Eagle’s Wing DVD (VCI Entertainment)

Eagle's Wing DVD (VCI Entertainment)

Eagle's Wing DVD (VCI Entertainment)

RELEASE DATE: May 15, 2012

VCI Entertainment presents 1979’s Eagle’s Wing, a British Western that has been compared to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey for its mythic weirdness and limited dialogue. This obscure masterpiece stars Martin Sheen (hot off his bizarre, life-changing experience of Apocalypse Now), Harvey Keitel and Sam Waterston.

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

From producer Johnnie To, ‘Accident’ hits Blu-ray and DVD on June 12

Accident Blu-ray & DVD (Shout! Factory)

Accident Blu-ray & DVD (Shout! Factory)

From Internationally Renowned Action Filmmaker & Producer Johnnie To

ACCIDENT

Starring Acclaimed Actors Louis Koo and Richie Jen

A Film Directed by Soi Cheang

DEBUTS IN STORES NATIONWIDE
ON BLU-RAY™ and DVD

OWN IT ON JUNE 12, 2012

FROM SHOUT! FACTORY

Not all accidents are caused by fate! This summer, get ready for a new breed of action suspense thriller that plumbs and exposes the weaknesses of the human psyche. On June 12, 2012, Shout! Factory, in collaboration with Media Asia, will debut the acclaimed Hong Kong feature ACCIDENT on Blu-ray, DVD and available on digital entertainment platforms.

Nominated for a Golden Lion Award at the Venice International Film Festival and a festival favorite at the Toronto International Film Festival, ACCIDENT is a masterfully crafted thriller that combines stylish visuals, edge-of-your seat suspense, and violence. This highly anticipated North American home entertainment release features insightful bonus content and is a must have for Asian extreme action fans! The Blu-ray is priced to own at $26.97;the DVD has a suggested retail price of $19.99.

SYNOPSIS

A self-styled accident choreographer, Brain (Louis Koo, in one of the most compelling performances of his career) is a professional hit man who kills his victims by trapping them in well crafted accidents that look like unfortunate mishaps but are in fact perfectly staged acts of crime. He is perennially plagued with guilt, as the avalanche of memories of his lost wife does not make things any easier.

After one mission inexplicably goes wrong, costing the life of one of his men, Brain becomes convinced that this accident has been choreographed: someone is out there plotting to terminate him and his team. Eventually reality and delusion blur, culminating in a wickedly twisted ending.

ACCIDENT Blu-ray™ and DVD Special Features:

  • “Making Of” Featurette
  • Original Theatrical Trailer
  • Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer (2.35:1)

Special Features Are Unrated
Audio: Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English
2009/Color/87 min.

Posted in News |

Rourke, Trejo and Hall are ‘Dead in a Tombstone’ according to Roel Reine

Mickey Rourke

Mickey Rourke

Deadline.com reports that Breakfast Club’s Anthony Michael Hall, Machete’s Danny Trejo and Year of the Dragon’s Mickey Rourke will star in Dead in Tombstone, an action-adventure film directed by Death Race 2’s Roel Reine. Dead in a Tombstone (not to be confused with The Tomb, another action-adventure film starring Sly Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a revenge flick that revolves around a group of gangster outlaws.

Wait a minute? The director of Death Race 2? Is Mickey Rourke back to his straight-to-video days, a la 1998’s Point Blank? Possibly. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Director Roel Reine’s Death Race sequel happens to have its own cult following. Despite the budget and star power of the first movie (Jason Statham didn’t appear in the sequel), reviews have been surprisingly positive for Death Race 2. There’s no word whether Dead in the Tombstone will be straight-to-DVD, but one thing’s for sure: Like Universal Soldier: Regeneration’s John Hyams, Roel Reine is an action-director you don’t want to ignore.

Filming for Dead in a Tombstone begins next week.

Posted in News |

5 Points Pictures to distribute live-action Asian cinema in North America

"Moss" Korean Theatrical Poster

"Moss" Korean Theatrical Poster

Distributor Right Stuf, Inc. has long been known for their high quality anime releases. Today they announced the creation of a new division for live-action Asian films, titled 5 Points Pictures. Through a partnership with CJ Entertainment, one of Korea’s top production houses, 5 Points Pictures will distribute several live-action Korean films on home video in North America starting in Summer 2012. The list of initial titles includes:

  • Bleak Night (2011)
  • Finding Mr. Destiny (2010)
  • Moss (2010)
  • Penny Pinchers (2011)
  • Punch (2011)
  • The Suicide Forecast (2011)
  • Tazza: The High Rollers (2006)

5 Points Pictures will also provide these films with “upgraded English translations for each feature film, as well as translated video extras from the original South Korean home-video releases.” Check out their new website here, which offers posters for the films and the press release as a PDF. Stay tuned to Cityonfire.com for news on future 5 Points Pictures releases.

Posted in News |

French hostage drama ‘The Assault’ gets a limited U.S. release

"The Assault" U.S. Theatrical Poster

Over at Beyond Hollywood, you can scope out the U.S. trailer for The Assault, the tense French hostage drama from Chrysalis director Julien Leclercq. Looks pretty bad-ass, doesn’t it? Rest assured that American audiences will have the chance to see the movie as Screen Media Films is offering The Assault a limited release stateside on April 6, 2012.

The film is based on true events: on Christmas Eve, 1994, armed terrorists hijacked a passenger plane and threatened all of Paris. The Assault follows France’s elite counter-terrorism unit as they plan and execute their daring rescue mission.

Posted in News |

‘Zombie 108’ is Taiwan’s ultra-violent, low-budget answer to the zombie genre

"Zombie 108" Promotional Poster

A night on the town in Taipei turns into a bloodbath when a group of young friends discover they’ve been infected with a new strain of influenza that turns people into…zombies. That’s the premise behind the forthcoming Taiwanese horror flick Zombie 108. Over at 24 Frames Per Second, you can enjoy the trailer. Today brings word that the film will be released on April 13, 2012.

The trailer looks almost painfully low-budget but, at the same time, it could be a hell of a lot of fun for gorehounds or fans of Sushi Typhoon-type insanity. Zombie 108 is directed by Joe Chien and stars Hsiang Rong, Tai Bao and Yvonne Yao

Posted in News |

Champion Road: Arena DVD (Maverick Entertainment Group)

Champion Road: Arena DVD (Maverick Entertainment Group)

Champion Road: Arena DVD (Maverick Entertainment Group)

RELEASE DATE: June 5, 2012

Maverick Entertainment Group presents R.L. Scott’s low-budget martial arts flick, Champion Road: Arena. The film revolves around an event called The Supreme fighting Arena, a competition where fighters face one another in a contest to the death. Check out trailer #1 and trailer #2.

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

Swordsman & Enchantress DVD (Well Go USA)

Swordsman & Enchantress DVD (Well Go USA)

Swordsman & Enchantress DVD (Well Go USA)

RELEASE DATE: April 24, 2012

Well Go USA continues their Sword Masters series with the Shaw Brothers classic Swordsman & Enchantress, directed by Chor Yuen (“Web of Death“). This 1978 martial arts adventure stars Ti Lung (“Five Shaolin Masters“), Ching Li (“Anonymous Heroes“), Lily Li (“Police Force“), Norman Chu (“Hong Kong Godfather“), Lau Wing (“The Dragon Missile“) and many more. Check out the trailer.

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

Duel of Fists DVD (Well Go USA)

Duel of Fists DVD (Well Go USA)

Duel of Fists DVD (Well Go USA)

RELEASE DATE: April 24, 2012

Well Go USA is proud to present Chang Cheh’s (“The One-Armed Swordsman“) Duel of Fists (aka Fist Attack), starring David Chiang (“Vengeance“) and Ti Lung (“City War“). This 1971 Shaw Brothers feature was one of the first films to showcase Thai kickboxing. Check out the trailer.

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

Asian horror takes to the skies with ‘Dark Flight 407’

"Dark Flight 407" Thai Theatrical Poster

Dark Flight 407 is Thailand’s first 3D horror film. Judging by the trailer, it was probably pitched as something like “Ringu on a plane.” But hey, the production values look solid and, who knows, it might just scare our pants off. The story follows a flight stewardess who miraculously survived a plane crash 10 years ago and who must now return to work after a decade of psychotherapy. Only trouble is, it looks like the vengeful spirit who crashed her plane the first time around is back for more.

Over at 24 Frames Per Second, you can check out two new posters and the trailer in case you missed it. The film is not to be confused with Grudge director Takashi Shimizu’s own take on terror in the skies, 7500. I still say that movie could use a better title. In any case, Dark Flight 407 will beat it to the theaters as it opens in Thailand on March 22.

Posted in News |

Let the Bullets Fly Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Let the Bullets Fly Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Let the Bullets Fly Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

RELEASE DATE: April 24, 2012

Well Go USA is proud to announce the release of Jiang Wen’s Let the Bullets Fly. The film is set in the 1920s when the bandit Zhang (Jiang Wen) descends upon a town posing as its new mayor. The film also stars Chow Yun-fat, Carina Lau, Ge You, Chen Kun and Zhou Yun.

China Daily put the film on their list of the best ten Chinese films of 2010. The Hollywood Reporter described the film as “unabashedly entertaining.” Film Business Asia gave the film an eight out of ten rating, calling it a “richly entertaining Oriental Western anchored by a well-honed, ironic script and terrific performances.”

Check out the trailer for Let the Bullets Fly.

Update: AICN has a look at the red-band trailer. And here’s the U.S. trailer.

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

Dante Lam’s ‘The Viral Factor’ locks and loads onto Import Blu-ray and DVD

"The Viral Factor" Chinese Theatrical Poster

"The Viral Factor" Chinese Theatrical Poster

After a limited theatrical run in the States, director Dante Lam’s The Viral Factor is making its way to Hong Kong Blu-ray and DVD. This international action blockbuster stars Nicholas Tse (The Stool Pigeon) and Jay Chou (The Green Hornet) as two brothers on opposite sides of the law.

Now you can pre-order the film from trusted retailer DDDHouse. The Region A Blu-ray contains English subtitles and is going for only $21.15. Or you can snag the Region 3 DVD for $13.46. Both versions are out on March 23.

When a rogue police officer betrays his team and steals a deadly bioweapon, Nicholas Tse and Jay Chou must team up to stop him. Their mission takes them around the world – no, literally, The Viral Factor filmed in places as diverse as Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Malayasia, and the Middle East. This is a huge movie. Don’t pass it up!

Posted in Asian Import Titles, News |

Sector 7 Blu-ray + Blu-ray 3D & DVD (Shout! Factory)

Sector 7 DVD, Blu-ray & 3D BR (Shout! Factory)

Sector 7 DVD, Blu-ray & 3D BR (Shout! Factory)

RELEASE DATE: June 26, 2012

Shout! Factory presents Sector 7 on DVD, Blu-ray (+ Blu-ray 3D). This box office sensation involves an oil prospecting ship crew and their fight against a deadly monster – in 3D! Starring Ha Ji-won (Haeundae), Ahn Seong-gi (Nowhere To Hide) and Oh Ji-ho (The Slave Hunters). Check out the trailer!

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

Accident Blu-ray & DVD (Shout! Factory)

Accident Blu-ray & DVD (Shout! Factory)

Accident Blu-ray & DVD (Shout! Factory)

RELEASE DATE: June 12, 2012

Shout! Factory presents Soi Cheang’s Accident on Blu-ray & DVD. Accident is a 2009 Hong Kong film produced by Johnnie To and starring Louis Koo, Richie Ren, Michelle Ye, Lam Suet, Stanley Fung and Monica Mok. The film’s plot revolves around a troubled assassin, who works by orchestrating “accidents.” Check out the trailer.

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

The director of ‘My Sassy Girl’ leaves Chinese-Japanese co-production

"Princess Yang Kwei-Fei" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Here’s some shocking news: director Kwak Jae-yong (My Sassy Girl) has left the set of his latest movie, Yang Gui Fei, during its sixth week of filming. The project is a Chinese-Japanese co-production based on the life of Yang Gui Fei, who is known as one of the Four Beauties of Ancient China and who served as a beloved consort to Emperor Xuanzong until her tragic death in 756 A.D.

The Japanese and Chinese film industries have a history of collaborating together on this story, as Daiei Studios and the Shaw Brothers teamed up for 1956’s Princess Yang Kwei-Fei. In the current big screen adaptation, Yang Gui Fei will brought to life by actress Fan Bingbing (Flash Point, Bodyguards & Assassins).

So why did Kwak Jae-yong leave the film halfway through production? Supposedly he rejected advice from the Chinese crew on the film and was “deviating from traditional Chinese values.” Although Kwak is a Korean director, this is not his first experience in foreign movie industries. He was an “executive director” on the 2010 Chinese film Piano in a Factory and he shot a movie in Japan.

It is thought that veteran Chinese director Tian Zhuangzhuang (2009’s The Warrior and the Wolf) will be brought on to replace Kwak shortly. We’ll keep you updated on the story as it develops.

Posted in News |