The Eureka! Entertainment Blu-ray Thread

[ShawAngela]

13 minutes ago, WaverBoy said:

Can KNOCKABOUT be next…???

And The Kid from Tibet, it's another Yuen Biao' s excellent and entertaining movie !

[WaverBoy]

2 minutes ago, ShawAngela said:

And The Kid from Tibet, it's another Yuen Biao' s excellent and entertaining movie !

I’ve heard of that but still haven’t seen it!

[WaverBoy]

6 minutes ago, nahnahnah said:

All of these upcoming Yuen Biao titles are great but a release of 'The Champions' would truly make 2022 a truly special year!

That one too! Haven’t seen it yet but it sure looks great judging from the trailer

[Drunksnake]

8 hours ago, Super Ninja said:

!!!

Now this is a bloody good Kung Fu movie. Had to find this after seeing Best Of Martial Arts Films documentary and have loved it since. The whole cast is great in this. Haven't seen it for a few years so this will be a great way to re visit.

[ZenkaigerBat]

The Champions needs a release with both soundtracks including from the Japanese verison that Yuen Biao's song Champions. It's such a feel good song if i was a soccer player but a work out theme fits too.  Knockabout would be very nice.

[KUNG FU BOB]

9 hours ago, Super Ninja said:

!!!

This is great news!

 

2 hours ago, nahnahnah said:

All of these upcoming Yuen Biao titles are great but a release of 'The Champions' would truly make 2022 a truly special year!

The first time I saw CHAMPIONS- and it was an especially elusive title at the time- I was thrilled with it. But strangely, when revisiting it a few years ago I found it to be much less exciting. It's still enjoyable, but it had lost some of its appeal for me. Would I buy a Blu-ray release? Um... well... sigh... yes.

 

2 hours ago, ShawAngela said:

And The Kid from Tibet, it's another Yuen Biao' s excellent and entertaining movie !

This is the only film ever directed by Yuen Biao, and it certainly seems like it was made by someone who was not a veteran at helming movies. I still like it, and it has some great action stuff, but it's all over the place with its story and characters, giving the impression the production was a bit rushed and unorganized. Because I find Biao so charming and eminently watchable it's still a lot of fun, but not exactly what I'd call a classic.

 

1 hour ago, Drunksnake said:

Now this is a bloody good Kung Fu movie. Had to find this after seeing Best Of Martial Arts Films documentary and have loved it since. The whole cast is great in this. Haven't seen it for a few years so this will be a great way to re visit.

DREADNAUGHT is one I love, yet it has a lot of problems. Yuen Biao's stuff, especially the "training" sequences are superb, the main villain is memorable, the teacher (Kwan Tak-Hing) is amazing in all his scenes, and there are some unforgettable set pieces like the black and white costume scene, but it all feels very disjointed and kind of thrown together. These elements each seem to have come from several really good, but totally unrelated films that were edited together Godfrey Ho style. As I said, I am a big fan and totally dig it anyway, but it really does feel disjointed plot-wise. Anyone else feel that way about it?

[Irongod2112]

9 hours ago, nahnahnah said:

All of these upcoming Yuen Biao titles are great but a release of 'The Champions' would truly make 2022 a truly special year!

Champions needs to be restored yet but rest assured I will pester the labels until one of them pick it up.

[Irongod2112]

7 hours ago, Drunksnake said:

Now this is a bloody good Kung Fu movie. Had to find this after seeing Best Of Martial Arts Films documentary and have loved it since. The whole cast is great in this. Haven't seen it for a few years so this will be a great way to re visit.

Same for me, saw Dreadnaught on that same documentary and it's become one of my all time favorites!!

I kept bothering both 88 Films and Eureka non stop to pick it up. Eureka probably licenced it just to shut me up! Lol

That end fight is just amazing and never gets old!! This will have an excellent Cantonese track and the classic English dub as well.

More Yuen Biao plus some very big surprises yet to come in 2022!

[andy338]

10 hours ago, KUNG FU BOB said:

DREADNAUGHT is one I love, yet it has a lot of problems. Yuen Biao's stuff, especially the "training" sequences are superb, the main villain is memorable, the teacher (Kwan Tak-Hing) is amazing in all his scenes, and there are some unforgettable set pieces like the black and white costume scene, but it all feels very disjointed and kind of thrown together. These elements each seem to have come from several really good, but totally unrelated films that were edited together Godfrey Ho style. As I said, I am a big fan and totally dig it anyway, but it really does feel disjointed plot-wise. Anyone else feel that way about it?

This pretty much sums up my thoughts on the movie too. I remember being a bit disappointed on my first viewing as i'd seen Yuen Biao in Knockabout and was expecting something similar. Revisiting it over the years however i'm able to appreciate it much more and i'll definitely be picking up this Eureka blu ray.

[Drunksnake]

16 hours ago, KUNG FU BOB said:

 

DREADNAUGHT is one I love, yet it has a lot of problems. Yuen Biao's stuff, especially the "training" sequences are superb, the main villain is memorable, the teacher (Kwan Tak-Hing) is amazing in all his scenes, and there are some unforgettable set pieces like the black and white costume scene, but it all feels very disjointed and kind of thrown together. These elements each seem to have come from several really good, but totally unrelated films that were edited together Godfrey Ho style. As I said, I am a big fan and totally dig it anyway, but it really does feel disjointed plot-wise. Anyone else feel that way about it?

 

It is a bit sloppy in terms of plot you are right, but I can easily overlook that for this movie because of its sheer entertainment value!

[Drunken Monk]

Another Hong Kong movie to be released by Eureka…

[AslanBey]

8 hours ago, Irongod2112 said:

Champions needs to be restored yet but rest assured I will pester the labels until one of them pick it up.

Please pester for Fongsaiyuk pleaseeee 😭

[nahnahnah]

56 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said:

Another Hong Kong movie to be released by Eureka…

This is for Johnnie To's 'Running Out of Time'. What are the odds that the sequel will be a part of this release?

Edited December 27, 2021 by nahnahnah

[Irongod2112]

1 hour ago, AslanBey said:

Please pester for Fongsaiyuk pleaseeee 😭

As of right now the film rights are not available unfortunately. I love both 1 & 2 so if they become available I will do my best to get them released.

[Irongod2112]

1 hour ago, nahnahnah said:

This is for Johnnie To's 'Running Out of Time'. What are the odds that the sequel will be a part of this release?

Pretty good.

[DiP]

2 hours ago, Drunken Monk said:

Another Hong Kong movie to be released by Eureka…

I knew this would end up with Eureka. The sequel could possibly be included indicating a box-set. Hopefully, we will see A Hero Never Dies, Breaking News, Election 1-2, Exiled, Eye in the Sky, and Sparrow. All of them have existing HD scans and haven't been released on bluray in the UK previously.

Edited December 27, 2021 by DiP

[andy338]

Will Dreadnaught be uncut? I seem to remember the HKL disc had a small cut for animal cruelty but I don't own it so can't say for sure.

[saltysam]

yes,a second or two. I hate animal cruelty so certainly wouldn't deter me from buying.

[andy338]

16 minutes ago, saltysam said:

yes,a second or two. I hate animal cruelty so certainly wouldn't deter me from buying.

Thanks, I thought it did. 

[Super Ninja]

6 hours ago, DiP said:

I knew this would end up with Eureka. The sequel could possibly be included indicating a box-set. Hopefully, we will see A Hero Never Dies, Breaking News, Election 1-2, Exiled, Eye in the Sky, and Sparrow. All of them have existing HD scans and haven't been released on bluray in the UK previously.

From your lips to God's ears @DiP, box-set or not, A Hero Never Dies Blu-ray would be a dream come true. Spectrum already released it so the UK release shouldn't be far away. 

[AslanBey]

I think about buying some salemovies from eureka. Can someone make a short review for "zu warriors of magic mountain"? I dont know the movie and The trailer doesnt attract me. But i saw that its from tsui hark and yuen biao and sammo are in it. I could purchase it just for tsui hark but k dont know if theres some martial arts in it. Can someone give an advice?

[Red Lion]

51 minutes ago, AslanBey said:

I think about buying some salemovies from eureka. Can someone make a short review for "zu warriors of magic mountain"? I dont know the movie and The trailer doesnt attract me. But i saw that its from tsui hark and yuen biao and sammo are in it. I could purchase it just for tsui hark but k dont know if theres some martial arts in it. Can someone give an advice?

Zu is good if you like 80s fantasy movies. There are some small segments of normal martial arts but most is fantasy style bolts from fingers and psychic explosions kind of thing. Think chinese ghost story but not as polished. Its an important film for its time as it was one of the most ambitious films trying to rival hollywood effects and some effects were done by hollywood effects people that had previously worked on star wars. I would say if you appreciate film history in any way its a must see but if you have no interest in that you may be disappointed as it shows its age. I still love the movie but can see why people dont appreciate it as much as it has been done better since.

[KUNG FU BOB]

8 hours ago, DiP said:

Hopefully, we will see A Hero Never Dies

 

1 hour ago, Super Ninja said:

From your lips to God's ears @DiP, box-set or not, A Hero Never Dies Blu-ray would be a dream come true. Spectrum already released it so the UK release shouldn't be far away. 

I certainly seem to be in the minority with this opinion, but I was less than impressed with A HERO NEVER DIES. When it first came out on DVD I bought it sight unseen as I was already a fan of director Johnny To's THE BIG HEAT (1988), THE HEROIC TRIO and THE BARE-FOOTED KID (both 1993), and more. Plus, star Lau Ching-Wan was fabulous in BIG BULLET, BLACK MASK (both 1996), LIFELINE, and FULL ALERT (both 1997), and I enjoyed Leon Lai in SHOGUN AND LITTLE KITCHEN, the live-action remake of THE WICKED CITY (both 1992), CITY HUNTER, and THE SWORD OF MANY LOVERS (both 1993). But despite looking very cool and featuring some hot action, the story was told in a confusing way, and not made any easier to decipher thanks to poor subtitles and crummy PQ on the disc. Then, it went out on a limb with a scene that almost made me laugh and get on board with its audacity, but instead was more confusing and simply came across as stupid... (If you haven't seen the film, don't click on the following as it contains a major spoiler)

Spoiler

Was Lau's character, slumped in a wheelchair, supposed to be dead, or just crippled during the big finale? It was hard to tell, especially with him wearing the sunglasses. It suddenly felt like John Woo does WEEKEND AT BERNIES!

It's been nearly a quarter century since I watched it, and I haven't been tempted in the least to revisit it. But if it came out on Blu, I just might.

 

1 hour ago, AslanBey said:

I think about buying some salemovies from eureka. Can someone make a short review for "zu warriors of magic mountain"? I dont know the movie and The trailer doesnt attract me. But i saw that its from tsui hark and yuen biao and sammo are in it. I could purchase it just for tsui hark but k dont know if theres some martial arts in it. Can someone give an advice?

 

15 minutes ago, Red Lion said:

Zu is good if you like 80s fantasy movies. There are some small segments of normal martial arts but most is fantasy style bolts from fingers and psychic explosions kind of thing. Think chinese ghost story but not as polished. Its an important film for its time as it was one of the most ambitious films trying to rival hollywood effects and some effects were done by hollywood effects people that had previously worked on star wars. I would say if you appreciate film history in any way its a must see but if you have no interest in that you may be disappointed as it shows its age. I still love the movie but can see why people dont appreciate it as much as it has been done better since.

@AslanBey I think @Red Lion gave a great answer, but I'll add my two cents as well.

ZU was one of those films that I'd seen clips of in THE DEADLIEST ART documentary, and the clips looked like they were from two different films. I bought it on VHS because I had already become a huge fan of Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, and director Tsui Hark. But other than a few scenes of those two actors I found most of the film a slog to get through. The ideas and visuals were imaginative, but somehow weren't presented in an engaging manner. My taste in films runs the gamut from exploitation schlock, silent classics, popcorn blockbusters, to little art films. I'm pretty open-minded to cinema in general (though some may debate this claim after my critique of DREADNAUGHT and A HEROES NEVER DIES), but this film was very hard for me to finish. The entire climax felt like a chore to endure instead of entertainment. Years later, after having become much more immersed in Hong Kong fantasy films, having read about ZU's production, and knowing what to expect, I revisited it. I thought I'd appreciate it more the second time around, and I did... ever-so-slightly. I still didn't like it other than a few scenes.

When Eureka released it on Blu-ray I was tempted, but only because of my interest in the BTS stuff and extras included. Yes, it's an "important film" in Hong Kong cinema's evolution... however this still didn't mean that I wanted to see it again.  Nah, the release wasn't compelling enough for me to spend $30 some dollars to import it. Then when the Limited Edition sold out and the price lowered, I again considered getting it (I don't care about that slipcover or poster, but was disappointed I'd miss out on the booklet), but it was still more than I wanted to pay for that movie. This current sale though... $13 with free shipping? Yup, that was what it took for me to finally pull the trigger. Having received some cash for Christmas/birthday I figured I'd take advantage of the sale to grab any other Eureka titles I was missing... but ZU was the only one left that I needed!

@AslanBey you should now be armed with the info you need to make your decision. If you do decide to purchase ZU, I hope you enjoy it much more than I did.

[nahnahnah]

11 hours ago, Irongod2112 said:

Pretty good.

What are the odds of the Hui Brothers films getting restorations/home video releases? It's borderline criminal that films so highly respected in Hong Kong (especially The Private Eyes) have no proper blu-ray releases readily available, making it harder for people to be exposed to HK's answer to Jerry Lewis. I believe Kam & Romson put out a boxset in HK almost 10 years ago but that's been OOP for a while now. Releasing a boxset with fresh restorations, alongside Wai Ka-fai's Fantasia (which is a remake/love-letter to The Private Eyes) as an added bonus, would genuinely make my year.

[Asmo]

21 hours ago, Irongod2112 said:

Same for me, saw Dreadnaught on that same documentary and it's become one of my all time favorites!!

I kept bothering both 88 Films and Eureka non stop to pick it up. Eureka probably licenced it just to shut me up! Lol

That end fight is just amazing and never gets old!! This will have an excellent Cantonese track and the classic English dub as well.

More Yuen Biao plus some very big surprises yet to come in 2022!

Music to my (and I suspect near everyone else's) ears!