Member andi81 Posted February 10, 2013 Member Share Posted February 10, 2013 Vic Armstrong's no-brainer JOSHUA TREE starring Dolph Lundgren gets a Blu Ray release on Feb 26...finally in its original wide format aspect ratio and with lots of extras.... The film is far from being a classic, but it's definitely an amusing flick. http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Joshua-Tree-Blu-ray/57413/#Review Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Markgway Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Presumably the same uncensored director's cut with original ending as the Artisan DVD? Review makes no mention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member andi81 Posted February 10, 2013 Author Member Share Posted February 10, 2013 The altenate ending is part of the extras....the note "1 movie, 2 cuts" is probably not truthful... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jox Posted February 10, 2013 Member Share Posted February 10, 2013 Actually Markgway, this is not the version featured on the Artisan DVD (which is a longer cut included re-shoots) but the original version that's shorter with a "happy ending" coda... The alternate ending is featured separately in 4/3 with commentary (or without) None of the two released versions are Vic Armstrong's cut actually (and it's a shame he doesn't say it in the interviews or commentary). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member popsjnr Posted February 10, 2013 Member Share Posted February 10, 2013 Always thought it was a great movie, bit of a John Woo rip-off but far better than Hard Target Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member andi81 Posted February 10, 2013 Author Member Share Posted February 10, 2013 The warehouse-shootout is a shameless Hard Boiled-copycat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jox Posted February 10, 2013 Member Share Posted February 10, 2013 Actually I think the garage shoot-out (which was not like this in the shooting script) was made as a demand from producer Moshe Diamant who was simultaneously producing HARD TARGET with John Woo and said something like let's put a big gunfight like that in JOSHUA TREE"! The story Armstrong likes to tell is that when he apologized to John Woo for ripping him off, Woo replied to him "don't worry Vic, I've been stealing your ideas for years"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator KUNG FU BOB Posted February 10, 2013 Administrator Share Posted February 10, 2013 The story Armstrong likes to tell is that when he apologized to John Woo for ripping him off, Woo replied to him "don't worry Vic, I've been stealing your ideas for years"! Nice! I got Vic Armstrong's book for Christmas this year. The title is a mouthful- The True Adventures of the World's Greatest Stuntman: My Life As Indiana Jones, James Bond, Superman and Other Movie Heroes. I wonder if he'll speak at length about working with any of the Asian stars that came to the USA in the late 90's. I haven't seen JOSHUA TREE, but it sounds like it's worth checking out. Note: I just looked it up and it's also called ARMY OF ONE. I think I own it under that title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jox Posted February 10, 2013 Member Share Posted February 10, 2013 Yes JOSHUA TREE is the original title and it was released worldwide (mostly theatrically) as such except in the States where it was dumped to VHS and laserdisc a year later under ARMY OF ONE... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Markgway Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Actually Markgway, this is not the version featured on the Artisan DVD (which is a longer cut included re-shoots) but the original version that's shorter with a "happy ending" coda... The alternate ending is featured separately in 4/3 with commentary (or without) None of the two released versions are Vic Armstrong's cut actually (and it's a shame he doesn't say it in the interviews or commentary). No 'director's cut'? WTF!?! I already sold my DVD. I'm really starting to hate Shout Factory. That's their third fuck-up of a film I like in so many months. Is it uncensored at least? Also, what was reshot for the longer version, and why? And if the 'dir's cut' isn't in fact a 'dir's cut' then whose cut is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jox Posted February 11, 2013 Member Share Posted February 11, 2013 I agree as I discovered the longer in French theaters and find it much better. Both cuts are producer's cuts, Vic's would be neither be one or the other and he wasn't given on the post-production side of things plus he was busy on LAST ACTION HERO (a shame he doesn't expand on these aspects on the features). But it was decided there wasn't enough of a climax and action at the end and some of the story needed to be tied up. So they went back and shot the "money" bits where Santee leads them on and it follows up with bigger scale fighting (some of the best Dolph martial arts moves here, both realistic and cool) between him and Severance and Rudisill. Also some connecting shots of Dolph climbing back the cliff, and the ending where he gets hand-cuffed while kissing Rita. The video monitor playback bit seems to have been shot during principal photography but re-inserted for the new cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted February 11, 2013 Moderator Share Posted February 11, 2013 Presumably the same uncensored director's cut with original ending as the Artisan DVD? Actually Markgway, this is not the version featured on the Artisan DVD (which is a longer cut included re-shoots) but the original version that's shorter with a "happy ending" coda... it was decided there wasn't enough of a climax and action at the end and some of the story needed to be tied up. So they went back and shot the "money" bits where Santee leads them on and it follows up with bigger scale fighting (some of the best Dolph martial arts moves here, both realistic and cool) between him and Severance and Rudisill. Also some connecting shots of Dolph climbing back the cliff, and the ending where he gets hand-cuffed while kissing Rita. The video monitor playback bit seems to have been shot during principal photography but re-inserted for the new cut. So just to clarify, the new DVD being released now is going to only have the original version, but general opinion on here seems to be that the longer re-shot version is actually the better one, which is only available as the Artisan DVD under the title 'Army of One'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jox Posted February 11, 2013 Member Share Posted February 11, 2013 Yes. The longer version is also on the French DVD (widescreen) and VHS but it's dubbed only . Had to sync it with the Artisan disc to make a proper version with the English track and a custom edition... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Markgway Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 So what was the 'one disc, two cuts' business? I mean, is it that forking hard to do a simple branch job? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted February 12, 2013 Moderator Share Posted February 12, 2013 The longer version is also on the French DVD (widescreen) and VHS but it's dubbed only . Had to sync it with the Artisan disc to make a proper version with the English track and a custom edition... Is the custom edition you made available to trade as a DVD? I'd be willing to pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jox Posted February 12, 2013 Member Share Posted February 12, 2013 So what was the 'one disc, two cuts' business? I believe someone (who might not even be from Shout) mistakenly put this on the Blu-ray.com page too early on. One Armed Boxer, P.M, me or email me at dolph dot ultimate at gmail dot com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member wigsplitta Posted February 12, 2013 Member Share Posted February 12, 2013 Haven't seen this film for many years now, but it's bloody great. I am really looking forward to finally seeing it in WS. Plus, It's got one of my favourite lines of all time that me and a few mates used to yell at each other on a regular basis! (NSFW) http://picosong.com/nyHi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jox Posted February 13, 2013 Member Share Posted February 13, 2013 Here are widescreen clips from Shout Factory Reviews: http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/58798/joshua-tree/ http://www.dvdsnapshot.com/2013/02/joshua-tree-aka-army-of-one/ Interview clips on the way too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted February 13, 2013 Member Share Posted February 13, 2013 But it was decided there wasn't enough of a climax and action at the end and some of the story needed to be tied up. So they went back and shot the "money" bits where Santee leads them on and it follows up with bigger scale fighting (some of the best Dolph martial arts moves here, both realistic and cool) between him and Severance and Rudisill. Also some connecting shots of Dolph climbing back the cliff, and the ending where he gets hand-cuffed while kissing Rita. The video monitor playback bit seems to have been shot during principal photography but re-inserted for the new cut. I like Dolph but with the exception of 2 movies (The Punisher and Showdown in Little Tokyo), I find that most of his films just don't appeal to me, specifically because they lack any decent MA action. I've found them to be largely disappointing, so I bypass them and this is one has fallen into that category. Never seen it. I'm intrigued by the underlined statement. Is there MA in the US version? Is this really worth seeking out? Chime in, please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jox Posted February 13, 2013 Member Share Posted February 13, 2013 Dolph doesn't like to use martial arts on screen much because he's done it for real and he comes from kyokushin where you don't to it for fancy moves that look cool, you just knock the guy down. Watch this clip (it's not on the new Blu-ray release but as the alternate ending) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zENhOHDkr_Y Not martial arts but this film also features one of the better John Woo shout out rip offs (because the producer is the same as HARD TARGET shot the same year and he demanded to include this) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0AgssxIjpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted February 13, 2013 Member Share Posted February 13, 2013 Thanks for the clip, Jox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jox Posted February 13, 2013 Member Share Posted February 13, 2013 Here's the first clip from the 24 minutes interview featurette, "A Look Back at the Joshua Tree": Another clip is on the way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kingofkungfu2002 Posted February 14, 2013 Member Share Posted February 14, 2013 ahaDcLRRZnQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jox Posted February 23, 2013 Member Share Posted February 23, 2013 Review Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars Extras: 3 out of 5 stars Shout Factory has delivered an impressive Bluray release for this obscure film. Firstly it comes with a nice widescreen presentation and an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, which is a real improvement over last full screen DVD release from 1999. The colors are a little flat but the action looks nice. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track is impressive, especially with the non-stop action, fighting and explosions. The special features are worth checking out if you are a fan of the film. There is an audio commentary track with Director Vic Armstrong and Producer Andy Armstrong. It is a nice balanced track which covers a lot of ground for the production. “A Look Back at The Joshua Tree” is a newly product feature with cast and crew chatting some fun behind-the-scene stories. Lastly there is an alternate ending included and a trailer rounding out the extras. http://www.mediamikes.com/2013/02/blu-ray-review-joshua-tree/? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jox Posted February 24, 2013 Member Share Posted February 24, 2013 Here's a new clip from the special features Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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