"Actor: Kei Satô"

• Hitman | DVD | (21/08/2000) from £6.99   |  Saving you £13.00 (185.98%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Eric the would-be assassin is such a nice, caring fellow that Hitman has an immediate credibility problem: how could Eric (oriental superstar Jet Li in his follow-up to Lethal Weapon 4) ever believe he could be a cold-blooded murderer? The script tries to get around this by emphasising his poverty, and once he meets conman Norman (Hong Kong comedy star Eric Tsang), the film manages to blend amiable humour with amoral characters and polished action into an entertaining whole. A yakusa crime lord has been murdered by the Angel of Death, a professional hitman who only kills those he believes deserve to die. Getting well out of their depth in the hunt for the assassin, Li and Tsang make an appealing double act, while Gigi Leung is charming as Norman's lawyer daughter. With a moderately involved plot and an emphasis on character, action is limited to five well-staged set-pieces which are stylishly conceived, exciting and don't outstay their welcome. The finale even has a joke at the expense of Die Hard's running across broken glass, while the ending sets up the inevitable sequel. A long way from Li's magnificent Once Upon A Time in China (1991), Hitman is efficient, highly watchable Hong Kong entertainment.On the DVD: The 1.77:1 anamorphically enhanced picture is generally very good, though sometimes slightly grainy. The sound is Dolby Prologic, and far better than many other Hong Kong releases. Even so, the end title notes the film was shown theatrically in Dolby Digital, raising the question as to why the DVD does not also use this system. The film is presented in Cantonese with subtitles, or dubbed in English. Included is a 10-minute interview with Jet Li and a seven-minute interview with Simon Yam (who plays a detective), neither of which are specifically about Hitman. However, a 13-minute interview presented anamorphically enhanced with Keiji Sato (who plays the murdered yakusa's grandson) is specific to the film and ranks as the best extra. A text biography of Jet Li covers many pages and provides an excellent introduction to his career. The "music promo" is Hong Kong Legends' own trailer for Hitman, and is complemented by trailers for five other releases. --Gary S Dalkin

• Naked Youth | DVD | (25/02/2008) from £11.48   |  Saving you £10.50 (110.64%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Oshima's second feature is a shocking tale of youthful delinquency in post Hiroshima japan. Conveying the pent up sexuality and disillusionment among Japan's post war generation it tells the story of teenage lovers Makato and Kiyoshi. She's a good girl gone bad dropping out of school and out of home; he's a violent hoodlum gambler and hustler. Making a living by performing shakedowns and attempting blackmail on unsuspecting middle aged men the film affords a bleak nihilistic take to the 'taiyo-zako' (Japanese cinema's 'delinquent youth' films). Often billed as Japan's Rebel Without A Cause but whereas Jame Dean's Jim Stark had the proverbial heart of gold Kawazu's Kiyoshi is filled only with rage and disgust. All of life's harsh realities await Makoto and Kiyoshi - this is no morality lesson or cautionary tale just a window into a terrible vision of humanity.

• The Water Margin - Vol. 12 | DVD | (14/07/2003) from £13.99   |  Saving you £1.00 (7.15%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Episode titles included in this DVD are: A Concubine's Dowry Liang Shan Po And The Millionare.

• The Water Margin - Vol. 4 - Episodes 7 And 8 | DVD | (10/03/2003) from £9.59   |  Saving you £5.40 (56.31%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Nearly a thousand years ago in ancient China at the time of the Sung dynasty there was a cruel and corrupt government. These men riding are outlaws heroes driven to live in the water margins of Liang Shan Po far to the south of the capital. Each fights tyranny with a price on his head in a world very different from our own... Episodes 7 and 8.

• The Water Margin - Vol. 3 - Episodes 5 And 6 | DVD | (10/03/2003) from £4.98   |  Saving you £10.01 (201.00%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Nearly a thousand years ago in ancient China at the time of the Sung dynasty there was a cruel and corrupt government. These men riding are outlaws heroes driven to live in the water margins of Liang Shan Po far to the south of the capital. Each fights tyranny with a price on his head in a world very different from our own... Episodes 5 and 6.

• The Water Margin - Vol. 5 | DVD | (14/04/2003) from £9.85   |  Saving you £5.14 (52.18%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Nearly a thousand years ago in ancient China at the time of the Sung dynasty there was a cruel and corrupt government. These men riding are outlaws heroes driven to live in the water margins of Liang Shan Po far to the south of the capital. Each fights tyranny with a price on his head in a world very different from our own... Episodes 9 and 10.

• Jet Li | DVD | (25/07/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  A double bill of fast and furious martial arts movies starring the unstoppable Jet Li! Hitman (aka: Contract Killer): Jet Li stars as Tai Feng a hitman with a 'sense of justice' and a talent for deliberately missing his intended victims. When his streetwise agent Sam (Eric Tsang) uses Tai's awesome fighting skills to acquire billions of dollars at the expense of heavy-hitting Japanese mobsters the scene is set for a martial-arts showdown of ground-breaking proportions. An

• The Water Margin - Vol. 10 | DVD | (09/06/2003) from £5.38   |  Saving you £9.61 (64.10%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Nearly a thousand years ago in ancient China at the time of the Sung dynasty there was a cruel and corrupt government. These men riding are outlaws heroes driven to live in the water margins of Liang Shan Po far to the south of the capital. Each fights tyranny with a price on his head in a world very different from our own... Episodes 19 and 20.

• The Water Margin - Vol. 7 | DVD | (12/05/2003) from £6.32   |  Saving you £8.67 (137.18%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Nearly a thousand years ago in ancient China at the time of the Sung dynasty there was a cruel and corrupt government. These men riding are outlaws heroes driven to live in the water margins of Liang Shan Po far to the south of the capital. Each fights tyranny with a price on his head in a world very different from our own... Epsiodes 13 and 14.

• The Water Margin - Vol. 9 | DVD | (09/06/2003) from £7.69   |  Saving you £8.56 (133.13%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Nearly a thousand years ago in ancient China at the time of the Sung dynasty there was a cruel and corrupt government. These men riding are outlaws heroes driven to live in the water margins of Liang Shan Po far to the south of the capital. Each fights tyranny with a price on his head in a world very different from our own... Epsiodes 17 and 18.

• The Water Margin - Vol. 6 | DVD | (14/04/2003) from £6.98   |  Saving you £8.01 (114.76%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Nearly a thousand years ago in ancient China at the time of the Sung dynasty there was a cruel and corrupt government. These men riding are outlaws heroes driven to live in the water margins of Liang Shan Po far to the south of the capital. Each fights tyranny with a price on his head in a world very different from our own... Epsiodes 11 and 12.

• The Water Margin - Vol. 13 | DVD | (14/07/2003) from £6.73   |  Saving you £8.26 (55.10%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Episode titles included in this DVD are: Knight Of The Long Sword The Dynasty Of Kao.

• The Water Margin - Vol. 11 | DVD | (14/07/2003) from £12.16   |  Saving you £2.83 (23.27%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Episode titles included on this DVD are: Death Of A Great Man Lin Chung Is Beaten