Member AlbertV Posted December 14, 2010 Member Share Posted December 14, 2010 I just watched this Australian martial arts action film on Youtube. The film revolves around Jason Blade, a martial artist who is part of an order called The Panthers. When he and a fellow Panther who just happens to be his girlfriend and master's daughter investigate a deal gone bad in Hong Kong, the mob head back to Australia. When Jason's partner/girlfriend is killed by mob enforcer Baxter, Jason works for the police as an undercover agent and infiltrates himself in the mob. Despite this hokey plot, the fight scenes were quite enjoyable for an 80's Aussie action film. The director is Brian Trenchard-Smith, the man behind THE MAN FROM HONG KONG with Jimmy Wang Yu. The star of the film is Edward John Stazak, a martial artist who looks quite good on screen. Stazak would reprise the role of Jason Blade in the sequel, STRIKE OF THE PANTHER, before disappearing. Here's the link to the full film on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fp470oWeK4 Here's a clip of one of the fight scenes...don't forget, we're talking 1980's Aussie action...more similar to American MA films of that era. Start at 1:07 of the clip for the action to start. tnBybuZvZ6k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted December 14, 2010 Member Share Posted December 14, 2010 Hee hee hee! I'd watch that. Never been one to view movies on computer though. Still, pretty cool. Nice find, AV. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Mike Leeder Posted December 14, 2010 Member Share Posted December 14, 2010 Day of the Panther & Strike of the Panther are guilty pleasures of mine Brian Trenchard Smith at the helm, Eddie Stazek & Jim Richards as hero & villain and handling the fight choreography They're great fun, the second one features Jim Richard's character Baxter wreaking havoc once more, as he tries to take down our hero Jason Blade and all connected with him Was always surprised that Stazek never turned up in anything else..although there was talk of a third movie, and both Jeff Falcon & Zhung Zhor-ho (Wushu champion turned choregrapher) were approached about working on the film as villain and fight choreographer If you're a fan of Oz'ploitation then check out the great documentary Not Quite Hollywood which covers Australian cinema, before the censors axe, before the brazilian wax! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator KUNG FU BOB Posted December 14, 2010 Administrator Share Posted December 14, 2010 This looks like a Hell of a lot of fun! Albert, thanks for putting these films on my radar. And this quote from Big Mike... If you're a fan of Oz'ploitation then check out the great documentary Not Quite Hollywood which covers Australian cinema, before the censors axe, before the brazilian wax! ...Hillarious bro! Thanks for the BTS info too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted December 14, 2010 Author Member Share Posted December 14, 2010 I'm actually going to write my review of the film this week on the main page. Maybe that will attract some people...The way Stazak moves, reminds me of fellow Aussie Richard Norton. Would have been great if those two worked on a film together. "Ozploitation"...love that name Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Karlos Posted December 14, 2010 Moderator Share Posted December 14, 2010 The Panther movies are great fun, and a third would've been nice to see. Stazak was a likeable enough leading man, shame he didn't stick around and try to make a career for himself in films. Trenchard-Smith directed some real genre gems in the 70s and 80s - Stunt Rock, Death Cheaters, Turkey Shoot, Man from Hong Kong, Dead-End Drive-in and of course, the immortal BMX Bandits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member blue_skies Posted December 14, 2010 Member Share Posted December 14, 2010 [ If you're a fan of Oz'ploitation then check out the great documentary Not Quite Hollywood which covers Australian cinema, before the censors axe, before the brazilian wax! Fascinating doco even if like me you're not familiar with the genre. Saw this last summer and would watch some of those films if they come on TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted December 14, 2010 Member Share Posted December 14, 2010 Hey, Karlos, do you have these movies or have you just seen them before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted December 14, 2010 Member Share Posted December 14, 2010 I saw the first one, and it left me with no desire to watch part 2. The cinemasnob has some funny reviews for these movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Mike Leeder Posted December 15, 2010 Member Share Posted December 15, 2010 the 'Not Quite Hollywood' docu is great fun, from Barry Humphries talking about the Les Patterson movis and how confused he was by the way they were received, Dennis Hopper at his maddest being banned from Australia, the great Grant Page doing mad stunt work, the insanity of Turkey Shoot, the Mad Max movies Road Games, and much more including a lot of interesting discussion about Jimmy Wang yu & the making of The Man from Hong Kong I was suprised they didnt mention the Panther movies in the show Would love to know what happened to Eddie Stazek, i know Jim Richards continued in stunts for a long time Am also looking forward to the Machete Maidens documentary about making films in the Phillipines http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFMPELmwk7c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted December 16, 2010 Author Member Share Posted December 16, 2010 Okay, the review is up and the rating I gave it is based on the fact that we're talking 80's Aussie action, and that overall, I consider the film a "guilty pleasure". I definitely want to see STRIKE OF THE PANTHER http://www.kungfucinema.com/review-day-of-the-panther-1987-16707 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted December 16, 2010 Member Share Posted December 16, 2010 Good review, AV. Karlos is going to let me check out his copies of those. Looking forward to seeing them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted December 17, 2010 Author Member Share Posted December 17, 2010 HOLY ST!!!! My good friend from Holland Dennis Grondman commented and he found Edward John Stazak (Staszak). He is a performing musician!!! Check out this recent photo of his music group red dash black. They perform tango music. Edward is on the far left! Here's the website: http://www.altoproductions.com.au/performers_tango.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted December 17, 2010 Member Share Posted December 17, 2010 Aha! I take it he is now an accordion stylist. I understand they use a death touch technique called "I polka you in the eye". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Karlos Posted December 17, 2010 Moderator Share Posted December 17, 2010 "Available now for birthdays, weddings, Barmitzvahs, martial arts tournaments and all other social functions". Boy, they all look fed up!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ThunderScore Posted December 18, 2010 Member Share Posted December 18, 2010 I definitely want to see STRIKE OF THE PANTHER. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted December 19, 2010 Author Member Share Posted December 19, 2010 I love that they try to market it as a horror movie with that cover! LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Mike Leeder Posted December 19, 2010 Member Share Posted December 19, 2010 The sequel does up the ante somewhat withJason Blade taking on pimps, hoodlums, and an army of Ninjas wearing hockey masks as he chases after Jim Richards one more time there's some nice action beats and some mad moments of humour including Blade battling his way through a brothel and encountering a man in a chicken suit and someon dressed as public school boy asking to be beaten! Great fun and you can see them making progress with the action, introducing more weapons etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted December 19, 2010 Author Member Share Posted December 19, 2010 You mean this Big Mike? x0LQt-MoxTw Love the line when Jason sees the guy in the chicken suit..."You are sick!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Mike Leeder Posted December 19, 2010 Member Share Posted December 19, 2010 Thats the moment....there's a good sense of humour with both films when she searches through her room for something to use in the fight and ends up choosing between a blow up doll and a dominatrix's whip Still wish they'd done a third one.... Now just got to find a shedload of hi-rez images to do a retrospective piece on the films Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted December 19, 2010 Author Member Share Posted December 19, 2010 Eddie's kid has his own Youtube channel. he posted the clip and boasted about his father in it. http://www.youtube.com/user/DRstaszak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted December 19, 2010 Author Member Share Posted December 19, 2010 There were originally going to be 5 Panther films and a TV series, but the last 3 never came to fruition. Eddie Staszak focuses solely on music these days and no longer practices martial arts. He had a major setback healthwise, but is doing really well these days. I got in touch with his through his Youtube channel and praised Eddie's work in the film. He said his father saw the review and enjoyed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted August 19, 2012 Author Member Share Posted August 19, 2012 Jason Blade today...master accordionist Really like his playing DGU8_Vu0pW4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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