"Death Trance" DVD Artwork

Twitch reports on the possible retirement of Japanese action star Tak Sakaguchi. Sakaguchi rose to fame with the 2001 cult favorite Versus, a movie that managed to combine the low-budget charms of Evil Dead-like horror with blistering martial arts and gunplay. The actor later scored another cult hit with Battlefield Baseball, but has most recently hitched his wagon to the Sushi Typhoon production company.

He’s been behind and in front of the camera, serving as fight choreographer on movies like Tokyo Gore Police and Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl. A retrospective on Sakaguchi’s career will be playing at a cinema in Tokyo in early April; the event was announced via a press release that also mentions Tak Sakaguchi retiring from the world of acting.

Sakaguchi’s own management company denies his retirement but it seems likely that Sakaguchi will at least continue to work behind the camera on future projects, whether it’s as a director or fight choreographer. Time will tell if we’ve seen the last of the man as an action star.

Update: Looks like rumors of Tak Sakaguchi’s early retirement were highly exaggerated. Recently, the actor let it be known that he is working on Death Trance II. The original Death Trance was released in 2005 and served as an off-the-wall blend of a fantasy setting with martial arts and gunplay. It wasn’t quite up to Versus standards but the film is still generally well-regarded by action fans, so a sequel is definitely something to get excited about!

BREAKING NEWS: The magazine Monster Attack Team broke the news via Facebook that Tak Sakaguchi is indeed retiring from acting. It’s unsure what this means for the fate of his recently announced role in Death Trance II.

"The Man With the Iron Fists" Theatrical Poster

You won’t see The Man with the Iron Fists on any London, Manchester or Edinburgh cinema listings now, but it’s worth catching on DVD for martial arts fans. That said; it’s not without its problems.

Development of this movie first began way back in 2005 and after close to two years of development RZA and Eli Roth managed to get financial backing in May 2010.

Filming of the movie was finally able to begin in in December of that year with a $20m budget. It was finished in March the following year.

The story centres around a 19th century village in the Chinese Jungle, where rival clans are fighting one another. When one of the leaders of a clan called the Lion Clan agrees to watch over a shipment of imperial gold, he falls victim to the betrayal of two of his underlings; the so-called Silver and Bronze Lions – played by Byron Mann and Cung Le respectively.

The Lion clan then attacks its rival Hyena clan whilst making a deal with Madam Blossom, the local brothel owner and whilst all this is happening, the leader’s son Zen-Yi is hurrying back into town. And if all that wasn’t confusing enough, there’s Thaddeus the blacksmith, played by RZA, who supplies everyone with weapons as he saves up to elope with his girlfriend.

There are so many things about this movie that are great – the plot is interesting and the action is set against a backdrop of rap music which always works well. On the other hand, most of us go to martial arts movies for the fight scenes. But with The Man with the Iron Fists, the fight scenes are decidedly average. It all depends on how much realism and plot you’re after versus unbelievable fight scenes we’ve become increasingly used to in the latest movies in the genre.

Perhaps The Man with the Iron Fists is indicative of the way things are heading – perhaps not. If you’re a real martial arts aficionado, you probably won’t like it. But if you like a great story and aren’t overly bothered about the fight scenes – be sure to watch it.

"The Grandmaster" International Theatrical Poster

While the Weinstein Company has finally announced an August 2013 release date for Wong Kar-wai’s highly anticipated anticipated martial arts epic The Grandmaster in North American theaters, we still don’t know which version of the film it will be. Given the Weinstein Company’s history, there’s always the chance that they’ve further edited the movie to cut down on the runtime or some other form of censorship.

Why take the risk? The Grandmaster is coming to Import Blu-ray and DVD on April 23rd, 2013, and the Region A Blu-ray will play on your standard North American Blu-ray player or Playstation 3.

Trusted retailer DDDHouse is offering the Region A Blu-ray for $29.49. Meanwhile, if you have an import player you could opt for the Region 3 DVD for $17.31.

Hardcore collectors might want to spring for the Limited Edition Steel Book Blu-ray for $63.86. One advantage to the Steel Book is that it releases earlier, on April 15th.

Sony's "Mastered in 4K" Blu-rays

As you can see in our recent article about Universal’s new Blu-ray collector’s editions, movie studios are trying their best to squeeze some income out of the waning days of physical media.

Eager to cater to consumers who are investing in new high-end televisions capable of displaying 4K resolution, Sony has announced plans to unveil new ‘4K-mastered‘ Blu-ray discs on May 14th.

Select titles include Ghostbusters, Taxi Driver, Spider-Man, and the Total Recall remake. Click here to see available titles.

So what’s the catch? Digital Bits reports that while the discs have been mastered from a 4K source, the films still only display in 1080p like your standard Blu-ray. Sony says these discs are optimized for 4K televisions but the difference in quality will be apparent on current 1080p TV as well. To quote Digital Bits: “If you can master Blu-rays in better quality, why haven’t you been doing it all along?” Only time will tell if the 4K Blu-rays will catch on at retail.

Woochi: The Demon Slayer Blu-ray & DVD (Shout! Factory)

It’s a light week but one that happens to feature a great deal of Asian films being released, which is cause for celebration in our neck of the woods.

If you’re interested in any of these titles, you can support the site by ordering through our affiliate. We appreciate it!

Here are your Blu-ray and DVD releases for the week of 4/9/13:

ASIAN CINEMA

The Sorcerer and the White Snake (Blu-ray/DVD) – martial arts icon Jet Li stars in this 2011 special FX-heavy wuxia, on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of Magnet Releasing

The Four (Blu-ray/DVD) – this 2012 martial arts film full of super-powered detectives in ancient China is the latest from “Fist of Legend” director Gordon Chan

Deadball (Blu-ray/DVD) – this 2011 effort from production house Sushi Typhoon is the long-awaited sequel to 2003’s “Battlefield Baseball,” starring Tak Sakaguchi of “Versus” fame

Woochi: The Demon Slayer (Blu-ray/DVD) – this film is a big-budget action fantasy, which scored with audiences at the Korean box office back in 2009

Gate of Hell (Blu-ray/DVD) – the Criterion Collection presents this acclaimed 1953 film set during 12th century Japan. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in ’53

MARTIAL ARTS/ACTION

4-Film Icons of Action (Blu-ray/DVD) – seemingly delayed from a couple weeks ago. In this set, you can watch Jason Statham in “Blitz”; Slyvester Stallone in “Eye See You”; Jean-Claude Van Damme in “In Hell”; and Dolph Lundgren in “Direct Contact”

4 Film Special Forces Set (DVD) – two of the films in this $7.99 Special Forces-themed set are from “Undisputed III” director Isaac Florentine, a master of action photography: look for “U.S. Seals: Dead or Alive” and “Special Forces,” the latter of which co-stars Scott Adkins

Replacement Killers & Truth or Consequences, N.M. Blu-ray Double Feature (Blu-ray) – the 1998 action flick “Replacement Killers,” starring Chow Yun Fat in his first Hollywood role, is paired with 1997′s “Truth or Consequences, N.M.,” starring Keifer Sutherland and Vincent Gallo

FOREIGN

In Another Country (DVD) – the latest from Korean director Hong Sang-soo is this 2012 English-language film starring French actress Isabelle Huppert as three different women on vacation in South Korea

MAINSTREAM

Naked Lunch (Blu-ray) – the Criterion Collection offers David Cronenberg’s mind-bending 1991 adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ “Naked Lunch” in hi-def. Starring “Robocop’s” Peter Weller

Bad Kids Go to Hell (DVD) – it’s “The Breakfast Club” meets “Final Destination” in this 2012 horror film in which a group of ‘bad kids’ are randomly killed one by one in the midst of detention

Womb (Blu-ray/DVD) – Eva Green (“Casino Royale”) stars in this 2010 sci-fi parable in which a woman tries to clone her deceased lover…by carrying him to term herself

CULT

The Massage Parlor Murders (Blu-ray + DVD combo) – this 1973 horror/thriller offers a gritty look at New York City in the early 70’s

Sexcula (DVD) – seemingly delayed from a week or so ago. This forgotten 1974 Canadian sexploitation gem is rescued from obscurity by Synapse Films

The Suckers/Love Garden (DVD) – these obscure 70’s sexploitations films are rescued from the annals of history by distributor Vinegar Syndrome. “The Suckers” is considered a sexploitation twist on the famous story “The Most Dangerous Game”

Anatomy Of A Psycho/The Lonely Sex (DVD) – the Vinegar Syndrome strikes again with a double feature of early exploitation cinema

HORROR

Father’s Day (Blu-ray/DVD) – this 2011 film is more extreme exploitation madness from Troma Entertainment, the creators of “Mother’s Day” and “The Toxic Crusader”

Luster (DVD) – a troubled businessman realizes the force working against him is his dangerous alter ego in this 2010 thriller

Sexy Evil Genius (DVD) – Seth Green, formerly of TV’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” co-stars in this 2013 thriller about a vengeful ex-girlfriend who decides to reunite her old lovers and pay them back in full

Interested in any of these movies? If so, we hope that you’ll consider ordering from our affiliate to help support this site. Thank you!

"The Conjuring" Theatrical Poster

Saw director James Wan scored a sleeper hit with his 2010 horror film Insidious. The movie starred Patrick Wilson as a concerned father who hires a paranormal investigator to try and help rescue his child from a demonic presence. The film owed more than a little to Steven Spielberg/Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist, but performed surprisingly well at the box office.

Now James Wan is teaming back up with Patrick Wilson for another tale of the supernatural. The Conjuring was slated for an unexceptional January release, but advanced preview screenings have been so overwhelmingly positive that the studio has moved the movie to the middle of the crowded summer season with a July 19th, 2013 date. Of course, The Conjuring is ‘based on a terrifying true story.” You can check out the extended (and spooky) trailer at Apple Quicktime.

Update: A new full-length trailer is here for your viewing pleasure.