In a daring rescue attempt, a black martial arts expert infiltrates the secret island hideout of a powerful criminal organisation that holds his girlfriend hostage. Jim Kelly (aka... more...BLACK BELT JONES) stars.
Jim Kelly, the star ofBlack Samurai, was a multi-talented martial artist perhaps best ... more
remembered for his role in Bruce Lee'sEnter the Dragon.Black Samuraiis essentially a vehicle for his fighting skills in which he plays a secret agent out to retrieve ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
When the daughter of a royal family is held hostage, Jim Kelly, agent for D.R.A.G.O.N., ... more
will stop at nothing to destroy the evil organisation that abducted her. This film is martial arts 'blaxploitation' at its finest. Jim Kelly is best known for his r...
Jim Kelly, the star ofBlack Samurai, was a multi-talented martial artist perhaps best ... more
remembered for his role in Bruce Lee'sEnter the Dragon.Black Samuraiis essentially a vehicle for his fighting skills in which he plays a secret agent out to retrieve ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Jim Kelly, the star ofBlack Samurai, was a multi-talented martial artist perhaps best ... more
remembered for his role in Bruce Lee'sEnter the Dragon.Black Samuraiis essentially a vehicle for his fighting skills in which he plays a secret agent out to retrieve his Japanese sweetheart from the drug-dealing Satanist who has abducted her to blackmail her father. His investigative skills are almost non-existent--much of the plot consists of his arriving at the villains' houses and hitting people. At the same time, the character's utter ruthlessness and the extravagant evil of the villains, the chief of whom, Jannicot, is in the habit of sicking a vulture on his enemies, are entertaining enough and the 1970s styling unselfconsciously entertaining. The director, Al Adamson, was mostly famous for his horror films, and there is a Gothic extravagance to the sets and gimmicks here: Kelly's jet-pack sequence has to be seen to be believed.On the DVD: The DVD comes with a wonderful period trailer forThe Green Hornet, the usual chapter selection, biographies of Kelly and Adamson (who was murdered in 1995) and a feature which enables you to look at the fight scenes in isolation. --Roz Kaveney
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Martial Arts - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Bruce Lee, Sho Kosugi, James Ryan, Jim Kelly, Jimmy Wang Yu, Bolo Yeung, Christopher Lee
Martial Arts - Director: Prachya Pinkaew - Original Language: English\Vietnamese\Thai\Mandarin - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Tony Jaa, Bongkoj Khongmalai, Petchtai Wongkamlao
Production Year: 2003 - Martial Arts - Director: Paul Hunter - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Seann William Scott, James King, Karel Roden
Production Year: 1981 - Martial Arts - Director: Kenji Misumi, Robert Houston - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Kayo Matsuo, Minoru Ohki, Akiji Kobayashi, Shin Kishida, Masahiro Tomikawa, Tomisaburo Wakayama
Advantages: Great choreography and acting Disadvantages: Too Americanised
Tom Cruise wouldn't have been great with a French accent!!
The choreography of the fight scenes is a wonder to behold. Director Edward Zwick has got it right there, and the emotional conversations, particularly between Algren and Katsumoto, hold just the right amount of tension in them to suggest poignant conversation and meaningful traditions in the samurai way. In this respect, I felt part of the film when I was watching.
As the credits rolled, I was thoroughly impressed. It takes a lot for me to just watch a film without checking on the time at certain intervals, yet with this film I watched all the way through and only realised that the playing time of 148 minutes was up. And that is a long time for a film! Over 2 hours of good entertainment, marred only by an americanisation of sorts.
There are no extras.
The DVD is ...
Advantages: The acting, the story, the effects Disadvantages: Billy Connolly
a warrior could choose to end his own life or have the leader of his tribe cut off his own head, as the dishonour would be too much to bear.
Most people when they hear the word Samurai, think of the swords. Samurai warriors often gave their swords names as they believed that their soul and honour was carried within the sword they fought with.
***TECHIE BITS***
Title: The Last Samurai
Director: Edward Zwick
Running Time: 2 hours, 24 minutes
Certificate: 15
Where to buy: Amazon, HMV, Virgin and order from all three
DVD/VHS: Both (my copy was on VHS)
Price: For the VHS copy £15.99 and same for the DVD.
Trailers: One that I've seen
Sountrack: Yes
How much for soundtrack: £10.99
Posters: Several
Happy trails kids!
Leila :) ...
Advantages: Exciting, looks great, convincing Disadvantages: Hollywood ending, a bit TOO PC for its own good
.
The bottom line is that Samurai are cool and so boys of all ages should be covered (its '15' rating is about right - no sex, little bad language, LOADS of violence) and if you're a Cruise fan you'll be satisfied. Basically, if you liked Gladiator, Glory, Braveheart or The Patriot, then this is for you.
If they'd just dared to be a little more, well, daring, at the climax, then this would score even higher. I'll definitely watch it again on DVD but I don't think it's quite an all-time classic. ...
An agent for D.R.A.G.O.N. sets out to destroy an organisation that abducted the daughter of a royal family.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
REVELATION FILMS; PINNACLE VISION
Release date
23/07/2001
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
PAR 61117
Barcode
5027182611171
Languages
Main Language
English
Subtitle Language
None
Technical information
Special Features
Al Adamson Biography And Filmography, Jim Kelly Biography And Filmography, All Action Fight Scenes
Aspect Ratio
1.33 Full Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital Mono
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital Mono English
DVD Description
In a daring rescue attempt, a black martial arts expert infiltrates the secret island hideout of a powerful criminal organisation that holds his girlfriend hostage. Jim Kelly (aka BLACK BELT JONES) stars.
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