Deal on Fire! Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | Blu-ray | Only $8.96 – Expires soon!

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" Blu-ray Cover

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" Blu-ray Cover

Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Named “Best Picture of the Year” by over 100 critics nationwide! Two master warriors (Chow Yun-fat and Michelle Yeoh) are faced with their greatest challenge when the treasured Green Destiny sword is stolen. A young aristocrat (Zhang Ziyi) prepares for an arranged marriage, but soon reveals her superior fighting talents and her deeply romantic past. Featuring stunning martial arts choreography by Yuen Wo Ping (Kill Bill Vol 1). Be sure to read about the upcoming sequel, starring Donnie Yen!

Order Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon from Amazon.com today!

Posted in Deals on Fire!, News |

June is a hot month for martial arts DVD and Blu-ray releases!

The Chef, the Actor, the Scoundrel | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

The Chef, the Actor, the Scoundrel | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

For those of you looking to add a number of exciting Blu-ray & DVD titles to your collection, get ready for one hot list! The month of June is jam-packed with countless butt-kicking classics, a crazy Chinese comedy and a critically acclaimed Korean drama!

Whether you’re looking for some old school kung fu action (The Angela Mao Ying Collection, The Great Impersonators, Way of the 5 Finger Death Strike) or prefer something newer (Gina Carano’s In The Blood, Brawl aka Fighting Fish), you’ll be pleased with the batch of titles coming out this month. For your convenience, we listed them by day of release.

If you’re interested in purchasing the titles, we’re hoping you’ll click on our Amazon.com links to show your support towards cityonfire.com.

In return, we’ll continue to highlight lesser-known martial arts/Asian cinema gems at the beginning of each month. As always, we appreciate your help. After all, it’s you, our visitors, that keeps us going. Thank you!

In The Blood
Releases June 3
Anchor Bay presents the Blu-ray & DVD for In The Blood. When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman (Gina Carano) sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible. In the Blood is directed by John Stockwell (Into the Blue) and stars Gina Carano, Stephen Lang, Luis Guzman, Amaury Nolasco, Cam Gigandet, Danny Trejo, Treat Williams, Ismael Cruz Cordova and Yvette Yates.

Bushido Man: Seven Deadly Battles
Releases June 10
Shout! Factory presents the Blu-ray & DVD for Takanori Tsujimoto’s Bushido Man: Seven Deadly Battles. Upon returning from a pilgrimage across Japan, the warrior Toramaru arrives with tales of seven epic battles against Japan’s most legendary fighters. As Toramaru’s philosophy dictates that he “know the enemy by eating his food,” each masterfully-choreographed fight is preceded by a helping of his prey’s favorite dish. Starring Mitsuki Koga (Shinobi: Heart Under Blade), Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi and Masanori Mimoto.

Brawl | aka Fighting Fish
Releases June 10
Lionsgate presents the DVD for Brawl (aka Fighting Fish). Mike moves to Thailand to start a new life when he is robbed and left with nothing… until he meets Yo, a skilled Thai boxer, and his beautiful (and handicapped) wife. The new friends soon enter an underground fight club called “Fighting Fish” in order to make the money they need to survive. Starring Jawed El Berni (Ninja 2), David Ismalone (Beautiful Boxer) and Suchao Pongwilai (Ong Bak).

Iron Fist Frenzy
Releases June 10
Mill Creek Entertainment presents the 13-disc DVD set for Iron Fist Frenzy. This collection includes 50 movies. Prepare to unleash a fury of immortal martial arts masters with this 50 movie set of kung-fu classics! This thrilling collection of jaw-droppin flicks brings together a colossal assortment of martial arts genre films from the 70s, 80s and 90s. From the ultimate Shaolin masters to the legends of kung-fu, theses hard to find cult classics are sure to delight, with 50 times the high-kickin humor and adrenaline pumpin action! Note: Click on the Amazon link to see included titles.

100 Greatest Martial Arts Classics Collection
Releases June 10
Mill Creek Entertainments presents the 26-disc DVD set for the 100 Greatest Martial Arts Classics Collection. Over 140 Hours of Kung-Fu Combat! Knock yourself out with 100 high flyin’ and punch packin’ Kung Fu films! This thrilling collection of jaw-droppin flicks brings together a colossal assortment of martial arts madness. From the ultimate Shaolin masters to the legends of Kung-Fu, theses cult classics are hard to find and sure to delight with high-kickin humor and adrenaline pumpin action! Note: For a full listing of the film’s includes, click here. Note: Click on the Amazon link to see included titles.

Way of the 5 Finger Death Strike
Releases June 17
Mill Creek Entertainment presents the 3-disc DVD set for the Way of the 5 Finger Death Strike. This 12 movie collection includes Blind Warrior (1987), The Bravest Fist (1974), The Challenger (1980), Five Kung Fu Daredevil Heroes (1977), A Hero’s Tears (1979), Kingfisher the Killer (1981), The Mighty Four (1980), Ninja Avenger (1982), The Rage of Wind (1973), Ring of Death (1980), Triple Impact (1992) and Woman Avenger (1980). You may also be interested in Mill Creek’s first two volumes.

Angela Mao Ying 5-Film Collection
Releases June 17
Shout! Factory presents the DVD set for The Angela Mao Ying 5-Film Collection. This 6 film, 3 disc set includes 1973’s When Taekwondo Strikes, 1974’s The Tournament, 1974’s Stoner, 1976’s The Himalayan, 1976’s A Queen’s Ransom and 1977’s Broken Oath. Other actors who star alongside Mao are 007’s George Lazenby, Bolo Yueng (Enter the Dragon), Sammo Hung (Ip Man 2), Yuen Biao (Dragons Forever) and Carter Huang (Big Trouble in Little China). Update: A Queen’s Ransom and Stoner will be the extended cuts, which run longer than the their U.S. releases.

The Great Impersonators
Releases June 17
Mill Creek Entertainment presents the 3-disc DVD set for The Great Impersonators. This 12 movie collection includes Dragon Lee’s Big Boss 2 (1978), Bruce: King of Kung Fu (1982), Bruce vs. Iron Hand (1979), Crazy Couple (1979), Enter the Game of Death (1978), Great Hunter (1975), Kung Fu Genius (1980), Kung Fu Warrior (1980), Marvelous Stunts of Kung Fu (1979), Mission for the Dragon (1981), Return of the Red Tiger (1978) and Showdown at the Equator (1978). You may also be interested in Mill Creek’s first two volumes.

The Attorney
Releases June 17
Well Go USA presents the DVD for The Attorney. An attorney (Song Kang-Ho from The Host and The Good, the Bad, the Weird) moves from being a very successful lawyer just out to make money to one who cares about the civil liberties of an activist high-school student (Im Siwan) he defends. The story is based off a web-toon by Yang Woo-seok, who also is a first time director of The Attorney.

The Chef, the Actor, the Scoundrel
Releases June 24
Well Go USA presents the Blu-ray & DVD for The Chef, the Actor, the Scoundrel. Directed and written by Guan Hu (Design of Death), who calls this film “mass entertainment,” revolves around the fate of two Japanese scientists, who are captured in Beijing during World War II Sino-Japanese War in 1942. The film stars Zhang Hanyu as The Actor, Huang Bo as The Scoundrel, and Liu Hua as The Chef.

Looking for new import releases?
If you’re looking for a new import release, please visit DDDhouse.com. The trusted retailer carries new and upcoming releases that are not yet available in North America, such as Donnie Yen’s The Monkey King and Chow Yun-Fat’s From Vegas to Macau.

Posted in News |

Seed of Darkness | DVD (Tokyo Shock)

Seed of Darkness | DVD (Tokyo Shock)

Seed of Darkness | DVD (Tokyo Shock)

RELEASE DATE: August 12, 2014

Tokyo Shock presents the DVD for the 2006 Malaysian-Chinese film Seed of Darkness (aka Nephesh Seed), directed by Michael Chuah (Fist of Dragon). In the tradition of Japanese horror classics The Ring and The Grudge! A woman decides to undergo an “in-vitro fertilization process” in Singapore to have a child of her own. 7 years later, after moving to anew apartment, the child begins to behave oddly and insists she can see the “non-existent” father. Starring Amber Chia, Juin Juin Leong, Vick Teo, Alvin Wong, Sze Sen Wong and Zun Yap. Watch the trailer.

Pre-order Seed of Darkness from Amazon.com today!

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases |

Pre-order ‘Once Upon a Time in Shanghai’ at DDDhouse.com

"Once Upon a Time in Shanghai" International Poster

"Once Upon a Time in Shanghai" International Poster

DDDHouse.com now has Once Upon a Time in Shanghai on Blu-ray & DVD for a June 19th pre-order. Keep in mind that the DVD version is Region 3 coded, so you will need a multi-region DVD player to view the movie. Fortunately, the Blu-ray version is coded for region A, so it’s good to go on your current North American Blu-ray hardware.

Once Upon a Time in Shanghai is a martial arts film directed by Wong Ching Po (Let’s Go!) with action choreography from the legendary Yuen Woo-ping (The Matrix). The plot involves a laborer who moves to Shanghai in the hope of becoming rich, but ends up using his kung fu skills to survive. The cast includes Phillip Ng (Bodyguards & Assassins), Andy On (Special Identity), Luxia Jiang (True Legend) and Sammo Hung (Kill Zone). Watch the trailer.

Posted in News |

Deal on Fire! The Man with No Name Trilogy | Blu-ray | Only $19.99 – Expires soon!

"The Man with No Name Trilogy" Blu-ray Cover

"The Man with No Name Trilogy" Blu-ray Cover

Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray set for 2014’s The Man with No Name Trilogy, which contains 1964’s A Fistful of Dollars (a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1961 film Yojimbo), 1965’s For a Few Dollars More and a 4K remaster of 1967’s The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Note: This set is the same as the 2010 The Man with No Name Trilogy set, with the exception of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly now having a new 4K remaster.

Order The Man with No Name Trilogy from Amazon.com today!

Posted in Deals on Fire!, News |

Tiger Chen follows up ‘Man Of Tai Chi’ with an ‘Impulse’

"Man of Tai Chi" International Theatrical Poster

"Man of Tai Chi" International Theatrical Poster

Up and coming martial arts star Tiger Chen (aka Chen Hu) – who gained some fame in Keanu Reeves’ debut film Man of Tai Chi – is set to star in an action film simply titled Impulse. There’s some speculation regarding the film’s unknown plot, which may or may not be a sequel to Man of Tai Chi. As of now, no director or other cast members have been announced.

Impulse is written by Richard Ronat and is being produced by Daxing Zhang (Red Cliff, Man of Tai Chi), Justin Begnaud (The Unknown Caller) and Jonathan Lim (2013’s My Lucky Star) of China’s Crimson Forest Entertainment, who had this to say:

“Tiger is an amazingly talented Martial Arts star, and we are excited to cast him in our film… we are confident that the film will have a stellar cast to complement an action-packed plot line that will resonate with audiences on a global scale.”

We’ll keep you posted on this project.

Posted in News |

Once Upon a Time in America: Extended Director’s Cut | Blu-ray & DVD (Warner)

Once Upon a Time in America: Extended Director's Cut | Blu-ray & DVD (Warner)

Once Upon a Time in America: Extended Director's Cut | Blu-ray & DVD (Warner)

RELEASE DATE: September 30, 2014

Warner presents the Blu-ray & DVD combo for 1984’s Once Upon a Time in America: Extended Director’s Cut, directed by Sergio Leone (Dollars Trilogy).

The Extended Director’s Cut (251 minutes) is being released in two different versions: a 2-Disc Extended Director’s Cut Collector’s Edition (photo), which contains the Extended Director’s Cut, the 1984 theatrical edition, Digital HD with UltraViolet, plus the 32-page book with rare photos and chronicles of the movie’s production; and a single-disc standard edition.

Pre-order the Once Upon a Time in America: Extended Director’s Cut from Amazon.com today!

Posted in DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Other Notable Titles |

Live-action adaptation of zombie manga ‘I Am A Hero’ shoots this month

"I Am A Hero" Manga Cover

"I Am A Hero" Manga Cover

A live-action adaptation of Kengo Hanazawa’s zombie-horror manga series I Am A Hero is in the works. According to Film Business Asia, I Am A Hero is about “a failing manga artist who encounters a widespread infection that turns humans into zombie-like creatures called ZQN, a play on popular internet term DQN (meaning idiot).”

Filmmaker Shinsuke Sato – known for Gantz and Gantz II: Perfect Answer – is set to helm the project from a script is written by Nogi Akiko (Library Wars). Yo Oizumi (Suger & Spice), Arimura Kasumi (Judge) and Nagasawa Masami (Godzilla: Final Wars) are the prime cast members.

I Am Hero starts shooting this month in Japan, with a 2015 domestic release date. Stay tuned!

Posted in News |

Once Upon a Time in Vietnam | aka Lua Phat | DVD (Lionsgate)

Once Upon a Time in Vietnam | DVD (Lionsgate)

Once Upon a Time in Vietnam | DVD (Lionsgate)

RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2014

Lionsgate presents the DVD for Once Upon a Time in Vietnam (aka Lua Phat), directed, written by and starring Dustin Nguyen (The Rebel). On a mission to retrieve fugitives from the Emperor in Vietnam, Dao, a commander in the Emperor’s army, is assigned to protect a peaceful small town from being taken over by a crime boss. Soon, Dao’s past catches up with him, threatening to destroy the town and the woman he has come to love. This vietnamese martial arts film also stars Thanh Van Ngo (Clash) and Roger Yuan (The Perfect Weapon). Watch the trailer.

Pre-order Once Upon a Time in Vietnam from Amazon.com today!

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Martial Arts Titles |

Well Go USA grabs ‘Ip Man 3,’ ‘Kundo’ and ‘Pirates’

"Kundo: Age of the Rampant" Korean Teaser Poster

"Kundo: Age of the Rampant" Korean Teaser Poster

Here’s some good news for those of you waiting for Well Go USA’s next batch of Asian movies. The fan-pleasing film company has acquired three high profile titles from last month’s Cannes Film Festival in France.

One of them is called Ip Man 3 or something like that; the 2nd is Kundo: Age of the Rampant, a period action film starring Ha Jung-woo (The Chaser) and Kang Dong-won (The X), and directed by Yoon Jong-bin (Nameless Gangster); and the 3rd is Lee Suk-Hoon’s The Pirates, which stars Kim Nam-Gil (Public Enemy Returns), Son Ye-Jin (The Tower) and Sulli (Punch Lady). Trailers: Kundo | Pirates

There are currently no release dates (Ip Man 3 hasn’t even started filming yet), but we’ll be sure to keep you in the loop.

Posted in News |

Check out the trailer for stylish Korean action film ‘For the Emperor’

"For the Emperor" Korean Theatrical Poster

If you were wondering what it’d look like if a professional baseball player lost everything in a gambling scandal and had to start working for the Korean mob, apparently the answer is ‘a lot of stylishly photographed ass-kicking.’ That’s the premise behind the upcoming Korean action/drama For the Emperor and you won’t want to miss the trailer.

Lee Man-ki plays the lead role and you may remember him from 2011’s Quick. He stars opposite Park Sung-woong, who is a veteran of Korean cinema, having appeared in movies such as New World and the forthcoming Man on High Heels. Audiences can look forward to catching For the Emperor in Korean cinemas in just another week. Judging by the bone-crunching action and moody lighting of the trailer, we’d be surprised if the film isn’t snatched up by a North American distributor soon. Thanks to Far East Films for the story.

Posted in News |

Deal on Fire! Let the Bullets Fly | Blu-ray | Only $9.44 – Expires soon!

"Let the Bullets Fly" Blu-ray Cover

"Let the Bullets Fly" Blu-ray Cover

Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Let the Bullets Fly. This 2010 box office hit earned actor/filmmaker Jiang Wen a “Best Director” trophy. Cityonfire’s own HKFanatic calls it “a Chinese approximation of a spaghetti Western.” His review also states: If you’re expecting this film to live up to its title with A Better Tomorrow-style set pieces, you’ll probably be disappointed. Keep an open mind and you may find this to be one of the most original and vibrant Chinese-language films in years, depending on your taste.

And don’t forget… a sequel titled Gone with the Bullets is just around the corner!

Order Let the Bullets Fly from Amazon.com today!

Posted in Deals on Fire!, News |

Wrath of Vajra, The (2013) Review

"The Wrath of Vajra" Chinese Theatrical Poster

“The Wrath of Vajra” Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Law Wing-cheong
Writer: Yang Zhenjian
Cast: Xing Yu, Steve Yoo Seung Jun, Jiang Baocheng, Yasuaki Kurata, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi
Running Time: 115 min.

By oneleaf

The Wrath of Vajra is a mainland Chinese action film helmed by Law Wing-cheong (Punished, Iceman) and starring Yu Xing (Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons), an ex-Shaolin monk turned martial arts actor. This is Yu Xing’s first starring role.

The Temple of Hades is a cult-like sect founded by Kawao Amano (Yasuaki Kurata of Fight! Dragon TV series, Heroes of the East and Shanghai Express). Hades abducts children (boys) and trains them to be merciless assassins for the Emperor. These assassins are then sent out all over China as part of Japan’s warfare strategy to destroy China spiritually, whatever that means.

Early on in the film, the imprisoned Amano is approached by the military to resurrect Hades. Overjoyed, Kawao whole-heartedly agrees and assigns one of his top recruits, Kurashige Daisuke aka K-28 (Sung-jun Yoo of Man of Tai Chi and Chinese Zodiac), to lead Hades back to prominence for the Emperor.

Amano’s daughter, Eko (Yamei Zhang), is on-hand as an idealistic journalist, helping to propagate the Hades Sect and its expansion all over China through her articles and pictures. Eko naively believes her father that the objective of the Hades is to bring together the Chinese and Japanese, so the two cultures can exist in harmony.

Kurashige sets in motion a number of kidnappings and abductions, including multi-national military personnel of soldiers that is thrown in the mix. Among one of the abductees is junior monk Qing Kong (Fu Jiayuan).

Twelve years earlier, K-29 (Yu Xing) escapes from the clutches of Hades after a match with his brother goes very wrong, ending in him killing his brother. In that time, K-29 took refuge in a Shaolin Temple and trained, biding his time to return to Hades and seek revenge.

While at the temple he was taught to master “The Wrath of Vajra”, a very deadly move that require 17-seconds of pure concentration evoking “death” that has to be practiced with total compassion. Huh? I’m not sure where to even begin to explain that. Let’s just say it’s a very deadly and powerful move.

The abduction of Qing Kong, who trains with K-29 at the same temple, was enough to bring him out in the open to return to Hades to rescue the little monk and put an end to Hades’ reign of terror (credit julius). This ultimately leads to the climax of the film, the inevitable battle between K-29 and K-28.

Sung-jun Yoo is a former K-Pop star and one of South Korea’s biggest selling artists with over 5 million records sold there. Just before being drafted for military service in 2002, he became a naturalized American citizen and left South Korea for America creating some controversy. He made his movie debut as Prince Wen in Jackie Chan’s Little Big Soldier. Yoo now primarily concentrates on his second career as an actor and amateur body builder. His physique is definitely something to behold.

Yu Xing has been in a number of movies and has been acting since 2001. He has played a number of non-memorable characters over the years showcasing his kung fu prowess. His skills are indeed very impressive. His acting, on the other hand, is not so impressive.

It was good to see Yasuaki Kurata back on the big screen. He is already in his late 60’s and I’ve always wondered if someone with his skill level of expertise in Karate, Judo and Aikido can still kick some behind. The scriptwriters should have written more material for him. Perhaps a tutoring scene with K-29 would have been a definite bonus. And yes, I think he could still fight even at his age.

The Wrath of Vajra is Yu Xing’s first major starring role and with that came very high expectations. The cinematography is good. The use of CG, slow-motion zoom shots and wires do add to the enjoyment of the fight scenes. However, the film is incoherent and badly written. The plot is generic and bland. Other than the nifty fight scenes interspersed throughout the film, there is not much going on here.

Not recommended.

oneleaf’s Rating: 5/10

Posted in Chinese, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , |

Nick Cheung gets downright spooky for a ‘Hungry Ghost Ritual’

"Hungry Ghost Ritual" Hong Kong Theatrical Poster

What do you get when you combine Dario Argento’s giallo classic Opera with the Academy Award-winning Black Swan, adding a dash of Asian horror creepiness? You just might find out by watching the trailer for Hungry Ghost Ritual, an upcoming Hong Kong horror picture starring Nick Cheung. The hard-working actor was last seen in Dante Lam’s psychological crime thriller That Demon Within.

In Hungry Ghost Ritual, which hits Hong Kong theaters in July of this year, Cheung finds himself the director of a Chinese Ghost Festival troupe who can’t get their act together, literally, thanks to a bunch of supernatural happenings. Based on the trailer, we can expect a lot of Asian horror staples, such as the ‘creepy hand that reaches out of nowhere’ and ‘spooky things happening in elevators.’ Hey, if the formula ain’t broke – don’t fix it! Thanks to Far East Films for the story.

Posted in News |

‘No Tears For The Dead’ gets a U.S. release date and trailer

"No Tears For The Dead" U.S. Theatrical Poster

"No Tears For The Dead" U.S. Theatrical Poster

Lee Jeong-beom’s follow up to the ridiculously entertaining The Man From Nowhere is just around the corner. The upcoming action-thriller titled No Tears For The Dead (aka Crying Man) is described as a love story between a professional hitman and his next target. It stars Jang Dong-gun (Friend, The Warrior’s Way), Kim Min-hee (Helpless) and Kang Han-na (Fasten Your Seatbelt).

Although it may not be intentional, No Tears For The Dead bares a slight similarity – both in title and plot – to the popular Crying Freeman manga, which also revolves around an assassin who falls in love with his target. The latter has already been adapted into live-action features in 1990’s Killer’s Romance, 1995’s Crying Freeman; and to lesser extent, 2006’s Daisy.

Could No Tears For The Dead be yet another loose adaptation? Watch the trailer and see for yourself. | 2nd trailer. | 3rd trailer.

BREAKING NEWS: No Tears For The Dead will be released in U.S. theaters on June 20, 2014. Here’s the North American trailer (which looks identical to previously released trailer), courtesy of Apple.

Posted in News |