Commitment | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Commitment | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Commitment | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

RELEASE DATE: March 11, 2014

Well Go USA presents the Blu-ray & DVD for Park Hong-Soo’s Commitment. After his father’s botched espionage mission, North Korean Myung-Hoon (Choi Seung-Hyun) and his young sister Hye-In (Han Ye-Ri) are sent to a labor prison camp. In order to save his sister’s life, Myung-Hoon volunteers to become a spy and infiltrates the South as a teenage defector. Watch the trailer.

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

Cityonfire interviews ‘The Raid’ director Gareth Evans

Interview with 'The Raid' director Gareth Evans

Interview with 'The Raid' director Gareth Evans

Just in case you missed it: We recently had the privilege of having a chat with Gareth Evans, the writer and director of 2009’s Merantau, 2011’s The Raid and the highly anticipated The Raid 2: Berandal, which is due for release in 2014.

In the interview, we ask him questions such as: What his favorite martial arts film of all time is; What action star would he love to work with; His thoughts on directing a Die Hard flick; and we also brought up Sylvester Stallone’s tweet on topping The Raid with Expendables 3 (Stallone’s tweet: “We believe we can do better than the The Raid, which was an excellent film… Raising the bar…”), plus much more!

Click here to read the interview.

Posted in News |

Kino releases Jia Zhangke’s ultra-violent ‘A Touch of Sin’

"A Touch of Sin" Theatrical Poster

"A Touch of Sin" Theatrical Poster

If you’re looking for a new ultra-violent masterpiece from China, be on the look out for Jia Zhangke’s A Touch of Sin. The film – which stars Wu Jiang (Dragon), Vivien Li (The Guillotines) and Lanshan Luo – revolves around four brutal tales set in different geographical settings across modern-day China.

Nominated for the Palme d’Or and winner of Best Screenplay at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, it should be noted that A Touch of Sin is a departure from Zhangke’s more meditative films. The New York Times called Zhangke “One of the World’s Most Important Filmmakers” for his 2006 film Still Life, an almost documentary-style movie about people who returned to a flooded town to salvage what they can and say good-bye to things they lost.

Both acclaimed and controversial, A Touch of Sin (a nod to King Hu’s 1969 action classic, A Touch of Zen) has been compared to the works of Sergio Leone and Quentin Tarantino. There’s no set release date, but the trailer has been available for some time.

Updates: Newest trailer. Deadline reports that Kino Lorber will release the film on October 4 in New York, following its U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival. | Newest poster.

BREAKING NEWS: You can now pre-order Jia Zhangke’s A Touch of Sin. Kino Lorber is releasing the highly-anticipated, ultra-violent film on Blu-ray and DVD on March 18, 2014.

Posted in News |

A Touch of Sin | Blu-ray & DVD (Kino Lorber)

"A Touch of Sin" Theatrical Poster

"A Touch of Sin" Theatrical Poster

RELEASE DATE: March 18, 2014

Kino Lorber presents the Blu-ray & DVD for A Touch of Sin. Both acclaimed and controversial, Jia Zhangke’s A Touch of Sin (a nod to King Hu’s 1969 action classic, A Touch of Zen) has been compared to the works of Sergio Leone and Quentin Tarantino. This ultra-violent film stars Wu Jiang (Dragon), Vivien Li (The Guillotines) and Lanshan Luo. Watch the trailer.

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

Dark Desires: The Oniroku Dan 3-Disc Collection | DVD (Switchblade Pictures)

Dark Desires: The Oniroku Dan Collection | DVD (Switchblade Pictures)

Dark Desires: The Oniroku Dan Collection | DVD (Switchblade Pictures)

RELEASE DATE: February 4, 2014

Switchblade Pictures presents the DVD set for Dark Desires: The Oniroku Dan, a 3-Disc Collection, which includes 2010’s The Slave Ship, 2009’s The Curse – M and 2007’s The Devil’s Feast. These three films – from the pen of internationally acclaimed bondage novelist and screenwriter Oniroku Dan – explore the darkest secrets of human sexuality. Think of them as Fifty Shades of Grey meets Japanese cult cinema!

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

Sword of the Assassin | Blu-ray & DVD (Epic Pictures Group)

Sword of the Assassin | Blu-ray & DVD (Millennium)

Sword of the Assassin | Blu-ray & DVD (Millennium)

RELEASE DATE: February 25, 2014

Epic Pictures Group presents the Blu-ray & DVD for Victor Vu’s martial arts epic Sword of the Assassin (aka Blood Letter). Nguyen Vu (Huynh Dong) is the sole survivor of his family who was executed by the empress of Vietnam. Upon discovering that his family may have been framed for crimes they did not commit, he sets out to bring justice and clear his family name. Also starring Midu and Khuong Ngoc. Watch the trailer.

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

Jackie Chan: 8 Film 2-Disc Collection | DVD (Shout! Factory)

Jackie Chan: 8 Film 2-Disc Collection | DVD (Shout! Factory)

Jackie Chan: 8 Film 2-Disc Collection | DVD (Shout! Factory)

RELEASE DATE: May 6, 2014

Shout! Factory presents the DVD for the Jackie Chan: 8 Film 2-Disc Collection, which includes 1978’s Dragon Fist, 1978’s Magnificent Bodyguards, 1980’s Battle Creek Brawl, 1985’s The Protector, 1985’s Police Story, 1988’s Police Story 2, 1993’s Crime Story and 1993’s City Hunter. All films were previously released in double features, now you can get them all at one low price. All films are enhanced for 16×9 widescreen TVs, but no word on what audio tracks are included.

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

Peter Berg gives the rundown on ‘The Rundown 2’

"The Rundown" Japanese Theatrical Poster

"The Rundown" Japanese Theatrical Poster

In an interview with Collider, Peter Berg (Lone Survivor) hints that both himself and Dwayne Johnson are interested in doing a sequel to 2003’s The Rundown. “I really want to do it. I’ve talked to Dwayne. I have an actor in mind that I can’t say that I want to work with Dwayne on it, and we want to do it…Yeah, we’re meeting with writers now,” says Berg.

The original film – which also stars Seann William Scott, Christopher Walken, Rosario Dawson, Ewen Bremner, Jon Gries and a surprise appearance by Ernie Reyes Jr. – revolves around a tough aspiring chef who is hired to bring home a mobster’s son from the Amazon, but becomes involved in a fight against an oppressive town operator.

We’ll keep you in the loop in regards to The Rundown 2, but don’t hold your breath, because Berg is attached to direct a Mark Wahlberg crime-thriller American Desperado, which may be his next priority. Stay tuned.

Posted in News |

Baffled! | DVD (Scorpion Releasing)

Baffled! | DVD (Scorpion Releasing)

Baffled! | DVD (Scorpion Releasing)

RELEASE DATE: January 21, 2014

Scorpion Releasing presents the DVD for 1973’s Baffled!, starring Star Trek’s Leonard Nimoy. Tom is a race car driver (Nimoy) who suffers from visions of people getting killed. An ESP expert believes that his visions will really happen. Tom must tap into his new found power to conquer the evil forces at work. Also starring Vera Miles (Psycho) and Racheal Roberts (When A Stranger Calls). Scorpion presents both the rare UK version and U.S version!

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

Deal on Fire! The Dark Knight Trilogy | Blu-ray | Only $19.99 – Expires soon!

"The Dark Knight Blu-ray Trilogy" Set

"The Dark Knight Blu-ray Trilogy" Set

Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray set for Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy, starring Christian Bale. The set includes 2005’s Batman Begins, 2008’s The Dark Knight and 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. For about $6 a movie, plus 2 discs of extras and a book, this is one heck of a deal.

Posted in Deals on Fire!, News |

Once again, Nicolas Cage has to save his daughter in ‘Tokarev’

"Tokarev" Theatrical Poster

"Tokarev" Theatrical Poster

THE MOVIE: Tokarev is an action-thriller directed by spanish filmmaker Paco Cabezas (Neon Flesh) and written by Jim Agnew (Wesley Snipes’ Game of Death) and Sean Keller (Giallo). Cage plays a reformed criminal who comes home to find that his daughter has been kidnapped by the Russian mob, so he rounds up his old crew and seeks his own brand of justice.

If Tokarev sounds like déjà vu, you’re on the right track. Last year, Cage starred in Simon West’s Stolen, where he also played a former thief who frantically searches for his missing daughter.

Updates: The first trailer has been released.

Posted in News |

Exclusive: Interview with Gareth Evans

Interview with Gareth Evans

Cityonfire.com had the privilege of interviewing Gareth Evans, the writer and director of 2009’s Merantau, 2011’s The Raid and the highly anticipated The Raid 2: Berandal, which is due for release in 2014.

In this Q&A session, we decided to ask him questions ranging from: What his favorite martial arts film of all time is; Who he would love to work with; His thoughts on directing a Die Hard flick and a lot more! You’ll be surprised with his answers. Enjoy!


"Police Story" Chinese Theatrical Poster

“Police Story” Chinese Theatrical Poster

If you had the chance to work with any action star, who would you choose?

That’s an easy one, Jackie Chan. Simple reason being that he’s the reason I fell in love with the genre. Every weekend I’d search for a film I hadn’t seen of his in the video store and he did so much to popularize the genre by putting his neck on the line film after film. I get sick to the pit of my stomach every time we shoot a stunt sequence, there’s something unnerving about making someone risk their health for the sake of a 2 second “wow”. These guys earn every ounce of respect from the crew so for Jackie to have done that time and time again purely for his love of cinema, I can’t think of anyone else who comes even close.

You’re interviewed in Shout! Factory’s Bruce Lee Collection, where you state that Fist of Fury is your favorite Bruce Lee film. What’s your favorite Jackie Chan film?

Police Story. The relentlessness of the fight scenes, the landmark opening and closing scenes. The film has become iconic, and rightly so.

"Knock-Off" Theatrical Poster

“Knock-Off” Theatrical Poster

Do you prefer the films of Steven Seagal or Jean-Claude Van Damme? Why?

Van Damme all the way – for me a better fighter and also has proven himself to have quite the acting chops. He’s a risk taker and that’s something that fascinates me.

Sylvester Stallone said he wants to top your film The Raid. What do you think of his comment? Do you think he/they will succeed?

Note to reader: Stallone’s actual tweet, regarding The Expendables 3: “We believe we can do better than the The Raid, which was an excellent film… Raising the bar…”)

I prefer to focus on the fact that he praised the film and by singling it out as something he wants to compete with is a major compliment to what we achieved with so little. Sure it’s possible they will succeed, likewise we’re setting out to top the first film with The Raid 2 – and watching the edit, I think we have. None of this is nor should be a competition between filmmakers – when I go out and watch an action movie I hope it’s well made, entertaining and also inspiring to give us ideas on how we can improve our own game. I wish them and anyone else out there making an action film every success, I know personally how f–king hard it is to make these films. So yeah, it’s all good spirited.

If you were approached to direct the next installment of a film like Die Hard, would you take the job? If so, what would you do with John McClane?

I don’t really have an interest in joining a franchise that’s already had so much of its visual landscape pre-designed. I’ve no idea really what I could do new with the character. I’ve not seen the latest film yet (when I’m in production so many films slip by that I try to catch up once normality resumes) but I always felt that the natural progression for his character was already done in The Last Boy Scout. That was as close to a spiritual sequel as Die Hard could have hoped for.

"Wild Bunch" Japanese Theatrical Poster

“Wild Bunch” Japanese Theatrical Poster

Can you name three movies that have have influenced you the most?

The Wild Bunch – Peckinpah invented action cinema, the editing style, cinematography, fluidity – everything I’ve stolen has been from him.

Hard Boiled – Taking Peckinpah as a leaping off point Woo crafted one of the best action films ever made. What I’ve always loved and have tried to incorporate into my films is the calm brief interludes within an action sequence – something to interrupt the choas. Give it a sense of gravitas and rhythm.

Armour of God – the showdown against the monks is a work of genius. This was the moment I realized why I loved Jackie’s work. If you look outside of the stunt work and the choreography and just listen to the timing of the blocks and the hits – it’s like listening to music. Whenever we work on designing a fight now I’m always listening out for that music, the time signature of the scene. Those blocks and hits become percussion – almost a part of the films score.

"Fearless" Theatrical Poster

“Fearless” Theatrical Poster

Best martial arts of film of recent times?

Fearless is a beautiful piece of work that manages to bring great character depth to a classically told story. I’d argue it’s Jet’s finest film (Fist of Legend coming in close behind).

Best martial arts film of all time?

Police Story – for the sheer sense of wonder I had when I first saw it as a child all the way up til now.

What do you think of some of the current martial arts/action stars: Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa and Scott Adkins?

Donnie has been incredibly prolific with the new wave of his success and he’s capitalized on it in a smart way. What his team did on Flashpoint and SPL was refreshing and took the genre in an interesting new path. To follow that up with Ip Man (a career defining role) was just a stroke of genius. I’d love to see him work with Wilson Yip more – they seem to compliment each other perfectly whenever they collaborate.

"Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning" Japanese DVD Cover

“Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning” Japanese DVD Cover

Tony Jaa is a phenomenal talent. Ong Bak was a major announcement to the industry and to audiences that the martial arts genre was back. Of course there’s been a fair amount of mud thrown around regarding the situation between artist and production company but that’s not for us to know nor is it in any way something that takes anything away from his all round talents. With the right script, the right role and please God no elephants.

Scott Adkins I’ve had the pleasure of meeting on a few occasions. He’s ridiculously talented with an all round skillset that combines fight techniques with athleticism and acrobatics. I’m looking for the right project, once I do I would love to work with him on something.

Thanks again to Gareth Evans, who took the time to answer these questions, despite his chaotic schedule. His latest film The Raid 2: Berandal, hits theaters in March of 2014.

Posted in Interviews, News |

Killing American Style: Special Edition | DVD (Cinema Epoch)

Killing American Style: Special Edition | DVD (Cinema Epoch)

Killing American Style: Special Edition | DVD (Cinema Epoch)

RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2014

Cinema Epoch presents the DVD for 1990’s Killing American Style: Special Edition, directed by Amir Shervan (Samurai Cop). Looking for some cheesy action? This 1990s exploitation film will deliver. It stars Harold Diamond (stick fighter from Rambo III), Jim Brown (Three the Hard Way) and Robert Z’Dar (Maniac Cop). Watch the trailer.

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

Cityonfire and Well Go USA are giving away 3 Blu-ray copies of ‘Saving General Yang’ – WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

Saving General Yang | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Saving General Yang | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Cityonfire.com and Well Go USA are giving away 3 Blu-ray copies of Saving General Yang to three lucky Cityonfire visitors. To enter, simply add a comment and list three items you’re hoping to receive for Christmas (be realistic!). We will be selecting three winners at random. Be sure to include your email address in the appropriate field so we can contact you for your home address. Additionally, you must ‘Like Us‘ on cityonfire.com’s Facebook by clicking here.

The Blu-ray & DVD for Saving General Yang will be officially released on December 10, 2013. We will announce the 3 lucky winners on December 10th and ship out the prizes immediately.

CONTEST DISCLAIMER: You must enter by December 9th to qualify. Also, because Well Go USA holds the film’s U.S. rights, only U.S. residents may enter the contest. We sincerely apologize to our non-U.S. visitors. Contest is subject to change without notice.

WINNERS: Congratulations to Edwin, Brandon A. and David. You have all been notified via email.

Posted in News | Tagged |

Battle of the Damned | Blu-ray & DVD (Anchor Bay)

Battle of the Damned | Blu-ray & DVD | (Anchor Bay)

Battle of the Damned | Blu-ray & DVD | (Anchor Bay)

RELEASE DATE: February 18, 2014

Anchor Bay presents the Blu-ray & DVD for Battle of the Damned (aka Battle Hazard), starring Dolph Lundgren and directed by Christopher Hatton (Robotropolis). Following a deadly viral outbreak, private military soldier Max Gatling (Lundgren) leads a handful of survivors and a ragtag band of robots against an army of the infected. Also starring Melanie Zanetti and Matt Doran. Watch the trailer.

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