Trying to explain the cult appeal of John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China to the uninitiated is no easy task. The plot in a nutshell follows lorry driver Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) into San Francisco's Chinatown, where he's embroiled in street gang warfare over the mythical/magical intentions of would-be god David Lo Pan. There are wire-fu fight scenes, a floating eyeball and monsters from other dimensions. Quite simply it belongs to a genre of its own. Carpenter was drawing on years of chop-socky Eastern cinema tradition, which, at the time of the film's first release in 1986, was regrettably lost on a general audience. Predictably, it bombed. But now that Jackie Chan and Jet Li have made it big in the West, and Hong Kong cinema has spread its influence across Hollywood, it's much, much easier to enjoy this film's happy-go-lucky cocktail of influences. Russell's cocky anti-hero is easy to cheer on as he "experiences some very unreasonable things" blundering from one fight to another, and lusts after the gorgeously green-eyed Kim Cattrall. The script is peppered with countless memorable lines, too ("It's all in the reflexes"). Originally outlined as a sequel to the equally obscure Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension, Big Trouble is a bona fide cult cinema delight. Jack sums up the day's reactions perfectly, "China is here? I don't even know what the Hell that means!". On the DVD: Big Trouble in Little China is released as a special edition two-disc set in its full unedited form. Some real effort has been put into both discs' animated menus, and the film itself is terrific in 2.35:1 and 5.1 (or DTS). The commentary by Carpenter and Russell may not be as fresh as their chat on The Thing, but clearly they both retain an enormous affection for the film. There are eight deleted scenes (some of which are expansions of existing scenes), plus a separate extended ending which was edited out for the right reasons. You'll also find a seven-minute featurette from the time of release, a 13-minute interview with FX guru Richard Edlund, a gallery of 200 photos, 25 pages of production notes and magazine articles from American Cinematographer and Cinefex. Best of all for real entertainment value is a music video with Carpenter and crew (the Coupe de Villes) coping with video FX and 80s hair-dos.--Paul Tonks
mountains with his son. But with the arrival of Japanese soldiers determined to find a legendary great tiger, Man-duk finds himself pulled into one final hunt for his own personal redemption and closure. Set during the Japanese occupation of Korea, a period when Korean tigers are being hunted to extinction, The Tiger is a breathtaking action adventure from one of Korea's finest writer-directors, Park Hoon-jung (New World, I Saw the Devil [Writer]). Features: 5.1 audio Optional English subtitles Theatrical trailers
'Our sorrow was conceived long before our birth...' When sisters Su-mi (Lim Soo-jeong) and Su-yeon (Mun Geun-yeong) return home from a sanitarium having supposedly recovered their health their stepmother Eun-joo (Yum Jung-ah) welcomes them back. However elder sister Su-mi intentionally avoids her and younger sibling Su-yeon shows a smack of fear for her. Soon strange things begin to happen in the house. Footsteps are heard and Eun-joo's birds are mysteriously poisoned. Assuming S
mountains with his son. But with the arrival of Japanese soldiers determined to find a legendary great tiger, Man-duk finds himself pulled into one final hunt for his own personal redemption and closure. Set during the Japanese occupation of Korea, a period when Korean tigers are being hunted to extinction, The Tiger is a breathtaking action adventure from one of Korea's finest writer-directors, Park Hoon-jung (New World, I Saw the Devil [Writer]). Features: 5.1 audio Optional English subtitles Theatrical trailers
Trying to explain the cult appeal of John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China to the uninitiated is no easy task. The plot in a nutshell follows lorry driver Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) into San Francisco's Chinatown, where he's embroiled in street gang warfare over the mythical/magical intentions of would-be god David Lo Pan. There are wire-fu fight scenes, a floating eyeball and monsters from other dimensions. Quite simply it belongs to a genre of its own. Carpenter was drawing on years of chop-socky Eastern cinema tradition, which, at the time of the film's first release in 1986, was regrettably lost on a general audience. Predictably, it bombed. But now that Jackie Chan and Jet Li have made it big in the West, and Hong Kong cinema has spread its influence across Hollywood, it's much, much easier to enjoy this film's happy-go-lucky cocktail of influences. Russell's cocky anti-hero is easy to cheer on as he "experiences some very unreasonable things" blundering from one fight to another, and lusts after the gorgeously green-eyed Kim Cattrall. The script is peppered with countless memorable lines, too ("It's all in the reflexes"). Originally outlined as a sequel to the equally obscure Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension, Big Trouble is a bona fide cult cinema delight. Jack sums up the day's reactions perfectly, "China is here? I don't even know what the Hell that means!". On the DVD: Big Trouble in Little China is released as a special edition two-disc set in its full unedited form. Some real effort has been put into both discs' animated menus, and the film itself is terrific in 2.35:1 and 5.1 (or DTS). The commentary by Carpenter and Russell may not be as fresh as their chat on The Thing, but clearly they both retain an enormous affection for the film. There are eight deleted scenes (some of which are expansions of existing scenes), plus a separate extended ending which was edited out for the right reasons. You'll also find a seven-minute featurette from the time of release, a 13-minute interview with FX guru Richard Edlund, a gallery of 200 photos, 25 pages of production notes and magazine articles from American Cinematographer and Cinefex. Best of all for real entertainment value is a music video with Carpenter and crew (the Coupe de Villes) coping with video FX and 80s hair-dos.--Paul Tonks
A mysterious loner tries to buy a new heart on the black market in this French drama.
No Retreat No Surrender: Bruce Lee fan Jason Stillwell is not the best student in his martial arts class. Beaten numerous times he is horrified when the local crime syndicate runs his teacher out of town. Training hard using pearls of wisdom from the ghost of Lee Stillwell sets his newly acquired skills upon the syndicate and its champion the deadly Ivan (Van Damme)... (Dir. Corey Yuen 1985) No Retreat No Surrender 2 - Raging Thunder: It's not a rematch it's war! An American kickboxer heads to Cambodia to rescue his Vietnamese girlfriend from Soviet aggressors in the aptly named Death Mountain... (Dir. Corey Yuen 1989) No Retreat No Surrender 3 - Blood Brothers: Two feuding brothers are reunited by the hunt for their father's murderer - a wanted international terrorist. Together they seek the men responsible using their martial arts skills to the full.... (Dir. Lucas Lowe 1990)
Like I told my last wife I said ""Honey I never drive faster than I can see and besides... it's all in the reflexes."" Directed by master film-maker John Carpenter this edge-of-your seat adventure stars Kurt Russell as Jack Burton a tough talking wisecracking truck driver whose hum-drum life on the road takes a sudden supernatural tailspin when his best friend's fiance is kidnapped. Speeding to the rescue Jack finds himself deep beneath San Francisco's Chinatown. It's a
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