Deal on Fire! The Crow | 4K Ultra HD | Only $19.99 – Expires soon!

The Crow | 4K UHD (Paramount)

The Crow | 4K UHD (Paramount)

Today’s Deal on Fire is the 4K Ultra HD for The Crow, a 1994 thriller from director Alex Proyas (I, Robot) that stars Brandon Lee (Legacy of Rage, Rapid Fire) and Ernie Hudson (The Ghostbusters). The film is often overshadowed by the death of Lee, who was tragically wounded on set.

Based on a series of cult comic books by James O’Barr, The Crow stars Lee as Eric Draven, a rock guitarist who is killed, along with his fiancée, on the eve of their wedding and returns from the dead as “The Crow” to seek revenge.

The Crow also stars David Patrick Kelly (Warriors), Michael Wincott (Nope), Rochelle Davis (Revenge of the Devil Bat), Bai Ling (Maximum Impact), Jon Polito (Miller’s Crossing), Laurence Mason (True Romance), Tony Todd (Candyman), Michael Continue reading

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A return to the murky world of film noir? Wei Shujun’s acclaimed thriller ‘Only the River Flows’ now on Blu-ray

Only the River Flows | Blu-ray (Picture House)

Only the River Flows | Blu-ray (Picture House)

Now available is Picture House’s Blu-ray (Region B) for Only the River Flows, a 2023 thriller directed by Wei Shujun (Ripples of Life) that’s based on Yu Hua’s popular short novel, Mistakes by the River. For U.S. audiences, the film will be released on DVD from KimStim.

1990s small town China. A woman’s body washes up in the local river. The chief of police, Ma Zhe, is tasked with heading up the investigation. An obvious perp leads to a hasty arrest, though the mystery lingers in Ma Zhe’s mind. What kind of darkness is truly at play here?

Director Wei Shujun’s murky throwback film noir, gritty, textured film grain captures the pulpy proceedings. Torrents of rain envelop the characters as they descend into madness in pursuit of the truth. Equal parts atmospheric tour-de-force and Continue reading

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I guess that’s why they call it the blues! Eiichi Kudo’s neo-noir classic starring Yusaku Matsuda is now available on Blu-ray

Yokohama BJ Blues | Blu-ray (Radiance)

Yokohama BJ Blues | Blu-ray (Radiance)

Now available from Radiance is the Blu-ray (Region A/B) for Yokohama BJ Blues, 1981 Japanese thriller from acclaimed filmmaker Eiichi Kudo (13 Assassins).

When his police detective best friend is killed, down-at-heel private eye and part-time blues singer BJ (Yusaku Matsuda, The Game Trilogy) gets the blame. He must start his own investigation to clear his name, but what he uncovers is a tangled web involving crooked cops, drug-dealing gangsters, the city’s underground gay and biker scenes, and even his own past.

A loose remake of Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye that also draws from Visconti’s Death in Venice, this was Matsuda’s break with his action hero image. Samurai movie veteran Eiichi Continue reading

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Details for the 4K Ultra HD SteelBook editions for Tarantino’s ‘Kill Bill Vol 1-2’, ‘Jackie Brown’ and ‘Reservoir Dogs’

On January 21, 2025, Lionsgate Limited is partnering up with Quentin Tarantino for Remastered 4K SteelBook Editions of Kill Bill Vol. 1, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Jackie Brown, and a semi re-release of Reservoir Dogs.

There was some speculation if the upcoming 4K version of the Kill Bill films will include the long-awaited Whole Bloody Affair (Tarantino’s edit of both Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 as one film, complete with new footage), but judging from the newly released Continue reading

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The Shaw Brothers logo is missing from these Eureka, Arrow, Shout and Vinegar Syndrome releases – Intentional or Error?

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Praying for a ‘Mantis’? First images from the upcoming ‘Kill Boksoon’ spin-off arriving on Netflix in 2025

2023’s Kill Boksoon is getting the “expanded universe” treatment with Mantis, an upcoming spin-off that’s being helmed by newcomer Lee Tae-Seong, with co-writing writing help from Byun Sung-hyun (The Merciless), the writer and director of the original.

Mantis is set in the same contract killer world as Kill Boksoon. While the latter explores the story of Gil Bok-soon struggling to balance her life as a single mother and assassin, Mantis shifts the spotlight to a contract killer named Continue reading

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Gordon Liu, Alexander Fu Sheng, Kara Hui and Xie Miao! Here’s what’s on Hi-YAH for the month of December

Hi-YAH!, Well Go USA’s very own Asian/martial arts streaming channel has just announced their New Releases for the month of December

If you want to give Hi-YAH! a go, visitors of this site can use the promo code “CITYONFIRE” for a FREE 30 Day trial!

Read on for the full list of New and Exclusive Continue reading

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Beheaded 1000, The (1993) Review

"The Beheaded 1000" Theatrical Poster

“The Beheaded 1000” Theatrical Poster

AKA: The Executioner
Director: Ting Shan-Hsi
Cast: Jimmy Wang Yu, Chin Siu-Ho, Joey Wong Cho-Yin, Monica Chan Fat-Yung, Wu Ma, Pauline Wong Siu-Fung, Sun Ya-Tung, Shen Hai-Rong
Running Time: 105 min.

By Paul Bramhall

One of the more intriguing propositions to come out of the early 90’s, on the surface at least The Beheaded 1000 offers up a Taiwanese take on the Hong Kong blend of wuxia and fantasy that it did so well at the time. The blue lighting is prominent, there’s a wacky assortment of characters, and there’s even a raft of imported HK talent like Chin Siu-Ho, along with A Chinese Ghost Story luminaries Wu Ma and Joey Wong (ok, technically she doesn’t count because she is Taiwanese, but we’re going with it). However looks can be deceiving, and those clocking in expecting the typical new wave wuxia style madness involving ridiculously complex wirework, silk billowing in slow motion, and bodies exploding into colorful powder, may leave disappointed.

The Beheaded 1000 would mark the 10th and final collaboration between director Ting Shan-Hsi and star Jimmy Wang Yu, a partnership that had endured for more than 20 years.  Not that their collaborations were necessarily well spaced out.  After working together for the first time as director and star on 1972’s Furious Slaughter, over the course of the same year and 1973 they’d crank out 7 titles, including the classic Knight Errant. Continue reading

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Van Damme trims the enemies down in the Trailer for ‘The Gardener’ from ‘The Last Mercenary’ director David Charhon

"The Gardener" Theatrical Poster

“The Gardener” Theatrical Poster

Steven Seagal was just a cook in Under Siege. Daisy Ridley is just a window cleaner in Cleaner. Now, Jean-Claude Van Damme is just a gardener in The Gardener (aka Le jardinier), a French action comedy from director from David Charhon, who worked with the “muscles from brussels” in 2021’s The Last Mercenary.

The film also stars Michaël Youn (Divorce Club), Carl-Philipp Wengler (Blutspur Antwerpen), Matthias Quiviger (Medellin), Nawell Madani (Stuck Together) and Kaaris (Rogue City).

The Gardener hits Amazon Prime Video France on January 10th, but we do expect the film to make its way to U.S. audiences soon.  Until then, don’t Continue reading

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Karma, karma, karma, karma, karma Chameleon! Johnnie To’s 2008 caper ‘Sparrow’ on Blu-ray in February

In February 2025, Australian label Chameleon Films is releasing the Blu-ray for Sparrow, a 2008 Hong Kong film from Johnnie To (Three, Office, Running on Karma). The label’s past titles have been All Region, so there’s a chance this one will follow suit.

The most sheer delight you will ever experience from a Johnnie To film? Filmed over three years between other projects, this story of men who pick pockets and a woman who steals hearts is nothing less than a love letter to Hong Kong. Shot on the streets and Continue reading

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The Beast Hand | Blu-ray (Cleopatra Entertainment)

The Beast Hand | Blu-ray (Cleopatra Entertainment)

The Beast Hand | Blu-ray (Cleopatra Entertainment)

RELEASE DATE: April 15, 2025

On April 15, 2025, Cleopatra Entertainment is releasing a Blu-ray (Region A) for The Beast Hand, a 2024 horror film from director Taichiro Natsume (Love Shark).

Osamu (Takahiro Fukuya), a Japanese day laborer, is forced into a lifestyle of crime. Unfortunately, when he crosses the wrong gangsters, they punish him by Sword, amputating his left hand in the process. Osamu’s ex-girlfriend Koyuki takes him to an underground Doctor deep in the dark bowels of the city to attempt a transplant. But the new hand has a mind of its own, much to the dismay of the gangsters responsible – as Osamu pursues his revenge.

The Beast Hand also stars Misa Wada (Pure Japanese), Yôta Kawase (Demolition Girl), Yûya Continue reading

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Need some tips on how to escape North Korea? Well Go USA has got ya covered with Lee Jong-Pil’s thriller ‘Escape’

"Escape" Theatrical Poster

“Escape” Theatrical Poster

On January 14, 2024, Well Go USA is releasing the Blu-ray of Escape, a 2024 South Korean thriller from Lee Jong-Pil (The Sound of a Flower, Samjin Company English Class).

Unlike Stallone’s Escape Plan, there is no plan… just an escape. This upcoming film stars Lee Je-Hoon (Bleak Night, Time to Hunt), Koo Kyo-Hwan (Peninsula, Kill Boksoon) and Hong Sa-Bin (Hopeless).

After completing his required decade of military service and being honored as a hero, a North Korean sergeant makes a sudden shocking attempt to defect to the South, risking life and limb for the chance to finally determine his own destiny.

If you haven’t already Continue reading

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964 Pinocchio | Blu-ray (88 Films)

964 Pinocchio | Blu-ray (88 Films)

964 Pinocchio | Blu-ray (88 Films)

RELEASE DATE: March 24, 2025

On March 24, 2025, 88 Films will release a Blu-ray for 964 Pinocchio (aka Screams of Blasphemy), a 1991 Japanese cyberpunk-horror film directed by Shozin Fukui (Rubber’s Lover).

964 Pinocchio depicts the nightmarishly surreal adventures of an illegally manufactured sex android found abandoned by his former owner and rescued from the scrap heap by a young woman, Himiko. She begins to tutor him in the ways of the world as if he were her own child, but with his original creators closing in, eager to conceal his existence from the authorities, it is not long before Pinocchio goes completely rogue.

This title will soon be available at The Goodie Emporium, a U.S.-based online Continue reading

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Yumeno Kyusaku’s Girl Hell | Blu-ray (88 Films)

Yumeno Kyusaku's Girl Hell | Blu-ray (88 Films)

Yumeno Kyusaku’s Girl Hell | Blu-ray (88 Films)

RELEASE DATE: March 24, 2025

On March 24, 2025, 88 Films will release a Blu-ray (Region B) for Yumeno Kyusaku’s Girl Hell, a 1977 horror film directed by Masaru Konuma (Beach, La Ronde).

Passions are inflamed in an elite school for girls in 1930s Japan in Yumeno Kyusaku’s Girl Hell, as two of its students find solace away from the crowd in each other’s company. But can their love flourish amongst the corrupting influence of their parents and the school’s sinister principal, whose actions transform their lives into a living hell on earth?

Directed by one of the most-regarded directors of Nikkatsu’s Roman P*rno erotic line, Masaru Konuma (Flower and Snake, Wife to be Sacrified), this Gothic-styled erotic nightmare adapted from a story by the “unfilmable” literary maestro Yumeno Kyusaku (Dogra Magra) is by turns sensual, surreal, horrific Continue reading

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An Amorous Woman of Tang Dynasty | Blu-ray (88 Films)

An Amorous Woman of Tang Dynasty | Blu-ray (88 Films)

An Amorous Woman of Tang Dynasty | Blu-ray (88 Films)

RELEASE DATE: March 24, 2025

On March 24, 2025, 88 Films will be releasing the Blu-ray (Region A/B) for An Amorous Woman of Tang Dynasty, a 1984 erotic Shaw Brothers thriller from director Eddie Fong Ling-Ching (Cherry Blossoms).

One of the last films produced at Hong Kong’s legendary Shaw Brothers studio, and absolutely one of their finest – a visually ravishing and erotically charged story of a free-spirited female poet Yu (Patricia Ha, Nomad) who, frustrated by the conservative times in which she lives, refuses to behave in the ways nice young ladies are supposed to.

Despite plentiful clothes-off action, this is so much more than a soft-core “romp,” boasting an artistic ambition that Shaw Brothers didn’t always show in their kung fu movies. Directed with intelligence and real style by Eddie Fong Ling-ching, this is one of the Continue reading

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