daughter Ling follows but is caught in a bloody ambush. When he tries to rescue her his arm is hacked off in the battle and he is believed dead by all except Ling and his friend who set out in search of him. But he is saved by a hermit girl who nurses him back to health where he finds an old kung fu manual and practices with the broken blade to perfect the art of one armed swordfighting. In a breathtaking finale unlike anything you have seen before our hero sets off once again to find the tattooed assassin a quest that leads to an explosive and spectacular showdown.

• New Dragon Gate Inn | DVD | (31/07/2000) from £11.42   |  Saving you £8.57 (75.04%)   |  RRP £19.99

  New Dragon Gate Inn is the DVD title of the 1992 swordplay adventure Dragon Inn, producer Tsui Hark's follow-up to Once Upon a Time in China and Swordsman 2 (both 1991). In the wake of the huge success of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon it is a film ripe for rediscovery. A pair of warriors (Brigitte Lin and Tony Leung), who only admit their love when it is too late, have to rescue two children from the clutches of a corrupt warlord. Fleeing through the vast, highly pictorial desert, they seek shelter in the isolated Dragon Inn run by the man-eating Maggie Cheung (traveller's tip, don't try the "mixed meat"). The scene is set for intrigue, romance and exhilarating wirework, as our heroes wait for the enemy to arrive in what is essentially the classic High Noon scenario. The build-up isn't always coherent, though that may have something to do with the subtitles, which are unnecessarily crude. Despite this the production values and high-flying fights are first-rate and the two actresses make the film, particularly the devilishly sexy Maggie Cheung. The final showdown in a desert storm is breathtaking.On the DVD: In the cinemas this was an absolutely gorgeous 2.35:1 widescreen film, which here has been reformatted to 16:9 TV ratio, sacrificing important visual information at either side and significantly damaging the stunning cinematography. Enough survives to indicate just how beautiful the complete images are, and the anamorphically enhanced 1.77:1 transfer is sharp and clean on exterior shots, though some of the dimly lit interiors display considerable grain. Although only mono the sound is full and free from distortion, providing a good showcase for the atmospheric score. The film can be watched with the original Mandarin soundtrack and English subtitles, or dubbed. Included is an interview with Donnie Yen and detailed text biographies of the two female stars. The music promo is Hong Kong Legends' own trailer, included together with five further trailers for other releases. The original theatrical trailer is also present, and no matter what screen setting it is played at, everything looks vertically compressed. However, change the DVD player setting from widescreen to 4:3 letterbox and the trailer plays in the correct 2.35:1 proportions, confirming how the film was really shot. Though the DVD packaging bills this edition of Dragon Inn as the full-length original version though there is no explanation of what footage has been restored from previous releases. --Gary S. Dalkin

• Island Of Fire | DVD | (02/10/2000) from £10.25   |  Saving you £11.00 (122.36%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Island on Fire is, as the trailer says, "five films in one!". Despite the packaging headlining Jackie Chan this violent modern-day prison drama is an ensemble piece with Chan, a pool-player in prison for accidentally stabbing a man to death, on screen for no more than a quarter of the 92 minutes. Anyone buying this as a Chan movie may be seriously disappointed, for apart from the brevity of his role there is no trademark Chan humour. Also in the brutal and corrupt prison is Andy Lau, an undercover cop searching for the murderer of his professor, and Sammo Hung offering comedy and pathos as an inmate who keeps escaping to visit his son. There are many more characters, together with one subplot involving a mouse which anticipates The Green Mile (1999) and another concerning an assassination conspiracy which parallels Nikita, also released in 1990. Island of Fire is an uneven, always entertaining, sometimes moving film which packs an incredible amount of incident into its running time. However, it should be noted that it is an imitation of, rather than an official entry in, Ringo Lam's Fire series, which includes Prison on Fire (1987) and City on Fire (1987). On the DVD: The anamorphically enhanced 1.77-1 picture is a very good transfer of a rather grainy print, though given the many darkly lit scenes, this grain is probably part of the original film. The mono sound is fine. The film can be watched with the original Mandarin soundtrack and English subtitles, or with a much better than average English dub. The packaging claims there are over 60 minutes of extras. In fact there are nine deleted/extended scenes of variable quality, the best of which give more emotional depth to Sammo Hung's character, together with video interviews with Sammo Hung, Jimmy Wong Yu and director Chu Yen Ping. These total around 20 minutes and are interesting but not specific to the film. Also included is the theatrical trailer, Hong Kong Legends' own "music promo" trailer and eight trailers for further releases. There is also a six-page "animated" biography of Jackie Chan. --Gary S Dalkin

• The Fifth Element (Special Edition) | DVD | (08/02/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  In the year 2257 a planet-sized vessel of supreme evil is hurtling towards the earth with relentless speed threatening to exterminate every living organism in its path. It has been left to the ex-marine and unlikely taxi-driving hero Korben Dallas (Willis) to reunite the four stones that represent the elements - Earth Air Water and Fire with the mysterious Fifth Element to unleash the only power that will save the Earth. Joined on his mission by the intriguing Leeloo (Jovovich) and Priest Vito Cornelius (Holm) Dallas must retrieve the elements from the beautiful Diva aboard the luxury cruise ship the Fhlotsin Paradise.

• Naked Killer 2 | DVD | (17/09/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A suave and seductive serial rapist (Mark Cheng) is on the prowl terrorising an apartment block. Fearing her life to be in danger Chu (Jacqueline Ng) enlists the help of her old friend Yau (Chingamy Yau) as an avenging angel who will seduce the rapist and wreak revenge on behalf of the victims of his terrible crimes. Soon the two are embroiled in an erotic and deadly game of cat and mouse...

• The Stunt Woman | DVD | (18/06/2001) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-0.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Award winning director Ann Hui's insightful look into the harsh realities of the unsung heroes of the Hong Kong film world: the stunt performers who earn their living by risking their lives to make the most action packed pictures...

• 20:30:40 | DVD | (11/04/2005) from £4.69   |  Saving you £16.56 (482.80%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A romantic drama about the universal complexity of modern relationships and follows three women aged 20 (Lee); 30 (Liu); and 40 (Chang) at different stages of life and love. Set in Taipei Taiwan against the background of minor earthquakes that the city is experiencing the women's love lives are as unpredictable and turbulent as the tremors they endure. Xiao Jie (Lee) innocent and impressionable escapes her overbearing parents for the first time to leave home and follow her dream o

• Flying Dagger | DVD | (26/06/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  The Han brothers are bounty hunters who track down criminals to make a lot of money. Unfortunately they keep getting beaten to the prize by the Two Witches - a female duo...