The Eureka! Entertainment Blu-ray Thread

[FlipOtaku]

Eureka and 88 are gonna kill my wallet next year

[AslanBey]

6 hours 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.

 

5 hours ago, KUNG FU BOB said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

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!

@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.

Thank you both very very much for your honest thoughts. This is what makes this forum special with real fanopinions. 

I get your points and i think i wont grab this one. For 10£ it wouldnt be wrong but the movie really doesnt attract me neither with the trailer nor with what you said. I am not an enemy of flying or shooting with invisible powers but in this case it looks way too out of my genre. An average amount of martial arts from the other known Tsui Hark films would compensate it but it sounds like this is not the case. 

[AslanBey]

2 hours ago, FlipOtaku said:

Eureka and 88 are gonna kill my wallet next year

Same for me as a student...😭

But the good thing is most releases other than jackie chan or jet li movies are first time watches for me

[Super Ninja]

7 hours ago, KUNG FU BOB said:

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)

I tend to abandon objectivity if the movie hits the right spot, and A Hero Never Dies hits so hard I've become a fan for life. It's far from a perfect movie, but it's wickedly cool, devastatingly emotional, mercilesly hard hitting, OTT slice of heroic bloodshed with larger than life characters. It's almost like a compilation of close to everything that made me fell in love with EA cinema in the first place. Ridicilous coin fight at the bar, pissing on palm trees, Japanese song Sukiyaki playing in the background.. I love every second of that movie. 

[Drunken Monk]

Another day, another tease from Eureka…

[nahnahnah]

This is from Lady Whirlwind.

[saltysam]

Angela Mao box set please Eureka

[Irongod2112]

47 minutes ago, saltysam said:

Angela Mao box set please Eureka

Not all of Angela's films have been restored yet so not necessarily a box set of just her films.

[Drunken Monk]

29 minutes ago, Irongod2112 said:

Not all of Angela's films have been restored yet so not necessarily a box set of just her films.

Hmm…so a box set? Just not an Angela Mao box set? I wonder what the connection between the films will be.

[ZenkaigerBat]

38 minutes ago, Irongod2112 said:

Not all of Angela's films have been restored yet so not necessarily a box set of just her films.

That would be nice if Hapkido got a release?

[Drunksnake]

2 hours ago, Irongod2112 said:

Not all of Angela's films have been restored yet so not necessarily a box set of just her films.

Huang Feng set?

[saltysam]

When Taekwondo Strikes,Hapkido,The Skyhawk & Lady Whirlwind would make for a nice set.

[KUNG FU BOB]

11 hours ago, Super Ninja said:

I tend to abandon objectivity if the movie hits the right spot, and A Hero Never Dies hits so hard I've become a fan for life. It's far from a perfect movie, but it's wickedly cool, devastatingly emotional, mercilesly hard hitting, OTT slice of heroic bloodshed with larger than life characters. It's almost like a compilation of close to everything that made me fell in love with EA cinema in the first place. Ridicilous coin fight at the bar, pissing on palm trees, Japanese song Sukiyaki playing in the background.. I love every second of that movie. 

Geez, you make me want to give it another try.  Thanks for your reply @Super Ninja. If it gets released on Blu by one of these kickass companies I'll pick it up. If I don't like it I can always sell it.

 

52 minutes ago, saltysam said:

When Taekwondo Strikes,Hapkido,The Skyhawk & Lady Whirlwind would make for a nice set.

Wha wha what?! @saltysam, no mention of my fave of hers- BROKEN OATH?  Her and Bruce Leung tear up the screen in that one!

[WaverBoy]

8 minutes ago, KUNG FU BOB said:

Wha wha what?! @saltysam, no mention of my fave of hers- BROKEN OATH?  Her and Bruce Leung tear up the screen in that one!

I regret to say I’ve never seen a single Angela Mao picture. 😳

[DrNgor]

1 minute ago, WaverBoy said:

I regret to say I’ve never seen a single Angela Mao picture. 😳

What the HECK, man? 

If you have no moral qualms, there are a number of them available to watch on Youtube.

[KUNG FU BOB]

7 minutes ago, WaverBoy said:

I regret to say I’ve never seen a single Angela Mao picture. 😳

Here you go brother- now you've seen a picture of her. L-R @Karlos, Angela Mao-Ying, and some big bastard that likes to scribble on paper. This photo was taken in 2018 at one of her restaurants in New York City.

@WaverBoy have you seen ENTER THE DRAGON? She plays Bruce Lee's sister in that.

She's really fantastic. Not only is she a good actress, but she truly sells the power behind her strikes and looks fully capable of easily demolishing multiple attackers with her kung fu skills. There's a reason they call her "Lady Whirlwind"! On top of her being fantastic to watch in her films, she's also a very intelligent, outspoken, and super sweet lady.

[De Ming Li]

8 hours ago, Drunksnake said:

Huang Feng set?

Just a tad too obscure I would think

[Asmo]

2 minutes ago, De Ming Li said:

Just a tad too obscure I would think

Marketing it for the director himself? I'd think so, but there are ways it could be packaged (I'd hope).

[WaverBoy]

7 hours ago, KUNG FU BOB said:

Here you go brother- now you've seen a picture of her. L-R @Karlos, Angela Mao-Ying, and some big bastard that likes to scribble on paper. This photo was taken in 2018 at one of her restaurants in New York City.

@WaverBoy have you seen ENTER THE DRAGON? She plays Bruce Lee's sister in that.

She's really fantastic. Not only is she a good actress, but she truly sells the power behind her strikes and looks fully capable of easily demolishing multiple attackers with her kung fu skills. There's a reason they call her "Lady Whirlwind"! On top of her being fantastic to watch in her films, she's also a very intelligent, outspoken, and super sweet lady.

Another great photo and reminiscence from you! Thank you for sharing! And, yes indeedy, I have seen Enter The Dragon, I forgot she was in that 😳

I’ve definitely heard great things about her, and can’t wait to check her out! (In a respectful way of course.)

Edited December 29, 2021 by WaverBoy

[FlipOtaku]

My dream release from eureka would be Beach of the War Gods 

[Asmo]

7 minutes ago, FlipOtaku said:

My dream release from eureka would be Beach of the War Gods 

I remember hearing great things about that film in the late 2000s, so I bought the Joy Sales Legendary Collection release when available. Outside of maybe a Japanese remaster it would have been the only release available to me at that time. Man... Was I not disappointed. That film is just action packed, wall to wall insanity. I should dig that DVD back out and give it a watch.

[FlipOtaku]

1 minute ago, Asmo said:

I remember hearing great things about that film in the late 2000s, so I bought the Joy Sales Legendary Collection release when available. Outside of maybe a Japanese remaster it would have been the only release available to me at that time. Man... Was I not disappointed. That film is just action packed, wall to wall insanity. I should dig that DVD back out and give it a watch.

It’s one of my favorite Jimmy Wang Yu movies! First half is sorta similar to seven samurai then it goes into straight mayhem. 

[Asmo]

8 minutes ago, FlipOtaku said:

It’s one of my favorite Jimmy Wang Yu movies! First half is sorta similar to seven samurai then it goes into straight mayhem. 

There's a definite Kurosawa influence in there, you're right. I think I will find it and watch it later. It's been too long since I've seen it.

[Django]

There's still a lot of lovely films to get the Eureka! treatment! For example, we only have one Lee Tso Nam film available on Blu-Ray!! 

Edit: Actually there's two I remembered now. Enter the Game of Death has a German release.

Edited December 29, 2021 by Django

[saltysam]

Beach Of The War Gods is brilliant.They can put Desperate Chase on there as a bonus feature