On April 28, 2025, Eureka is releasing a Blu-ray (Region B) collection for The Magnificent Chang Cheh, which will include 1966’s The Magnificent Trio and 1977’s Magnificent Wanderers.
One of the Shaw Brothers Studio’s most prolific directors, Chang Cheh – or the “Godfather of Hong Kong Cinema” – is the filmmaker behind Five Deadly Venoms, Chinatown Kid and Boxer Rebellion. Collected here are two films by this maestro of martial arts Continue reading
Production has wrapped for The Farmer, an upcoming actioner starring Australian martial artist Bren Foster, who is hot off the heels of his impressive 2024 film debut, Life After Fighting (which he also directed, wrote, produced and choreographed).
The Farmer finds Foster once again taking the lead as an ex-fighter who, while making a living working on a farm and underground fighting, finds himself Continue reading
Shaolin Boxers | Blu-ray (Eureka)
Director: Huang Ta
Cast: James Tin, Lee Tin-ying, Li Min-lang, Chu Mu, Leung Tin, Tien Mi, Hon Kwok-Choi, Chu Mu, Choi Sui-Cheng, Cheung Chok-Chow, Mars
Running Time: 78 min.
By Ian Whittle
“The only problem with James Tien seems to be his weight. When we first saw him on screen he was slim and muscular but of late his girth seems to have increased somewhat. Perhaps his marriage early in 1974 had something to do with it. The studio claims he does not drink much but home cooking can spoil the form of a kung fu fighter.”
– Clash Magazine, 1975
Ouch!
James Tien is probably one of kung fu cinema’s big enigmas – since retiring in 1993 after Blade of Fury, he does not appear to have given a single interview on his career. The impression some film critics/historians like to cultivate is of him seething away at Bruce Lee having stolen his thunder, much in the manner that we know Bela Continue reading
“Yadang: The Snitch” Theatrical Poster
In Theaters April 25th and On Digital September 9th is Hwang Byeong-gug’s Yadang: The Snitch, the latest South Korean import from Well Go USA.
Framed and left for dead by the ruthless prosecutor he once served, Kang-su — a cunning drug informant — finds himself crippled and locked away. Years later, freed but broken, he teams up with a disillusioned detective to take down the corrupt power structure that betrayed him. Fueled by vengeance and a fierce will to reclaim his life, Kang-su’s fight for justice blurs the line between hero and villain. Ya Dang The Snitch — a gritty tale of betrayal and redemption.
Yadang: The Snitch stars Kang Ha-neul (Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet), Yoo Hae-jin (Confidential Assignment), Park Hae-joon (Heart Blackened), Ryu Continue reading
RELEASE DATE: July 21, 2025
On July 21, 2025, Radiance is releasing the Blu-ray (Region A/B) for 1980’s The Beast to Die. Directed by Toru Murakawa (The Game Trilogy) from a venomous script by Shoichi Maruyama (Yokohama BJ Blues), this unsettling dark thriller was Yusaku Matsuda’s farewell to his 1970s action hero persona.
Deeply scarred by what he witnessed on battlefields across Asia, a young war photographer (Yusaku Matsuda, Yokohama BJ Blues) returns to the bustling Continue reading
On April 28, 2025, Third Window Films is releasing a Blu-ray (Region Free) for A Samurai in Time, a 2023 action-comedy from director Junichi Yasuda (Gohan).
With one strike of lightning, samurai Kosaka Shinzaemon accidentally teleports through time and finds himself in modern day Japan. However, his realisation doesn’t hit so quickly, because of all places, he happens to land on a period drama film set! After facing the director’s wrath for veering away from a script he has no idea about, Kosaka is saved by the kind Continue reading
The Monkey Goes West | Blu-ray (Imprint)
Director: Ho Meng Hua
Cast: Yueh Hua, Ho Fan, Pang Pang, Tien Shun, Fan Mei Sheng, Kao Pao-Shu, Lan Wei-Lieh, Li Yin, Diana Chang Chung-Wen, Mao Wei
Running Time: 112 min.
By Paul Bramhall
Having gotten into Asian cinema in the late 1990’s, my first exposure to the phenomena of Journey to the West mania came in the 2010’s. For most of the decade it felt like a big screen adaptation of the 16th century novel was never more than a few months away – from Soi Cheang’s Monkey King trilogy (2014 – 2018), Stephen Chow’s double bill of Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013) and Journey to the West: Demon Chapter (2017), Derek Kwok’s 2017 adaptation Wu Kong, to a big budget 3D animated feature in the form of The Monkey King: Uproar in Heaven (2012). That’s before you begin to count the literal bombardment of web-movies (easily pushing into double figures) that also took the tale as their inspiration.
Looking at the bigger picture though, it quickly becomes clear that movie adaptations of Journey to the West have never really gone away. Since the first known version in 1927 called Journey to the West: The Spider’s Cave, the tale of a monk travelling to India to retrieve a Buddhist scripture has been having the spotlight stolen out from under him for close to 100 years Continue reading
Later this year, Takashi Yamazaki (The Fighter Pilot), the director of the massively successful 2023 kaiju thriller, Godzilla Minus One, will start filming Godzilla Minus One 2. No plot details have been revealed, but the follow-up will be a direct sequel that takes place in Japan.
A sequel to Godzilla Minus One should come as no surprise, given Godzilla Minus One was this incredible success in late 2023 — earning $55M Continue reading
“Under the Gun” Theatrical Poster
Director: Matthew George
Cast: Richard Norton, Kathy Long, Jane Badler, Peter Lindsay, Robert Bruce, David Serafin, Ron Vreeken, Tino Ceberano, Adam Haddrick, Sam Greco
Running Time: 93 min.
By Z Ravas
As action fans around the globe react with sadness at the untimely loss of actor Richard Norton at the age of 75, I realized it was high time I dug deeper into the actor’s body of work. Sure, like most fans of Hong Kong martial arts movies, I’d seen Norton square off against Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan in movies like Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Stars and City Hunter, but I’d never actually watched one of his starring vehicles. When I read a review of the 1995 actioner Under the Gun that labeled it the ‘Direct to Video martial arts version of Uncut Gems,’ I just had to see for myself how a movie could live up to that description; if you’re familiar with that 2019 high anxiety thriller from the Safdie Brothers, about a compulsive gambler trying to pay off his debt to the mob before time runs out, you know it didn’t exactly feel like it had room for spin kicks.
And yet, I’m here to tell you that that description is not far off. Under the Gun follows Richard Norton as Frank Torrence, a former professional hockey player(!) turned nightclub owner with a problem: he’s got one last shift to work before he signs a deal to sell his club and absconds to Mexico City, but seemingly everyone who walks through the doors of his establishment Continue reading
On April 14, 2025, 88 Films is releasing a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (Region B) release for Miracles (aka Mr. Canton and Lady Rose), Jackie Chan’s 1989 Golden Harvest martial arts film, which is loosely remade from Frank Capra’s 1961 classic Pocketful of Miracles.
Directed by and starring Jackie Chan, Miracles features an all-star cast that includes Rose Gua Ah Leh (The Wedding Banquet), Anita Mui Yim-fong (Drunken Master 2), Wu Ma (The Blonde Fury), Michael Chow Man Kin (Era of Vampires), Fung Hak Continue reading
“Absolute Dominion” Theatrical Poster
Writer/director Lexi Alexander, who is perhaps best-known for helming 2005’s Green Street Hooligans and 2008’s Punisher: War Zone, is currently prepping an upcoming martial arts actioner titled Absolute Dominion.
Absolute Dominion takes place in 2085 A.D., where the world has been destroyed by religious warfare. Desperate to save humanity, global governing forces host a gripping, no-holds-barred, martial arts tournament. Last fighter standing wins Absolute Dominion for one faith.
The film features an all-star cast that includes Alex Winter (Bill & Ted Face the Music), Alok Vaid-Menon (Random Acts of Flyness), Andy Allo (Chicago Fire), Désiré Mia, Jennifer Jajeh (Transparent), Juliana Joel (American Gigolo), Julie Ann Emery (Better Call Saul), June Carryl (Y: The Last Man), Junes Zahdi (Counterpart), Laith Ashley (Pose), Mario Continue reading
A Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon series is in the works from Prime Video and Sony Pictures. Writer-producer Jason Ning (co-executive producer for The Brothers Sun) and Ron Moore (Outlander) will develop the series adaptation of the 2000 box office smash from two-time Best Director Academy Award winner Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain).
The upcoming series will follow Shu Lien (previously played by Michelle Yeoh) and Mu Bai (previously played by Chow Yun-Fat), two star-crossed warriors, as they struggle between forbidden love and the pull of modernity — caught between preserving their way of life or embracing a future together (via Deadline).
The original Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was noted for its stunning martial arts choreography by Yuen Woo-ping (The Matrix), who went on to Continue reading
The Snake Prince | Blu-ray (Imprint)
Director: Lo Chen
Cast: Lin Chen Chi, Ti Lung, Helen Ko Ti-Hua, Fan Lei, Wong Yu, Ng Hong-Sang, Wong Ching-Ho, Ching Miao, Leung Seung-Wan, Lin Wei-Tu
Running Time: 93 min.
By Paul Bramhall
When it comes to 1970’s Shaw Brothers oddities there are a few titles that will likely spring to mind. Whether it be the studios riff on King Kong with The Mighty Peking Man, venturing into mutant territory with The Oily Maniac, or taking a crack at the tokusatsu genre with The Super Infra Man, all come with their own distinctive charms of the era. One production which seems to have flew under the radar though for fans of the bizarre is 1976’s The Snake Prince, an unlikely genre mishmash of Chinese folklore, musical, kaiju action, horror, and even a little eroticism and kung-fu thrown in just for good measure. If you were looking for the Shaw Brothers movie that has everything, then The Snake Prince could well be the one that ticks all the boxes.
Helmed by Lo Chen, as a director he was one of the Shaw Brothers most prolific filmmakers in the 1960’s working outside of the studio’s martial arts flick factory. Adept at making a wide range of genres, Chen’s output spanned everything from comedies (The Tryst), musicals (The Shepherd Girl), dramas (Torrent of Desire), and Chinese Opera (Comedy of Mismatches). By the time the 1970’s rolled around Chen increasingly worked for other studios as well as the Shaw Continue reading
“Tornado” Theatrical Poster
Writer/director John Maclean, who is perhaps best known for 2015’s Slow West, is back with Tornado, an upcoming period thriller starring Tim Roth (Pulp Fiction), Jack Lowden (Dunkirk), Takehiro Hira (Shōgun) and Koki (Ox-Head Village).
The film, set in the rugged landscape of 1790s Britain, follows Tornado (Koki), a young and determined woman who finds herself caught in a perilous situation when she and her father’s (Hira) traveling puppet samurai show crosses paths with a gang of ruthless criminals led by Sugarman (Roth) and his ambitious son Little Sugar (Lowden). In an attempt to create a new life for herself, Tornado seizes the opportunity to take matters into her own hands and steal the gold from their most recent heist (via Deadline).
Tornado will be released by Lionsgate Continue reading
Postman Strikes Back | Blu-ray (88 Films)
Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray (Region A/B) for The Postman Strikes Back, a 1982 Hong Kong film directed by Ronny Yu (The Occupant).
The film stars Leung Kar Yan (Exciting Dragon), Chow Yun Fat (The Head Hunter), Fan Mei Sheng (12 Gold Medallions), Cherie Chung (Walk on Fire), Eddie Ko (Warriors of Future) and Brandy Yuen (Dreadnaught).
The Postman Strikes Back is a unique entry in the Hong Kong action genre for a number of reasons. Set in 1913, it’s a movie which brings together elements of the old-school and the new-wave which can only be appreciated in retrospect. An early directorial effort from Ronny Yu, with the exception of his 1986 production with Brandon Lee, Legacy of Rage, it wouldn’t be until Continue reading
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