Police Story (1985) / Police Story II (1988)

[Geoff D]

I tell you what though Shingsy, there's a stunt in Die Hard that still makes me wince and it's when matey gets his knees shot out and he goes flying through the air and plunges head first through a pane of glass, it's a crazy stunt. Not saying it's PS related in any way but it's just got that bonkers HK feel to it.

[Shingster]

Oh yeah, there's some really crazy stunts in Die Hard, but I find that the western way of shooting them often doesn't give you time to really appreciate the insanity of what you're seeing, which is perhaps how it should be. I know that JC's "repeat shot" technique pulls you out of the film somewhat, but at least it gives the stunt performer their moment (even if the JC stunt team members who did the various Clock Tower falls in Project A never got their due credit).

[El_Fez]

While the stunts and all are very cool, it's the Kung Fu that elevates these movies into the realms of "best action flick". Anyone can jump from a clocktower and land on their head. But someone beating the hell out of 40 guys with a ladder is way more impressive.

[Shingster]

When I used the term "stuntwork" in my previous post I was not talking about the big showstopping setpieces, but the plethora of all scales of stunts that Jackie incorporated into his action sequences, they are woven into the very fabric of the fight choreography. In terms of kung fu Jackie's fight scenes post Dragon Lord were relatively simplistic with Project A being a good bridge between his old traditional fight work and his new modern martial arts films. Drunken Master 2 was really his return to his old style of kung fu heavy sequences once he took over from Lau Kar Leung, but he didn't really do that again.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Shingster

Oh yeah, there's some really crazy stunts in Die Hard, but I find that the western way of shooting them often doesn't give you time to really appreciate the insanity of what you're seeing, which is perhaps how it should be. I know that JC's "repeat shot" technique pulls you out of the film somewhat, but at least it gives the stunt performer their moment (even if the JC stunt team members who did the various Clock Tower falls in Project A never got their due credit).

Right, which is why I love that stunt as mentioned because after the cutaway to his knees getting shot out it's this one glorious slow motion shot of the stuntie (I think it's actually the stunt coordinator's son!) flying through the air with the greatest of ease...and then putting his face through a window.

[hanshotfirst1138]

Originally Posted by TheLostWarriors

I thought the Weinstein Company was supposed to go down under because of the lawsuit against Harvey.

If it does, does that mean their stuff will revert to Disney, or that we may have a shot at seeing some the of HK films they’ve held hostage?

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by hanshotfirst1138

If it does, does that mean their stuff will revert to Disney, or that we may have a shot at seeing some the of HK films they’ve held hostage?

The Weinstein Company had no connections to Disney; they were independently owned. Miramax’s library has been owned by a different entity for years.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by Shingster

Yeah exactly, if anyone has the stroke to tell Ritrovata where to stick it, it's Criterion, and if anyone is in a position to argue with Fortune Star, it's Criterion given that they probably aren't planning a slew of subsequent HK film releases that will require them to maintain an amicable relationship with Fortune Star to pull off, but will Criterion pull their collective thumbs out of their collective assess and make demands? I'm not entirely hopeful of that tbh!

Where exactly does this image of Criterion as a badass negotiator and demander of terms come from? The closest I can think of is Brazil where they compared Gilliam's original vision to the studio's foolishness in the "Love Conquers All' version of the film. But that was probably because the people who made those decisions weren't there anymore and the newer people either thought differently and didn't care about a long-released film. If anything they are more likely to take it than stick it, case in point The Last Emperor. Here was Storaro obviously ruining the compositions of one of Bertolucci's best known works. Criterion could have insisted on having the OAR at least in addition to the Storaro's cropped mess. But they just meekly took it while Geneon Universal Japan released the film in its OAR, even if it was an older master.

[Shingster]

I'm not trying to paint a picture of Criterion as a "badass negotiator", I'm pointing out that Criterion are a significantly larger company than most boutique labels (in fact almost every other boutique label) and therefore they are in a stronger financial position in order to negotiate with. They are also not going to be as dependant on a good relationship with Fortune Star as other labels because they're almost certainly not looking to open the floodgates on HK action in general, they'll release Police Story and then sit on their arse for a couple of years with regards to HK action like they've always done. This means that again: They are in a stronger position than other labels.

I don't recall if Criterion have ever even bothered to "negotiate" with asian rights holders though, they seem perfectly happy distributing RitrovataVision HK releases as they stand.

[Mr. Chaverria]

Toho. I think talking to Toho was a pain the ass about how to make it work for Godzilla.

[dwk]

The thing with Toho is that, essentially, they've been working with them since the late 50s. So Toho is a bit more accommodating with Criterion (this is not to say that Toho isn't still a pain in the ass.)

[Mr. Chaverria]

I think Toho has a fine relationship w/ Criterion but that that didn't transfer over so cleanly for Godzilla. Toho, "understandably", have a heavy stake in that Kaiju. For some reason, Toho has a weird thing about how Godzilla films are handled for this or that reason in the HD era.

[monwobbbo]

Originally Posted by Mr. Chaverria

I think Toho has a fine relationship w/ Criterion but that that didn't transfer over so cleanly for Godzilla. Toho, "understandably", have a heavy stake in that Kaiju. For some reason, Toho has a weird thing about how Godzilla films are handled for this or that reason in the HD era.

Toho practically gave away rights to Godzilla films back in the day. they didn't make much more than the budget for the film back in foreign sales (granted this made Japanese showings profitable). Godzilla generated a ton of money and now they expect to benefit as much as possible from that. VHS releases for most G titles were pretty shoddy as were some DVD releases. Toho decided that they didn't want shoddy product dragging their main product down so they are really picky about it. they also tend to value the other kaiju almost as highly as Godzilla and want real money for them as well.

[prkchopexpress]

really hope that theatrical run is decent and widespread.

[sapiendut]

Can we have these movies with a brand new scan in 4K instead?

[Shingster]

Well you're getting a brand new 4K scan, but UHD does not seem to be on the cards for the nearby future.

[Mr. Chaverria]

Originally Posted by sapiendut

Can we have these movies with a brand new scan in 4K instead?

The amount of people that want this film is very low compared to something like a major studio catalog title on UHD's audience. Would I want this on UHD? Hell, yeah. It's just not worth it right now. UHD isn't that big yet.

It's a miracle we're getting this. More than likely it'll be better than the first BD go around for these films here in the US.

In butchering a Chappelle show to my needs, Pace yourself. These things take awhile. It takes a minute. Take your chips and get the **** out of the casino. You're about to crap out.

[hanshotfirst1138]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

The Weinstein Company had no connections to Disney; they were independently owned. Miramax’s library has been owned by a different entity for years.

Who has the death grip on Drunken Master 2?

[dwk]

Originally Posted by hanshotfirst1138

Who has the death grip on Drunken Master 2?

In the US, whatever hedge fund that owns the Miramax catalog and Lionsgate.

[sonny gaunt]

Originally Posted by hanshotfirst1138

Who has the death grip on Drunken Master 2?

I just recently received a Warner Brothers copy from South Korea-NOVA boutique. It only has a slip cover, whereas many of their other releases had hard covers. It is playable in Region A.