WOMAN PRISONER NO. 407 part 2 - rare English dubbed version on Greek VHS

aka YEOSU 407HO 2 (org. title) / PRISONER 407 - part 2 / GIRLS IN THE TIGER CAGE 2 / RETURN TO TIGER CAGE / IM CAMP DER GELBEN TIGERINNEN

Director Sin Sang-Ok (S-Korea/Taiwan 1977)

I've just won this very rare Greek VHS release of WOMAN PRISONER NO. 407 - PART 2 at an eBay auction. There is ONE dvd release of the film but according to the German dvd comparison website Schnittberichte.com the German dvd is pretty awful. It contains two versions of the film, the completely censored German cinema print (missing a whooping TEN minutes) in the correct aspect ratio, and a fully uncut version in an over-matted aspect. Go figure!

And although the disc is English friendly in that it has English subs it only carries the German dub. The Greek VHS is fullscreen so hopefully at least it won't be missing picture info top and bottom, and it is dubbed into English. It should be uncut as well. I have NO idea of where to get the first film. I think it was released on a Chinese video tape of some kind.

Here are two scenes from part 2 that someone in Korea uploaded from a Korean VHS:



The description for this scene doesn't include the sequel number "2" but whether that means this really is from the first film or from the sequel I don't know. I have a feeling he just forgot the sequel number but I can't tell for sure.

Angels, guns, virgins, the apocalypse. It's here!!

"ANGELS, GUNS, VIRGINS, THE APOCALYPSE? WHAT A MESS!!" I HEAR YOU SAY. WAIT TILL YOU SEE THE FILM!!!

The new German dvd release of ANGELS WITH GOLDEN GUNS (aka Virgin Apocalypse / Terror im Frauenlager) has finally been released! Actually... it came out two weeks ago but I wanted to make sure I got hold of the limited "Cover A" before I told y'all about it, haha (sorry, but there's only a 100 printed!). But in any case, here it is!

I received it this morning and haven't had time to check it properly yet. The film is a wild mix of Girls With Guns/WIP/Girls Kick Ass And Look Cute/and-what-have-you film from Hong Kong 1988. I've previously watched it via a raw fullscreen copy off a vhs and I don't know what director ANG SAAN was on but he must have popped a lot of it to make the result so totally over the top wild and crazy as he did - while making absolutely no sense at all. Well, I kinda thought I had figured out what the hell the film is about but maybe I got the plot all wrong as other people (IFD expert Jesus Manuel being one) have watched it repeatedly and still don't know what it's about, haha.

ANGELS WITH GOLDEN GUNS has never been out on official dvd before and old vhs releases suffer from crappy fullscreen formats and/or having been dubbed into languages only spoken by little people in hidden away places. The new German dvd has been taken from a 35mm German print that I'm told was missing 1 minute of footage, however, the missing footage has been reinserted into the film from a German vhs (luckily the vhs was also in the right picture format). And don't worry, fellow English speakers, the dvd does indeed come with both German AND English dub.

Spannick, who provided me with the info via Cinehound forum, told me the German dub has totally cool music that isn't in the English version. So it would probably be fun to watch it in that version as well (maybe for the second viewing if you don't understand Deutsch). I'll repost the scene Spannick uploaded which is off the German print and definitely has a cool score. I do remember the music in the old vhs version as being pretty boring. Hmmm, come to think of it I don't even think it HAS any music in this scene. :/

The dvd also has a full extra film, COMMANDO FURY (aka Training Camp / Girls in the Tiger Cage / Aufstand im Frauenlager). The film is listed on various sites as being from HK 1986 but the HKMDB lists it as being from Taiwan 1983. The old German vhs release is heavily censored (check screen grabs of cuts here) but the new dvd is uncut. Unfortunately, the film is owned by IFD in Hong Kong and they didn't even have a proper print! All Joseph Lai could offer was a crappy fullscreen master with massive frame cuts. I'm told that most of their film stock consist of old crappy fullscreen video masters that were used for the old original video releases!

They don't even have 35mm prints in the correct aspect ratio any longer! That is so sad! It's not very often we're lucky enough that a label actually wants to have anything to do with these old cult films and when finally someone does wanna put them out on a proper dvd release ... they can't fucken do it because Joseph Lai didn't bother to keep original prints! Argh!! This is also the reason why the dvd release of KILLER ELEPHANTS is fullscreen (the lbx version was included off a German vhs). The German company decided to skip the fullscreen print and used a fully letterboxed Japanese vhs instead. The tape master is dubbed into English and subtitled in the black bar (I'm told the new dvd has covered up the subs).

The film is available from D&T MAILORDER in Austria. There are links to the handful of different covers here (it's become a trend in Germany to release the same film with multiple cover options). Alternatively, you can order it directly from Björn Niehüser who runs the label. Anyway, I'm off to the Frauenlager (women's prison camp)!! xD

- Insane girl fright scene:


- The original trailer (in fullscreen, the film on the dvd is in letterbox):

Ahh, come to daddy

Here it is!! The ultra ultra ultra rare UK precert VHS release of Dennis Yu's ultra violent Hong Kong video nasty THE BEASTS. The film is from 1980 (some sources say 1981) and apart from being a legendary horror-rape revenge film it's also an important entry to the original Hong Kong new wave films. Very happy to have finally got hold of this tape. I wonder if it's uncut. o_O


In regards to HK new wave films: It's a label used for first time directors who made gritty movies about life in HK around 1980. There's a Wiki article here (unfortunately, the author includes both John Woo and Wong Kar-Wai in that article and that's just silly! They probably did it because often in the west you get the impression those two directors basically CREATED the Hong Kong film industry. Kar-Wei didn't make his debut until 1988 for crying out loud! And the well-dressed gangsters of John Woo's films hardly portray real life lowlife crooks on the street).

Wild Bollywood

I've had this track on a Bollywood film theme CD for years but never thought of looking for a video of it on YouTube. Thanks to an Englishman trapped in Sweden for making that connection for me. This track and its video are so great my eyes are bleeding.

The film is KISMAT from 1968 and it's available on an English subtitled DVD from India. I've just bought a copy from a seller there via eBay (the DVD won't ruin anybody's budget, it was VERY cheap!). If you look up the film make sure you find the right one; Apparently the title was popular in India and I've come across at least two other films by the same title.

In case you're interested the CD is called "The Kings and Queens of Bollywood - Classic Sixties Indian Film Themes".

Asian film facebook fan group interview with JACK J (i.e. the guy who does this here wee blog!)

Yeah, the KWAIDAN KLUB fan group on facebook has started a series of monthly interviews and the first one is with yours truly. Interview and intro by Nom Pauo.


Nom Pauo
With blessings from Sharon and Hope, KK will be doing a monthly member profile. Why? (Entering suck up mode) Because you are all beautiful people that are more than merely a screen name or obnoxious profile photos. You're more than weirdos who finds joy in seeing an innocent Japanese girl turn into a psychopath and make her victim eat puke, you're flesh and blood. You have interest and you have a story to tell. If this attempt at sucking up doesn't hold up...then i will say, we're doing it because we felt like it lmao! Enjoy or endure :)

***Interview with Jack Jenson***
Every now and then the world comes in contact with greatness. Basketball had Michael Jordan. Boxing had Muhammad Ali. Rock had Freddie Mercury. In this age of Facebook interest groups we have Nom Pauo. But that’s not to say the subject of this month’s interview isn’t an awesome person either :) How awesome? How awesome?! How dare u ask you heathens! Well for one the guy’s name is a fuckin alliteration! You wished ur name had poetic device! but thats not all folks. Jack is a connoisseur of obscure cinema - the kind that nobody would know about if it wasn’t for people like him. To top it off, the guy’s a published writer as well as established blogger. And the big cherry on top, he’s a ladies man. Observe as he breaks down the science of relationship :) So without further adieu, the talented the handsome...Mr. Jack Jenson! (oh and take notes cause you'll want to write down a few film suggestions ha!)

Nom Pauo
whats up, jack?

Jack Jensen
Hey there, hello, G'day mate!

Nom Pauo
Lets cut the crap and gettothe meat of the matter. Word on the street is, you're a popular with the ladies! Whats ur secret??

Jack Jensen
Suck it in. Agree with the ladies. It may be hard on your manhood to spend 3 hours with them on shopping but it pays off. And don't talk about the footy or your mates all the time. Oh, and it's okay to show a weak side (just don't overdo it, you don't wanna become "one of the gals" if ya catch my drift).

Nom Pauo
I concur with that last part. Get i tried getting in touch with my feminine side and was told "you're making me uncomfortable" can u believe that?!?

Jack Jensen
Weeell, as I said you don't wanna overdo it. If you start being as "feminine" as one of their gay friends you're overdoing it, LOL (oh, and to quote an entire episode of SEINFELD: "Not that there's anything wrong with being gay, of course")

Nom Pauo
Hmm...maybe i shouldnt have tried it on...
so anyways. Now that the important stuff is out of the way, why dont u tell us a little bit about urself.

Jack Jensen
Whatever you fancy is fine by me, just don't expect me to take part.

Nom Pauo
lmao!! Noted.

Jack Jensen
Hmm, about myself, eh. I'm located in the north of Europe, in Denmark. I spent a few years in the UK and a while in OZ (i.e. Australia) due to a 10 year relationship. I usually say I'm 90% Danish and 10% Aussie. I'm way too old and I always wanna go somewhere else. LOL.
I've always been a collector, comic books, crime novels, records, films.

Jack Jensen
I've written for fanzines the past 20 years, I think I did my first piece in 1993 and published my own zine in 1994, entitled "Banned in Britain". Already back then I had got into Asian films and issue #1 had reviews of Hong Kong films (and one Japanese splatter anime) in it. Nowadays I run a handful of blogs, two of them on obscure Asian films. But they're kinda *different* to what most fans of Asian cinema is into these days. If you belong to a counter-culture by watching Asian films then I'm the counter-culture to the counter-culture. LOL.

Nom Pauo
Ha, "Banned in Britain"! What was that all about?

Jack Jensen
Well, the plan was that it was going to only deal with splatter films. You know, a lot of those films were banned in the UK. The whole "video nasty" scare of the 1980s is well documented now. I lived there at the time and it was difficult to get hold of films like TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE or just about any uncut Dario Argento film. The gore films that DID get a vhs release were usually cut by the censor-board (the BBFC). I had to have tapes sent in from Europe to be able to watch them. You could go to jail if they caught you with a copy of CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST!! I wanted the title of my zine to be a comment on that. When I said that was the plan it's because I kinda failed in doing that. Haha. I began to review other cult films that weren't necessarily straight gore films. Later I also did a zine called "STAY SICK!" which was more about all kinds of various films.

Nom Pauo
Yea i saw that in ur profile description saying ur the Editor-in-Chief. Talk a little about Stay Sick Magazine. What was the inspiration? Where do u hope to go with it?

Jack Jensen
Uhh, if I had ambitions of grandeur then I think I'm probably doing what I do all wrong. LOL. I've been publishing my mag since 1999 and all I have managed to put out is 6 issues! I'm working on a new one though. The inspiration clearly came from the alternative US film magazine "Psychotronic Video" which I began buying in London when #3 came out. I wanted to cover "psychotronic" films (i.e. films that somehow belong to the "fantastic" genres). My old zine "Banned in Britain" (BIB) was entirely in English but when I started doing "STAY SICK!" in 1999 there was only one other fanzines in Denmark and I wanted to give the Scandinavians a proper alternative film zine. So I decided to write SS entirely in Danish. Of course, nowadays everything is online but I still wish to put out more print issues. It's more fun to do print mags.

Nom Pauo
So you were actually one of the earlier e-zine publisher? Thats pretty cool man!

Jack Jensen
No. I never published e-zines, only print ones. I do a few blogs though but that's not what I'd call e-zines.

Nom Pauo
Ah, gotcha. Thats still pretty cool dude even if only 6 issues were published. So lets chat asian cinema.

Jack Jensen
Ok.
I should add I also printed 2 issues of BIB and I've written for a bunch of other zines published by other people. Ever since #0 "Weng's Chop" has wanted me to take part and hopefully I'll get some stuff done for their next ish.

Nom Pauo
Weng Chop? Thats Brian's publication right? Pretty awesome dude! (Shoutout to Brian btw) You mentioned earlier u were exposed to asian cinema early. I remember in one of the discussion in KK u mentioned that The Green Hornet was the first asian film u saw. Was that the film that sparked ur appreciation for asian cinema?

Jack Jensen
I reckon that was the very first "Asian" film I saw yes. Asian because it has Bruce Lee in it but needless to say it was made in the USA and it's in reality a few episodes of the 1960s tv series that were edited into a film. It ran in the European cinema and I watched it in 1979 or '80 with my dad and my cousin. But my real interest in Asian cinema came much later, in around 1989 and it kinda takes us back to the video nasties in the UK again. I bough a couple of issues of a UK fanzine called "In the Flesh" and they would write about the usual stuff, ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS, DAWN OF THE DEAD, RE-ANIMATOR, etc. but in addition to all that they also had a section on Hong Kong cinema. This was around 1990 and it's important to remember that nobody, and I do mean nobody, in the West knew anything about Hong Kong genre cinema. So this was the time when the very first few fans began to discover HK horror and gangster films; the new wave of HK cinema so to speak. The gangster films were soon dubbed "Heroic Bloodshed" films and in those pre-dvd days there were no legal ways to get these films. To be a fan of Asian or HK cinema is easy. You get any film you want from Amazon, eBay or download. But then there was no Amazon, no (illegal) torrents, not even video tapes. I remember the only HK films that were released in the UK back then were THE KILLER and A BETTER TOMORROR and a few fullscreen, English dubbed kung fu films. You simply had to rely on tape-trading. I'm not sure if I have to explain this to, uhh, our younger readers (yes, I feel THAT old now). What you'd do is you'd write up a list of the films you had on vhs and then send it to your friends. Friends that you might have got in touch with thru classifieds in fanzines, and then they'd send you a list and you would make vhs dupes of your films and send them. You'd swap so to speak. My god, I haven't thought about this for so long. Haha.

Jack Jensen
But back to your question; Well, I read those early HK reviews in "In the Flesh" and some of the other small fanzines, and in 1991 I was fortunate to catch HARD-BOILED at the 40th Film Festival in Melbourne and when I was staying there (on and off betweeen 1991 thru to '96) I would go to the Chinese cinemas and catch as many HK films as I could.

Jack Jensen
Later in the '90s there were a couple of cool video labels that popped up in the UK, "Made in Hong Kong" and "Eastern Heroes", that put out heaps of these films so it definitely became easier to get them.

Nom Pauo
Ha surprisingly i just recently saw Hard-Boiled, lol!! I was always more into the fantasy kung fu stuff lol. Being around asian cinema for as long as you have, what's your thought on the current state of Asian Cinema?

Jack Jensen
Well, the funny thing is even though I've been around for so long I'm not even all that good at asking. I discovered the new wave of HK cinema and kinda like Robin Williams in JUMANJI I got stuck in the past! I STILL try and track down every 1980s and 1990s HK film ever made. But I couldn't tell you about the state of new Korean or Thai cinema. Sure, I've watched a pile of those films, and Japanese ones as well but most of them were random viewings. I don't follow the current state of those countries. Ask me about an old Taiwan film about a flying head with its intestines dangling underneath and I can tell you, but new cinema not so much. I'm sure there's heaps of cool new horror films (as most members of the fb page keeps mentioning) but I'm not the right one to ask. On the other hand... sometimes I'm thinking I'm actually the ONLY one who does actually watch old dark HK or Taiwan horror films. LOL. We're back to the "counter-culture to the counter-culture". I love Godzilla films and Japanese horror films like KAÏRO but I'm by no means an expert on those. There's still films being made in Hong Kong but it's nothing like in the "good old days" (the '80s/90s). And I fear the freedom and wanting to do wild films may very well be over due to Mainland censorship.

Nom Pauo
What are some of the recent ones you found yourself impressed with? (Recent as in after 2000 lol)

Jack Jensen
I thought Jonnie To's VENGEANCE was great. A kinda return to A BETTER TOMORROW style films kinda. KAÏRO was great. One of the few films that have scared me for many years. And the early new wave of Japanese horror films like RINGU etc. (end)
Oh, and GONG TAU was great too. My mind is blank. LOL.

Nom Pauo
Lol. Kairo, from many discussions ive had was one of them love/hate film. I rather enjoyed the allegory presented in that film! South Korea has been on a tear the last couple years. Whats ur thought on their outputs?

Jack Jensen
Well, like I mentioned earlier I'm really the wrong person to ask about most Asian cinema. I'm a Hongkongese! (film wise). I've seen a fair share of Japanese monster films as well, and I love the LONE WOLF films but I've only watched a handful of S-Korean films films, one was H which I quite liked. I've watched a ton of films from the Philippines that no-one else regards as "Asian" (but they are). In the 80s and 90s they filmed heaps of lowbudget Vietnam War movies in the Philippines and I quite like those.

Jack Jensen
A lot of fans of Asian cinema follow what's happening currently. I'm more someone who seeks out forgotten stuff that nobody else knows about. The obscure stuff. Old horror films from HK, Taiwan or even Thailand about flying heads and stuff like that. Or gangster films that totally bombed when they came out because they tried to imitate John Woo and failed miserable. I track down those films and enjoy them.

Nom Pauo
Ha, well as a connoisseur of older hong kong flicks recommend a few Jack Jenson's essential. The more rare and obscure the better ha!

Jack Jensen
Haha. Well, one genre that I always try and persuade fans of new Asian horror to track down is a genre I like to call the "Dark and Nasty Hong Kong Horror Films of the 70s & 80s" LOL. These films were wild and gory to say the least. They often dealt with black magic and they were set in the "backyard" of Asia. Some of them were:
Black Magic 1 &2, Black Magic With Buddha, Boxer's Omen, Brutal Sorcery, Centipede Horror, Calamity of Snakes, Curse of Evil, Dead Curse, Devil Fetus, Her Vengeance, Killer Snakes, Lewd Lizard, Seeding of a Ghost, Red Spell Spells Red.
Some of them are on dvd in the US or HK, but unfortunately quite a few were only released on vhs and/or vcd - but I highly recommend that fans of Asian horror track them all down. Even if you have to sit thru fullscreen prints from vhs (I'm sure most of them are on torrent sites or you can get a dvdr from a friend).

Nom Pauo
Niiiice!! (Sam jot down list of title later)
Lets go with a more cliche question. Whats ur favorite asian movie of all time and why?

Jack Jensen
Now that's a touch one! (and an unfair request, I mean how do you even start to pick just ONE!!). It's a close call between THE KILLER, PEKING OPERA BLUES, ROUGE, A CHINESE GHOST STORY, and A BETTER TOMORROW. Well, right now I think I would have to go with A BETTER TOMORROW. It's got a ton of cool John Woo style gun violence (always good!) but in addition to that it's also got a good story about friendship, honour, loyalty, and doing the right thing for a friend when it's needed. And I love the sentimentality of the film. It's emotional in a way you never see in films from the West.
If you had asked me tomorrow I might have said CHICKEN AND DUCK TAL K! Haha. I love Ricky Hui and that's probably the funniest film I can think of.

Jack Jensen
(alright, either you have ONE more question and that's it - or we continue later) I need to get going. sorry.

Nom Pauo
Lol!! definitely an unfair question but unfair is my grandma's maiden name. "A Better Tomorrow" is classic Woo so i dont think anybody will argue that pick, lol!!
Well we're approaching the end of the interview and I’d like for you to list your 5 favorite Asian flick of all time.

Jack Jenson
THE KILLER
A CHINESE GHOST STORY
A PEKING OPERA BLUES
BLACK MAGIC II
LADY TERMINATOR

*note*
Thank you Jack for this awesome interview! And if you havent yet, check out his blog yet:

http://backyard-asia.blogspot.dk/

Lots of awesome interesting stuff!


--------------------------------------------------------

PS: and no worries about the "Jack Jenson" spelling, I quite like it actually, it almost sounds like Jack Jetson. Haha
/Jack

In a CATEGORY of its own

Can someone please explain this? The VCD for the HK film THE LAST DUEL (Tommy Fan, 1989) has not one but two ratings on the cover! The film is apparently rated both CATEGORY II and CATEGORY III. How is that possible. Wouldn't the CAT III rating render the CAT II rating void? In accordance with standard procedure the rating notification slip from the HK rating board is printed on the back of the VCD but like with the two ratings there are also two rating slips. Unfortunately, they've been squeezed down to a size too small to read.

I checked the film on the HKMDB and they list it with both ratings as well. One explanation could have been that the different ratings were for different territories - but seeing as the HK Category rating is strictly for Hong Kong I don't see how that would be possible.

EDIT: check the comments section where an anon reader explains the reason behind the double rating.

 

The original film that Joseph Lai CANNIBALISED for his INFERNO THUNDERBOLT

Thanks to Jesus Manuel of the way cool blog Golden Ninja Warrior Chronicles I learnt which film was the source film that Joseph Lai and his IFD label in Hong Kong used for their cut & paste film INFERNO THUNDERBOLT. The film is the Taiwanese THE ANGER and after having had it on eBay auto search for quite a while I finally struck gold a few days ago when the Ocean Shores VCD release of the film popped up. And tonight the auction ended with only one winner! LOL (altho the winning bid makes me feel like I pulled the short straw at the same time! Argh!). Check Jesus Manuel's post about the film here and see screen grabs.

No, that's not me but JESUS MANUEL of GOLDEN NINJA WARRIOR CHRONICLES blog!

Japanese Zombie Schoolgirl

Here's something totally fun! Three years ago a young YouTuber called Constantine uploaded two videos in which she presented her Top 5 of favourite Japanese zombie movies. Now, I know what you're thinking; "Meh. Another lame YouTube film review!" And I fully understand you; YouTube is floating over with lame film "reviewers" whose every review (and I use the term loosely) is made up of lines like, "Man, this is an awesome movie, you should check it out, totally awesome, and it's a bargain from Target at 1 dollar, and the director Looschio Foolschee is, like, really awesome". No need to worry, this chick knows a thing or two about Japanese films. She speaks the language, has always read up on the subject matter, and basically knows her shit.

PART 1


PART 2


Apart from these two fun zombie videos Constantine also has a pile of "ordinary" reviews of Japanese films. Unfortunately, she hasn't made any new ones for a long time but do check out the old ones here.

Bruce Baron - RIP

Sad news: Bruce Baron passed away on April 14, 2013.

The news was confirmed to Régis Autran of Nanarland by Baron's widow. Bruce Baron had cancer. According to his wife, Bruce Baron prepared his own obituary that has been posted on his facebook profile. However, it's only for friends so I'm not even able to refer to the contents as I'm on that list. Baron was in some of the Filipino films that this site deal with but also other well known cult films. He was in Tsui Hark's amazing DON'T PLAY WITH FIRE. Nanarland did a good interview with him (it's on their site in both French and English). For more info on Bruce Baron check Wiki here and the Nanarland interview here.

Here's Bruce Baron on the cover of the Danish (i.e. from Denmark) vhs for DON'T PLAY WITH FIRE (courtesy of DEVAG fb page).

Introduction to Nanarland's interview with Bruce Baron:

Bruce Baron was a riddle for us during a long time : this Caucasian actor appeared during the eighties in a great number of Asian B-movies, managing to act in some of the most utterly insane flicks ever. Lead actor of Philippines-made Ramboid actioners, mustachioed ninja in Godfrey Ho's bottom-of-the-barrel films, barbarian from beyond in Ruggero Deodato's "Atlantis interceptors", slimy drug smuggler in "Overdose" made by French schlockmeister Jean-Marie Pallardy, Bruce had the most bizarre career before disappearing from the screens in 1989. The most contradictory legends ran amok on the internet : one site described him as a British-born martial artist, another mentioned his death in Sweden from an overdose of diet products... We knew nothing about him, except that he was still alive, judging from the angry e-mails he sent to websites relaying the legend of his death.

We were of course flabbergasted and overjoyed when a French-speaking Bruce Porter Baron wrote us to fill the gaps the bio we had written about him! With biting humour, Bruce gave us some truly fascinating and unheard-of infos about his career as a Caucasian actor in Asia and the world of Oriental B-movies. And there it is, ladies and gentlemen, the ultimate Bruce Baron interview, exclusive full and uncut!

[read the rest via this link]

NAKED VENGEANCE (Philippines, 1985) - uncut trailer

There is another censored trailer from an Australian VHS on YouTube. This is the fully UNCUT version from a Danish VHS. Thanks to Hans-Jørn of DEVAG for the upload.

Unfortunately, the only known uncut release of the film is the un-rated NTSC VHS from the US. All other VHS releases carry the R-rated version that runs around 20 minutes shorter. There's no DVD or laserdisc release.

DEADLY DREAM WOMAN (Hong Kong, 1992)

I watched Taylor Wong's DEADLY DREAM WOMAN tonight after having had it collecting dust on my shelf for a couple of years. LOL. My tape is from the EASTERN HEROES label in the UK. On the cover it's retitled DEADLY DREAM WOMEN but the print clearly says "Woman". EH had a knack for changing titles of the films they put out, most notoriously THE LAST BLOOD which became Hard-boiled 2: the last blood, haha (incidentally, DEADLY DREAM WOMAN was produced by Wong Jing who directed THE LAST BLOOD).

The convoluted plot: A female superhero called Nightingale Wong (played by sexy Cheung Man) gets knocked over the head in a triad shoot-out and loses her memory. She's found drifting at sea by a bunch of prostitutes who save her. She's given a new name and hangs out with the hoes (their "Madam" is also a fake witch!). She starts work as a nightclub hostess with the madam's sexy daughter (played by sexy, very sexy, Chingmy Yau) but instead of spending the night with horny men they simply rip them off. The sexy daughter is engaged to a retard (played by Jacky Cheung) who turns out to be an ex triad boss. Ehh, what? Haha. Later Nightingale recovers her memory and they all go on an awesome gun tooting revenge spree. Death and mayhem follow.

The top bad guy is played brilliantly by Ken Lo who completely steals every scene he's in. At one point he comes out of his house in nothing but a morning gown and a machine gun in each hand and starts blazing away. Smashing! Absolutely brilliant!! In real life Ken Lo was Jackie Chan's bodyguard for 30 years! If you don't like or know how to appreciate Hong Kong humour you're probably gonna be major bored by the 30 minutes that follow the initial 10 minutes of action. Personally, I was well entertained and I'll recommend the film even if you DON'T like HK humour! There's enough awesome action to satisfy fans of 1980s HK action flicks.

The UK vhs is presented in Cantonese with English and Chinese subtitles. Unfortunately, it's also in fullscreen. There's no dvd release anywhere. The best release (which I sadly don't own) is a laserdisc released somewhere in Asia; it is letterboxed and subbed in English/Chinese, but I'm told there is a HK LD that doesn't have subs so be careful of what you buy if you want subs. There's also an unsubbed HK vcd and a vhs in the US that retitles the film Lady Black Mask.

Widescreen version from laserdisc

Fullscreen version from VHS

Rare promo from unreleased WONDER WOMEN sequel

Someone posted this rare promo from 1982 for an unfinished sequel to the Filipino film WONDER WOMEN!! The sequel were to be entitled WARRIOR WOMEN but the film was reportedly never finished.

Thanks to Matthew David on DVDManiacs forum for making me aware of this YouTube upload.

WONDER WOMEN dvd up for preorder

Retromedia's dvd release of WONDER WOMEN is listed for pre-order on Amazon.com now. The release date is June 18 and the current pre-order price is $15 (5 bucks off). Go here.

NB: the Amazon listing has the dvd listed as coming out from Bayview Entertainment/Widowmaker, however that's the distributor. This is the Retromedia release (thanks to Marc Morris for clearing that up).

Another copy of CANNIBAL MERCENARY 2 on eBay

The same eBay UK seller who had the Thai VCD release of CANNIBAL MERCENARY aka Employ For Die 2 aka Mercenary 2 up for sale obviously bought more than one copy! He's got another copy up for auction right now. The starting bid is again approx £30. I still don't own a copy of the film but, uhh, £30 for a bloody video-cd!!! >_< Here's the auction.

Rare CANNIBAL MERCENARY sequel on eBay

If you've followed this blog a while you'll know I've been on the hunt for the RARE (as in totally uber rare!!) sequel to CANNIBAL MERCENARY (aka Mercenary / Employ For Die) for a couple of years now (if not, check here). The sequel has ONLY been released on a very rare video-cd in Thailand (in Thai language without subtitles).

A while back I was so fortunate as to find the the POSTER for the film by total chance at an eBay auction from a seller in Canada. The seller didn't know which film the poster was for and had listed it without the film's title!

However, the film itself has evaded me completely so far. Well, until a few days ago when my red eBay auto search lights started blinking like crazy! A seller in the UK had the VCD up for auction. "Unfortunately", he was fully aware of the rarity of the film/disc and starting price was £30 ($46).

There weren't all that many bids in the days that followed but sadly they quickly got out of my range. I knew of another collector who was interested and sent him a PM about the auction but needless to say he already knew about it. Winning bid came to £56 ($86) and I'm happy to say it was my fellow collector friend who won this rare release. Big congrats, mate.

To see the CANNIBAL MERCENARY 2 poster go here.