THE LOST BLADESMAN reviewed; out on DVD and Digital today

Anchor Bay Entertainment

Presents

The Lost Bladesman / Guan Yun Chang

Directed by Alan Mak and Felix Chong

China/Hong Kong, 2011, 109 minutes

The Lost Bladesman is a period martial arts film that becomes available today, November 1st, on Digital HD & On Demand and on DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment. Starring Donnie Yen, it is loosely based on Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It was the Golden Lotus Award Winner for Best Film, Best Director (shared by Chong and Mak) and Best Actor (Donnie Yen) at the 2011 Macau International Movie Festival.

Synopsis
Set in ancient China during the warring period known as The Three Kingdoms (AD 220–280), the film's main character is Guan Yu (Donnie Yen, who also served as action director). He is one of the greatest warriors of the time. General Cao Cao (Wen Jiang), the real power behind the emperor, seeks to unify all China and enlists Guan Yu's aid. However, Guan Yu is a loyal friend of Liu Bei (Alex Fong), an enemy of Cao Cao.

A subplot involves the lovely Qilan (Li Sun, a.k.a. Betty Sun), who is to become one of Liu Bei's wives, but who, like Guan Yu, is held prisoner by Cao Cao. It so happens that she has long been loved by Guan Yu, who must suppress his feelings out of loyalty to his friend, a task mad ever more difficult after Cao Cao releases them and Guan Yu must take her to her future husband.

Disc Specs
-- Audio: Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1
-- Subtitles:
   -- English
   -- English for the Hearing Impaired
   -- Spanish
   -- None
-- Extras/Bonus Features: None

Review
There are numerous action pieces, primarily of the one-against-many type that feature Guan Yu battling hordes of opponents. These definitely keep things lively.

Unfortunately, the story is a bit on the thin side and not particularly engrossing. This is mainly due to Guan Yu being a too-good-to-be-true, rather one-dimensional character. There's no evidence here of the improved acting that Yen has displayed in some of his subsequent films. The best acting is by Wen Jiang as Cao Cao, a devious schemer who nonetheless has genuine admiration for Guan Yu.

AsianCineFest Rating: 3 out of 4 stars, recommended

REIGN OF ASSASSINS reviewed; out tomorrow on DVD and Digital

Anchor Bay Entertainment

Presents

Reign of Assassins / Jian yu

Directed by Su Chao-Pin
Co-Directed by John Woo
Starring Michelle Yeoh, Jung Woo-Sung and Xueqi Wang

China/Taiwan/Hong Kong, 2010, 107 minutes

Reign of Assassins is a period martial arts film that will become available tomorrow, November 1st, on Digital HD & On Demand and on DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment.

Synopsis
Billed -- and not without some reason -- as a sort of composite of Face/Off and Mr. and Mrs. Smith, the film's story centers on the ancient remains of a Buddhist monk that are believed to confer the power to control the martial art world on whoever possesses them. Seized by members of a band of assassins, who kill their owner and his son, the remains are then taken by one of them who wants them for herself. She decides not to keep them and undergoes facial surgery to change her appearance and to try to live a normal life. She marries a messenger, but the quest for the dead monk's remains bring both the gang of assassins and others into her life and threatens to expose her true identity.

Disc Specs
-- Audio: Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1
-- Subtitles:
   -- English
   -- English for the Hearing Impaired
   -- Spanish
   -- None
-- Extras/Bonus Features: None

Review
This is a really solid martial arts action flick, not least because it stars the wonderful Michelle Yeoh. Not only is she a terrific action star, but she is a fine actress who pretty much always brings depth to any character she plays. The rest of the cast is very good also.

Wei Tung (as Stephen Tung) has done a fine job as action coordinator.

The film also benefits from a better than average story by Chao-Bin Su. Though not up to the screenplay of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Reign of Assassins has real heart to it.

AsianCineFest Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars; highly recommended

THE LOST BLADESMAN coming to home video November 1st

Anchor Bay Entertainment

Presents

The Lost Bladesman / Guan Yun Chang

Directed by Alan Mak and Felix Chong

China/Hong Kong, 2011, 109 minutes

Golden Lotus Award Winner for Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor

Arrives on DVD, Digital HD & On Demand November 1, 2016

International superstar Donnie Yen (Ip Man series, Hero, 14 Blades, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend) leads an epic cast in The Lost Bladesman, loosely based on Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, arriving on Digital HD & On Demand and on DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment November 1st for the suggested retail price of $19.98.

Also starring in the action-packed, gorgeously shot film are Wen Jiang (Warriors of Heaven and Earth, Let the Bullets Fly, The Sun Also Rises), Sun Li (Empresses of the Palace, Painted Skin) and Andy On (Mad Detective, True Legend, Blackhat).

Written and directed by critically acclaimed filmmakers Alan Mak and Felix Chong – creators of the successful Infernal Affairs trilogy, The Lost Bladesman won several Golden Lotus awards at the 2011 Macau International Movie Festival including Best Film, Best Director for Mak and Chong, and Best Actor for Donnie Yen. Wen Jiang also won the Best Actor award from the Shanghai Film Critics for his performance in the film.

Synopsis:
During the warring period of the three kingdoms, ancient China is in turmoil. To unify the country, General Cao Cao (Wen Jiang), the real power behind the emperor, enlists the aid of the greatest warrior in the land Guan Yu (Donnie Yen). However, Guan Yu is a loyal friend of Cao Cao's enemy Liu Bei (Alex Fong). To persuade the peerless warrior to fight, Cao Cao takes his beloved Qi Lan (Betty Sun) hostage. After leading Cao Cao's forces to victory, Guan Yu sets out with Qi Lan to rejoin Liu Bei. But now Cao Cao has deemed him too great a threat to live, and on the journey he must face all the forces at the emperor's command sent to destroy him.

REIGN OF ASSASSINS coming to home video on November 1st

Anchor Bay Entertainment

Presents

Reign of Assassins / Jian yu

Directed by Su Chao-Pin

China/Taiwan/Hong Kong, 2010, 107 minutes

Michelle Yeoh (Babylon A.D., Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend), Jung Woo-Sung (The Good, The Bad, The Weird; A Moment to Remember, The Warrior) and Xueqi Wang (Iron Man 3, Bodyguards and Assassins, Warriors of Heaven and Earth) star in Reign of Assassins, the exciting martial arts thriller produced by the legendary John Woo (Mission Impossible: II, Face/Off, The Killer), arriving on Digital HD & On Demand and on DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment on November 1.

Directed by Su Chao-Pin, Reign of Assassins is the winner of two Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards including Best Director & Film of Merit, and also received 11 Hong Kong Film Award nominations, including a Best Picture nomination. Reign of Assassins will be available for the suggested retail price of $19.98.

Synopsis:
Produced by John Woo and Terence Chang, this epic martial arts action thriller promises to be Face/Off meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Set in ancient China, the film stars Michelle Yeoh as a skilled assassin who is on a mission to return the remains of a mystical Buddhist monk to their resting place. The remains are believed to hold a powerful secret. Along the way, she falls in love with a man named Jiang, whose father was killed by her gang. Unaware that he also is a trained martial artist, their love blossoms but tensions arise as the truth of her past unravels. Soon, a lethal triangle surfaces between her, Jiang and the team of assassins that are after the monk’s remains.

DRAGON DYNASTY 5 MOVIE COLLECTION coming on DVD and Digital HD on October 6th, 2015

Anchor Bay

and

The Weinstein Company

present

 DRAGON DYNASTY
5 MOVIE COLLECTION

Available on DVD and Digital HD October 6th

Anchor Bay Entertainment and The Weinstein Company have announced the action packed martial arts home entertainment release of the Dragon Dynasty 5 Movie Collection. This classic set features four films from legendary martial arts superstar Jet Li and one film from icon Stephen Chow. In 2006, The Weinstein Company launched the Dragon Dynasty brand in order to showcase classic and contemporary Asian Cinema, particularly films in the action/martial arts genre. An immediate hit with fans and critics, Dragon Dynasty brought home the world’s greatest martial arts and Asian action films, featuring the groundbreaking work of international superstars and legendary filmmakers. Anchor Bay Entertainment is honoring this legacy with the Dragon Dynasty: 5 Movie Collection, arriving on 3-Disc DVD set and Digital HD bundle on October 6th.

The Dragon Dynasty 5 Movie Collection includes:

Born to Defense (1986)
Directed by & Starring Jet Li (Rated R, 91 min.)
Jet (Jet Li) is a WWII soldier returning after the war to find he must continue to fight against abusive Americans now taking advantage of citizens in his hometown.

The Defender (1994)
Directed by Corey Yuen & Starring Jet Li (Rated R, 92 min.)
Jet Li – the former bodyguard to the most powerful leader in China is hired to protect school teacher Christy Chung after having witnessed a brutal murder.

The Legend II (aka The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk II, 1993)
Directed by Corey Yuen & Starring Jet Li (Rated R, 92 min.)
Having failed a secret mission for the Red Flowers Society, an underground organization dedicated to the overthrow of the Manchu dynasty and restoration of the Ming Dynasty, Fong Sai Yuk must try to get his hands on a special document by wooing the governor’s daughter.

Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997)
Directed by Sammo Hung Kam-Bo & Starring Jet Li (Not Rated, 99 min.)
Wong Fei-Hung travels to the U.S. to visit a martial arts branch that one of his disciples has set up and ends up establishing himself as a respected kung fu master, helping gain recognition for Chinese martial arts in the West.

From Beijing with Love (1994)
Directed by & Starring Stephen Chow. (Not Rated, 84 min.)
A comedic send-up of Bond’s 007, Ling Ling-Chat is the unlikely pork butcher / superspy sent to Hong Kong to find a priceless stolen fossil. Assassins, spy gadgets, stunts and chases ensue.

Dragon Dynasty 5 Movie Collection will be available on DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment for the suggested retail price of $19.98!

To learn more about this collection, visit anchorbayentertainment.com.