"Actor: Yu Chen Chang"

• Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon | DVD | (18/06/2001) from £5.22   |  Saving you £16.03 (404.80%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Director Ang Lee’s return to Chinese cinema is an action packed and critically acclaimed epic tale of ancient China.

• Island On Fire | DVD | (22/05/2000) from £8.97   |  Saving you £-2.98 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Island on Fire is, as the trailer says, "five films in one!". Despite the packaging headlining Jackie Chan this violent modern-day prison drama is an ensemble piece with Chan, a pool-player in prison for accidentally stabbing a man to death, on screen for no more than a quarter of the 92 minutes. Anyone buying this as a Chan movie may be seriously disappointed, for apart from the brevity of his role there is no trademark Chan humour. Also in the brutal and corrupt prison is Andy Lau, an undercover cop searching for the murderer of his professor, and Sammo Hung offering comedy and pathos as an inmate who keeps escaping to visit his son. There are many more characters, together with one subplot involving a mouse which anticipates The Green Mile (1999) and another concerning an assassination conspiracy which parallels Nikita, also released in 1990. Island of Fire is an uneven, always entertaining, sometimes moving film which packs an incredible amount of incident into its running time. However, it should be noted that it is an imitation of, rather than an official entry in, Ringo Lam's Fire series, which includes Prison on Fire (1987) and City on Fire (1987). On the DVD: The anamorphically enhanced 1.77-1 picture is a very good transfer of a rather grainy print, though given the many darkly lit scenes, this grain is probably part of the original film. The mono sound is fine. The film can be watched with the original Mandarin soundtrack and English subtitles, or with a much better than average English dub. The packaging claims there are over 60 minutes of extras. In fact there are nine deleted/extended scenes of variable quality, the best of which give more emotional depth to Sammo Hung's character, together with video interviews with Sammo Hung, Jimmy Wong Yu and director Chu Yen Ping. These total around 20 minutes and are interesting but not specific to the film. Also included is the theatrical trailer, Hong Kong Legends' own "music promo" trailer and eight trailers for further releases. There is also a six-page "animated" biography of Jackie Chan. --Gary S Dalkin

• Island Of Fire | DVD | (02/10/2000) from £10.25   |  Saving you £11.00 (122.36%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Island on Fire is, as the trailer says, "five films in one!". Despite the packaging headlining Jackie Chan this violent modern-day prison drama is an ensemble piece with Chan, a pool-player in prison for accidentally stabbing a man to death, on screen for no more than a quarter of the 92 minutes. Anyone buying this as a Chan movie may be seriously disappointed, for apart from the brevity of his role there is no trademark Chan humour. Also in the brutal and corrupt prison is Andy Lau, an undercover cop searching for the murderer of his professor, and Sammo Hung offering comedy and pathos as an inmate who keeps escaping to visit his son. There are many more characters, together with one subplot involving a mouse which anticipates The Green Mile (1999) and another concerning an assassination conspiracy which parallels Nikita, also released in 1990. Island of Fire is an uneven, always entertaining, sometimes moving film which packs an incredible amount of incident into its running time. However, it should be noted that it is an imitation of, rather than an official entry in, Ringo Lam's Fire series, which includes Prison on Fire (1987) and City on Fire (1987). On the DVD: The anamorphically enhanced 1.77-1 picture is a very good transfer of a rather grainy print, though given the many darkly lit scenes, this grain is probably part of the original film. The mono sound is fine. The film can be watched with the original Mandarin soundtrack and English subtitles, or with a much better than average English dub. The packaging claims there are over 60 minutes of extras. In fact there are nine deleted/extended scenes of variable quality, the best of which give more emotional depth to Sammo Hung's character, together with video interviews with Sammo Hung, Jimmy Wong Yu and director Chu Yen Ping. These total around 20 minutes and are interesting but not specific to the film. Also included is the theatrical trailer, Hong Kong Legends' own "music promo" trailer and eight trailers for further releases. There is also a six-page "animated" biography of Jackie Chan. --Gary S Dalkin

• Horse Boxing Killer | DVD | (03/05/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Fan favourite Sam 'Drunken Master' Seed is back in another great kung fu comedy. Watch and be amazed by the high energy antics as he trains his students in Drunk Swallow boxing to defeat the infamous Horse Boxing Killer.

• Fantasy Mission Force | DVD | (23/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  In the Japanese theatre of war during W.W.II the allies must strike back at the Japanese who have captured their top generals. A commando unit is assembled with the most notorious criminals fighters and soldiers and this dream team -- the fantasy mission force -- will crumble the Japanese force. Jackie Chan is among the recruits of this team.

• Snake And Crane Arts Of Shaolin | DVD | (17/09/2001) from £13.87   |  Saving you £-6.89 (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  Since bursting onto the martial arts film scene in 1973 Jackie Chan has become one of the world's most popular stars. His movies - in which he acts performs his own stunts for and often directs - have earned millions at the box office. In Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin he plays Hsu Yin Fung a young warrior falsely accused of killing the Shaolin Masters after they developed a new martial arts technique called Snake and Crane at Hua Mountain. After Hsu's fellow warriors ostracize him he tries to clear his name. To do this he receives aid from two women who are in love with him. After one of the brave ladies is killed and the other warriors realize that Hsu wasn't responsible for the murders they join him for a trip to the Shaolin Temple to find Master Tse Kung. And it's there that they find the real killer. In the film's thrilling climax Hsu having secretly mastered the deadly martial arts style of Snake and Crane faces the murderer one-on-one.

• The Killer Meteors | DVD | (23/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Jackie Chan portrays one of two men worldwide proficient with a special secret weapon earning him the name Killer Meteor. He is on a mission to find the thief of some palace treasures and in the process is hired by the Immortal Wa to kill Wa's wife as he believes she has poisoned him. However she is guarded by a small army which means the Meteor may have a bit of trouble.

• Shaolin Death Squad | DVD | (25/07/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  When a Manchu conspiracy to overthrow the Ming dynasty is thwarted by a group of Shaolin disciples and patriots a fierce battle to defend the life of the King ensues with deadly results.

• The Heirloom | DVD | (25/09/2006) from £26.98   |  Saving you £-6.99 (-35.00%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Sometimes inheritance is a curse. Twenty years ago an inexplicable mass suicide occurred in the millionaire Yang household. The entire clan hung themselves at the exact same hour place and height. Only one member survived. To this day the case remains unsolved. Twenty years later distant relative James inherits the Yang house moving in with his girlfriend Yo a dancer who aspires to study in the U.S. To celebrate the engagement they invite their friends Yi-Chen and Ah-Tseng to their new home and stay the night. As supernatural events begin to take place James and Yo discover the eccentricities of the house including a mysterious fourth floor. Delving deep into history James and Yo find out that the Yang fortune was built with the aid of dead babies fed on blood and refused the opportunity to reincarnate. Raising child ghosts may bring great fortune but at the same time great doom. From here on James and Yo unearth more secrets about the Yang family - and even about James himself - until they confront the evil dwelling on the fourth floor...

• Eagle Shadow Fist | DVD | (23/06/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Chan plays a famous actor of the Chinese Theatre who becomes a legendary resistance fighter against the Japanese. This was Jackie Chan's first martial arts film.

• The Dynamite Trio | DVD | (20/10/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Top Kung Fu stars Lung Fei and Mark 'Ghostface Killer' Long stars as masters of the Mantis kung fu style in this Kung Fu classic. The film caused near riots when released in the eighties in the West Indies and Africa due to the intense fighting styles.

• Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon -- Superbit | DVD | (14/10/2002) from £5.96   |  Saving you £7.03 (117.95%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is so many things: an historical epic on a grand scale, an Asian martial-arts flick with both great effects and fantastic fighting (choreographed by The Matrix's guru Yuen Wo Ping), a story of magic, revenge and power played with a posse of star-crossed lovers thrown in for good measure. Set during the Qing dynasty (the late 19th century), the film follows the fortunes of righteous warriors Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien (Asian superstars Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh, respectively) whose love for one another has lain too long unspoken. When Li Mu Bai's legendary sword Green Destiny is stolen by wilful aristocrat's daughter Jen (exquisite newcomer Zhang Ziyi), who has been trained in the way of the gangster by Li Mu Bai's arch-rival Jade Fox, the warriors must fight to recover the mystical blade. The plot takes us all across China, from dens of iniquity and sumptuous palaces to the stark plains of the Western desert. Characters chase each other up walls and across roof and treetops to breathtaking effect, and Tan Dun's haunting, Oscar-winning East-West inflected score. Directed by Taiwanese-born Ang Lee and co-written by his longtime collaborator American James Schamus, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon joins the ranks of the team's slate of high-quality, genre-spanning literary adaptations. Although it superficially seems like a return to Ang's Asian roots, there's a clear throughline connecting this with their earlier, Western films given the thematic focus on propriety and family honour (Sense and Sensibility), repressed emotions (The Ice Storm) and divided loyalties in a time of war (Ride with the Devil). Nonetheless, a film this good needs no prior acquaintance with the director's oeuvre; it stands on its own. The only people who might be dismissive of it are jaded chop-socky fans who will probably feel bored with all the romance. Everyone else will love it. --Leslie Felperin On the DVD: As might be expected this superb anamorphic widescreen version of the original 2.35:1 theatrical ratio presents Peter Pau's spellbinding cinematography in its full glory; the same goes for the Dolby 5.1 audio track that showcases Tan Dun's haunting score. Annoyingly, however, the default language option is the dubbed English soundtrack, which means you have to select the original Mandarin version before playing. The extra features are good but not exceptional, with an obligatory "making-of" documentary and commentary from Ang Lee and James Schamus being the best options: the director and producer/cowriter chat amiably and in some detail about their martial arts version of Sense and Sensibility. But it's the breathtaking delight of the seeing the movie in such quality that really counts, and this disc does not disappoint. --Mark Walker

• Snake And Crane Arts Of Shaolin | DVD | (19/05/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Since bursting onto the martial arts film scene in 1973 Jackie Chan has become one of the world's most popular stars. His movies - in which he acts performs his own stunts for and often directs - have earned millions at the box office. In Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin he plays Hsu Yin Fung a young warrior falsely accused of killing the Shaolin Masters after they developed a new martial arts technique called Snake and Crane at Hua Mountain. After Hsu's fellow warriors ostracize him he tries to clear his name. To do this he receives aid from two women who are in love with him. After one of the brave ladies is killed and the other warriors realize that Hsu wasn't responsible for the murders they join him for a trip to the Shaolin Temple to find Master Tse Kung. And it's there that they find the real killer. In the film's thrilling climax Hsu having secretly mastered the deadly martial arts style of Snake and Crane faces the murderer one-on-one.