Non-MoC Eureka Titles

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#376 Post by therewillbeblus » Mon Apr 04, 2022 3:18 pm

yoloswegmaster wrote:
Mon Apr 04, 2022 12:46 pm
therewillbeblus wrote:
Mon Apr 04, 2022 12:29 pm
yoloswegmaster wrote:
Mon Apr 04, 2022 12:10 pm
I would hold out on buying 'Dragons Forever' for now. On the list of hints for 2022 titles, there is a listing for "DF" that was circled. Brandon Bentley was hinting at this being a UHD release and since he is mainly involved with the HK titles, I think it's safe to assume that he is talking about Dragons Forever.
Is this for Arrow? Thanks for the head's up
It's for 88 Films.
Awesome, so according to that thread's cheat sheet, this should be announced next month for June?

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yoloswegmaster
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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#377 Post by yoloswegmaster » Mon Apr 04, 2022 3:37 pm

therewillbeblus wrote:
Mon Apr 04, 2022 3:18 pm

Awesome, so according to that thread's cheat sheet, this should be announced next month for June?
So it was planned for June but the June titles have already been announced, which means that it's been pushed back for whatever reason. Hopefully it's not delayed for too long.

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Finch
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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#378 Post by Finch » Tue Apr 05, 2022 9:42 am

Jimmy Wang Yu has passed away at 80.

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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#379 Post by Orlac » Tue Apr 05, 2022 5:55 pm

Finch wrote:
Tue Apr 05, 2022 9:42 am
Jimmy Wang Yu has passed away at 80.
Very sad about this, I'm a huge fan

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Never Cursed
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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#380 Post by Never Cursed » Tue Apr 05, 2022 6:08 pm

From an interview with Wang in 2014:
Image

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#381 Post by therewillbeblus » Wed Apr 13, 2022 6:13 pm

Mr. Vampire is a flat-out blast, reaching levels of wild entertainment I never could have predicted from the relatively soft opening. Its broad comedy (somehow) works almost every time, thanks to comic timing in the performances but also integrally a clear focus within the editing room. The action scenes are shot and play out in a manner that creatively utilizes space and blocking to its advantages, often cutting together bits of simple choreography in response to unexpected stimuli in ways that are thrilling, despite the moves themselves not always being particularly inventive or extravagant martial arts. The filmmakers' aims are not to default onto the predictable fallbacks of skillsets in innovative self-defense exchanges, but rather to implement imaginative regurgitations of eccentric ideas into gonzo setpieces with impulsive methodology, as if every 'What if..' thought from a writer or crew member made it into the final product, haphazardly in the midst of its utterance and without any sharpening or compromise. That this 'throw everything at the wall' approach works as well as it does is a testament to the tight communication between participants: strong directing, acting, and also likely a sensitive and caring approach to tonal tinkering in post. The subplot Finch pointed out didn't bother me at all under this film's ethos of how unashamed it is to throw us into a colorful well of jarring information. The way the "ghost seductress" approaches her target made me do a double take and laugh out loud, and all the ensuing gags- including the master chastising the boy from the windowsill yet not intervening, playing an audience member gawking at the subplot with a reflexive WTF- just elevated the film from would-be-mindless histrionics to the heavenly, concentrated space of intelligent camp grazing high art.

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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#382 Post by therewillbeblus » Sat Apr 16, 2022 2:45 pm

Finch wrote:
Sun Apr 03, 2022 11:06 pm
The Sammo Hung triple bill is absolutely worth getting for Eastern Condors which I think is an action masterpiece and easily one of Sammo's three best films; the other two films have great fight scenes but as swo said, Iron-Fisted Monk has a rape scene that sits very uneasily with the comedy (one of our fellow board members memorably described it as a blend of Carry On and Straw Dogs), and Magnificent Butcher has a lot of mugging that gets a bit tiring.

I more or less fall in line with your thoughts on the three films. It wasn’t even the rape scene that wrecked Iron-Fisted Monk for me as much as it being tiresomely boring and a tonal mess (don’t get me wrong, I didn’t like the rape scene either, but I was at least prepared for that more than I was a Sammo Hung film without any exciting action or clever comedy). The same goes for Magnificent Butcher- sure there’s a silly yet creative calligraphy fight scene early on and some decently choreographed action later, but it’s so incredibly long (and feels twice its length), which diluted most of the minor merits when they came.

Eastern Condors, though, was even better and a lot less centered in narrative or character than I expected. It’s essentially a shaggy-dog Vietnam Bond affair, following a band of secret agent army peeps through a meandering journey of incessantly inventive setpieces in agile forward momentum a la Goldeneye. The choice to focus on a multi-character spread rather than revolve around a focal point of Sammo Hung or anyone else allows the action to breathe as the central ‘character’, and I loved how imaginative and diverse the types of action were in design- ranging from lavish blockbuster choreography to minute and sharp ultraviolent quick-deaths (whether innovative gun and knife play or perverse utilizations of hand grenades in the finale!) An absolute blast (sorry)

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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#383 Post by therewillbeblus » Sun Apr 17, 2022 2:23 pm

I liked Full Alert quite a bit, though less for its action setpieces or narrative propulsion than for its intricate attention to detail and character. This is a full-on Michael Mann inspiration, clearly indebted to Heat in particular, and wears the strengths and weaknesses of the few ‘on’-Mann projects on its sleeves, but that’s not a knock. I was engrossed by the villain’s subtle complexities and humanity, the compromised ethics and emotionality of the lead detective, and some of their moments together (guns out or not) were riveting without anything outwardly explosive going on. If only this had a moving synth score..

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L.A.
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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#384 Post by L.A. » Tue Apr 19, 2022 2:28 pm


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L.A.
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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#385 Post by L.A. » Fri Apr 29, 2022 1:09 pm

Beaver review for Revolver (1973)

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#386 Post by therewillbeblus » Thu May 19, 2022 5:47 pm

Knockabout: I have very mixed feelings on this one. The first section is entirely comprised of incredibly silly banter between two con artist brothers, Yuen Biao and Bryan Leung, and regardless of its cartoonish nature, their conflict is appropriately lighthearted and their chemistry surprisingly intoxicating. Scenes like each of them attempting to con the other to take the bigger bag of coins works better than the humor in most of these films, and for every joke that failed, there were at least two that landed okay (it's worth nothing that my bar is low for effective comedy in these films, so the landings are still wobbly and not laugh-out-loud funny or anything). Usually there's some sincerity spliced within the goofy antics in Sammo Hung's work, but hardly anything is taken seriously here. Even the revenge fighting is absurd, with the 'monkey style' obnoxiously obvious, as if written by a fourth grader bored in the back of a classroom, and undercutting any gravitas to the showdown. Which I suppose leads me to the issues: Everything after Bryan Leung's departure feels painfully unfunny and annoying. Sammo Hung tries his best, but his dynamic with Biao doesn't fare as well as Leung did. The fights, too, are impressive but unabashedly slapstick, and Hung's unwillingness to take any of the fighting choreography seriously (the closest we get is the barbed wire jumprope) is a detriment to the film. There's a difference between the calligraphy fight in The Magnificent Butcher, which took its inventive central conceit seriously beyond its taunting silly concept, and what we get here, which never manages to lean into the creativity of the fights by undermining this aspect with incessant interruptions in the form of prodding guffaws. During these bits, for every amusing martial arts move, there were at least two gags or doltic facial expressions that ruined the action. If the entire film had been an extension of the two brothers' con artist shenanigans from the first act, I'd have signed up for more, but this bifurcated structure unravels its ball of yarn in the second half and leaves a mess of a movie.

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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#387 Post by M Sanderson » Thu May 26, 2022 4:44 am

Has anyone watched the Revolver Blu ray? Does that slight greenish tinge seem to have been applied to this movie as well?

It looks like the Violent City resto has been messed up by odd colour grading (released by Kino & 88).

I remember the German Filmart Blu of Revolver being absolutely fine & wonder if I was wise to sell it.

Suddenly we’re getting lots of Sollima, but are they being done the right way?

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Finch
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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#388 Post by Finch » Thu Sep 01, 2022 1:04 pm

Someone asked on the other forum if Project A 1 & 2 were coming to 4k and Brandon said "No 4K but it's safe to say you will def be seeing another release coming at some point in 2023 and yes it will will include the export cut in HD". He doesn't say no UHD so it could be a 2k upscale on a UHD but more likely I think it's a US-only release through 88 or Arrow because I don't see why Eureka would re-issue these two films for a second time on Blu-Ray after the standard edition.

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Ribs
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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#389 Post by Ribs » Thu Sep 01, 2022 1:14 pm

I think Criterion is also pretty likely home for those two.

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dwk
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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#390 Post by dwk » Thu Sep 01, 2022 3:32 pm

Since 88 Films has picked up other former Miramax Jackie Chan Fortune Star titles, I think they are most likely the ones that have those in the US.

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yoloswegmaster
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Re: MoC Forthcoming, Wishlist, and Random Speculation

#391 Post by yoloswegmaster » Tue Sep 06, 2022 2:09 pm

Image

Limited Edition O-Card slipcase
Original Cantonese mono audio
Optional English dubbed audio
Optional English Subtitles, newly translated for this release
New feature length audio commentary by Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) & Michael Worth
New feature length audio commentary by action cinema experts Mike Leeder & Arne Venema
Archival interview and audience Q&A with Sammo Hung, filmed in 2016 at the Udine Far East Film Festival
Original Hong Kong theatrical trailer
A Limited Edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver
Admittedly I haven't seen this but is this truly something that needs 2 different commentaries? I know people on here are a bit mixed on Frank Djeng, with some preferring him to do select-scene commentaries rather than full-length ones, but are the commentaries done by Mike Leeder and Arne Venema any better?

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Re: MoC Forthcoming, Wishlist, and Random Speculation

#392 Post by Glowingwabbit » Tue Sep 06, 2022 2:47 pm

yoloswegmaster wrote:
Tue Sep 06, 2022 2:09 pm

Limited Edition O-Card slipcase
Original Cantonese mono audio
Optional English dubbed audio
Optional English Subtitles, newly translated for this release
New feature length audio commentary by Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) & Michael Worth
New feature length audio commentary by action cinema experts Mike Leeder & Arne Venema
Archival interview and audience Q&A with Sammo Hung, filmed in 2016 at the Udine Far East Film Festival
Original Hong Kong theatrical trailer
A Limited Edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver
Admittedly I haven't seen this but is this truly something that needs 2 different commentaries? I know people on here are a bit mixed on Frank Djeng, with some preferring him to do select-scene commentaries rather than full-length ones, but are the commentaries done by Mike Leeder and Arne Venema any better?
The commentaries are completely different in style and tone so both are welcome. Frank Djeng is going to focus on more technical stuff whereas the other guys have a more hangout vibe.

Edit: Most of the people I follow when it comes to HK cinema are on higher on this one so I'm not sure who is giving it low ratings.

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Finch
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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#393 Post by Finch » Wed Sep 28, 2022 10:58 am

Amazon listings are up for Yes, Madam (Dec 12) and a Bob Hope double-bill of The Cat and the Canary (1939) & The Ghost Breakers (Dec 5) (the latter under the Eureka classics label).

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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#394 Post by black&huge » Thu Oct 13, 2022 2:43 pm

what's the consensus on the films in the Maniacal Mayhem Karloff set? weak, mediocre or some of the best?

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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#395 Post by swo17 » Thu Oct 13, 2022 3:27 pm

Invisible Ray is great, haven't seen the others

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reaky
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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#396 Post by reaky » Thu Oct 13, 2022 4:11 pm

Invisible Ray, while not top-tier Universal horror, is from their initial golden era. Black Friday is almost Warner Brothers-ish, and Stanley Ridges is actually the star of this gangster / dual personality flick. In The Strange Door, Karloff again cedes the top role to another actor, in this case, Charles Laughton. A much better collection than the previous Eureka Karloff set.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#397 Post by therewillbeblus » Thu Oct 13, 2022 6:00 pm

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote:
Mon Apr 04, 2022 2:51 am
Maltic wrote:
Mon Apr 04, 2022 1:06 am
Wheels on Meals is a must. I'd prioritize that over the Lucky Stars set...
Agreed. If you're looking for Sammo Hung's typical blend of comedy and action, Wheels on Meals is his greatest film. If you're looking for a more straight ahead action film, then pick up the Sammo triple-feature Eureka release solely for Easter Condors.
Having just seen Wheels on Meals, I'm inclined to share this opinion, if we throw in Dragons Forever to tie it up. The comedy trio of Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao is really effective, giving off a similar vibe to the Yes Madam! dynamic of social buddy humor amongst the three young hoods, as opposed to Dragons Forever's (despite that film sharing the same trio of players as here, their comic timing in playing off of one another is at its zenith in this earlier entry). Maybe that's just because it's rare to find interpersonal broad comic shtick as consistently successful in HK cinema, so I'm lumping incongruous work together, but you could do with worse company than Yes Madam! as a parallel. Anyways, the bifurcated narrative is edited together in a smooth fashion until the arcs come together, with neither side wearing out its welcome. Even Lola Forner' character's quirks are fleshed out early on, when she's still mysterious and not yet a key player beyond the 'enigmatic woman', organically alluring the audience to her charm right with the infatuated principals.

And that's really where the film shines in every respect: the attention to detail, in all their forms, never feeling extraneous or superfluous to the idea behind the shot or scene. The film's mise en scene and interventions for interpersonal engagement are way more intricately conceived than they need to be. The result is a film that at times functions like a screwball/slapstick exercise with occasional Keaton/Tati levels of inspired, subtle background gags; and other times, there are long-winded pitches to structured punchlines; or isolated absurd interplay (the worm quiz is gold), all blended into creating an eclectic palette that's unpredictable when it comes to which style of comedy (or action, given the range there, and long wind-up between specific martial arts set pieces) is going to infiltrate our senses at any given moment. A real treat, and one that I suspect will only yield greater rewards on repeat viewings.

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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#398 Post by therewillbeblus » Thu Oct 20, 2022 11:04 pm

Duel to the Death rivals Zu and Mr Vampire for the best of the gonzo Eureka HK stuff (I'm excluding the more reality-grounded Yes Madam!, but that would be in a 'best' group divorced from this one's surreal bend). Its kinetic style is absolutely riveting in an opening set piece that's so chock-full of inebriating creative juices I had to watch it twice before carrying on, and the film continually pivots from there to deliver inspiring technical brilliance and full-measures in every tonal and conceptual domain it enters.. which is a lot! Most surprisingly, this includes an involving plot with fleshed out and earned melodrama about international relations. I'll be the first to admit that I tune out many of these HK narratives in favor of the visual art elements, but this was an exception. It's actually a rather complicated story, but breathes with confidence and is digestible in part because the two rival leads are well-drawn characters who are unconditionally sympathized with due to their moral assets- including the Japanese swordsman, who would be a two-dimensional antagonist in a typical nationalist genre entry. So yeah, here's an insane movie that starts with ninjas going kamikaze with explosive fireworks on their bodies in the moonlight on a beach, and ends with ninjas transforming into various natural vegetation and earth (the forest fight is an imaginative blizzard of relentless visual gags, but my favorite involves an unexpected fluid bursting like a spring after a stab in the ground), and it's a rapt sentimental ode to the affected emotional core of ethical dilemmas, born from our personal philosophies conflicting with collectivist ideals. The social element here is cherished though, not framed as the enemy of a personal temple. The bond between the two enemies is more intimate than any other relationship in the film, without the need to spell out why. It's pretty simple, but it's also layered beyond a moral code that can be solely cognitively obtained without being emotionally experienced. This film allots that space, and in turn, becomes rich and adult. It's a curious but welcome complement to its breezily silly, bare-knuckled fantasy spirit.

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Finch
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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#399 Post by Finch » Thu Oct 27, 2022 10:45 am

Yes Madam still for December and Royal Warriors in January

Image
SYNOPSIS

Following on from the success of Yes, Madam – Michelle Yeoh returned straight away to the girls-with-guns genre with this fast paced 80s Hong Kong action classic.

When CID officer Yip (Yeoh), a Japanese Interpol agent (Hiroyuki Sanada – The Twilight Samurai, Avengers: Endgame), and a security guard (Michael Wong – Beast Cops) foil an airplane hijacking, they incur the wrath of a gang of Vietnam veterans who are out for vengeance.

The second of the loosely connected In the Line of Duty series of films, Royal Warriors is yet another stunning highlight of Hong Kong action cinema, and Eureka Classics is proud to present the film for the first time ever in the UK from a brand new 2K restoration.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling [2000 copies]
1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray from a brand new 2K restoration
Original Cantonese mono audio
Optional English dubbed audio
Optional English Subtitles, newly translated for this release
Brand new feature length audio commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
Brand new feature length audio commentary by action cinema experts Mike Leeder & Arne Venema
New interview with producer and actor John Shum
New Locations featurette by Arne Venema
Trailer
Reversible sleeve design
A Limited Edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver [2000 copies]
All extras subject to change
Image
SYNOPSIS

Originally released as “Police Assassins” in the UK, Yes, Madam! was the first starring role for both Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock, who stunned audiences with their incredible athleticism and stunt work. Produced by Sammo Hung and John Sham, the film is as expected, an incredible action showcase in the inimitable Hong Kong style of the time.

Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock star as a couple of tough-as-nails police inspectors investigating the murder of a British agent, which leads them to a pair of unlucky thieves (Mang Hoi and John Shum) who need protection from a ruthless crime boss (James Tien).

Launching both a successful franchise (the In the Line of Duty series) as well as an entire sub-genre of action cinema (“girls-with-guns” – a genre which did not truly exist before this film), Yes, Madam! is one of the most important and influential action films of its era, and Eureka Classics is proud to present the film in its UK debut on Blu-ray from a brand new 2K restoration.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling [2000 copies]
1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray of the original theatrical cut from a brand new 2K restoration
1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray of the international export cut from a brand new 2K restoration
Theatrical Cut – Original Cantonese mono audio (optional theatrical and home video mixes)
Theatrical Cut – Optional English 5.1 dubbed audio
Export Cut – Original “classic” English mono
Optional English Subtitles, newly translated for this release
Brand new feature length audio commentary by Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) & Michael Worth
Brand new feature length audio commentary by action cinema experts Mike Leeder & Arne Venema
Brand new select-scene commentary with actress and martial-arts movie icon Cynthia Rothrock
Brand new interview with Cynthia Rothrock
Brand new interview with Mang Hoi
Archival interview with Michelle Yeoh
Battling Babes – archival featurette
Trailers
Reversible sleeve design
A Limited Edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver [2000 copies]
*** All extras subject to change
Last edited by Finch on Thu Oct 27, 2022 10:50 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Finch
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Re: Non-MoC Eureka Titles

#400 Post by Finch » Thu Oct 27, 2022 10:48 am

PS: They've also teased In The Line Of Duty 3 and 4 on Facebook so presumably these are due in February/March.

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