Jackie Chan and 88 Films hunt for the ARMOUR OF GOD (review)

Jackie Chan plays an Indiana Jones-esque soldier of fortune hunting biblical treasures and teaming up with his romantic rival to rescue his former love from an evil cult in ARMOUR OF GOD, the globe-hopping adventure that literally almost killed Jackie Chan!

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (U.K.) Region ALL 4K UltraHD/Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

ARMOUR OF GOD 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray specs:

• DISC ONE (4K UltraHD):
• Hong Kong Version:
• 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision/HDR10)
• Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 original and home video mono mixes each with the choice of either "Flight of the Dragon" or "Lorelei" end credits songs
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono classic export version dub with the choice of either "Lorelei" in English or "High Upon High" (the English version of "Flight of the Dragon")
• Hybrid English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono with choice of either Cantonese end credits song
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Fortune Star DVD-era dub with "Lorelei" in Cantonese
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by East Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
• Audio Commentary by East Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and F.J. DeSanto
• Audio Commentary by Kenneth Brorsson and Phil Gillon of the Podcast On Fire Network 
• Trailers:
• Cantonese Theatrical Trailer
• Mandarin Theatrical Trailer
• Japanese Theatrical Trailer
• English Theatrical Trailer
• 88 Films Blu-ray Trailer 
• DISC TWO (4K UltraHD):
• English Export Version:
• 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision/HDR10) 
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono with "High Upon High" end credits song
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• Japanese Version:
• 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision/HDR10)
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono with "Lorelei" in Cantonese
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• DISC THREE (Blu-ray):
• Hong Kong Version:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 original and home video mono mixes each with the choice of either "Flight of the Dragon" or "Lorelei" end credits songs
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono classic export version dub with the choice of either "Lorelei" in English or "High Upon High" (the English version of "Flight of the Dragon")
• Hybrid English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono with choice of either Cantonese end credits song
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Fortune Star DVD-era dub with "Lorelei" in Cantonese
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by East Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
• Audio Commentary by East Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and F.J. DeSanto
• Audio Commentary by Kenneth Brorsson and Phil Gillon of the Podcast On Fire Network 
• "The Art of Action" featurette with actors/stuntmen Scott Adkins and Matt Routledge
• "Celebrity Talk Show" season 2, episode 2 from 1989 featuring guest Jackie Chan
• "Rise of the Phoenix: Radek Sienski on Armour of God" filmmaker appreciation
• "Hong Kong Movie Tours - Then and Now"
• "Jackie Chan on VHS: The VPD Years" visual essay by filmmaker Steve Lawson
• Archival interview with actor Jackie Chan
• Archival interview with Jackie Chan's manager Willy Chan
• Archival interview with in-house Golden Harvest editor Peter Cheung
• "Playing with Dynamite" interviews with assistant directors Stanley Kwan and Alexander Chan
• "Police Story" Promotional Trailer
• "High Upon High – The Armour of Funk" 30th Anniversary Tribute:
• Music Video
• Behind the Scenes
• Split Screen
• Cantonese Theatrical Trailer
• Mandarin Theatrical Trailer
• Japanese Theatrical Trailer
• English Theatrical Trailer
• 88 Films Blu-ray Trailer
• DISC FOUR (Blu-ray):
• English Export Version:
• 10080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono with "High Upon High" end credits song
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• Japanese Version:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono with "Lorelei" in Cantonese
• Optional English Subtitles
• Comes in a limited edition O-Ring and Rigid Slipcase featuring artwork by Sean Longmore with 80-page perfect-bound book featuring new writing on the film by C.J. Lines & Thorsten Boose + selected archive materials, double-sided fold-out poster, and reversible sleeve featuring original Hong Kong art.

Also available as as a 88 Films website exclusive with different artwork. 

Film Masters plants THE TERROR in the LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (review)

Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson star in a Gothic horror film ostensibly directed by Roger Corman but featuring the contributions of the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, Jack Hill, Monte Hellman, as well as Nicholson himself in the director's chair.

REVIEW LINK: Film Masters (US) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

THE TERROR Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One - The Terror (1963):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Maste Audio and Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historians C. Courtney Joyner and Dr. Steve Haberman
• "Ghosts in the Machine: Art and Artiface in Roger Corman's Celluloid Castle" visual essay by film historian C. Courtney Joyner
• 2023 Re-cut Theatrical Trailer
• Disc Two - Little Shop of Horrors (1960):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Maste Audio and Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film star Jonathan Haze, moderated by author Justin Humphreys
• "Hollywood Intruders: The Filmgroup Story - Part 2" documentary
• 2023 Re-cut Theatrical Trailer
• 22-page collector's booklet featuring essays by C. Courtney Joyner and Mark McGee.

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88 Films pledges DRAGONS FOREVER (Review)

"Brothers" Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao reunite for a final time in DRAGONS FOREVER as a shady lawyer, a private detective, and a schizophrenic electronics wizard who get involved in intrigue between a fishing company suing a factory run by a vicious gangster.

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (U.S.) Region A/B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

DRAGONS FOREVER Blu-ray specs:

• Hong Kong Version:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• Cantonese Dolby Atmos
• Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Original Mono
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (Fortune Star DVD dub)
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (hybrid of classic dub and Fortune Star dub for scenes not originally dubbed)
• Optional English and English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Hong Kong cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema 
• Japanese "Cyclone Z" Version:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen 
• Cantonese Dolby Atmos
• Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English and English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historian Frank Djeng and filmmaker FJ De Santo
• Reconstructed English Export Cut:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles 
• "Elite Stuntman" interview with Chin Kar-lok
• "Writing for the Dragons" interview with Szeto Cheuk-hon
• "Benny Forever" interview with actor Benny "The Jet" Urquidez
• "Discussing Dragons Forever" interview with academic David Desser
• "Hong Kong Cinema Forever" interview with film historian Mike Leeder
• "Working with the Dragons" interview with martial artist Jude Poyer
• "Double Jeopardy" interview with martial artist Brad Allen
• "Beyond Gravity" interview with martial artist Joe Eigo
• "Kick Fighter" interview with martial artist Andy Cheng
• "Thai Breaker" interview with martial artist Billy Chow
• "The Legacy of Dragons Forever" featurette with today's actors and martial artists including Troy Sandford, Chris Jones, Ross Boyask, Maria Tran, Mike Leeder, Jean-Paul Ly, Mark Strange, Mike Moeller, George Clarke, Jude Poyer and Steve Lawson
• Behind the Scenes Footage and Outtakes
• Music Video in English or Cantonese
• Additional Cantonese Dialogue
• English Export Theatrical Trailer
• Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer

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Arrow Video lands on the FORBIDDEN PLANET in 4K (review)

A space crew's investigation on a planet in a distant star system where a scientific expedition disappeared twenty years ago uncovers technological wonders and invisible terrors in this science fiction take on Shakespeare's "The Tempest" starring Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, and Robby the Robot!

REVIEW LINK: Arrow Video (U.S./U.K.) Region ALL 4K UltraHD (DVDCompare)

FORBIDDEN PLANET 4K UltraHD specs:

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 2.55:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision/HDR10)
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, DTS-HD Master Audio 3.0 Perspecta Stereo, English LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by film historians Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw
• Theatrical Trailer 
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• "Unearthly Aura" appreciation of Bebe & Louis Barron's pioneering electronic score by historian and composer Neil Brand
• "Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, The 1950s and Us" 2005 documentary by Richard Schickel
• "Amazing!: Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet" 2006 documentary
• "Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon" 2006 documentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Lost Footage
• Bonus Film: THE INVISIBLE BOY, 1956 film starring Robby the Robot
• "The Robot Client" episode of THE THIN MAN guest starring Robby the Robot
• Two Excerpts from MGM PARADE
• Theatrical Trailers
• Image Galleries:
• Original Screenplay
• Posters and Lobby Cards
• Black and White Promotional Stills
• Color Promotional Stills 
• Comes with a slipcover, reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options, double-sided fold-out poster, and collectors' booklet featuring essays by Frank Collins, Johnny Mains, and Bob Furmanek.

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Also available on BLU-RAY! 

Radiance Films head to Italy for WORLD NOIR VOL. 5 (review)

Radiance Films' fifth WORLD NOIR volume returns to post-war Italy for crime in the seedy underbelly.  In THE BANDIT, matinee idol Amedeo Nazzari returns from a German POW camp to a bombed out Turin and falls in with a gang of robbers lead by Anna Magnani.  In AGAINST THE LAW, Marcello Mastroianni is a young shop worker who smuggles currency on the side and becomes the prime suspect when a man carrying American dollars is found murdered.  In FOUR WAYS OUT, a quartet of desperate men (including Italian horror favorite Paul Muller) rob a football stadium and have to part ways while being chased by the cops, and each finds their own sad end in guilt and betrayal.  Behind the scenes Italian film fans will find the talents of Pietro Germi, Alberto Lattuada, and Federico Fellini early in their careers.

REVIEW LINK: Radiance Films (U.K.) Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

WORLD NOIR VOL. 5 Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One - The Bandit:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.36:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Italian LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Interview with critic Fabio Melleli
• Interview with actor Amedeo Nazzari's daughter Evelina Nazzari
• Conversation between critic Fabio Melleli and Evelina Nazzari
• Interview with critic Christina Newland 
• Disc Two - Against the Law:
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Italian LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Interview with Italian film expert Stephen Gundle
• Interview with critic Manuela Lazic 
• Disc Three - Four Ways Out:
• Italian Version (80 minutes):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• Italian LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English Subtitles
• Italian Theatrical Trailer 
• English Version (75 minutes):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.37:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• English LPCM 1.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• English Theatrical Trailer 
• Interview with author and noir expert Imogen Sarah Smith
• Interview with critic Mario Sesti 
• Limited Edition of 3,000 copies presented in a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases for each film and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings, reversible sleeves featuring newly designed artworks based on original posters, and an 80-page bound book including new writing from Roberto Curti, Pasquale Iannone, Beatrice Loayza and Farran Smith Nehme, plus archival writing from Mary P. Wood. 

88 Films tells THE STORY OF RICKY in 4K (review)

Sentenced to a private prison for avenging the murder of his girlfriend by drug dealers, Lik-Wong (aka Ricky) employs his superhuman strength and fighting skills to defend the weak, taking on the sadistic warden, the slimy assistant warden, and their brutal enforcers in this gory Golden Harvest adaptation of the Japanese manga "Riki-Oh".

REVIEW LINK: 88 Films (U.K.) Region ALL 4K UltraHD/Region B Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

THE STORY OF RICKY 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray specs:

• Disc One (4K UltraHD):
• 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Widescreen (Dolby Vision)
• Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (original and alternate home video mixes)
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (classic dub)
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (Fortune Star dub)
• Optional English Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng, NY Asian Film Festival
• Audio Commentary by critic/writer Kim Newman and writer Sean Hogan
• Audio Commentary by film historians Audi Sorlie and Chris Ling 
• Disc Two (Blu-ray):
• 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 Widescreen
• Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (original and alternate home video mixes)
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (classic dub)
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (Fortune Star dub)
• Optional English Subtitles 
• Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng, NY Asian Film Festival
• Audio Commentary by critic/writer Kim Newman and writer Sean Hogan
• Audio Commentary by film historians Audi Sorlie and Chris Ling 
• 2026 interview with actor Fan Siu-Wong
• "Rising Star" 2015 interview with Fan Sui-Wong
• Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer
• English Theatrical Traile 
• Comes in a double-walled slipcase with artwork by Brutal Posters with a reversible sleeve featuring new art by Chris Barnes and original Hong Kong artwork and a foldout poster with original and new poster art. 

Wild Eye Releasing and Visual Vengeance unleash a SCREAM DREAM (review)

Hounded by reporters and church groups, fired by her manager, devil-worshiping heavy metal singer Michelle Shock possesses her new replacement in the band to take demonic revenge in this SOV horror from Donald Farmer starring Melissa Moore.

REVIEW LINK: Wild Eye Releasing (U.S.) Region ALL Blu-ray (DVDCompare)

SCREAM DREAM Blu-ray specs:

• 1080i60 MPEG-4 AVC 1.33:1 Pillarboxed Fullscreen
• English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
• Optional English SDH Subtitles
• Audio Commentary by writer/director Donald Farmer, moderated by Heath Holland
• Interview with producer/director Donald Farmer
• "Heavy Metal Horror Primer" conversation with podcasters Justin Decloux and Adam 'Riot' Thorn
• Actor Nick Riggins Interview
• Actress Jesse Raye Interview
• "The Art of the Scream" interview with special effects artist Rick Gonzales
• Behind the Scenes Image Gallery
• Donald Farmer Theatrical Q&A Excerpts
• Visual Vengeance Trailer
• Start-up Trailers
• Comes with a reversible sleeve featuring original VHS art and a folded mini-poster. 
• The first pressing also includes a Scream Dream Guitar Pick, and slipcover.

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