Thursday, July 30, 2009

Multo Kewl COFFIN JOE box out now!!!

Woo-hoo, I have waited since 1964 for this!!! The mighty fine video company Anchor Bay has just released an equally fine collection of COFFIN JOE films from their UK branch! Yay!! Spiffy!!!


Obviously I don't need to tell you that Coffin Joe (aka José Mojica Marins aka Zé do Caixão) is Brazil's best... uh, no cross that out... Brazil's WEIRDEST film maker!! And certainly also the most INTERESTING (yeah yeah, he's also the only Brazilian film maker I'm familiar with but still!).

This mighty fine box contains 9 films, out of which one is a documentary;

At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul (1964)
This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse (1967)
The Strange World Of Coffin Joe (1968)
Awakening Of The Beast (1970)
End Of Man (1971)
Strange Hostel Of Naked Pleasures (1976)
Hellish Flesh (1977)
Hallucinations Of A Deranged Mind (1978)
The Strange World Of Mojica Marins (2001)


In addition to the box Anchor Bay has also simultaneously released Coffin Joe's newest film EMBODIMENT OF EVIL (2008) as a 2 disc release. If you read the (multo lame'o) comments from most of the Amazon UK buyers who bought it you'll notice they all hate the film, haha.


Well, I haven't bought it yet but having watched some of Marins' earlier work I can certainly figure out why they dislike it: Coffin Joe simply doesn't follow the same dozen of strict rules that almost every motherfucker in Hollywood does. How dare he make films that challenges the viewer. How dare he make horror films that don't hail NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET or FRIDAY THE 13TH as God's gift to horror movie fans everywhere. How dare he be different.

Do yourself a favour and check out his films and ffs keep and open mind. DON'T BE AN AMAZON CUSTOMER REVIEWER WANKER!!!!!


NB: Don't get me wrong I DO like NIGHTMARE and FRIDAY etc. but I do acknowledge they're not the ONLY way of making horror films.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

A carefree film collector life soon to end


More crappy cell phone pictures from the past; This time it's Nils Markvardsen, editor of eXtase magazine, stoner/doom promoter and Denmark's spaghetti western aficionado #1 with a collection to boot!

In this photo Nils is standing in front of his DVD collection which soon will probably get ruined by little people and spat on and God knows what. Yes, Nils is becoming a daddy. Well, congrats Nils (I guess, haha).

AWE off the radar - update


I finally got a text message from AWE head honcho Jan Schmidt yesterday as a response to my inquiry about what's going on with their site, and why it's gone from Cyberspace. Jan replied they're sick of the website and from now on you have to send them an old fashioned letter (remember those ones?) if you wanna get in contact with them. I assume it's a joke.

Still, no website or blog online tho. Nor an answer from Mr. Eriksen. Oh well. Just good to hear they're at least not closing down despite their alternative way of running the company. Haha.


Ps: The bicycle chick has obviously noting to do with this post but is just there to liven up an otherwise dull entry. The piccie is clickable for bigger size too!

More obscure OCEAN SHORES oldies

I finally received two more WAY COOL video releases from the Hong Kong video label Ocean Shores; THE DEVIL AND THE ANGEL (starring Lo Lieh) and FLASH FUTURE KUNG FU (which I saw described online as a Blade Runner'ian kung fun movie set in the future!).



I got the two tapes from different sellers and it's fun how you never know what to expect when you buy something (fairly) blindly. One tape (Devil) was released in 1984 but the guy I bought it from might as well have bought it last week; That's how good it looks! Absolutely near mint condition. The other tape (Flash) was also released in '84 and obviously comes from a rental outlet and it certainly looks like it!



The inner see-thru plastic is cracked and some of it is coming off. The (probably) nicotine filled air in the store has made the same see-thru plastic completely yellow. And the outside box is totally sticky because it's so dirty from (I assume) hundreds or even thousands of hands that have touched it throughout the years. You wanna wash your hands after having touched it, haha. Buy hey, don't get me wrong, I'm really happy to have got both tapes! All the latter needs is a good scrub, LOL.

Monday, July 27, 2009

De Dødes Tjern (1958)

I finally watched Kåre Bergstrøm's excellent Norwegian horror movie DE DØDES TJERN from 1958 and... woh-hoah!! What an awesome horror film!!! This is a classic in Norway but is practically unknown in the rest of Scandinavia. My gawd, they should show stuff like this on Danish TV instead of those retarded reruns they keep force-feeding us with!!

The plot deals with a group of friends who stay in a cabin in the forest near a lake. The photography is great and the atmosphere is so thick you could slice it with a knife. But other than that description I'm not gonna spoil anything for you by revealing any more of the plot. But if you like spooky horror flicks then this is it! When you're a seasoned horror fan it takes quite a bit more to get a fright but... Gott im himmel!... I didn't even wanna go into my kitchen in the dark for more coffee during the film! I don't even remember the last time I watched such a spooky horror movie. Brrr. There are absolutely NO Danish horror movies, new or old, that come even close. It's an OFFENCE this isn't already out on internationally released DVD. And it's a pure crime to humanity that the upcoming DVD is a Norway only release. I just hope that at least it'll have subtitles in Norwegian (the accent was a little heavy in a few places but I understood most of the dialogue).
EDIT: the dvd has English and Norwegian subtitles.

DE DØDES TJERN is based on André Bjerke's book by the same title from 1942. There's a Danish edition from 1943, entitled De Dødes Sø.

Thanks to Dag-Johnny for getting me this on DVDr.


EDIT (28/07/09): When I raved about this film in my usual exaggerating manner over on Uncut.dk someone pointed out that the film NATTEVAGTEN (the original Danish version of NIGHTWATCH) is pretty good too. And I gotta admit; Yes, NATTEVAGTEN is definitely good! Actually, I bought it on UK DVD recently).
EDIT (29/09/09) Alright, alright, Lars von Trier's RIGET TV series is pretty damn good too!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

AWE off the radar


Almost a fortnight ago, on July 16., I noticed their web-site had disappeared from the Internet and their blog is gone too!

I wrote AWE main-man Jan Schmidt and asked what the hell is going on but received nothing but an auto message saying his email address doesn't exist. I also sent an email to AWE main-man #2 Kenneth Eriksen and asked the same question (this was 3-4 days ago) but never received a reply at all. Huh?!?! What's going on??? Is AWE closing down, have they gone into bankruptcy or what?

I spoke to someone who had met someone else who had spoken to someone whose name I don't recall but who is working for the two gents and this someone said they were on holiday. :-O I don't get it; if this is really the case I must admit I think it borders on less professionalism than I'd expect. How can you let a big professional business disappear off the radar just because you go on holiday. Besides, when I wrote to Kenneth Erikson I used his www.absurd-online.dk store address but there's absolutely no mention on his web-store front that the shop is closed for the holidays. So how about people who order DVD's???

I'll await the outcome of this with my breath held back in anxious anxiety (yeah right).

PS: The tampon girl has nothing to do with the contents of this post nor is it a comment on that post but I thought I needed something FUN to go with the otherwise dull text. Thanks to Kenneth M for the cutie.

hey free monies for ya

I just won all this money but, really, I have no need for money so it's yours if you want it. Here's the details:


Attn Web/ Internet user!!!

This is to notify you that your e-mail address was entered during the annual Euro Milliones Lottery
selection Draw and have won the sum of 470,000 euros.

Contact below claim officer for immediate process of your claim; Remember to quote
these numbers below for verification by the company.

REF: ESP/WIN/008/02/10/MA
BATCH: EURO/1007/444/606/09

You should include Your Name, Address, Sex, Age, Occupation, Nationality,
Phone numbers and Fax number.

Mr. ANTONIO GUZMAN (Claim Officer)
Email: sicclaimdept@luckymail.com
Tel: 0034634151884

Best regards,
Dr. Maria Jose Muyor.
Euro Milliones Lottery


I wonder if anybody is really that gullible? And I love the fact they don't know the plural form of 'million', haha (not to mention the proper use of full stop in English instead of a comma before thousands. So in reality the email tells you you have won €470, haha).

Kara Murat seyh gaffar'a karsi (1976)

aka The Magic Man / Der Racher Des Khan


I watched the Turkish adventure film KARA MURAT SEYH GAFFAR'A KARSI last night. It stars Cüneyt Arkin as a hero fighting an evil dictator. The film was the last part of an ongoing series that ran between 1972 and '76. The series contains these films:

1. Iki Esir (1971) Turkish/Iranian (Persian) co-production
2. Fatihin fedaisi Kara Murat (1972)
3. Kara Murat denizler hakimi (1977)
4. Kara Murat devler savasiyor (1978)
5. Kara Murat: Fatihin fermani (1973) aka "Karamurat: The Sultan's Warrior" (Mondo Macabro UK TV title)
6. Kara Murat ölüm emri (1974)
7. Kara Murat Kara Sovalyeye Karsi (1975) aka Der Heilige Krieg (German VHS title)
8. Kara Murat seyh gaffar'a karsi (1976) aka Der Racher des Khan (German VHS title)

[this list needs some fine tuning as I think there may be a couple more entries to the series + I need to check the production years]

Mostly you're left in the dark as to what's really going on in Turkish genre films as so few of them are dubbed or subtitled into other languages but fortunately KARA MURAT SEYH GAFFAR'A KARSI has been released on VHS in Germany so for once I could actually follow the plot closely.

Anyway, this isn't a review so suffice to say the film contains lots of action, violence, nudity, and Cüneyt Arkin doing what he does best: ridiculous stunts!! LOL. In one scene Arkin is fighting two crooks. He knocks one of them unconscious but the other one tries to escape on a horse. Arkin picks up the unconscious guy and throws him at the guy on the horse (and hits him even though he was riding away at full speed!!). Haha. Great stuff. In other scenes Arkin flies thru the air as if there's no gravity laws. Very enjoyable! :D

Next up in the world of wild flicks from Turkey at Casa J cinema is LIONMAN (aka Kilic Aslan) which I recently scored on English dubbed NTSC VHS. Yay!

Thanks to Ayman Kole for info about the Kara Murat series. And also thanks to "Joe" for the info on the Turkish/Persian co-production (they are both Turkish Aussies and they both live in Sydney and yet they have never met, haha.).



Re-post from 2009.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Insanlari Seveceksin

Hey, I'm getting THIS tape...



...with THIS wild Cüneyt Arkin film on it:

Thursday, July 23, 2009

The Lost Empire - trailer



Ahh, that good good man down in Amsterdam Peter (aka Petcor80) of Cinehound has a few cool trailers and stuff securely locked away in his vaults at YouTube. And I've just discovered he has the trailer for Jim Wynorski's amazing THE LOST EMPIRE!!

It's one of my all time favourite trash films and I strongly believe they should show stuff like this to little kids in school! LOL. THE LOST EMPIRE is trashy, psychotronic, gory. There's ninjas, the bad guy is a guy with dead skull for a face, the hero is a hot chick, there's a chick fight, there's a mud pool, and it's just full of amazing scenes, not to mention crappy dialogue! What's not to like!!! It'll always be on my Top 13 of fave flicks!

Released on Danish VHS as Ninja Amazone (if you're Danish you might wanna pull out STAY SICK! #3 where I babbled extensively about it).

THE RAPE AFTER - the rare trailer!!!

Peter over at Cinehound just posted the über-rare trailer for THE RAPE AFTER! He ripped it from the HK VHS.



Thanks, Peter!!! XD

For more thoughts on the film go to the drunk Norwegian's blog.

PS: Thanks to Piknikk med døden blog for linking!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

"Complete" list of OCEAN SHORES vcd's

BRUTAL SORCERY on VCD from Ocean Shores

I got a "complete" list of Ocean Shores VCDs from someone who actually used to work for Ocean Shores. The list is complete... except for the titles that are missing (haha, I kill me)!! The missing titles are the ones Ocean Shores had lost the rights for at the time of printing the catalogue. This means it's a complete list of their VCDs at the time of writing but not a complete list of everything they put out.

Whenever I get info on releases not included on the list I will add them (I have already added a few; i.e. the ones without Chinese titles). If any of you have catalogue numbers for titles not on the list please let me know. Cheers.

You can also check out our running Ocean Shores thread at Cinehound which includes both VCD's and video releases. If anybody has old OS catalogues it would be nice if you could either send me the printed catalogue or email me scans of it, or write off a day to write down the titles from it. :D Whichever way would be VERY appreciated!!!

Thanks to the Cinehound member and former Ocean Shores employee who provided me with the list.

And also thanks to those of you who provided titles that were missing from the original list. Sandra Bernhard put it the best: "Without you I'm nothing". LOL.



LIST OF OCEAN SHORES VCD RELEASES:

CV-002 花田?事 ALL'S WELL END'S WELL TOO 張國榮 許冠傑 關之琳 ?君如
CV-003 花街狂奔 (III) ESCAPE FROM BROTHEL 陳寶蓮 村上麗奈 方中信
CV-004: BROTHER OF DARKNESS
CV-005: DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS
CV-014: RED TO KILL
CV-019 夢差人 COP IMAGE 黄秋生 許志安 王馨平
CV-024 黄飛鴻對黄飛鴻 MASTER WONG VS MASTER WONG I 譚詠麟 鄭裕玲 曾志偉 ?孟達
CV-035 重慶森林 CHUNG KING EXPRESS 梁朝偉 林青霞 金城武
CV-038 燈籠 LANTERN 莫少聰 朱 茵 ?孟達
CV-047 我愛法拉利 TO LOVE FERRARI 周慧敏 邵仲衡
CV-051: A TOUCH OF EVIL
CV-055 尖東雙虎 FROM THE SAME FAMILY 徐濠螢 林文龍 張耀揚
CV-091 還是覺得?最好 HUSBAND AND WIFE 鍾淑慧 ?岱融 王 喜 ?秋生
CV-096 貼身保? (III) BODYGUARD, THE 米 雪 蔡珮玲
CV-097 但願有情人 FUTURE LOVE 譚凱欣 劉少君 程小龍 洪 鋒
CV-098 雷霆行動 ULTIMATE REVENGE 楊麗菁 劉少君 李莉莉 姚正菁
CV-142 再起風雲 LAST DUEL, THE 萬梓良 關芝琳 張偉健
CV-165 金榜題名 (III) TO BE NO. 1 張智霖 丁子峻 李修賢 任達華
CV-182 觸目驚心 INSTANITY 周海媚 任達華
CV-187 義本無言 CODE OF HONOUR 周潤發 柯俊雄 林 威
CV-220 四十二式太極拳 FORTY TWO FORMS TAI JI QUAN 薜安日
CV-231 十五億殺人網絡 WEB OF DECEPTION 葉方華 周文健 盧敏儀 彭 丹
CV-236 ?屍翻生 NEW MR VAMPIRE 錢小豪 王小鳳 呂 方
CV-237 天官賜福 REINCANATION 鍾鎮濤 葉 童
CV-268 ESCAPE FROM CORAL COVE
CV-275 淫種 RAPE AFTER, THE ?錦? 曾慶瑜 秦蔚文
CV-276 凶咒 BLOOD SORCERY 白 彪 馮天娜 谷 峰 關海山
CV-277 養鬼仔 CRAZY SPIRIT 呂良偉 胡慧中
CV-285 風雨双流星 THE KILLER METEORS 成龍 
CV-299 三十二式太極劍 THIRTY TWO FORMS TAI JI JIAN( SWORD) 薜日安
CV-373 詭計 WIPE OUT ?鎮宇 伍詠薇 曹永廉 紀炎炎
CV-375 DEVIL FETUS
CV-381 假如我是真的 IF I WERE FOR REAL 譚詠麟 胡冠珍 向 ?
CV-382 上海社會?案 ON THE SOCIETY FILE SHANGHAI 陸小芬 崔守平 彭君輝
CV-383 老友鬼鬼 FRIENDLY GHOST 曾志偉 岑健勳 王 青
CV-384 X陷? SEVEN FOXES 林青霞 爾東陞 葉倩文 孫 越
CV-385 花伴舞春風 FLOWER JUST SMILE IN THE SPRING BREEZE 譚詠麟 林鳳嬌 歸亞雷
CV-386 佳期鬧翻天 UNDATED WEDDING 鍾鎮濤 沈 雁 方 正
CV-387 冷眼殺機 EXPOSED TO DANGER 譚詠麟 陸小芬
CV-388 燃燒0.7度 BURNING LOVE 鍾鎮濤 藍毓莉 江 玲
CV-389 閃亮的日子 GOLDEN AGE, THE 張艾嘉 劉文正
CV-390 唐朝綺麗男 TONG CHEE YI LI NAN 夏文汐 紐承鐸 楊 帆
CV-391 娶錯老婆投錯胎 JOKES PALYING GAMES 董 驃 鄧碧雲 玄智慧
CV-392 悲之秋 SORROWFUL WEDDING, A 秦 漢 陳秋霞
CV-393 翠寒湖 SPRING LAKE, THE 秦 漢 林鳳嬌
CV-394 煙水寒 GLORY OF THE SUNSET, THE 秦 漢 甄 珍
CV-395 典妻 PAWNED WIFE, THE 陸小芬 謝屏楠
CV-411 ?馨在我心 MY SWEET LOVE 秦 漢 林青霞 薜 芳
CV-412 處處聞啼鳥 EVERYWHERE BIRDS ARE SINGING 林青霞 劉文正 馬永霖
CV-416 愛情長? RUN LOVER RUN 林青霞 鄧光榮
CV-418 戀愛反斗星 POOR CHASERS 林青霞 秦 漢 譚詠麟 歸亞雷
CV-419 楓葉情 FOREVER MY LOVE 林青霞 鄧光榮 藍毓蘭
CV-420 中國女兵 WOMEN SOLIDERS, THE 林青霞 湯蘭花 夏玲玲
CV-421 我是一沙? COME FLY WITH ME 林青霞 秦祥林 秦 漢 劉尚謙
CV-422 晨霧 MORNING FOG 林青霞 秦 漢
CV-431 兵兵賊賊 BOMB-SHELL, THE 徐少強 關 聰
CV-432 線人 INFORMER, THE 任達華 柳影紅 蘇絲?
CV-433 花? MY BELOVED 萬梓良 余安安
CV-435 FRIEND 過打 BAND FUNNY BOYS 鄭則士 呂良偉 王 青
CV-436 籠裡? DESPERADOS, THE 鍾鎮濤 ?杏秀
CV-437 摧花者死 RAPE AND DIE 周秀蘭 呂良偉 ?孟達
CV-438 碼頭 PIER, THE 梁家仁 徐少強 王龍威
CV-439 打雷台 FLASH FUTURE KUNG FU 呂良偉 王龍威 高 雄
CV-440 魔戰 DEVILS BOX 任達華 關雪麗
CV-441 馬後砲 COMEDY, THE 鄭則士 湯蘭花 王 青
CV-442 ?禍 YELLOW PERIL 鄧光榮 湯蘭花 張 翼
CV-443 毒蠱 BRUTAL SOCCERY 黎漢持 關海山 陳莉莉
CV-444 孖襟兄弟 COMPANY, THE 鄭文雅 廖偉雄 王 青
CV-445 我的媽媽 MY MOTHER 呂良偉 柯俊雄 甄 珍
CV-447 大? COP KILLER, THE 曾 江 ?元申 白 鷹
CV-450 冰雪情關英雄膽 INHERITOR OF KUNG FU 狄 龍 張 玲
CV-452 鬼馬五福星 LUCKY BY CHANCE ?拿五虎 沈 雁
CV-453 龍拳蛇手鬥蜘蛛 CHALLENGE OF DEATH 譚道良 王 道
CV-454 鶴形?手螳螂腿 DEATH DUAL OF KUNG FU, THE 王 道 劉忠良 韓 鷹
CV-455 大武士與小?客 HERO OF THE WILD ?正利 陳 星 龍君兒
CV-457 蛇魔女 THE SNAKE GIRL 李莎月 関山雲
CV-458 少林醉八拳 SHAOLIN DRUNKEN MONK 劉家輝 錢月笙 ?一道
CV-459 破戒大師 WARRIOR FROM SHAOLIN 劉家輝 劉家榮 劉家勇
CV-461 一膽二力三功夫 FISTS AND GUTS 劉家輝 羅 烈 尤翠玲
CV-462 神鵰英雄 SHAOLIN HERO 梁家仁 孟 飛 高 飛
CV-463 禪武門 GENERAL INVINCIBLE 鄭少秋 張 玲
CV-464 術士神傳 NINJA IN THE DEADLY TRAP 狄 龍
CV-465 連環炮 MAN FROM HOLLAND, A 呂良偉 陳惠敏 高 飛
CV-466 新死亡遊戲 NEW GAME OF DEATH, THE 何宗道 龍 飛
CV-467 老虎?星 END OF THE WICKED TIGER, THE 洪金寶 向華強
CV-472 獸心 BEHIND THE STORM 李修賢 ?錦?
CV-474 夢拳蘭花手 DREAMING FIST WITH SLENDER HANDS 胡 錦 龍 飛
CV-475 威震天南 BRUCE LEE THE INVINCIBLE 何宗道 陳星 陳恵敏
CV-476 洪文定與胡亞彪 GUY WITH SECRET KUNG FU, THE 孟 飛 燕南希 陳莎莉
CV-478 英雄 HEROES, THE 狄 龍 李修賢 施 思
CV-482 鷹爪螳螂 EAGLE'S CLAW 張 翼 戚冠軍 王 道
CV-483 神刀流星拳 GREEN JADE STATUETTE, THE 孟 飛 戚冠軍 王冠雄 高 飛
CV-485 快樂英雄 BROTHERHOOD OF HERO, THE 衛子雲 凌 雲
CV-489 勾魂針奪命拳 FATAL NEEDLES VS FATAL FISTS 王 道 張 翼 羅 烈
CV-490 洪熙官 方世玉 陸阿采 INVINCIBLE KUNG FU TRIO, THE 劉忠良 孟 飛 陳觀泰
CV-491 離別勾 DEADLY SWORD,THE 余安安 衛子雲 凌 雲
CV-492 碧血洗銀槍 SILVER SPEAR 田 鵬 田 鶴 孟 飛
CV-493 蝶無影 DARK LADY OF KUNG FU 張 玲 田 鵬
CV-494 七十二?星 72 DESPERATE REBELS, THE 白 鷹 衛子雲 陳 星 宗 華
CV-495 大鷹王 EAGLE KING, THE 宗 華 葛小寶 譚恩美
CV-496 二等良民 SECOND CLASS RESIDENT 喬 宏 彭健新 余綺霞
CV-500 失節 ANGER, THE 陸小芬 林在培 劉?燕
CV-501 微笑 SMILING FACE, THE 甄 珍 秦 漢 周月薇
CV-502 痴情奇女子 KILL FOR LOVE 陸小芬 張富美 趙樹海
CV-503 南拳北腿活閻王 HOT,THE COOL,AND THE VICIOUS,THE 王 道 譚道良
CV-504: CRAZY BLOOD
CV-508 陰陽奇兵 THE YOUNG TAOISM FIGHTER 袁日初 劉皓皓
CV-509 鬼馬天師 TAOISM DRUNKARD 袁日初 袁祥仁 袁信義
CV-511 ?館 THE CHALLENGER 徐少強 姜大衛
CV-518 佻皮?冤家 SPRING FEVER 譚詠麟 彭雪芬 李道洪
CV-519 東追西??跳? GOING UP ANY BODY 譚詠麟 胡冠珍
CV-520 錯體情 LOVE ME LOVE ME NOT 譚詠麟 胡冠珍 林在培
CV-521 真真的愛 TRUE LOVE 甄 珍 秦 漢 胡茵夢
CV-522 學生哥 PART TIME JOB 譚詠麟 應采靈
CV-523 神勇女?星 GIRL WITH A GUN 譚詠麟 銀 霞
CV-525 寧靜海 SILENT LAKE, THE 恬 ? 胡茵夢 馬永霖
CV-527 愛的賊船 PIRATE OF LOVE, A 秦祥林 張艾嘉
CV-529 女賊 PINK THIEF 陸小芬 崔守平
CV-530 雁兒歸 FLYING HOME 秦 漢 陳秋霞
CV-531 瘋狂年輕人 CRAZY YOUTH, THE 陸小芬 恬 ? 林南施 李慕塵
CV-532 情深恨更深 TAINTED LOVE 秦祥林 甄 珍 秦 漢
CV-533 愛有明天 LOVE IN THE SHADOW 秦 漢 甄 珍 劉尚謙
CV-534 黑?瑰 CRISIS CRISIS 陸小芬 王 道 倉田保昭
CV-535 冷艷嬌娃 SEXY LADY DRIVER, THE 陸小芬 張富美 林在培
CV-536 霹靂戰士 WOMEN WARRIORS OF KINGMEN 陸小芬 呂秀菱 銀 霞
CV-537 誘惑 TEMPTATION 陸小芬 龍劭華 馬 莎
CV-539 一片情深 CHOICE OF THE LOVE, THE 秦祥林 林青霞
CV-541 天生一對 FUNNY COUPLE, THE 譚詠麟 陳秋霞
CV-543 東邊晴時西邊雨 COME RAIN COME SHINE 秦祥林 唐寶雲 甄 珍
CV-545 蘭花草 REUNION IN THE RAIN 秦 漢 伍 楓 王 孫
CV-546 霧茫茫 MISTY LOVE 謝玲玲 劉尚謙
CV-564 鷹爪鬼手 EAGLE'S KILLER, THE 張午郎 ?正利
CV-566 老夫子 OLD MASTER "Q" 喬 宏 丁 佩 梁 天
CV-568 水月十三刀 LONE NINJA WARRIOR 田 鵬 夏玲玲
CV-569 狼女白鷹(魔) WOLF DEVIL WOMAN 張 玲 石 峰 王 ?
CV-570 金粉遊龍 MATCHING ESCORT 張 玲 孟 飛
CV-571 蓋世奇花 MIRACULOUS FLOWER 張 玲 歸亞雷 宗 華
CV-572 寒山飛狐 JADE DAGGER NINJA 田 鵬 龍君兒 田 鶴 宗 華
CV-573 珠江大風暴 TORNADO OF PEARL RIVER 譚道良 胡 錦
CV-578 不夜城 SLEEPLESS TOWN 金城武 山本未來 曾志偉
CV-579 猛鬼醫院 GHOST'S HOSPITAL 葉德嫻 車保羅 關海山
CV-580 大?里 COUNTRYMAN, THE 譚炳文 李香琴
CV-581 大?里續集 COUNTRYMAN AND SCAVENGER 譚炳文 李添勝
CV-582 ?係得口既 YOU ARE WONDERFUL 譚炳文 李香琴 沈殿霞 盧海鵬
CV-583 大男人 GREAT MAN, THE 譚炳文 沈殿霞 李香琴 盧海鵬
CV-584 鬼馬狂潮 CUNNING TENDENCY 沈殿霞 李香琴 ?韻詩 李道洪
CV-585 大鬥大 ULMOST GREATNESS, THE 譚炳文 李香琴
CV-586 ?居仔與牛?眼 CRAZY BOY AND POP-EYE 元 寶 鄭則士 盧海鵬
CV-587 四維太極扇 TAI JI SHAN (FAN) 羅 媛
CV-594 火燒紅蓮寺 STORY IN TEMPLE RED LILY 嘉 凌 譚道良 謝玲玲
CV-596 追命殺手 AVENGER, THE 江 彬 李 ? ? 彬
CV-597 怒火 SOUL OF SAMURAI 張清清 江 彬
CV-600 再見阿郎 GOODBYE DARLING 張美瑤 柯俊雄 祝 菁
CV-603 江湖正將 FORTUNE HUNTERS 錢小豪 朱寶意 謝 賢
CV-605 一年幽夢 ONE YEAR'S FANTASY 鄧光榮 甄 珍
CV-607 超齡處男 OH! MY GOD 董 ? 午 馬 羅 烈 谷 峰
CV-608 靈魔 OBSESSED, THE 苗可秀 高 強 關 生
CV-609: DEAD CURSE
CV-611 黑色午夜 MIDNIGHT 顏麗如 陳?琪 于?蔚
CV-612 星期六約會 SATURDAY DATE, A 秦祥林 恬 ?
CV-622 邪妻 WICKED WIFE 梁修身 陸勝蓮
CV-623 柳暗花明又一春 STEALING LOVE, THE 胡燕? 鄧光榮 金 川
CV-624 男歡女愛 LOVE COMPETITION 湯蘭花 鄭少秋
CV-626 今生今世 IMPETUOUS FIRE 鄧光榮 余安安 唐菁
CV-627 象妻 ELEPHANT WIFE 金露華 ?靜芳
CV-629 情竇初開 YOUNG LOVERS 秦祥林 恬 ? 周丹薇
CV-631 愛苗 BELOVED GRASS, THE 秦祥林 王釧如 葛小寶
CV-632 手足情深 BROTHERLY LOVE 秦祥林 王 羽 恬 ?
CV-636 少林佛家大道 SHAOLIN DISCIPLE, THE 劉家勇 谷 峰 盧 穎
CV-638 仙妻 FAIRY WIFE 江 彬 張清清 田 明
CV-639 真假太太 TRUE AND FALSE WIFE, THE 柯俊雄 歸亞蕾 左艷蓉
CV-640 糊塗英雄 LUCKIEST, THE 林子祥 林建明 伊 雷
CV-641 獸性地獄女 UNREAL DREAM 陳惠敏 陳莉莉 高 飛
CV-642 大通緝令 BIG RAID, THE 孫 越 陳莎莉 崔柏生
CV-643 七先生與?巴花 MR.SEVEN & THE DUMB GIRL 劉嘉芬 倪敏絲
CV-645 新雨夜花 FLOWER IN A RAINY NIGHT 柯俊雄 谷名倫 李湘
CV-648 野蜜桃 WILD CHERRY 陳莉莉 曾 江
CV-652 人虎恋 TIGER LOVE 董? 羅烈 胡錦
CV-656 四月的旋律 APRIL MELODY 程天賜 張正蘭 嘉凱
CV-660 時來運轉 LUCKY BREAK , A 柯俊雄 陳莎莉
CV-662 從地獄來的女人 WOMAN FROM HELL 歐 威 陳慧美 王冰冰
CV-663 一?求生 DRESSED OFF FOR LIFE 米 雪 陳惠敏
CV-664 橫掃魚蛋? INTERPOL 秦 沛 陳莉莉 楊??
CV-668 醜人多作怪 STOOGES IN LOVE 張 帝 康雅嵐
CV-700 中國匣 CHINESE BOX, THE 謝洛美艾朗斯 張曼玉 鞏 俐 許冠文
CV-743 高壓重犯 HIGH VOLTAGE 李小龍之女 - 李香凝
CV-764 遊方和尚 WANDERING MONK, THE 李炳雄 林小虎 易 原
CV-771 風流殘劍血無痕 MASK OF VENGENCE 譚道良 李修賢 苗可秀 金 剛
CV-803 醉拳女?手 NO ONE CAN TOUCH HER 嘉 凌 金 剛 孫嘉林 鍾 凌
CV-817 忍者神? NINJA AND THE THIEF, THE 王 道 甄琇蘭 倉田保昭
CV-834 諸葛四郎大鬥雙假面 LITTLE HERO 上官靈鳳 羅 烈
CV-845 武僧 GUARDS OF SHAOLIN 羅 ? ? 龍 劍 勳 戴 澈
CV-859 黑血 BLACK BLOOD 王敏德 黎姿 海俊傑



THE RAPE AFTER on VCD from Ocean Shores! Thanks to Stephen Gladwin for the scans.

(click scans for full size)

Blood is a splendoured many thing. Especially on VCD

Gee, it's the wildest things you find on VCD! Look what I bought last night:



I also picked this up:



Michael Wong in BLACK BLOOD on a VCD from Ocean Shores. This is actually the last VCD release Ocean Shores put out (at least according to their catalogue).

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Dark & Nasty HK: THE RAPE AFTER (1983)

Here it is, boys and girls; The mother of all dark and nasty horror movies from Hongkong from the 1980s: THE RAPE AFTER (original title: Yin Zhong)!!!


(click scan for proper size)

Okay, maybe I'm overdoing it slightly here but as they say in oldskool kung fu movie dubs: "But still!". LOL.

Anyway, courtesy of Peter80 from Cinehound here's the rare HK VHS cover from Ocean Shores. And no need to ask; No, I don't have this tape myself. And yes I cry myself to sleep every night because of it.
:-(

I do however have the Japanese tape with in two ways is superior to this tape: 1) it's uncut. The HK tape is slightly cut. And 2) it's letterboxed. The HK VHS is fullscreen. HOWEVER, the HK tape (and LD & VCD) is subtitled in English. It's unfortunate that Japan has never been a British crown colony as they don't feel the need to subtitle their films in English. :/

Thanks to Peter for the scan!

EDIT (21/7/09): I forgot I actually also have a really good full size scan of the the VCD release of the film so here it is!




(click scans for full size)

Big thank you's fly out to Stephen Gladwin for providing me with the HK VCD scan. Cheers mate!



WEIRD ASIA
Weird Asia was thee coolest website for weird and crazy films from Asia! It was run by my mate Günter Müller (in Austria) but it is unfortunately long gone. However, one of his reviews that I still have is incidentally for THE RAPE AFTER so without any further ado let me just say... take it away, Günter my much missed friend:



THE RAPE AFTER (minor spoilers)
Director: Tom Lau Moon-Tong
Cast: Melvin Wong Gam San, Chang Hing Yue, Chun Wai Man, Ha Pin, Wong Yat Fei, Chan Yau Hau, Hung Law Bat...
Hong Kong 1983
Running Time: 91 min.
aka YIN ZHONG aka YAM CHUNG
Translation of the original title: 'Licentious Seed' or 'Lewd Seed'


The story is a bit complicated, so I reduce it to the most important things. Shu Ya, a young model, gets involved with photographer Mo Hsieh Sheng , who stole a strange statue from a temple. He takes her home to take advantage of her, but both get very drunk and fall asleep. In the night, a demon (seems he emerged from the statue) appears and rapes the young woman in her sleep. The photographer falls in love with another woman (Li Ting Ting, who is the daughter of the master of the temple from where he has stolen the statue). In the meantime, the model learns that she is pregnant. Mo takes her to a dubious doctor who performs abortions. But during the abortion, a storm with thunder and lightning turns up, and the abortion is seriously disturbed. Shu Ya decides to keep the baby, and Mo takes her to the hospital. On the ride there, the two begin a dispute about the future of the baby, and a fatal accident happens. Mo survives, but Shu Ya burns alive in the car wreck. She promises revenge. "You'll pay for what you've done!" Later in the morgue, an autopsy is carried out on the horribly burnt corpse, when suddenly (after cutting open the womb) hands snatch at the doctor and pull his face into the guts. In the ensuing struggle his head comes off. A slimy baby is seen crawling away from the corpse, tearing out the umbilical cord. Later, very strange and terrible things happen around Mo, his girlfriend Li and the master. Mo, with the help of some priests, tries to find out the cause of the strange happenings and fights back.

THE RAPE AFTER is an excellent but sadly almost unknown horror classic from Hong Kong. Made in 1983 by Tom Lau Moon-Tong (his only movie as director), THE RAPE AFTER mixes various influences to a highly effective brew.

The story seems to be straightforward, but you are wrong thinking that. There are a few subplots involving the mother and the retarded brother of Shu Ya, as well as the family of Li Ting Ting and her father, the master. Most of this stuff happens in the first half of the movie, making the structure of the plot a bit slow and complicated, but after the baby is "born", the action never eases up.

This movie is without a doubt one of the best and goriest horror movies made in Hong Kong in the 1980s. An undisputed classic of horror cinema if you ask me. There is absolutely no comedy in between the proceedings (which often is the case in Hong Kong movies), making this a very dark and disturbing film. I really go as far as to say that THE RAPE AFTER is equal to European horror classics from Fulci and Argento. Even zombies make a fine appearance in this excellent film.

Right from the beginning, the film has a dark and threatening atmosphere. Until the rape by the demon (which has more the feeling of love-making; there is no struggle and the woman responds to the demon's touches) there are no supernatural elements, but in spite of this, the movie is dark and depressing. There are sad scenes with the deformed brother, or long shots of the stinking and rats-infested room where Shu Ya's mother lives. The director takes his time to tell the story, showing many details in the depressing life of the model. After the rape, or more exactly, after the fatal accident, the film takes a completely different turn and becomes a revenge spectacle like you have never seen one before. Well maybe you've seen one: SEEDING OF A GHOST (1983) is even more bizarre and gory. What makes it even more shocking is the fact that the revenge is warrantable. The man (Ho) is not directly responsible for the happenings. Sure, he stole the statue and unknowingly frees the demon, but the impregnation and the accident are not directly his fault.

The second half of the movie is awesome. You can't deny a European feeling to the action. There are many wonderful setpieces, in which terrible things happen. Dario Argento's SUSPIRIA or Lucio Fulci's THE BEYOND come to mind when seeing the second half of THE RAPE AFTER. One of the best setpieces I've ever seen involves a priest in a dark room, who is attacked by rats and birds. This is filmed very effectively from the opposite direction to the light, so an eerie look with creepy shadows is created. Then some birds fly through a torch, catch fire and attack the priest, turning him into a living human torch. This scene (and many others) has almost a surreal quality to it, is beautiful to look at and has a nightmarish feeling at the same time. But there are more setpieces like this.

There are some surprising twists and turns, as well as great shock scenes (for example the discovery of a corpse in a closet and a rat crawling out of its mouth). But in contrast with most of the new generation of horror movies (especially the teenie-slasher cycle), THE RAPE AFTER doesn't rely solely on "boo-scares" to shock and disquiet the viewer. It's the tone, the atmosphere and the story that counts!

One scene in particular reminds me on another sci/fi-horror classic. The scene in question is the examination of the hideously burned corpse of the woman, which has many similarities to the burned remains found by scientists in John Carpenter's THE THING (1982). And it also is put to great effect in this film.

Director Tom Lau Moon-Tong does not cut away at the murder scenes (he also edited the movie, by the way) and shows a few brutal and shocking killing sequences that don't need to hide from European gore classics. An axe in the head or ears being torn off are made very compentently. Apart from that the movie is very atmospheric and spooky. Most of the creepy scenes are filmed with a cold blue light that looks fantastic. The music is very eerie, unusual, and loud, creating strange noises that make your hairs stand up. And the cast is pretty good and believable too. So if you have the chance to get hold of this excellent film don't hesitate a second. You won't be disappointed!

Dark HK: SEEDING OF A GHOST

Back in the early 90s I was a tape-trader and some of the films I had to get via tape trading were from that genre I like to call the "Dark and nasty horror movies from Hong Kong from the 1980s"! And one of the most legendary HK horror films among horror fans was... SEEDING OF A GHOST!!!

[VHS/Hongkong/fullscreen/in Cantonese/English subs]

(click scan for proper size!)

SEEDING OF A GHOST was never released on video neither in the UK nor the US, or anywhere else outside of Hong Kong (or Hongkong as they used to spell in back in the day in HK). Later it came out on HK VCD as well but it wasn't till quite recently that it was finally granted a DVD release. I'm not sure if there ever was a laserdisc release.

Anyway, the VHS soon disappeared and you had to resort to tape trading in order to get one. And getting a tape off an original tape was almost as difficult. Often you had to settle for foggy 3rd, 4th, or 5th generation dupes! Sometimes the colours kept disappearing. And you wonder why I spit in the face of fanboys who complain that perfect DVDs are "terrible" simply because they have something like one or two scratches to the print. :/ As far as I remember my VHS dupe of SEEDING was fairly alright, but when the DVD media became common and I got the chance of getting a DVD bootleg obviously I jumped at it right away headfirst. And now as I said there's a perfect DVD outta Hong Kong.

But enough of this baloney; The sole reason for this post is that after all this time I have finally got hold of the cover from that original legendary Ocean Shores VHS release!! No, I don't have the tape but my good mate Peter "Kothar" over at Cinehound has provided me with a scan. Thanks mate, I appreciate that!!!

SEEDING OF A GHOST was produced by Shaw Brothers and was originally meant to be the second sequel to BLACK MAGIC however SB decided otherwise. I believe it was due to the high level of gore and nudity in the film.

Friday, July 17, 2009

The Big Boss Part 2 (1976)

I just stumbled over this trailer for a Lo Lieh sequel to Bruce Lee's THE BIG BOSS and... whoah... I must admit it looks both wild, crappy, exploitative and, well, it's got Lo Lieh in it!!




Apparently the trailer is totally rare but it seems the film is even more rare!! I haven't been able to find ONE single vhs or dvd release of the film listed on the Internet. Not even a crappy fullscreen bootleg!!! If any of you know of a release please let me know. Cheers.

Beware: Don't get too exited if you find a DVD or VHS of "The Big Boss 2" right away if you do a Google; There are at least two other films that use the same title! :/

The magazine scans are nicked from HKMDb so thanks to whoever uploaded them.

Click scans for bigger size.









Notice how the article writer misspells Bruce Lee's name as Bruce "Li". Ironic as one of the Bruce Lee clones that was "invented" after his death was none other than Bruce Li.


Director:
Chan Chue

Cast:
Lo Lieh
Wang Ping
Michael Chan Wai-Man
Lee Kwan
Hung Wang
Saan Saan
Wong Kin-Chau
Chiu Lik

There's more credits info on HKMDb so go there if that's what your heart desires. I just couldn't be arsed to copy it all. LOL.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Oh Anthony

AWE Con 2007

More crappy photos from my cell phone! This time from ANOTHER WORLD ENTERTAINMENT's first convention that was held back in 2007. I managed to get only these three shots of MADS JENSEN, NILS MARKVARDSEN, and myself. But if nothing else they contain a mystical, foggy quality that almost makes them otherworldly.

And also, all three photos show someone who at some stage wrote booklets for AWE releases. Obviously, Mads and Nils are the booklet writers extraordinaire. Me, I'm... well... I remember Mr. AWE himself, JAN SCHMIDT, once said to me: "Jack, you know, if you get a real job they'll expect you to hand in your stuff on time".

So what if I'm a li'l slow at getting thangs done, that's just SEXY!!! Hahaha. Oh well, here's the pix:

Nils Markvardsen



Mads Jensen



Jack J

Profile in Anger trailer (1984)

Aka Wu Ming Huo / Fight Spirit of Hero.

While checking out trailers on FLK's YouTube channel I discovered this seemingly exciting film. The reviewers on HKMDb (all three of them) all dis the movie as being boring or confused but on FlashLeg's site they describe it as the most violent kung fu movie ever made! How could that be boring, LOL. Anyway, check out this trailer.



PS: I would just like to bring a big round of applause to everyone who's linking to any of my blogs or who's following them, the newest ones being Ninja Dixon and Poppu Kohlberg. Thanks mates, it's all very appreciated! :D

Wolf Devil Woman trailer!!!

If you've never watched WOLF DEVIL WOMAN you MUST check out this trailer for this AWSOME movie. It's Hong Kong cinema at its most wild and crazy! (and it's not even from HK but Taiwan, LOL).



And no need to ask where you can get a DVD; WOLF DEVIL WOMAN has never been granted an official DVD release. There's a VCD and VHS from Ocean Shores + various other VHS releases, both dubbed into English (actually it's been dubbed into English twice!) and in Mandarin with English subs.



And congrats to Patrick who finally secured a copy yesterday.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

A video night long ago in downtown Copenhagen

More exciting stuff!!! This time from a video night long ago. Present were yours truly with a cell phone camera, Nils Markvardsen (editor of the film mag eXtase), Heine Sørensen (video collector since the late 70s), and Henrik Larsen (Obskuriøst magazine editor who went off in a different direction long ago soon after this night. Hey, Henrik, let's forget the past! Heine and I would love to hook up over coffee sometime).

I don't remember the films so this is really all that's left, LOL.



Nils, Henrik and me (camera)



Henrik and me (camera)




The voices of Nils, Heine, me (camera), and we get a quick glimpse of Henrik


The name's Arkin. Cüneyt Arkin!

Wauw! Check out this exciting trailer for KANUN GÜCÜ (1979). I wish some more of this stuff was out subbed.



Oh and this one:



AWESOME!!!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Video International

One of the most legendary video companies in Denmark was Video International. The label existed back in the 1980s and was run by just the one guy. I'm not even sure of his name. Anyway, Video International put out tons of cool titles, titles that are now sought after by VHS collector scum everywhere (like myself, haha). For an incomplete list of their releases go here.

Old-timer VHS collector Heine Sørensen outside the old Video International building on Gasværksvej 16, Copenhagen.

At some stage, I believe it was towards the end of the 1980s, the owner jumped the boat and took off in direction Far East. Apparently the tax authorities were breathing down his neck so at some stage he just decided he'd had it and left it all behind; the company, the video tapes, even his wife!! A couple of (individual) collectors have tracked him down to Thailand but the trail grows cold there. None of them actually found his exact whereabouts. The first collector to track him down was Thure Munkholm of Uncut.dk and the second collector, Diabolik/Hans Jørn of Cinehound, told me he'd found out that the Video International owner's name was actually attached to all kinds of crime!

BLOOD OF DRACULA'S CASTLE (cover courtesy of Dag-Johnny)



Anyhoo, a little while ago me and my mate Heine Sørensen set out to find the old Video International headquarters and sure enough we found it in the middle of Copenhagen. Unfortunately, none of the old HQ was left. I had kinda hoped no one would have touched the place and that we would be able to just walk in and we'd be standing in the middle of tons and tons of rare, dusty video tapes that wouldn't have been touched since he took off back in the 80s. Well, needless to say all what was left was the building which is now used by people who don't even realise they're living where this legendary video label used to be. And all we've got left are old moldy video tapes and a couple of photos that I took of Heine outside the old building. Boo-hoo. :-(

JUNGLE VIRGIN FORCE was one of five Indo flicks that Video International put out. The other four were: DEVIL'S SWORD, ESCAPE FROM HELL HOLE, BLAZING BATTLE, and THE INTRUDER ("Rambu").

[click both covers for bigger size]

Maybe I didn't drink enough water today...


...maybe my mind is deceiving me again (get off me damn bugs!!!) but I could have sworn I'd seen this post before: Moveon.net

Now, I'm sure I saw a dancing dwarf here somewhere.

De Dødes Tjern on dvd in October (or: Hell Comes To Your Tjern)

Great news! Two weeks ago, I wrote to Nordisk Film in Denmark and asked them about a possible DVD release of the Norwegian 1958 horror movie DE DØDES TJERN and today I (finally) received an e-mail from Nordisk Film's branch in Norway saying the film is going to be released on October 14!

Great news indeed! It seems it'll be a Norway only release but I can live with that. Let's cross our fingers it'll have English subs so people everywhere can get to enjoy this classic (and I say that even without every having watched anything but the two clips I linked to in the first post!!!).

Thanks to Elvira Vegas Messel of Nordisk Film Distibusjon for the info. She also read my first blog entry. :D
Now, Elvira, how about a review copy??? LOL.

Monday, July 13, 2009
















I know; overkill. LOL.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

The world's coolest track on Friday



Ahh, The Pixies with "Where is my mind". I lived in a shared house filled with Kiwis in Gant's Hill, Essex when this came out. Obviously, the Pixis' obscure music was what kept my mind from disappearing completely into the abyss. New Zealanders are weird, man!! LOL.

The video is a fun fan made video by the way.

Lost Asia: YOUNG FLYING HERO (1970)

For the longest time this film (which appears to be an amazing kung fu monster movie!!) was considered lost among fans! Well, as we speak it's on its way to Casa J!!

:-D

YOUNG FLYING HERO (Taiwan, 1970)





Unfortunately, this remains lost:

DEVIL FIGHTER (Taiwan, 1969)

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Argento on Danish ex-rental

Over at Uncut.dk messages board we're trying to figure out how many collectors have these very rare Danish ex-rental tapes of Argento films. I know, I know, a completely waste of time but, well, that's how it is to be a geeky collector. :-D

In the early days these Danish tapes were very sought after by international horror and splatter movie fans as they offered uncut, English dubbed prints. Well, most of them were uncut anyway. ;-)

So, if you're either in Denmark or somewhere else; if you have one of these tapes do let us know. Cheers. You'll find the thread here.

And if you don't collect your films in a modly format that belongs to a bygone era then if nothing else you can enjoy these very rare covers that sure beat the crappy photoshop covers of today's DVD releases. They just don't make 'em like this anymore!







(click scans for bigger size)
All above scans are courtesy mr. Diabolik.

Crazy Indonesia: The amazing THE WARRIOR series

Mexican lobbycard for "The Warrior"

If you have never come across any of the JAKA SEMBUNG films starring Barry Prima you have been missing out on some WILD cinema!! The Jaka Sembung series, or THE WARRIOR as it's known in English, is a series of totally awesome and highly entertaining adventure films from Indonesia. Gory adventure films I might add! In short the series deal with the historical freedom fighter Jaka Sembung who fought the Dutch imperialists when they occupied Indonesia until fairly recently. A rather amusing detail is that one of the markets where the films have been most widely distributed on video is actually Holland. Indonesia's old scurge. :-D

The first film is THE WARRIOR (original title: Jaka Sembung Sang Penakluk) from 1981. It's directed by Sisworo Gautama Putra and stars Barry Prima in the lead role as Jaka Sembung. Also Eva Arnaz and Dana Christina are featured. Just like Barry Prima they starred in tons of genre films in the 80s. Barry Prima stars as the main character thru out the whole series. Here's a trailer for THE WARRIOR:



Fortunately, THE WARRIOR is easy to get hold of as it has been released on a spiffy wee disk by those gents from Mondo Macabro, Pete Tombs and Andy Starke. The first film is also out on a handful of different video releases, both in Greece, Holland, and the UK. There are also versions dubbed into other languages such as German. Beware of the UK tape as it's cut. It's missing no less than 31 seconds!!!

Unfortunately, the Mondo Macabro release is the only DVD of any of the films in the series. :-( Mondo Macabro were considering to put out the four sequels which would have been amazing not least since the last two films have never been released outside of Indonesia/Malaysia, nor have they ever been dubbed or subtitled into English. However, unfortunately the MM's DVD hardly didn't sell at all! According to Pete Tombs (from his posts on Cinehound message board) many "fans" were happy enough with downloading the film (illegally) from torrent sites. It's terrible to think that because of this we may never see proper DVD releases of these sequels.

Here's my VHS from Holland:



The second film in the series is THE WARRIOR AGAINST THE BLIND SWORDSMAN (original title: Si Buta Lawan Jaka Sembung). Directed by Dasri Yacob, 1983. The film was released on VHS in Greece, Holland and the UK. The UK tape is cut by 5 seconds. Check out the trailer here:



As the title suggests Jaka Sembung teams up with the blind swordsman character (it's a slightly odd title as they're actually not fighting each other but teaming up against the oppression!). The blind swordsman later returned in the spin-off sequel simply entitled THE BLIND WARRIOR (more on that later).

And here's my Dutch VHS cover for the film:



The last English dubbed THE WARRIOR sequel (unless you count the spin-off as a sequel) is THE WARRIOR AND THE NINJA (original title: Bajing Ireng Dan Jaka Sembung). Directed by H. Tjut Djalil (1983) who also directed LADY TERMINATOR, MYSTICS IN BALI, and many more. Some sources claim THE WARRIOR AND THE NINJA is aka The Warrior 2 but my Dutch VHS release clearly labels THE WARRIOR AGAINST THE BLIND SWORDSMAN as films #2. But whether the two films were swapped around in some territories I don't know. But my gut feeling tells me it's merely a fuck-up by fans who didn't spend enough time on their research.

EDIT: After I wrote this article and originally posted it on my other blog it has come to my attention that there's a good chance THE WARRIOUR AND THE NINJA is indeed film #2 in the series. It doesn't matter that much tho in regards to viewing enjoyment as they're totally unrelated in their plot lines.

Here's the trailer for NINJA:



And here's my Greek VHS release which is the one to go for as it's letterboxed. There's also a letterboxed tape from Australia but finding that one is probably more rare than getting laid at a dike slumber party (to coin an old Damon Foster joke, haha). Unfortunately, all the video versions I've seen are too dark during the night scenes. The best version (during the night scenes) is actually the Malay VCD where you can see what the bloody hell is going on, LOL. Unfortunately, it's in Indonesian, it's fullscreen, and pixelates all over the place. There are als Dutch and UK releases. Amazingly enough the UK tape is uncut according to the BBFC. :-O



The last two sequels are BERGOLA IJO , dir: Arizal (1983) and JAKA SEMBUNG DAN DEWI SAMUDRA, dir: Atok Sugiarto (1990). None of them have English titles and I haven't been able to find any trailers for them, nor do I have any scans of the VCD covers. But anyway, regardless of how rare these films are (apart from #1) or that two of them aren't in English, if you enjoy wild and crazy movies then you really ought to check out the JAKA SEMBUNG / THE WARRIOR series.

And finally, the bastard 6th film in the series; the spin-off sequel THE BLIND WARRIOR (original title: Neraka perut bumi) in which the blind warrior character from THE WARRIOR AND THE BLIND SWORDSMAN makes a return. Directed by RATNO TIMOER in 1987. Timoer also did THE DEVIL'S SWORD (also released by Mondo Macabro, and highly recommended!) and many more. In contradiction to the "real" THE WARRIOR sequels this was actually released on DVD - twice even!! In the UK and Germany (both DVD's carry English and German dubs). Unfortunately both DVD's are long out of print but at least you have to chance of getting a copy from a friend. There was also a German dubbed VHS and an English dubbed VHS was released in Hong Kong (with Chinese subs). If you can find a copy of that video you're one lucky fellar cos it's very rare.

The German VHS which basically uses the same cover as for the German and UK DVD releases.
[click scan for full size]


There's no trailer for THE BLIND WARRIOR on YouTube so here's a clip from the film instead. It's... over the top - as is the entire series!!! You should try and find them.



THE WARRIOR AGAINST THE BLIND SWORDSMAN and THE WARRIOR AND THE NINJA are available from Far East Flix (yes, they are boots off Dutch video tapes). The picture quality equals VHS quality.