THE MERMAID reviewed; debuts on home video today from SPHE

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Presents

The Mermaid / Mei ren yu

Directed by Stephen Chow

China, 2016, 94 minutes

Renowned director Stephen Chow's The Mermaid debuts on Blu-ray and DVD today, July 5th from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. (It has been available in digital form since May 17th.)  China’s highest grossing film of all time, The Mermaid's domestic theatrical release in the U.S. scored the biggest opening day and weekend box office ever by a limited release Chinese-language film.

Newcomer Jelly Lin (a.k.a. Yun Lin) plays Shan, a lovely if simple-minded mermaid, who is tasked with seducing industrialist Liu Xuan (Chao Deng, The Four and Detective Dee: Mystery of the Phantom Flame). He and Ruo-lan (actress Yuqi Zhang, who was also featured in Chow's CJ7) plan to develop Green Gulf. This is the only place where the world's few remaining mermaids and mermen, and their friend an octopus man (Show Luo, seen in Chow's Journey to the West), reside. Seduction is to be but a prelude to killing Liu Xuan, the only way Shan and her people believe they can preserve their habitat.

Shen (Jelly Lin)

Jelly Lin gives a remarkable performance in this, her cinematic debut. She is an incredibly talented comedienne with a remarkably expressive face. She is a true revelation, and it's no surprise that she received the Screen International Rising Star Asia Award at the New York Asian Film Festival, where The Mermaid was screened, on July 2nd.

The film also features some interesting cameos, including one by another legendary Hong Kong producer/director, Tsui Hark.

The Mermaid is part comedy, part romance, part fantasy, and part fairy tale, all of which add up to a charming and delightful film.

Disc Specs:
-- Audio: Mandarin (PRC) 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Thai 5.1 Dolby Digital
-- Subtitles: English, English SDJ, Chinese Traditional, French, Indonesian/Bahasa, Polish, Spanish, Thai, Off
-- Special Features:
  -- “The Making of The Mermaid”(13:25)
  -- Invincible Music Video about the film's theme song (1:34)
  -- “The Mermaid: Behind the Scenes”(1:49)

AsianCineFest Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars; very highly recommended

Chinese hit comedy THE MERMAID coming to home video on July 5th

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Presents

The Mermaid

Directed by Stephen Chow

China, 2016, 94 minutes

From visionary director Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle) comes the comedic action phenomenon The Mermaid , debuting on Blu-ray and DVD July 5 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. China’s highest grossing film of all time made a splash domestically, scoring the biggest U.S. opening day and weekend box office ever by a limited release Chinese-language film.

This unique tale follows a beautiful mermaid (newcomer Jelly Lin) who falls for a greedy developer (Deng Chao, Detective Dee: Mystery of the Phantom Flame) who threatens her species’ ecosystem. The unique action romance also stars Show Lo (Journey to the West), Yuqi Zhang (Lost in the Pacific) and Pierre Bourdaud (Chinese Zodiac).

Synopsis:
From Stephen Chow, director of Kung Fu Hustle, comes The Mermaid : the comedic action- filled phenomenon that has become China’s biggest film of all time! When greedy real estate tycoon, Liu Xian (Deng Chao), buys up a pristine coastal enclave known as Green Gulf, he plans to turn it into the hottest property on the market. But Green Gulf harbors a secret: it’s home to the last surviving mermaids, and they are done playing nice. Their plan: send the beautiful Shan (Jelly Lin) to seduce Liu and stop the destruction of their beloved oceans. But when their plan goes belly-up, neither humans nor mermaids are willing to back down, and a final, fatal frenzy becomes inevitable.

Blu-ray, DVD & Digital Extras* Include:
-- “The Making of The Mermaid”
-- “The Mermaid: Behind the Scenes”
-- Invincible Music Video
 

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.

ACF 069: "Royal Tramp" DVD Collection

The latest release from The Weinstein Company and Genius Products' Dragon Dynasty label is The Royal Tramp Collection. This tw0-disc DVD contains Royal Tramp and Royal Tramp II, both originally released in 1993 and starring Stephen Chow.

Chow plays Wei Siu Bo, a fanciful story-teller and conman who gets drawn into a conspiracy to restore (or perhaps it's to save) the Ming Dynasty. His quick thinking and glib tongue save him from numerous skirmishes with death, and enable him to score with a bevy of beauties.

Man Cheung as the Empress Dowager

The ending of the first movie sets up the second, so it was both a smart and considerate move to issue both in one release. There's a good bit more action in the second film, which also benefits from the presence of Brigitte Lin, one of my all time favorite Hong Kong actresses, once again doing one of the many androgynous roles for which she is well known.

Wei Siu Bo (Stephen Chow) is carried away by Hoi Tai Fu (Man Tat Ng)

I'm in the middle of reading Asian Cinema: A Field Guide by Tom Vick, film programmer for the Freer and Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian Institution. In it, without mentioning any specific films, he describes Chow as the slapstick star of Cantonese "nonsense comedies" before his international breakthroughs with Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle. He certainly could be referring to the two Royal Tramp films. (I must mention that I highly recommend Vick's book; it's both very informative and enjoyable.)

The story line, such as it is, goes all over the place. Further compounding things are the numerous betrayals and shifting loyalties. Still, a great deal of the comedy comes across even with subtitles, and the action sequences - particularly in the second film - are well done, considering when they were made. (I did notice one wire in the climactic fight seen at the end of the first film.)

Both discs have Cantonese and English-dubbed soundtracks or a feature length audio commentary by Hong Kong cinema authority Bey Logan to chose from; optional English, English for the deaf and hard-of hearing, and Spanish subtitles; and the original theatrical trailer. Disc 2 also has an interview with writer and co-director Wong Jing.

I've only had time so far to watch the films in the original Cantonese with English subtitles, so I can't comment with authority on Logan's commentaries or the English-dubbed soundtracks. I have a feeling that it might work really well to first watch the films with Logan's commentary on, so that you get a sense of what's gong on. Then go back at some time and watch them with subtitles. You just might get a better sense of the story line and plot twists. As for the dubbed versions, I tend to watch them only when I'm too tired for subtitles or otherwise mentally impaired.

These are not great films, certainly not ones that an Asian Cult Film Fan would absolutely have to own. But packed together with the audio options, the two-disc set is a worthwhile purchase. I certainly appreciate that The Weinstein Company and Genius Products have offered them so attractively packaged and reasonably priced. The films give some interesting perspective on Stephen Chow's early career. And did I mention that Brigitte Lin is in Royal Tramp II!!!

Considering the two movies as a package, I give them an ACF rating of 2.5 out of 4 stars (fairly good). The extras get a 3 out of 4 star rating (good). The only thing that I would have liked to have been included is an interview with Stephen Chow.