Broken Path (2007) - From the stunt team behind Drive and Special Forces

[Youal]

I'm glad to see Alpha stunts return with a new project. Drive with Mark Dacascos totally kick ass so I'm looking forward to seeing how Broken Path will turn out. Here's the info:

BROKEN PATH

“ALPHA STUNTS ARE BACK AND WITH AN ALMIGHTY SOCK TO THE FACE!”

The actionmeisters behind genre hits such as Drive, Special Forces, Power Rangers and Wicked Game/Extreme Heist return with an all new action film that will leave many a fight fan happy with its huge number of fights. Koichi Sakamoto (one of the driving forces behind Alpha Stunts) directs and re-teams with his Wicked Game star, Johnny Young Bosch, for a full on martial arts survival tale that shows the Alpha team at the top of their game. If you like your martial arts tough and full-on, then Broken Path is a definite recommendation. The whole team, including stars Bosch and Southworth, step up the game here, delivering a tale of survival that keeps up its frenetic charge right up to the closing credits. Short, sharp and to the point, Broken Path is excellent entertainment from start to finish. Here’s hoping it gains a release date soon. - Andrew skeates “Impact Magazine” U.k.

Synopsis:

On an isolated ranch in the desert, one man must protect his wife from a secret past that he is now forced to confront. With the sun towering in the sky overhead, the ranch sits beneath the vast blue, isolated amidst the arid terrain, Though life is certainly evident as a house warming party ensues. Still under renovation, scaffolding and tools are strewn across the ranch, while benches and tables and are set up for the food and beverages. The neighbors chat amongst themselves as the hosts - Jake and Lisa - hustle about to keep them entertained. As the evening creeps over the scene, the crowd disperses, and Maddy - the couple's daughter - prepares to leave for her first summer camp. By nightfall, they find themselves alone, the guests gone, on Maddy her way on the road, and the ranch left once again in the quiet. As Jack and Lisa prepare themselves for a summer of settling and renovating, they soon find themselves swept up into a storm of confusion and terror, as a group of ruthless, masked strangers descend upon their home. With the vicious group attacking relentlessly, Lisa watches as her husband reveals an impressive ability to defend and counteract the attack. As they are chased within their own home, struggling to survive, Lisa begins to question her husband, his past, his knowledge and his familiarity with one of their assailants who claims he wants to help them. With their hopeful new life quickly crumbling before their very eyes, the two must not only fight to survive, but also fight to save their own relationship and trust in one another in a whirlwind of action and chaos that stems from Jack's hidden past.

Source: http://www.tricoastinternational.com/films.php?movie=BrokenPath

Trailer:

http://www.tricoastinternational.com/movies/BrokenPathTrailerWeb.mov

Footage:

[theportlykicker]

Looks great! Alpha Stunts always deliver good action (or at least a few good stunts/falls).

[AlbertV]

Wow....I've seen Extreme Heist/Wicked Game and I thought it was good, but from the footage here, Broken Path looks a whole lot better.

It's good to see Johnny Yong Bosch again doing martial arts action. He's been busy doing voiceover work for anime like Trigun among others.

Danny Southworth with blond hair?! Hmmm...I guess he is trying to look like Andy Cheng in U.S. Seals II. LOL kidding...

Looks like Alpha Stunts surprises us again!!! I'm looking forward to seeing this one.

[Dragon Ma]

I've been wondering whether Alpha Stunts were going to resurface, trailer looks impressive, lots of yelling, I wonder if that's an american thing.

[AlbertV]

I'm guessing Akihiro "Yuji" Noguchi had to find a project to redeem himself after doing the action for the pretty bad Devilman live action movie.

[D1 Ma]

I did some googling and it looks like the film was only released on DVD in South Africa!

And it's almost impossible to buy! Couldn't find it even on ebay and South african website sells it only to residents. I think it's pretty weird/ Why didn't they released it in the states?

[Yakuza954]

Distribution problems, according to Johnny Yong Bosch.

Which is weird, because I sort of wrote it off as one of those things so bad nobody wants to release it, but according to some reviews, the action is really good. I guess the current economy doesn't help any.

I'd settle for a shaky camera version at this point.

[blue_skies]

any news of releases from countries that do export?

[kaleyboy]

I have this movie, just haven't watched it yet.

[One Armed Boxer]

I also have the South African DVD and have been sitting on it...but finally got around to watching it last night.

All I can say is...WOW! I can't believe I waited so long to watch it, easily one of the best martial arts movies to come out of the last 5 years! Out of it's 90 minute runtime, the first 15 minutes sets up the story, then literally the last 75 minutes are one non-stop fight scene, it doesn't let up for a second!

What makes it even more impressive is that the whole film takes place in one location, with, the first 15 minutes aside, only 7 people onscreen at any one time (Johnny Yong Bosch, his wife played by Pamela Walworth, and the 5 assassins played by Dan Southworth, Motoko Nagino, Sonny Sison, Anthony Nanakornpanom, & Tadahiro Nakamura).

The intensity of the movie really took me by surprise, if I could choose a way to describe it, I would say it's like the best of the 80's kickboxing movies combined with the level of blood letting found in a Chang Cheh movie. Just like in a classic Chang Cheh movie, the characters here take a LOT of punishment with liberal use of blood squibs and spray, but still keep fighting, so suspension of disbelief is essential!

However the fights come so thick and fast you won't have time to ponder anything for long...and they come in every variety a martial arts fan could want...one on one, two on one, three on one, two on two, hand to hand, stick fighting, knife fighting, 'grab any prop you can find' fighting. There are also many styles on display, from judo to jujitsu to escrima.

I really wish Johnny Yong Bosch would do more action roles, his performance in Wicked Game (aka Extreme Heist) impressed me, and here he is outstanding....it would be great to see him in a movie with the Stunt People's Eric Jacobus. Mitoko Nagino also needs to be in a lot more....somebody put her against Jeeja Yanin, Jiang Liu-Xia, or Rina Takeda...or better still put them all together and make the ultimate 'girls with guns' movie!

Basically, kaleyboy...you should watch it as soon as possible, and to blue_skies who was asking if it's available, you can buy it from South African online DVD store's here who do export...

http://www.kalahari.net/dvd/Broken-Path/65232/33848499.aspx

http://www.shopasave.co.za/index.php?Type_Code=ProductInfo&Itemcode=D09646

or from amaon.co.uk marketplace -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B002WHUANQ/ref=sr_1_olp_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1261111711&sr=1-1

[blue_skies]

I also have the South African DVD and have been sitting on it...but finally got around to watching it last night.

All I can say is...WOW! I can't believe I waited so long to watch it, easily one of the best martial arts movies to come out of the last 5 years! Out of it's 90 minute runtime, the first 15 minutes sets up the story, then literally the last 75 minutes are one non-stop fight scene, it doesn't let up for a second!

What makes it even more impressive is that the whole film takes place in one location, with, the first 15 minutes aside, only 7 people onscreen at any one time (Johnny Yong Bosch, his wife played by Pamela Walworth, and the 5 assassins played by Dan Southworth, Motoko Nagino, Sonny Sison, Anthony Nanakornpanom, & Tadahiro Nakamura).

The intensity of the movie really took me by surprise, if I could choose a way to describe it, I would say it's like the best of the 80's kickboxing movies combined with the level of blood letting found in a Chang Cheh movie. Just like in a classic Chang Cheh movie, the characters here take a LOT of punishment with liberal use of blood squibs and spray, but still keep fighting, so suspension of disbelief is essential!

However the fights come so thick and fast you won't have time to ponder anything for long...and they come in every variety a martial arts fan could want...one on one, two on one, three on one, two on two, hand to hand, stick fighting, knife fighting, 'grab any prop you can find' fighting. There are also many styles on display, from judo to jujitsu to escrima.

I really wish Johnny Yong Bosch would do more action roles, his performance in Wicked Game (aka Extreme Heist) impressed me, and here he is outstanding....it would be great to see him in a movie with the Stunt People's Eric Jacobus. Mitoko Nagino also needs to be in a lot more....somebody put her against Jeeja Yanin, Jiang Liu-Xia, or Rina Takeda...or better still put them all together and make the ultimate 'girls with guns' movie!

Basically, kaleyboy...you should watch it as soon as possible, and to blue_skies who was asking if it's available, you can buy it from South African online DVD store's here who do export...

http://www.kalahari.net/dvd/Broken-Path/65232/33848499.aspx

http://www.shopasave.co.za/index.php?Type_Code=ProductInfo&Itemcode=D09646

or from amaon.co.uk marketplace -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B002WHUANQ/ref=sr_1_olp_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1261111711&sr=1-1

That sounds awesome from your review but I think I'll have to wait for another DVD release in another country. It's almost £19 on Amazon which is way too much money for a film, one of those sites charges £10 delivery fee on top of the DVD price and God knows how much the other one was because I stopped when they started asking for passport numbers. I'm certainly not giving that information out.

Cheers for the links though One Armed Boxer.

[MLee]

I was fortunate enough to purchase a copy of this at a recent filmfair. I really enjoyed it and it was non stop action from start to finish! Very good and quite brutal action choreography in the many varied fight scenes.

[Drunken Monk]

Firstly, let me say that I couldn’t track this movie down on DVD so I did end up downloading it. Secondly, let me say that now I have seen it, I will commit my life to tracking this unsung gem down. “Broken Path” is one of the most incredibly energetic and fight focused movies I have ever seen.

It begins and seems relatively slow. It made me wonder what exactly was going to occur. Had I been duped? At sixteen minutes in – that’s right…sixteen minutes – the action starts. It then continues for ninety minutes, no stop. When I say “non stop” I mean it. There is about five minutes in which the characters sit around in an attic and then we’re back at the action.

So how is the action? One word…BRUTAL. The choreography team knows what they want to deliver in “Broken Path” and they deliver it with aplomb. It’s fast, it’s bone crunching, it’s varied and it’s painful. The action is reminiscent of The Stunt People’s work; fast frenetic and stylish. It maintains this quality for the entire duration and does not let up for a single minute.

The acting is mediocre, when there is acting to be had. The director and actors really try hard to accomplish something well rounded but the more serious scenes don’t really hit the right notes. The plus point is that the actual script of the movie must be about three pages long consisting mostly of “Run!! Go now!!”

So how is ex-Power Range Johnny Yong Bosch? He’s one to keep an eye on. The man quite obviously has talent and shines with a powerful onscreen tension. When he gets angry, you know you’re in for something ballistic. His flurries of kicks and punches will leave you clutching your organs and begging for more. Dan Southworth is also one to watch. He’s a big guy and strikes with the speed and finesse of someone a hundred pounds lighter. Some of the moves he pulls off in “Broken Path” sadly outshines Bosch but it’s not like we care as we’re there to see the on screen martial arts.

If it’s martial arts you want, you can’t be disappointed with this flick. The plot is tissue thin, the acting fluctuates but the pure arse kicking level of this film is up there with nothing I’ve seen before. This is for martial arts fans, although the death scenes do resemble those from a “Friday 13th” movie. Violent? Yes sir!

Trust me, track this gem down. You will NOT be disappointed.

[blue_skies]

another highly positive review....I really HAVE to see this film!

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[gorhama]

Well I downloaded this movie as well seeing as how there is no release here in the States. All I can say is Drunken Monks review is spot on. Some may say it's an excuse to have fight after fight after fight.....BUT in the end when it looks this good who cares??

Also those who don't like blood may want to look elsewhere, very bloody film and a they came up with some very creative ways to kill people.

All in all I'm on the BROKEN PATH train and IMO most fight fans will not be dissapointed by the quality and quantity of awesome fight scenes in this movie.

I will track down the DCD so I can show my friends.

[One Armed Boxer]

The plus point is that the actual script of the movie must be about three pages long consisting mostly of “Run!! Go now!!”

Ha ha....agreed, and Pamela Walworth's script probably consisted of a scrap of paper which read 'Just do what the people yelling at you tell you to do'.

I'm interested to know if the Reese guy from the 'Rough Cuts' video passed the audition...."Power Rangers on drugs, it's the only way I can describe it, Power Rangers on drungs"....give me a break.

[blue_skies]

Ha ha....agreed, and Pamela Walworth's script probably consisted of a scrap of paper which read 'Just do what the people yelling at you tell you to do'.

I'm interested to know if the Reese guy from the 'Rough Cuts' video passed the audition...."Power Rangers on drugs, it's the only way I can describe it, Power Rangers on drungs"....give me a break.

I was concerned by all the urms and pauses. I really doubt his audition was fruitful. He should have made the time to write what he wanted to say and read from that.

Regardless it was good to see another positive review floating around the internet. Hopefully it will help see Broken Path released elsewhere in the world.

[blue_skies]

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2nd video major spoilers

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brutal fight

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I think this is the proper trailer

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[blue_skies]

OK I have finally seen Broken Path after a friend "managed to get hold of a copy" if you know what I mean.

As most reviewers have commented it's an extremely slow start before the action begins., I am not exactly sure how long before the action/martial-arts but you really wouldn't have a clue what's going to happen if nobody told you.

After the character introduction once the action begins it almost literally never stops. There are brief moments but there are no chances to really sit there thinking when is the action gonna begin. No time to be even remotely bored!

Even during those breaks perhaps because you have that beginning letting you know the characters, there is a real intense feeling maintained, that kept me on the edge of my seat from the beginning of the first real action sequence until the very end of the movie. To me it felt realistic that the lead character had no time to explain, only motivating his wife to survive the danger surrounding them both.

The action itself is extremely grounded and I'd be surprised if there were any wirework used whatsoever. However while there is a lack of flair that fans of Hong Kong action may be accustomed to, including myself. All of the action is extremely quick and decidedly brutal, making truly gripping film making.

I'm not sure of Johnny yong Bosh from an acting point of view (please excuse my spelling). Yet his on-screen skills are really worthy of higher profile martial-arts movies. Am not talking of Hollywood but American B-movies and perhaps in future Asian productions.

As much as I was desperate to see this film, I truly doubted other fans reviewing the film on this site and otherwise. However I would concur wholeheartedly recommending Broken Path once it receives a DVD release in other countries and regions. This film should be in most martial-arts collections.

[CDiablo]

Grabbed this as well. Everything about this movie has been said by others before me. If this movie ever makes it to DVD its worth a buy. My only complaints are I was hoping for some more stunt bumps and Bosh's acting was laughable at times(the attic scene). Southworth was sick, someone to keep an eye on. I hope him and Bosh have more MA movie work in the future.

[D1 Ma]

I'm probably the only person who liked Anthony Nanakornpanom( the tallest guy in black mask) MUCH more than Southworth. While Southworth performed some slick moves, very impressive for a guy his size, overall, I thought he was slower, than the rest. I thought he was a bit too heavy and it slowed him at times.

I liked the way Nanakornpanom moved, his fights with Bosh were very enjoyable.

I agree, I would like to see more stunts, although that amazing fall from a second level was jaw dropping. I don't care how much padding one has, that GOTTA hurt. Just unbelievable!

This stunt alone would justify buying a DVD, if only they released in in US!

[blue_skies]

you know judging on the people who have actually seen this movie I honestly can't believe that no distributor wants to release this on DVD in the Western world. So far everybody has high praise for this movie which to my knowledge is extremely rare for a film like this. I'm really surprised that at the very least it doesn't get released in the United States. opening the door to worldwide fans importing .

[One Armed Boxer]

Southworth was sick, someone to keep an eye on. I hope him and Bosh have more MA movie work in the future.

They have worked together again, on last years 'Hellbinders'...a supernatural action movie with Ray Park as the main star...although like 'Broken Path' is only available in South Africa, it looks like 'Hellbinders' is only available in Germany!

Still, check out the trailer for a taste of the action, nice shots of people getting thrown into things!

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[toomany]

Hellbinders is rubbish.

You can get here in Australia for $5.00!

And that is Australian dollars too.

I'll trade you Hellbinders for Broken Path

[CDiablo]

I liked the way Nanakornpanom moved, his fights with Bosh were very enjoyable. I agree, I would like to see more stunts, although that amazing fall from a second level was jaw dropping. I don't care how much padding one has, that GOTTA hurt. Just unbelievable!

This stunt alone would justify buying a DVD, if only they released in in US!

Ill have to rewatch to get a better take on Nanakornpanom. TBH all the stars did great. Being the stars Bosh and Southworth will get the majority of the compliments, but I dont think anyone can say much bad about any of the fighters performances. Its their job to make the stars look good afterall. And the bump(one of the only memorable ones) you are talking about was sick......I dont want to ruin it for others but I dont think he landed where he wanted to.