Sakuran - 88 Films

As usual with the stuff I get from 88 Films, I had never heard of Sakuran, but the cover alone intrigued me. I knew I was in for something, at the very least, visually impressive. Sakuran, the debut film from photographer Mika Ninagawa, is more than just visuals. It captures the life of a sex worker in a compelling and realistic manner.

First off, I am not a fan of movies about sex workers. They tend to make for a tough watch, highlighting the struggle of such a life. I just don’t need a movie to make that point for me; I think it’s an inherent fact of that world. But with Sakuran, which follows the journey of Kiyoha from initially being sold to a brothel to rising up to oiran, it’s more complicated than that.

The easy route for Sakuran would be to present the world of 18th century Japanese courtesans as visually beautiful but with a dark underside. There is a bit of that, to be sure, but there’s more nuance than just “pretty things can hide darkness.” It’s best portrayed in the film in the goldfish metaphor. Kiyoha, after attempting to run away, is told that a goldfish can stay within the bowl and be beautiful. If it leaves the bowl, it could die, and even if it can escape the bowl and make it to a river, it will grow into an ugly carp. For this time period, this metaphor perfectly captures the chances a beautiful woman in Japan has. 

Kiyoha can stay in her bowl at the brothel and exert quite a bit of power as an oiran (she would have a say in who her clients are, for instance). She could live in a beautiful world, even if it is also a bit of a prison. Or she could chance the outside world, which will undoubtedly be uglier, at least on the surface level, than her life in the brothel. Typically in a movie like this you immediately want the main character to get away from this life, but Sakuran makes it a more interesting question. 

There’s not much more to say beyond that. If you’re like me, and this was completely unknown to you, then it is very much worth checking out. It isn’t the depressing watch you might imagine, and the colorful world created by Ninagawa is mesmerizing at times.

Transfer and Special Features

88 Films has quickly become one of my favorite distributors. First, the films always look great. Second, the cases and cover art are always interesting, and they don’t stick with a set style. This release doesn’t have the slip cover that I’ve come to love, but it’s fine without it because the cover art is so arresting. 

As for the special features, there’s a commentary and a featurette from Amber T. of Fangoria that gets into the history of the film and the inevitable comparisons to Memoirs of a Geisha. There is also a beautiful booklet included with an article that gives extensive background of the world of the film that is immensely helpful for ignorant viewers like myself.

Force: Five - MVD Rewind

I was excited to check out Force: Five (out now) because I had never heard of it. An ‘80s action movie about putting a team together to take down a Jim Jones-esque cult by primarily using martial arts? Sign me up. I hoped this was either a hidden gem that had been outshone by its louder ‘80s counterparts or a Gymkata-level (it features the same director) exercise in insanity. Sadly, it was neither. 

Force: Five has the elements necessary for a cult classic action movie. The team put together by martial artist Joe Lewis is fine and includes Benny “The Jet” Urquidez, but there’s nothing special about it, even though the helicopter pilot is set up as the “crazy” one. They’re all pretty plain. It reminded me of The Expendables, in that they talk about each other as being “crazy” and “badass,” yet we never get to witness it; we just have to take them at their word that they used to be awesome. The cult they’re tasked with infiltrating is a little more interesting, with martial artist Han Bong-soo as the Jim Jones-like leader. Everyone involved being a martial artist got me excited about the action scenes, at least.

Perhaps part of the problem is my recent watch history, as I watched this right after Duel to the Death, a movie that amazed me with its action choreography. Regardless, I found the action in this basic at best. It’s one of those movies in which goons stand around waiting for their turn to be punched or kicked. 

There were a handful of elements that showed promise. The weird-looking muscle man for the cult, Carl (Bob Schott, more memorable in Gymkata), was amusing. And the politician used as cover for the team getting on the island just decides to get hammered on Jim Beam, which was a fun choice (I think they were going with a Ted Kennedy joke with this character). And then there’s the bull in the maze, easily the weirdest part of the movie. In this martial arts cult, you can be killed two ways: by the leader and special spur-boots, or you get put in a maze with a bull. 

The inclusion of the bull implies there will be copious amounts of gore, but all of the brutal violence is just implied. I’m not gore-dependent when it comes to action movies, but when nothing else is clicking for me, a comical amount of blood and gore can salvage a movie, but this was tame. 

All this written, I’m sure this has a fan base that most likely saw it when it first came out and has a bit of nostalgia for it. I imagine people think the same of me when I gush over a lower-tier Van Damme movie that most people ignored if not out-right hated. It’s just not my thing. Not everything can be Gymkata.

Transfer and Special Features 

For fans of the film, MVD Rewind did right by them with this restoration. It looks great, and the disc comes with everything you’d expect from them: a nice slipcover with old video store elements added on, a reversible cover, and a mini-poster. 

On the special features side, things are a little strange. There’s a lengthy interview with Lewis (who died in 2012) that is mainly about his relationship with Bruce Lee. It’s interesting because it appears to have been done in a hotel room while Lewis was at a fight or convention or something. It’s very loose, and there are many moments when he starts giving the interviewer shit (in a fun way).

There are a couple featurettes with Benny “The Jet.” One seems to be a promotional video meant to get people to buy lessons from him, I assume on video. He just shows a few tips, like how to properly wrap your fists for a fight. The other one is a bit of German footage of a fight, but there are no subtitles for the German narration. The fight is decent, though, as you get to see him win by a knockout in one round. 

None of this is specific to Force: Five, but it’s still interesting enough. Something tells me there’s not a ton of background material available for this film, so what’s here at least gives a bit of background info on a couple of the stars.

Duel to the Death - 88 Films

As I’ve been watching more and more releases from 88 Films, I’ve come to expect that they are purveyors of underseen classic Asian films. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve seen so far, but Duel to the Death (out now) is the first film that I’m shocked isn’t more well-known.

Duel to the Death is a fairly simple story about a duel between Japanese and Chinese martial artists. Of course, there is plenty of treachery and ninja chaos along the way. There is a theme of honor throughout, but let’s face it, this is all about the fight choreography. 

Duel contains some of the best sword fights and ninja attacks I’ve ever seen. Looking back on the phenomenon of Crouching Tiger in 2000, it’s crazy that Duel, which came out seventeen years earlier (!), isn’t considered as ground-breaking. This is nothing against Crouching Tiger, a movie I love, but it’s maddening to think this movie has been out all this time, and I’m just now seeing it. 

This is why I love reviewing physical media. It gives me a chance to see movies I didn’t even know existed. And for fans much more in the know than me, 88 Films provides a great presentation for a film previously only available as a bootleg or shitty YouTube upload. To see a film like this get the 88 Films treatment is fantastic. 

It’s hard to sell just how amazing the choreography is in this film aside from just telling people to watch it, but I’ll try. The wirework is phenomenal as long as you give the Crouching Tiger benefit of the doubt that everyone can basically fly in this world. 

Flying around looks great and all, but the sword fights are the standout. Too often, even great sword fights in film look too planned out. But when it’s done well, it looks like the combatants are actually trying to kill each other. Throughout the film, I kept wondering how many actual on-set accidents and injuries occurred because it seems impossible that the performers could be that good. Maybe I’m gushing a bit too much here, but when you watch enough martial arts stuff, you get excited when you see it done so masterfully. 

But it’s the ninja stuff that puts this over the top for me. As a man-child, I’ve always dug ninjas, but they’re usually more enjoyable as a concept than in practice. And let’s face it: the Ninja Turtles are ninjas in name only; they are the loudest anthropomorphic mutant ninja turtles of all time. Jokes aside, ninjas are often just bodies for the heroes to unleash violence upon, but in Duel to the Death they feel truly overwhelming. 

Part of the overwhelming nature is the quick cut editing during their attacks and the sheer number of them, but it’s also in their methods. Ninjas blow themselves up, form into giants, use silent hang-gliders, morph into naked ladies, throw shuriken faster than machine guns, etc. The sound effects are perfect, as well, from the wooshing of swords and fabric as they flip through the air, and the soft patter as a drove of them infiltrate a fortress. They are truly a feast for the senses, and I found myself grinning through most of their scenes because it’s exactly what I want from ninjas on film.

That’s the case for the entire film. This is simply what I want from an excellent martial arts film: simplicity, a running time under ninety minutes, compelling swordplay, explosive ninjas, a bit of gore and dismemberment but not so much it becomes a joke, recurring musical motifs, and excellent sound effects. If you’re like me, and you’ve never even heard of Duel to the Death and you like all the elements I’ve mentioned, then check this out immediately. If you’re already a fan, then you need to order this excellent release now.

Transfer and Special Features

As I watched bits of the film from the aforementioned YouTube upload as I wrote this (I don’t have the Blu-ray handy), it really made the case for what 88 Films does. Sure, it’s still a fun movie, but the upload is awful, from the dub to the general look of the film. This new Blu-ray looks incredible, and you have multiple options for the languages. I prefer the original to the dub, but it’s nice to have the option.

There are a few interviews included as well as a doc on wirework that are worth checking out.

There is also a collectible book with multiple articles included that I found very informative, especially since I’m so new to this genre. You’ll come away with plenty of recommendations from it. 

And there’s all the stuff that’s expected from 88 Films, like the reversible cover and the best cardboard slipcovers in the business.

Random Thoughts

I love the way the dudes who attacked the puppeteer are handled. The daughter makes the widow an unwitting accomplice in vengeance. She seemed upset about this, but I bet when she looks back on it she will appreciate being included in killing her husband’s murderers.

Not to make everything about Star Wars, but I couldn't help but think about lightsaber duels while watching this. Regardless of any issues I or anyone else may have had with the sequel trilogy, I can't imagine anyone was blown away with the use of lightsabers in the trilogy (the throne room sequence was pretty good, but I sincerely have no strong memories of any other fights from the three films). If sword fights could look this good over forty years ago, then why can't it be replicated today? Why aren't better choreographers being hired for high profile series? I just don't get it.

The ninjas are so fucking brutal in this. They were planning on halving the daughter from the crotch up at one point. Fucking animals.

This was a great movie to watch right after revisiting Kill Bill. I love that film, but it’s nice to see some of the shit Tarantino undoubtedly “borrowed” from films like this.

Excalibur - Arrow 4K

Arrow Video is releasing Excalibur on 4K Blu-ray on February 24, and I got a chance to check out the film and its special features. Before I get into the specifics of this release, I wanted to write a bit about my personal experience with the film over the years.

Excalibur is one of those films that always seemed like one I should love: it has an insane cast, fantasy, nudity, gore, etc. I watched it a couple times over the years, and thought it was just okay. But it was one of those movies that stuck in the back of my mind, waiting for the right time when it would break through, and I would realize how awesome it was. Maybe it’s the 4K mania I’m currently in the middle of, but Excalibur finally clicked. 

Part of my original issue with the film is the source material. While I can acknowledge that Arthurian legend is the source of a lot of modern stuff I like (Stephen King’s Dark Tower series comes to mind), I’ve never been into it. I partly blame the 2004 Clive Owen film. That seemed like it was going to be so great, and it left me so underwhelmed that I haven’t cared about any adaptations since. Then The Green Knight came long. 

The Green Knight was not a direct King Arthur adaptation, as it dealt with the specific Sir Gawain story and Arthur was a side character. I loved the unique and trippy style of it, and it made me realize I could enjoy Arthur stuff in small doses. In that regard, Excalibur still shouldn’t work for me as it’s an attempt to tell the entire Arthurian legend from birth to death. But it’s because of that scope that it works. 

The main thing that puts me off King Arthur adaptations in the sword-in-the-stone stuff. It’s like a superhero origin story I’ve seen too many times. I need to see an hour plus buildup of Arthur pulling Excalibur from the stone like I need to see Thomas and Martha Wayne gunned down again. But Excalibur doesn’t have time to dwell on that. We go from Arthur’s conception to him pulling the sword from the stone in less than half an hour. And why shouldn’t we? Only a very young child doesn’t know about that part of the story, and this movie is definitely not for children (unless you’re John Boorman’s children, but more on that later).

John Boorman deciding to tackle the entire legend meant he had to segment the film in such a way that it feels fresh throughout. This would be a tiresome movie if it was just dudes in shiny, clanking armor hacking away at each other for two hours. But we get the Merlin stuff, Morgana and Mordred, the Holy Grail, Lancelot and Guinevere's betrayal and redemption, etc. 

The speed of the story is best showcased when Arthur first meets Lancelot. By giving into his rage, Arthur breaks Excalibur on Lancelot’s armor. Normally, this would be a long chunk of the movie as Arthur comes to grips with what he has done and slowly redeems himself and earns Excalibur back. But in Boorman’s telling, he immediately acknowledges his mistake, and for this he gets a new sword within seconds of breaking the original. This fast-forward method can be off-putting and feel too simple in the character-development department, but I found it refreshing.

Because of this, Excalibur feels like many different films. There are the traditional fantasy elements, but also a bit of horror, relationship drama, religion, war, etc. If a segment doesn’t work for you, the next one might. And no matter the storyline, it’s hard to deny the aesthetic beauty of the film. From the sets to the famous armor to the excellent use of Wagner, Excalibur has always been visually and audibly stunning. I’m just glad that the rest of the film finally came together for me.

The Transfer and Special Features

I’m beginning to sound like a broken record in this segment, but this looks great. As I admitted earlier, I’m currently in a fog of 4K euphoria, so bear with me. But this feels like the type of movie meant for 4K. The softness of the picture has always been intentional, but it seemed too soft in the past DVD and Blu-ray releases. Here, it’s reined in, providing a nice balance of sharpness and softness to create an otherworldly look that is perfect for the film. The shiniest film about the Dark Ages has never looked better.

The special features are truly exhausting, and I mean that literally. After three days of sporadically watching all the new and archival features, I had had my fill. You can check the product page for a list of them all and take a look at the collectible material included. I just want to highlight some of my favorite elements. 

My favorite has to be the archival and rarely seen doc by Neil Jordan. It’s not Hearts of Darkness or Burden of Dreams or anything, but it’s in the same ballpark. Docs like this are so fascinating because a thousand new interviews with actors and filmmakers can’t recreate what an on-set documentary can. 

As for the new interviews, all of them are interesting, and it was great that they got Boorman himself for a new one, and his son, Charley (young Mordred, but not his voice), joins in halfway through. 

I enjoyed the lengthy talk with second-unit director Peter MacDonald quite a bit, as well. Don’t worry about the opening warning about video and audio quality; there are some hiccups, but overall it looks and sounds fine. It really gets into MacDonald’s entire career, and he’s refreshingly candid. My only quibble is that he didn’t discuss one of his directorial efforts, Legionnaire. I imagine he has plenty of great Jean-Claude Van Damme stories.

Overall, it’s very clear that everyone involved loved this film and wanted to make the definitive physical media release for it, and I believe they have. I can’t imagine any fan of this film being left wanting more from this release.

Random Thoughts

I didn’t take lengthy notes during my viewing, but there are a couple things I wanted to add.

First, I was very surprised when I learned that Igrayne was played by Boorman’s daughter, Katrine. Directing your daughter as she dances and sends Gabriel Byrne into an erotic frenzy is one thing, but to thing include a sex scene with nudity is fucking wild. In one of the archival doc, the interviewer asks about it, and she says she was fine because it was just acting.

Katrine isn’t the only Boorman child involved. Another daughter was the hand holding the sword in the lake. And Charley Boorman was young Mordred, but another Boorman daughter provided the voice because Charley was unavailable for ADR. In the new interview with Charley, he reveals that he didn’t know his dad replaced his voice until he saw the film at its premiere at Cannes. What a life.

She Shoots Straight - 88 Films

Thanks to 88 Films, my Hong Kong cinema education continues with She Shoots Straight (or Lethal Lady, according to the English credits special feature), available on 2/24/26. This female-driven action film from director Cory Yuen surprised me throughout, not just with great stunt work and action, but also with an insanely tragic dinner scene in the middle of the film. Films like this always deal with loss since a lot of them are revenge-driven, but in On the Run (another recent Hong Kong release from 88 Films) death is dealt with an acceptable coldness. There’s an attempt at that here, but the film instead dwells on the loss for a moment before jumping back into the action.

I imagine most people interested in this film are simply wanting a blu-ray version of a film they’ve enjoyed for years, but if not, here’s your SPOILER warning. Although the plot summary on the back of the case spoiled it for me, so I guess it’s fair game. I was just surprised by how long it takes for the major death to occur in the film. 

She Shoots Straight begins as an in-law drama as Inspector Mina marries Inspector Huang Tsung-Pao, and it’s clear that his sisters, who are also all cops, do not approve. This, of course, causes plenty of awkwardness at work, with the sisters primarily concerned that Mina is overshadowing Tsung-Pao. After his death at the hands of a kill-crazy Vietnamese gang, Mina and her in-laws put aside their differences for revenge. Having a common enemy is always a good way to bring people together.

Normally, a film about getting along with in-laws would bore me, but adding martial arts and gunplay made things much more interesting. The gun violence was okay, though a little light in the squib department for my taste, but the stuntwork is amazing. Most scenes are downright acrobatic. The action alone makes this worth watching.

The family drama provided an emotional depth that I usually find lacking in films like this, however. The standout scene is when Mina and Chai-Ling have to attend Mother Huang’s birthday dinner, and they decide to pretend Tsang-Pao is still alive until after the dinner. This is fucking insane, of course, but it makes for a dramatically-rich sequence in which the sister and sister-in-law struggle to maintain their composure, creating a fever pitch that ends in agony when the death is revealed. 

The fact that the film is female-driven is most likely why this scene is included whereas a male-driven revenge film typically doesn’t dwell too long in misery. But the female aspect is treated more matter-of-fact than a novelty. There is no question of any of the sisters’ ability as police officers, and they seem more capable than Tsung-Pao. Instead, the characters have made peace with the male-driven world they live in. Tsung-Pao is kind of worshipped by all of them since he’s the only son, and the need for Mina to become pregnant is given importance because of this, as well. 

Mina is only pregnant because Tsung-Pao poked holes in a condom, which is fucking wild. But I guess it’s a good thing he did? In any other movie, that act would be seen as a betrayal, not as a “good thing he did that” moment. Although, I don’t know how Mina could still be pregnant by the end of the film. Pregnant women aren’t supposed to ride roller coasters or jump on trampolines; they don’t even warn women about not chasing after gang members on a motorbike or getting into extended martial arts battles because it’s a given that you shouldn’t do those things while pregnant. But I’ll suspend my disbelief and assume the baby is just fine after all that.

Despite that narrative distraction, She Shoots Straight worked for me on every level. I look forward to continuing my journey though Hong Kong cinema, especially if there are more films like this out there.

Special Features and Transfer

As always, I’m no expert on the transfer stuff, but it looked great to me, and I thought the infrared sequences looked especially good. I feel safe claiming this is the best this film has ever looked.

There’s an interview with the screenwriter that provides some insight into Hong Kong cinema in general at the time. 

And this might seem trivial, but 88 Films make the best slipcovers. In the past, I’ve just thrown most slipcovers away. But as I’ve gotten more into collecting, they’ve been a nice addition to a release, but they are usually flimsy and pointless. Their slipcovers are much more sturdy than most, and I would be disappointed without them.

There’s also an audio commentary with Asian cinema expert Frank Djeng.

It has both the original Cantonese and English dub (I only watched the Cantonese version). 

And there’s reversible cover art.

Double Impact - MVD Rewind 4K

I wrote about MVD Rewind’s excellent blu-ray release of Double Impact a few years ago, but when they announced a 4K release (out this week), I knew I had to revisit it. And what better movie to double dip than Double Impact. 

Before I get into the specifics of the release, I wanted to get into the movie itself. This is one of my favorite Van Damme movies of all time; it’s up there with Bloodsport and Kickboxer, and that’s the highest praise I can give a JCVD movie. I feel like it gets forgotten as “one of the twin movies” by fans, since he went back to the well two more times (Maximum Risk and Replicant), but this was the first and best effort (and Maximum Risk shouldn’t count as much since his twin dies at the beginning, and Replicant is technically a clone movie).

The twin aspect is a big selling point for me. I like good guy Van Damme well enough, but anti-hero or, better yet, evil Van Damme is even better. The darker twin in this, Alex, is not evil, but he’s pissed off most of the time, and he has some problematic tendencies like drinking, jealousy, and violence. It truly shows Van Damme’s range, and he would go on to give some of his best performances when allowed to be the bad guy (The Expendables 2, Replicant). Double Impact allowed him to have a bit of fun with his image. 

Double Impact was also a chance to move beyond straight martial arts movies. Bloodsport, Kickboxer, and Lionheart are all great, but how many times can Van Damme simply fight in a tournament (a few more, it turns out, but oh well)? This was meant to be a blending of the martial arts genre and a straight action movie with plenty of gunplay and explosions. The poster promises as much: “One packs a punch. One packs a piece.” It turns out both twins pack both punches and pieces, but the intent was there. And the hand to hand fights are still the highlight of the film, but the bigger action set pieces do not disappoint.  

Revisiting this new 4K release just confirmed how I’ve always felt about this movie: two Van Dammes are better than one.

The 4K Release

First off, MVD Rewind knocked it out of the park years ago with the blu-ray release for this film. It looked great, and the special features were abundant, with the stand out being the lengthy two-part documentary. All of that is still included here, along with the 4K disc. 

This isn’t one of those night and day or at long last releases, but this is obviously the best this film has ever, and most likely will ever look. Any serious Van Damme fan should consider the upgrade. And if you don’t already have the blu-ray release, then going with the 4K is a no-brainer.

MVD Rewind knows their audience. Beyond the specific special features for the film, they cater to the nostalgia of the time. The disc begins with a faux-VHS intro, and the slipcover has an old poster look. (For those who prefer a crisp image, both sides of the reversible case cover are crisp.) It seems almost silly to have these VHS affectations for such a technologically advanced transfer of the film, but I like getting the best of both worlds. I’m not one of those people that embrace VHS (though I am more into vinyl than digital music, so what the fuck do I know?), but I do appreciate little nods to the world I grew up in while I enjoy the classics of my childhood in full modern glory.

Random Thoughts

Chad's clothes are hilarious. I know they were going for an opposite situation, but god damn!

Only Van Damme would take someone out “stealthily” by roundhouse kicking them in the face.

This was Van Damme’s attempt to move beyond just martial arts and into more gunplay, and it shows when he does the rolling-on-the-ground-while-shooting thing. Always happy to see that pulled off unironically.

You know you're evil if you party at a place called the Klimax Klub.

Van Damme even fucks in slow motion.

“Brother? Why, because he looks like me? I’m going to change that because I’m going to fuck up his face.”

That boat at the end had video game amounts of exploding barrels on it.

And who the fuck was the electrician on that boat? Just backing into a fuse box electrocutes you? Hong Kong was wild back then.

Say what you will about Griffith and Zhang, but at least they’re the type of villains to get their hands dirty and not leave things up to their minions. They want to be near the action. I mean, it’s stupid as shit on their part, but still, good for them.

Container ships are always a good choice for the ending of an action movie.

“What about my father?” What about your mother, too, Alex? You know, she did take a fucking shotgun blast to the face in front of her infant children.

As Zhang falls to his death, you see a regular worker watching. Dude must’ve been showing up early for day shift and walked into chaos. Imagine just showing up to work to run a crane or whatever and some random twins just fucked up your entire workplace seeking justice for royalties on a tunnel. Do you get royalties for tunnels? What were they entitled to, again?