In Taipei City, a cavernous old picture palace is about to close its doors forever. A meagre audience, the remaining few staff, and perhaps even a ghost or two, watch King Hu's wuxia classic Dragon Inn - each haunted by memories and desires evoked by cinema itself. An exquisite, wryly funny and tender tribute to the experience of movie-going, Tsai Ming-Liang's poignant love letter to cinema is one of the most beguiling and beloved dramas of modern times and is now widely regarded as a classic. Presented here in a new 4K restoration, the film is more ravishing and hypnotic than ever. BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS Goodbye, Dragon Inn (Bú sà n, 2003) presented from a brand new 4K restoration of the film. A new and exclusive filmed interview with director Tsai Ming-Liang. Madam Butterfly (2009, 36 mins): world home-video premiere of Tsai s remarkable modern-day interpretation of the classic story. Booklet featuring new essays by curator and critic Tony Rayns, plus a personal appreciation by filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul. New and improved English subtitle translation. Original soundtrack in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 Stereo LPCM (24-bit) World premiere on Blu-ray. Region free Blu-ray (A/B/C)
In this pair of sharp, sprawling satires, one of Taiwan's most celebrated filmmakers, Edward Yang, captures the anything-can-happen mood of Taipei at the end of the twentieth century. Made in between his epic dramas A Brighter Summer Day and Yi Yi, A Confucian Confusion and Mahjong find Yang applying a lighter but no less masterly touch to his explorations of human relationships in an increasingly globalized, hypercapitalistic world. These intricately constructed ensemble comediesone set in a cutthroat corporate milieu, the other in a shady criminal underworldreveal the absurdity and cynicism at the heart of modern urban life.In this pair of sharp, sprawling satires, one of Taiwan's most celebrated filmmakers, Edward Yang, captures the anything-can-happen mood of Taipei at the end of the twentieth century. Made in between his epic dramas A Brighter Summer Day and Yi Yi, A Confucian Confusion and Mahjong find Yang applying a lighter but no less masterly touch to his explorations of human relationships in an increasingly globalized, hypercapitalistic world. These intricately constructed ensemble comediesone set in a cutthroat corporate milieu, the other in a shady criminal underworldreveal the absurdity and cynicism at the heart of modern urban life. Taiwan 1994 (A Confucian Confusion) 1996 (Mahjong) Colour 1.85:1 Mandarin, Taiwanese Spine #1275 A Confucian Confusion Edward Yang's first foray into comedy may have been a surprising stylistic departure, but in its richly novelistic vision of urban discontent, it is quintessential Yang. This relationship roundelay centres on a coterie of young Taipei professionals whose paths converge at an entertainment company where the boundaries between art and commerce, love and business, have become hopelessly blurred. Evoking the chaos of a city infiltrated by Western chains, logos, and attitudes, A Confucian Confusion is an incisive reflection on the role of traditional values in a materialistic, amoral society. Mahjong Edward Yang's follow-up to A Confucian Confusion is another dizzying comedy set in a globalized Taipei, but with a darker, more caustic edge. Amid a rapidly changing cityscape, the lives of a disparate group of swindlers, hustlers, gangsters, and expats collide, with a naive French teenager (Virginie Ledoyen) and a sensitive young local (Lawrence Ko) who tries to protect her caught dangerously in the middle. By turns brutal, shocking, tender, and bitingly funny, Mahjong is a dazzling vision of a multicultural Taipei where nearly every relationship has a price and newfound prosperity comes at the expense of the human soul. TWO-BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES New 4K digital restorations, with 5.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks Excerpts of director Edward Yang speaking after a 1994 screening of A Confucian Confusion New interview with editor Chen Po-wen New conversation between Chinese-cultural-studies scholar Michael Berry and film critic Justin Chang Performance of Yang's 1992 play Likely Consequence PLUS: An essay by film programmer and critic Dennis Lim and a 1994 director's note on A Confucian Confusion New cover by Tori Huynh
Directed by John Woo, "Red Cliff" charts the remarkable events leading up to the most famous battle in Chinese history
After several years spent working almost exclusively in the direct-to-video world of V-cinema in Japan, Takashi Miike announced himself as a world-class filmmaking talent with this trio of thematically-connected, character-centric crime stories about violence, the underworld of Japanese society, families both real and surrogate, and the possibly hopeless task of finding one's place in the world. His first films made specifically for theatrical release, and his first for a major studio, the Black Society Trilogy was the beginning of Miike's mature career as a filmmaker and they remain among the prolific director's finest works. Set in the bustling Kabuki-cho nightlife neighborhood of Tokyo, Shinjuku Triad Society follows a mixed-race cop (Kippei Shiina, Outrage) struggling with private issues while hunting a psychotic criminal (Tomorowo Taguchi, Tetsuo the Iron Man) who traffics in children's organs. Rainy Dog, shot entirely in Taiwan, is about an exiled yakuza (Dead or Alive's Show Aikawa) who finds himself saddled with a son he never knew he had and a price on his head after the Chinese gang he works for decides to turn on him. Ley Lines moves from the countryside to the city and back, as three Japanese youths of Chinese descent (including The Raid 2's Kazuki Kitamura) seek their fortune in Tokyo, only to run afoul of a violent gang boss (Naoto Takenaka, The Happiness of the Katakuris). Three of the most dramatically moving films created by the director, the Black Society Trilogy offers clear proof that Miike's frequent pigeonholing as a specialist in bloody spectacle is only one aspect of his filmmaking career, and taken as a whole, the films are among the finest works ever to deal with the way violence and brutality can unexpectedly destroy even the most innocent of lives. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS: High Definition digital transfers of all three films Original uncompressed stereo audio Optional English subtitles for all three films New interview with director Takashi Miike New interview with actor Show Aikawa (Rainy Dog, Ley Lines) New audio commentaries for all three films by Miike biographer Tom Mes Original theatrical trailers for all three films Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Chris Malbon FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector s booklet featuring new writing on the films
A top notch tale of revenge augmented by carefully choreographed Kung Fu action!
Directed by John Woo, "Red Cliff" charts the remarkable events leading up to the most famous battle in Chinese history
Beginning with an explosive, six-minute montage of sex, drugs and violence, and ending with a phallus-headed battle robot taking flight, Takashi Miike's unforgettable Dead or Alive Trilogy features many of the director's most outrageous moments set alongside some of his most dramatically moving scenes. Made between 1999 and 2002, the Dead or Alive films cemented Miike's reputation overseas as one of the most provocative enfants terrible of Japanese cinema, yet also one of its most talented and innovative filmmakers. In Dead or Alive, tough gangster Ryuichi (Riki Takeuchi) and his ethnically Chinese gang make a play to take over the drug trade in Tokyo's Shinjuku district by massacring the competition. But he meets his match in detective Jojima (Show Aikawa), who will do everything to stop them. Dead or Alive 2: Birds casts Aikawa and Takeuchi together again, but as new characters, a pair of rival yakuza assassins who turn out to be childhood friends; after a botched hit, they flee together to the island where they grew up, and decide to devote their deadly skills to a more humanitarian cause. And in Dead or Alive: Final, Takeuchi and Aikawa are catapulted into a future Yokohama ruled by multilingual gangs and cyborg soldiers, where they once again butt heads in the action-packed and cyberpunk-tinged finale to the trilogy. Each of them unique in theme and tone, the Dead or Alive films showcase Miike at the peak of his strengths, creating three very distinct movies connected only by their two popular main actors, each film a separate yet superb example of crime drama, character study, and action filmmaking. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS: High Definition digital transfers of all three films Original uncompressed stereo audio Optional English subtitles for all three films New interview with actor Riki Takeuchi New interview with actor Sho Aikawa New interview with producer and screenwriter Toshiki Kimura New audio commentary for Dead or Alive by Miike biographer Tom Mes Archive interviews with cast and crew Archive making-of featurettes for DOA2: Birds and DOA: Final Original theatrical trailers for all three films Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Orlando Arocena
It is never too late to fall in love for the first time. Writer-director Alice Wu's debut film is a heartwarming and heartbreaking romantic comedy about family tradition and changing times. Michelle Krusiec gives an outstanding performance as Wilhelmina a doctor in a Manhattan hospital who returns to Flushing's Chinatown every Friday night to participate in her extended family's weekly dance mixer. While her mother (Joan Chen) and the other women try to set her up with elig
The latest film by visionary director Tsai Ming-liang (Goodbye Dragon Inn) links together a series of sumptuously composed, tableau-like scenes, often without words. Stray Dogs tells the deeply affecting story of a father and his two young sons barely surviving on the margins of Taipei society. Can they fix their broken family? Extras: Journey to the West + interview with Tsai Ming-Liang
One of world cinema's most dynamic and highly regarded auteurs, Hou Hsiao-hsien has influenced entire generations of filmmakers and was once dubbed one of the three directors most crucial to the future of cinema. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present three films from early in his career, Cute Girl, The Green, Green Grass of Home and The Boys from Fengkuei, all making their worldwide debut on Blu-ray. Cute Girl (1980) A young bride-to-be falls for a laid-back land surveyor whilst visiting her family in the countryside. Conceived as a commercial vehicle for popular Hong Kong singer Kenny Bee, this romantic comedy was Hou Hsiao-hsien's debut feature. The Green, Green Grass of Home (1982) A substitute teacher (again played by Kenny Bee) moves to a remote village, where he falls in love with another teacher at the local school. The Boys from Fengkuei (1983) Three young men leave their fishing village for the city to look for work, where they face some harsh realities about growing up. The film which established Hou Hsiao-hsien as a leading figure of the Taiwanese New Wave, The Boys from Fengkuei was rapturously received in Europe and is often considered the director's first mature masterwork. Features: Limited Edition O-card [2000 copies First Print Run Only] In a 1988 worldwide critics' poll, Multi Award Winning Chinese Director HOU HSIAO-HSIEN was championed as one of the three directors most crucial to the future of cinema The Boys From Fengkuei Won the Golden Montgolfiere Award at the 1984 Nantes Three Continents Festival The Green, Green Grass Of Home Won the Golden Horse Award for Best Child Star (Pin-chun Chou) at the 1982 Golden Horse Film Festival Available for the first time in the UK and for the first time on Blu-ray anywhere in the world
The work of the Canadian circus troupe Cirque Du Soleil, Dralion is a show which has toured worldwide. It features elements of Chinese circus tradition interspersed with the troupe's own pan-cultural sense of stage spectacle. It's a combination of music, dance, clowning and acrobatics lavishly bathed in dry ice, strobe lights and a colourful array of oriental finery, elaborate costumes and props. Here you'l find Chinese women finding the strength from somewhere in their tiny bodies to balance by their hands atop 10-foot poles which are wheeled around gracefully; and young boys tumbling rapidly through revolving golden hoops; and bronzed dancers swinging through the air in balletic arcs from lengths of blue ribbon. What one could do without, though, is the She-Goddess' New Age babble throughout the proceedings, as well as the soundtrack, which is a queasy fusion of world music marinated in bass. There's also an over-indulgence of costume and choreography, presumably the work of the "avant garde" Cirque Du Soleil, though much here is distinctly apres-garde, reminding the viewer irresistibly of the musical extravaganza that was the daily centrepiece of the ill-fated Millennium Dome. All of this at times smothers and distracts from the impressive physical feats of the Chinese performers. Still, for the three million people who have witnessed this show worldwide this will certainly provide a worthy memento.On the DVD: a number of extra features include a featurette about the five-month deadline the troupe had to meet in putting together the show, splendid for those who thrill to the spectacle of tents being erected and dancers being winched carefully into the rafters of giant hangars. There's also a facility for viewing the performances from different angles. The show is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio, and is generally pristine in both colour and definition. --David Stubbs
Action-packed thriller produced by Golden Harvest Eureka Entertainment to release THE DOUBLE CROSSERS, the action-packed thriller produced by Golden Harvest, starring South Korean actor and martial artist Shin Il-ryong. Presented on Blu-ray in its worldwide debut from a brand new 2K restoration. Available from 22 July 2024 as part of the Eureka Classics range, the first print run of 2000 copies only will feature an O-card slipcase and collector's booklet. From the director of The Skyhawk, Broken Oath and King Boxer, Jeong Chang-hwa's The Double Crossers is an action-packed revenge story produced by Golden Harvest, starring South Korean actor and martial artist Shin Il-ryong (The Dragon Lives Again) and featuring the legendary Sammo Hung (The Magnificent Butcher). Following his late father's murder, police officer Detective Lung (Shin) discovers that both of his parents were involved in a smuggling ring - and that his father was killed by its leader, a violent criminal now living in Hong Kong under the name Wang (Chao Hsiung, The One-Armed Swordsman). Determined to avenge his father's death, Lung resigns from the police force to take matters into his own hands. Teaming up with a smuggler who was once a close friend and partner-in-crime to his parents, Chang (Chen Sing, The Chinese Boxer), Lung heads for Hong Kong and sets about drawing Wang into a trap. Following in the footsteps of Golden Harvest's earlier Bruce Lee vehicles, The Double Crossers was made in the years following Lee's death, when the company was in search of a new generation of martial arts stars. Eureka Classics is proud to present the film on Blu-ray in its worldwide debut from a brand new 2K restoration. SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES: Limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling [First print run of 2000 copies only] | 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray of the original Hong Kong theatrical cut from a brand new 2K restoration | 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray of the original English language export cut from a brand new 2K restoration | Original Mandarin and optional classic English dub (Hong Kong theatrical cut) | Classic English dub (Export version) | Optional English subtitles, newly translated for this release | Brand new audio commentary on the Hong Kong theatrical version by East Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) | Brand new audio commentary on the export version by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema | Reversible sleeve featuring original poster artwork | Trailer | PLUS: A limited edition collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by James Oliver [First print run of 2000 copies only] KEY SELLING POINTS Directed by Jeong Chang-hwa (The Skyhawk, Broken Oath and King Boxer) | Stars South Korean martial artist Shin Il-ryong (The Dragon Lives Again) and the legendary Sammo Hung (The Magnificent Butcher) | Worldwide debut Blu-ray from a brand new 2K restoration | The first print run of 2000 copies only will feature an O-card slipcase and collector's booklet
9th century China.¨10-year-old general's daughter Nie Yinniang is abducted by a nun who initiates her into the martial arts, transforming her into an exceptional assassin charged with eliminating cruel and corrupt local governors. One day, having failed in a task, she is sent back by her mistress to the land of her birth, with orders to kill the man to whom she was promised - a cousin who now leads the largest military region in North China. After 13 years of exile, the young woman must confront her parents, her memories and her long-repressed feelings. A slave to the orders of her mistress, Nie Yinniang must choose: sacrifice the man she loves or break forever with the sacred way of the righteous assassins.
Since bursting onto the martial arts film scene in 1973 Jackie Chan has become one of the world's most popular stars. His movies - which he acts in performs his own stunts for and often directs - have earned millions at the box office. In Fearless Hyena he plays a young man whose grandfather and teacher Master Chen escapes from the tyrannical Ching Dynasty and come to live in his village. Although Jackie wants to learn martial arts more than anything his grandfather won't permit this out of fear that the villainous Ching rulers will come after him. After seeing his grandfather murdered Jackie promises to get revenge. So he enlists the aid of Master Chen who teaches the young student kung fu. Soon the pupil has learned enough to make him invincible --even against the infamous death blows. Now Jackie sets out to avenge his grandfather's death.
Beginning with an explosive, six-minute montage of sex, drugs and violence, and ending with a phallus-headed battle robot taking flight, Takashi Miike's unforgettable Dead or Alive Trilogy features many of the director's most outrageous moments set alongside some of his most dramatically moving scenes. Made between 1999 and 2002, the Dead or Alive films cemented Miike's reputation overseas as one of the most provocative enfants terrible of Japanese cinema, yet also one of its most talented and innovative filmmakers. In Dead or Alive, tough gangster Ryuichi (Riki Takeuchi) and his ethnically Chinese gang make a play to take over the drug trade in Tokyo's Shinjuku district by massacring the competition. But he meets his match in detective Jojima (Show Aikawa), who will do everything to stop them. Dead or Alive 2: Birds casts Aikawa and Takeuchi together again, but as new characters, a pair of rival yakuza assassins who turn out to be childhood friends; after a botched hit, they flee together to the island where they grew up, and decide to devote their deadly skills to a more humanitarian cause. And in Dead or Alive: Final, Takeuchi and Aikawa are catapulted into a future Yokohama ruled by multilingual gangs and cyborg soldiers, where they once again butt heads in the action-packed and cyberpunk-tinged finale to the trilogy. Each of them unique in theme and tone, the Dead or Alive films showcase Miike at the peak of his strengths, creating three very distinct movies connected only by their two popular main actors, each film a separate yet superb example of crime drama, character study, and action filmmaking. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS: High Definition digital transfers of all three films Original stereo audio Optional English subtitles for all three films New interview with actor Riki Takeuchi New interview with actor Sho Aikawa New interview with producer and screenwriter Toshiki Kimura New audio commentary for Dead or Alive by Miike biographer Tom Mes Archive interviews with cast and crew Archive making-of featurettes for DOA2: Birds and DOA: Final Original theatrical trailers for all three films Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Orlando Arocena FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the films by Kat Ellinger
9th century China.¨10-year-old general's daughter Nie Yinniang is abducted by a nun who initiates her into the martial arts, transforming her into an exceptional assassin charged with eliminating cruel and corrupt local governors. One day, having failed in a task, she is sent back by her mistress to the land of her birth, with orders to kill the man to whom she was promised - a cousin who now leads the largest military region in North China. After 13 years of exile, the young woman must confront her parents, her memories and her long-repressed feelings. A slave to the orders of her mistress, Nie Yinniang must choose: sacrifice the man she loves or break forever with the sacred way of the righteous assassins.
Described as one of the best martial arts films of the last 30 years (Blood Brothers). Brotherhood of Blades tells an epic tale of power struggles, betrayal and conspiracies during the final years of the Ming Dynasty. When three elite Assassins are tasked by the Emperor to eliminate a powerful enemy and his loyal followers, they find themselves pulled into in a treacherous conspiracy which can only lead to a bloody battle for the Empire.
Released in the UK for the first time ever! A classic story of good versus evil Iron Fisted Monk is a compelling tale of the battle against the Manchus and the monks of the Shaolin Temple. The story escalates to an incredible 20-minute finale where Sammo and Chen Sing take on the full force of the Manchus. Fully restored for the first time ever and featuring an exclusive Hong Kong legends interview with director and star Sammo Hung this classic of Hong Kong cinema is a perfect t
In what many enthusiasts consider to be 'the ultimate martial arts movie' Bruce plays the fictional character of Chen Jun a student of legendary real-life martial artist Fok Yun Gap. In an epic tale of national rivalries Lee is a true force of nature as he battles against Japanese Imperialist forces determined to subjugate his people. In the most electrifying performance of his career Bruce Lee demonstrates complete mastery of his art in scene after scene of the most realistic and
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