Police Story (1985) & Police Story 2 (1988)

It’s open to debate as to whether or not Jackie Chan has what we can definitively call a signature franchise; one single film series with which he is uniquely associated above all others. Some western audiences might say it’s Rush Hour, as that was the one that finally saw Jackie break through in Hollywood, leading […]

The Old Dark House (1932)

Old Dark Houses are a horror cinema staple, bequeathed to the genre by Gothic literature, penny dreadfuls and all manner of other earlier terrors in print. Perhaps surprisingly, then, this particular Old Dark House (1932) is based on a J. B. Priestley novel, Benighted, written just five years previously. Priestley is better known for social […]

Legend of the Mountain (1979)

Whilst I have something of a handle on Japanese cinema of the 70s and 80s – well, in so far as the films have made the great leap to Western screens – I know comparatively little about Chinese cinema of the same period, and in that I have to include Hong Kong/Taiwan. I’ve seen a […]

Fritz Lang’s Der Müde Tod (1921)

I do claim to be quite the fan of silent German cinema, but truth be told I’ve barely scratched the surface, even when it comes to real masters of the time. Even so, I was very excited when Eureka announced their restoration and release of Der Müde Tod, also known as Destiny, an early outing […]

Blu-ray Review: Drunken Master (1978)

Tackling films dubbed cinematic landmarks can sometimes feel a bit of a minefield. There are any number of worthy, ‘important’ films which can be argued to have demonstrably changed the face of cinema, but in many instances this doesn’t necessarily equate to the film in question still being enjoyable to watch in the 21st century. […]