Hot
Spot
(1990/Orion/Radiance*)/A
Queen's Ransom (1976 aka
The International
Assassin/Eureka!*)/Past
Midnight
(1991/CineTel/Alliance Blu-ray)/Shogun's
Ninja (1980/Arrow*)/Ten
Women In Black
(1961/Radiance/*all MVD Blu-ray)/They
Will Kill You 4K
(2026/Warner 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A- Picture: B- Sound: B-/B-/C+/C+/C+/A-
Extras: C/B/C+/B-/C+/B- Films: C/B-/B-/C+/B-/C+
Now
for more genre films and thrillers....
Dennis
Hopper's The
Hot Spot
(1990) was another part of the actor's comeback, back strictly in the
director's chair after some infamous times there in the past. Meant
to be a sexy thriller in the Fatal
Attraction/Basic
Instinct
mode, Don Johnson was returning to the big screen where he started
(and after the huge success of the original TV hit Miami
Vice)
talks his way into a used car dealership and lands up involved with
two women: one being blackmailed (Jennifer Connelly) and the other,
the boss' wife (Virginia Madsen) which both could lead him into more
trouble than he can handle.
Well
shot and nicely moody, Orion Pictures had high hopes for this film,
especially since it was Hopper at his most restrained, but it misses
the mark despite the talent involved and is the kind of film you wish
would work more. The music score is also interesting, as is the rest
of the cast including William Sadler, Charles Martin Smith, Barry
Corbin and Jack Nance. It sadly became one of several
disappointments that ended the great run of Orion as a studio, but at
least they took risks and tried to make films for mature adults by
mature adults with a brain. The Hot Spot reminds us of how
nice that used to be.
Extras
include an archival interview with Dennis Hopper, who discusses The
Hot Spot
and features footage of John Lee Hooker and images from the set
(1991, 4 minutes)
Interviews
with stars Virginia Madsen (2021, 7 minutes) and William Sadler
(2021, 6 minutes)
Nick
Dawson on Dennis Hopper and The Hot Spot, an
interview with the editor of Dennis Hopper: Interviews (2023, 20
minutes)
Duane
Swierczynski on Charles Williams' source novel, the crime writer and
expert looks at the adaptation and provides a background of the
author (2023, 25 mins)
Original
Theatrical Trailer
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and new artwork by Time Tomorrow
and
a Limited Edition booklet featuring writing by critics Elena Lazic
on the film, Leslie Byron Pitt on the erotic thriller genre and the
film's place within it, and an archival piece on the film featuring
an interview with Hopper by R.J. Smith.
Ting
Shan-hsi's A
Queen's Ransom
(1976 aka The
International Assassin)
is Golden Harvest Studios' attempt to capitalize on the success of
their Hong Kong/Australian co-production The
Man From Hong Kong
(1975,) with Jimmy Wang Yu, George Lazenby and Sammo Hung. You can
read more about that great Oz-Ploitation actioner at this link:
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/16073/Apex+(2021/RLJ+Blu-ray)/Major+Dundee+(1965/Sony/
Also
partly inspired by the original Day
Of The Jackal,
a local gangster gets involved with trying to assassinate Queen
Elizabeth II on her next Hong Kong visit, but authorities are onto
him and get his sister to help them out. Lazenby is the Irish
Nationalist who want her dead and gets together a crazy crew to help
kill her (Wang Yu and Hung play members of that team) and they set up
an elaborate plot to pull this off. Using a immigration crisis
caused by the Vietnam fiasco of the time, they are pretty sure they
will succeed, but the authorities are gaining on them and this builds
up into the wild climax out to outdo most such action films of the
time.
Lazenby
and Wang Yu did not get along on the last film, but you can see why
they could not pass this up. Hung, in exceptional fighting
condition, even for him, was also the fight choreographer and the
fights are well done. The technology of the time seems of its time
and works well enough and the cast all around is very good, making
this one of the studio's better films.
However,
while the original Mandarin
soundtrack (with Lazenby dubbed by someone who does nto sound like
him) is aged but authentic, the English dub version is awful, with
someone dubbing Lazenby who sounds more like they are auditioning for
an Irish Spring Soap commercial than participating in a thriller (why
did Lazenby not do his own voice?) and the rest of the chosen voices
are all bad and off. I bet if a new multi-channel soundtrack with
voice actors (humans, NOT anything A.I.) seriously doing the sound of
the voices of the original actors, find the best version of the
original sound effects and use the best versions of the music
featured here (is that the electronic chase music from the end of
Westworld
(1973)?) in the longer version on this disc, that this would really
have stronger impact than what we get sonically or otherwise now.
Either
way, this is well done, underrated and recommended.
Extras
include brand new feature length audio commentary tracks by (on the
Hong Kong theatrical version by Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY
Asian Film Festival) and (on the export version) by action cinema
experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
Jan
Eliasberg's Past
Midnight
(1991) is the kind of thriller we used to get all the time, but like
too many of them, when they were not outright bad, they at least
could be as ambitious as this one, only to be sabotaged by a horrible
last reel (about 10 minutes) with an awful conclusion that ruins
everything. This is one of the best examples of that.
Natasha
Richardson is a social worker helping a man (Rutger Hauer) out of
prison after 15 years for killing his pregnant wife, but she starts
to doubt that he did it and when she starts to get strange threats
that get worse and worse, she knows she has to get to the bottom of
it all. This is slightly derailed by her increasing personal
interest in him personally, but she has to concentrate to survive
what follows.
A
great set of leads, the film starts with such promise, a good pace
and they have some chemistry. Of course, I liked both of them and
they are sadly now gone, then we especially lost Richardson way too
early to a horrible accident. Seeing this all these years alter
reminds me of what we lost and it is serious.
So
I was enjoying watching this, but I knew it went bad towards the end
and when it does, I was ticked off all over again and then some. Why
did someone at the production company realize this and get a new
ending made? Was it money, the availability of the cast or just
somehow thinking this worked? That is why, as bad as this ends, it
is worth revisiting now, with enough good work to catch for what does
work here. Clancy Brown, Guy Boyd, Tom Wright, Dana Eskelson, Krisha
Fairchild, Charles Boswell and Paul Giamatti in a brief turn that
works are among the supporting cast that meld so well and fit
together in a way that does nothing but help the film.
Now
you can see for yourself.
There
are sadly no extras.
Norifumi
Suzuki's Shogun's
Ninja
(1980) has Hiroyuki Sanada and Sonny Chiba in this comic martial arts
romp from an alumni of the underrated Wandering
Ginza Butterfly,
Sanada comes back home after a decade of hiding to see criminal
elements have made his home all the worse, so he has to get a new
crew together and do something about it. Chiba is the bad guy and
though we get some cliches and maybe a little more humor than I would
have liked, this works a little more often than not and is at least
worth a look for those interested.
Several
of the fight scenes help keep the film watchable as well, so its
restoration and reissue with extras is something for fans and those
curio to celebrate.
Extras
include a brand new feature length audio commentary track by Asian
cinema expert Chris Poggiali
The
Rebirth of Japanese Action Cinema, a brand new interview with
Japanese cinema expert Clement Rauger
Collectors'
booklet featuring new writing on the film by Earl Jackson
and
a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned
artwork by Chris Skinner.
Kon
Ichikawa's Ten
Women In Black
(1961) is a stylish revenge film with echoes of Diabolique
with a married man (Fujiko Yamamoto) keeping no less than none
mistresses, but they soon find out and plot to kill him out of
revenger and anger, but it will not be as easy as they think. They
have the advantage of surprise, but he is such a rogue, he has been
expecting this possibility all along, so complications will ensue.
Instead
of being a flat out revenge tale, it takes time with the women, with
the characters and the world they live in. I liked some of the
subtle touches and how well they worked with the style and scope
cinematography, so you will get a little more than you expect if you
just find this at least of curiosity interest. They cast is a plus
and Ichikawa's talents are obvious
and solid. Glad to catch up with this one, even when it has some off
moments.
By
the way, Ichikawa made many great
and successful films, gut as we were putting this together, it is
shocking how many are not on home video or have not been for many
years. Hope this helps to correct that.
Extras
include
The
Kon Ichikawa Story:
a feature-length documentary directed by Shunji Iwai, featuring
Ichikawa and his wife and screenwriter, Natto Wada
Original
Theatrical Trailer
Reversible
sleeve featuring artwork based on original posters
and
a Limited Edition booklet featuring new writing by Yuka Kimbara.
An
intense action ride that doesn't let up once it gets going, Kirill
Sokolov's They
Will Kill You
is geared toward fans of Kill
Bill: Volume 1,
John
Wick,
and Ready
or Not.
The film follows Asia Reeves (Zazie Beetz of Deadpool
2),
who is searching for her missing sister inside a New York City
high-rise that serves as the home of a vicious Satanic cult. The
building has been the site of numerous disappearances over the years,
and Asia has reason to believe her sister has been chosen as the
cult's next sacrificial victim. Using her combat skills, she slices
and dices her way through an seemingly indestructible group of
magically empowered men and women who will stop at nothing to make
her the centerpiece of their ritual.
The
film also stars Patricia Arquette, Tom Felton, Heather Graham, and
Myha'la.
They
Will Kill You 4K features incredibly well-choreographed and
expertly executed fight sequences that are a thrill to watch,
including one standout chase scene set within a narrow, walled-off
corridor that is particularly impressive. Several moments
deliberately evoke the style of Kill Bill, with fountains of
blood erupting from its victims, Shaw Brothers-inspired sound
effects, and the smash zooms and rapid cuts that Quentin Tarantino
made famous in that film. That said, seeing those stylistic
flourishes here occasionally feels a bit off, almost as if the movie
is parodying them.
Zazie
Beetz delivers an excellent performance, and it's something of a
surprise that she hasn't received more attention in Hollywood than
she has. The supporting cast is equally enjoyable, with several
familiar faces, including Tom Felton in a role that audiences
probably won't expect. All in all, the film feels a bit flatter than
Ready or Not, which explores a similar premise but executes it
more effectively. Despite the many injuries Asia endures, there's a
cartoonish quality to the violence that doesn't always land. It's a
fun ride, but one that ultimately relies a little too heavily on
style over substance.
Special
Features include:
Director's
Log: The Making of They Will Kill You and three
featurettes:
Developing
the Virgil
Asia
Reaves' Attacks
and
Crafting Carnage.
They
Will Kill You 4K is a fun watch and not without some great
moments and worth watching if you are a fan of similar action /
revenge films that are high in body count and occasional humor.
Now
for playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 2.20 X 1, Dolby
Vision/HDR
(10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on They
Will Kill You 4K
in 2.20 X 1 framing and lossless
Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems in 48kHz,
24-bit sound) effectively brings the film to home in a beautiful
presentation. The film has a very stylized look and the detail in
the sound design is accented beautifully with lifelike colors and
details on the characters that isn't evident in streaming.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image on Hot Spot looks
good from a new 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative and
would likely look better in 4K looking as good as it does here, while
the PCM 2.0 Stereo lossless mix does
its best to represent the original Dolby SR (Spectral Recording)
advanced analog theatrical sound, which is not bad. Note that this
Blu0-ray disc comes with a 4K version, but no press copies were made
available by the posting.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on A
Queen's Ransom can show the age of the materials used,
especially the stock footage throughout, but there are plenty of fine
new shots and a great use of the scope frame throughout. The
original theatrical sound is here in Mandarin and English dub PCM 2.0
Mono sound, but it is obvious Lazenby's voice has been dubbed on both
tracks, when his voice should have at least been on the English one.
They both have their sonic limits and other issues here and there,
but he Mandarin is the better of the two choices.
The
1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Past
Midnight is from an older
HD master and can also show the age of the materials used, but
this still has some fine shots and that shows us how good this could
have looked on 35mm film. The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Stereo lossless mix is derived from its
old analog Dolby System, Dolby A-type noise reduction theatrical
release and can sound good, but also shows its age and is a little
lower in volume that I would have liked. The combination is
passable, but a little lacking too.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Shogun's
Ninja is sometimes softer
than expected, showing the age of the materials used in part,
but color can be more consistent and even impressive. The
PCM 1.0 Mono is more aged, limits, sonically limited and you can
easily tell where all the dubbing work was, though that is typical of
such productions of the time. This has been restored, but some flaws
were just unfixable.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image
transfer on Ten Women In Black
is newly restored and the work does away with many points
where the film could show its age, but both detail and the Video
Black are a little weaker than expected, despite the warmth of the
presentation. You can get a better idea of the Film Black in the
original prints by looking at the older Original theatrical Trailer
on the disc. The PCM 1.0 Mono is
not as harsh or limited as the sound originally was (listen to older
Original theatrical Trailer on the disc,) but it is still the oldest
title here and it is going to show.
-
Nicholas Sheffo and James Lockhart (4K)
https://letterboxd.com/jhl5films/
