River of Death (1989) (Kino Studio Classics) - May 2015

[MifuneFan]

Kino will be releasing River of Death (1989) in May 2015

https://www.facebook.com/KinoLorberS...type=1&theater

COMING IN MAY - ONE BLU-RAY & DVD - ALISTAIR MacLEAN'S RIVER OF DEATH - STARRING MICHAEL DUDIKOFF, ROBERT VAUGHN, DONALD PLEASENCE, HERBERT LOM & L.Q. JONES - DIRECTED BY STEVE CARVER

INCLUDES A BRAND NEW AUDIO COMMENTARY BY STAR MICHAEL DUDIKOFF AND DIRECTOR STEVE CARVER

River of Death trailer (Cannon Films) - YouTube

[Ill_Be_Back]

I have always wanted to see this one, time to check it out on Blu-ray.

[Dvd Aficionado]

Unless you are experiencing sleepless nights, don't watch this.

I managed to finish watching this on DVD after two sittings...

Try it

Dudikoff's finest films are American Ninja, Avenging Force, and Platoon Leader (This should be on blu-ray instead )

[Michael24]

Yeah, the pacing was always an issue for me. Still, I'm just happy to finally start seeing Dudikoff movies coming to Blu-ray, so I'll definitely get this.

[L'armée des ombres]

One of many many very bad movies made after a novel from Alistair MacLean.
It's compelling considering many of those novels were quite good

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by Dvd Aficionado

Unless you are experiencing sleepless nights, don't watch this.

I managed to finish watching this on DVD after two sittings...

Try it

Dudikoff's finest films are American Ninja, Avenging Force, and Platoon Leader (This should be on blu-ray instead )

Platoon Leader is awesome...def should see a release.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

I'm actually pretty stoked on this. I saw "River of Death" in the the theater during the one week it stayed in theaters. A theater near me used to get all the Cannon movies, and you could only count on the Dudikoff movies being there for one week, sadly. Right on through the mediocre "Rescue Me" with Stephen Dorff in 93, I think. As for "River of Death", kind of disappointing at the time, me being an action junkie, but I'm a big fan of Michael Dudikoff since American Ninja. And him being an Indiana Jones-type adventurer, I'm in. One thing that stayed with me over the years, is Sasha Matson's score. Adds immensely to the film, imo. It's actually available on CD, and I bought it from Amazon. Disappointing third act, but I still have great nostalgia for this film. Thanks, Kino.

Funny how much love movies like Sleepaway Camp 2/3 get around her, but this movie will likely get very little attention.

[Michael24]

Yeah, the score is pretty good. I bought the CD many years ago, along with a soundtrack that had music from Avenging Force and the first three American Ninja movies. Was honestly surprised both even existed!

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

Platoon Leader is awesome...def should see a release.

I'd buy Platoon Leader in a heartbeat. I got it on VHS back in the '90s, but for some reason it was in EP (pre-recorded store-bought copy, too, not a TV recording) and the playback quality was really crappy on our VCRs. It was full of tracking issues and crackling audio. So a Blu-ray would be most welcome.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Nice! Someone posted on Avenging Force's IMDB page, years ago, a downloadable link to the Ninja soundtrack you're talking about. titled "American Fighters", right? Music from the films of George S. Clinton. Included the soundtracks for American Ninja 2,3, Avenging Force, I think. Interesting to discover that the entire scores for each film is only about 20 minutes or so of original music. It's great stuff, though.

[Michael24]

The full title is "American Ninjas and Fighters." Includes 23 minutes of American Ninja, 16 minutes of American Ninja 2, 10 minutes of American Ninja 3 and 21 minutes of Avenging Force. Obviously not the complete scores of each film, but suites containing most of the best stuff a fan would want. Also has the incredibly cheesy "The Cobra Strikes" song from AN3.

Here's the listing on Amazon.com, although copies are a bit pricey.

[Markgway]

Terrible film... but I'm glad it's paving the way for continued Cannon releases.

[Ill_Be_Back]

I really love the artwork;

[RadicalThrasher]

So I've had this since its release and have watched it a few times now.

A few thoughts.

First it looks really great, another nice job by Kino.

I like Michael Dudikoff and think he does a good job in this, but man this movie is all over the place. Its like they jammed so many ideas in here, and while there's alot going on, at the same time its like nothing happens. It had been so long since I'd originally seen it, I forgot how wild and crazy it is. The payoff in the end tries to tie everything together in one quick scoop. The nazi's, the multiple revenge plots, the plague, the missing girl, etc . Mindblowing

Anyways the movie is entertaining enough and at least it tries to be a good action/adventure movie. Glad it got released, and Dudikoff fans should be happy, I know I am.

[HorrorBlu]

Had this confused with Damned River and got excited for a minute...

Oh well.

[icy hot]

Ordered this from the sale on Kino's website. From the descriptions here I'm either going to love it or hate it, probably won't be a middle ground for me.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Finally got this and am very happy with the job Kino did and am very thankful they put it out. Awesome to see it looking so good, definitely makes you appreciate the film more. I really like Dudikoff in this. His screen presence was as cool as ever and this role was the biggest acting stretch for him at the time. He does a good job, just wish River of Death delivered a bit more action and a stronger climax. That Sasha Matson score adds a lot to this Cannon production.

Need to listen to that Michael Dudikoff and Steve Carver commentary now. That should be very interesting.