Eureka Video UK Blu-ray Synopsis: Quite possibly Sammo's best film, this high-kicking tribute to The Dirty Dozen sees ten convicts offered amnesty if they undertake a deadly mission behind enemy lines in Vietnam to destroy a top-secret munitions dump. Featuring numerous references to Western war movies, such as The Deer Hunter and Rambo: First Blood Part 2, Eastern Condors is an action masterpiece like no other, filled with incredibly dangerous stunt sequences and full-contact fight scenes that left its cast bloody and bruised. Presented here fully uncut for the first time ever in the UK, and from a brand new 2K restoration, this film is an absolute must-see! (98 Mins)

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Criterion US Blu-ray Synopsis: Legendary actor-director Sammo Hung delivers a bazooka blast of pure adrenaline in this exemplar of Hong Kong action cinema at its most entertaining. Drawing inspiration from Hollywood war films like The Dirty Dozen, Eastern Condors follows a ragtag band of Asian American prisoners dropped into Vietnam on a secret suicide mission to prevent a cache of weapons from falling into the hands of the Viet Cong, who are more than ready for a fight. Propelled by a dynamic ensemble cast that includes the ever-charismatic Yuen Biao as a black-market trader and a superhuman Yuen Wah as a giggling  martial-arts monster, this rip-roaring spectacle offers a nonstop barrage of turbocharged set pieces that defy death, logic, and gravity itself. (98 Mins)

 

Nameless German Blu-ray Synopsis: They come from hell hell in Saigon and kill as the dregs of society. Trained by the Army's best instructors, these losers were their last hope. From these volunteers, the Pentagon forges a sworn team for the forthcoming suicide squad. Your assignment: blow up an underground US missile base, 300 miles behind the barren lines! (98 Mins)

 

Hong Kong Legends UK DVD Synopsis: Featuring an all-star line-up of some of Hong Kong Cinema's most prolific action stars, 'Eastern Condors' is regarded by many enthusiasts as one of the crowning achievements of Sammo Hung's celebrated career. In a powerful high-energy tribute to 'The Dirty Dozen', ten soldiers condemned to life-term prison sentences are offered an amnesty if they go behind enemy lines in Vietnam to destroy a top-secret munitions dump. Action-legend Sammo Hung took preparations for this movie more seriously than any other, and hired personal trainer 'Eddie Mayer' to slim him down so he could more easily perform some of the incredible acrobatic kicking combinations which he had devised for the project with his stunt team. Showcasing some of the most amazing fight and stunt sequences you will ever seem, 'Eastern Condors' is an awesome tribute to the physical genius of Sammo Hung. In a bid to capture a level of realism seldom seen on celluloid, most of the sequences in this movie were filmed for real, with the actors actually making full physical contact during the fight scenes. Now restored and digitally re-mastered for it's UK premiere DVD release, and featuring a frank and revealing interview with director/star Sammo Hung on the making of the film, 'Eastern Condors: Special Edition' is one of the most exciting, raw-edged DVD packages you will ever experience!! (93 Mins)

 

Made In Hong Kong UK VHS Synopsis: Legendary Hong Kong actor/director Sammo Hung leads a ragged troop of mercenaries on a desperate search-and-destroy mission into the heart of darkness. Killers and gangsters to a man, hand-picked from top security jails by US military intelligence, the squad members are offered money and freedom as a reward for their suicide mission in Vietnam. Abandoned deep in hostile territory, this Oriental dirty half-dozen find their lives under threat from the ruthless Vietcong enemy and a hidden traitor in their midst. Widely hailed as Sammo Hung's finest achievement, 'Eastern Condors' is a truly devastating blockbuster, a matchless collision of high octane gunplay and breathtaking martial arts action culminating in an explosive climax of extraordinary power. Savage, relentless and graced with Hung's trademark choreographic brilliance, 'Eastern Condors' stands unchallenged as the ultimate Hong Kong war movie. (93 Mins)

 

Views: The first time I'd ever had the pleasure of catching any scenes from Eastern Condors was via the incredible docu-film, The Best Of The Martial Arts (Movies) – also known as The Deadliest Art – which offered a number of incredible action scenes from the film which were the highlights of the show for me. As a young teen, I had often dreamed of seeing the movie as a whole, yet was never lucky enough to find it as an ex-rental in my days of searching video stores across the country. From the powerhouse martial-arts action to the memorable score by Sherman Chow, these few scenes had been engraved in my head and I needed to see more! I managed to track down a bootleg copy that I had ordered from a private collector, as advertised in the (now defunct) back of Impact Movie Magazine, but it was pretty crap quality and only just fulfilled my needs. Thankfully, in the mid-late 90s, Eastern Condors was given a new release on VHS by the amazing UK label, Made In Hong Kong. I was in my element and once I had grabbed myself a copy from my local Virgin Megastore, went onto have this incredible action flick in my player every other night. While it had proven to be somewhat of a flop on its initial release in Hong Kong, Eastern Condors has since went on to become one of the most revered and treasured martial-arts films of Hong Kong cinema – and rightly so. The film is also highly regarded by many fans as one of Sammo Hung's best (if not his actual best) as a director and star; and it's easy to see why. Set just a year after the Vietnam War, a team of Asian-American prisoners are selected to go to Vietnam on a mission to destroy a top-secret munitions dump. Led by one of the army generals, the unlikely squad find themselves up against a host of spies, skilled fighters, deadly female guerillas, and the Vietcong. As the untrained soldiers get taken down one-by-one, the remaining few must fight for their lives in a blistering showdown that will secure their freedom – should they survive the battle!

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If Eastern Condors would have been made today, it may have been an epic 3 hour piece given the content of what the original movie has and by elaborating on the elements of the story it proposed. The first of these missing stories is that of Team A; the band of serious soldiers who are sat facing Sammo's troop before they ship-out under the orders of the wonderful Melvin Wong. While Sammo's squad (led by Lam Ching Ying) were considered to be an ragtag bunch of expendables, Wong's team definitely gave the impression that they were a bit more clued-in and consisted of some very familiar faces of whom I'd loved to have seen more of. This included the handsome Max Mok, Michael Miu, Chung Fat, Kent Tong, Danny Poon, and Jackie Chan Stunt Team members Kenny Ho, Chris Lee, and the kick-ass Ben Lam. In fact, I'm surprised that Jackie himself didn't show up here in a cameo; although he was busy shooting Project A 2 (which was quite obviously missing Hung and Biao), not to mention the fact that his working relationship with his two brothers was already getting flaky. Of course, the following year would see that all come to an end with the amazing, although ironically titled, Dragons Forever! While we know that Wong and his team were killed in an (off-screen) explosion, a little more focus on them could have been so much more meaningful. Then there were all those deleted scenes that featured in the original 4 minute trailer – scenes that saw more background stories with our heroes in prison, including a lively basketball game which broke out in a fight, a prison riot, training scenes, and other fights (I mean, this stuff has already been filmed and never released!!). And finally, I think that a background story of the female guerillas would have helped extend that even more, among many other scenes – but I'm just speculating of course and more than happy with this Hong Kong classic...

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Leading up to the filming of Eastern Condors, the burly Sammo Hung – who also worked his magic as one of the fight choreographers and overall director of the piece – trained intensively with the late Eddie Maher in a bid to slim down for his role. Put on a strict diet of chicken and rice in between sessions, it's fair to say that Sammo looked the best he ever did in Eastern Condors since his teenage years. And while it is said that his new appearance was one of the reasons that the movie flopped in Hong Kong, I believe that it benefited him massively and allowed him to deliver even more powerful and exciting moves during the fight scenes. I honestly feel that this is one of Sammo's greatest roles, if not his absolute greatest role in a modern film, and I never tire of seeing him kicking-ass as the self-appointed leader of the pack – he's an absolute powerhouse in this! This was a pretty crazy time for Hung , both as a star and director, having just wrapped up another epic film in Millionaires Express, as well as delivering two other exciting roles in Lucky Stars Go Places and Where's Officer Tuba? But it's clear that Eastern Condors had the majority of his attention in 1987, with Sammo only opting to play a few smaller roles the same year in his self-produced titles To Err Is Humane, Mr. Vampire 3, and Lai Shi: Last Eunuch In China – each of which featured many of his co-stars from this action epic. Sammo has delivered many amazing titles as a director during his career, but Eastern Condors really shows just how incredible he was at the job. And while it pays homage to many of the great war films that came before it, from The Dirty Dozen to The Deer Hunter, this late 80s action-epic should never be seen a film of lesser quality. The wonderful Yuen Biao steals the show as the super-cool and kick-ass Chieh Man Yeh (aka Rat, depending which version you're watching). Sporting his 'Flock Of Seagulls' haircut, Biao serves the local villages as a smuggler of U.S. Goods; often slipping the Vietcong soldiers some free chocolate and cigarettes to turn a blind eye. I absolutely love him in this role – perhaps one of my favourite from his filmography – which allows him to deliver the perfect blend of comedy, incredible stunt work, and amazing martial-arts moves. Much like his big brother, Biao had just come off a busy year with Millionaires Express, Rosa, Mr. Vampire 2, and the equally incredible Righting Wrongs (of which he also served as a producer and choreographer), making Eastern Condor his main focus of 1987. He also plays the nephew of Yeung Lung; a man on the teams' list who needs extracted, played wonderfully by the Oscar winning Haing S. Ngor. The team is initially led by the aforementioned and very missed Lam Ching Ying; a Hong Kong legend more widely known for his role in the Sammo Hung produced Mr. Vampire and many of its sequels (and spin-offs) that followed. Interestingly enough, Lam made his on-screen debut in the Shaw Brothers produced, Lo Wei directed film Brothers Five, which also saw Sammo briefly appear as well as double-up as the choreographer. Although they hailed from different Peking Opera Schools, the pair had long been close friends and went onto star together in many films from the early 1970s through to Lam's unfortunate passing in the mid-90s.

 

The rest of the good guys are played by a very familiar bunch of Hong Kong names, many of whom were definitely an odd choice on many levels. I'm talking about the award-wining and globally known Yuen Woo Ping, the equally talented Corey Yuen Kwai, amazing Chin Kar Lok, Hsiao Ho, Peter Chan, Billy Lau, Charlie Chin, K.K. Cheung, and Ka Lee, respectively. Most of these guys are known as martial arts powerhouses, yet are restrained from actually busting a move and seemingly cast for their (often comedic) performances only – which sees the latter killed-off in a darkly funny way just as the mission starts. While these were non-action roles to a degree for the most of them, albeit for some gun-play and war games, I was always a little confused as to why Sammo cast such skilled fighters such as Woo Ping, Yuen Kwai, Kar Lok and Hsiao Ho, rather than use some of the other stars from Melvin Wong's team (such as more straight-laced actors like Max Mok, Michael Mui,and Kent Tong). I'm sure he had his reasons, and it's far from a negative point as I thoroughly enjoy watching everyone involved, but what a different movie Eastern Condors would have been had the whole team been fighters. Instead, Sammo brings in a little extra help in by introducing 3 female Cambodian guerrillas in the shape of the little known Chiu Man Yan, the hardcore Ha Chi Chun, and the wonderful Joyce Godenzi who, of course, would go on to marry Hung a few years later. I really love the addition of this trio and was often in awe when watching their introductory scene in the aforementioned Golden Harvest doco-film. Although short, their dramatic and brutal attack on the enemy camp will forever be one of my favourite scenes in this movie, and they continue to impress with their performances throughout the rest of the film's running time – both in the drama and action department respectively. Unfortunately, Godenzi would retire from the scene only a few years later to focus on family life, but only after continuing to prove herself as an incredible action-actress in the Sammo Hung directed Spooky, Spooky as well as his produced titles She Shoots Straight and License To Steal, not forgetting her notable roles alongside him in Paper Marriage, The Raid, and Slickers Vs Killers, of course. While I haven't seen much more of actress Chui Man Yan, it's worth mentioning that I have enjoyed catching Ha Chi Chun kicking ass in titles such as Satanic Crystals, Angel Enforcers, Aces Go Places 5, Angels Mission, Brave Young Girls, Erotic Ghost Story, and more.

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Equally though, in the bad corner, the cast is just as impressive with the awesome Yuen Wah leading the way as the main villain of the piece. That said, he really doesn't show up until the third act, but the wait is absolutely worth it! Although he had appeared in many films as a stuntman, extra, bit-player, or side character in many Shaw Brothers and early Golden Harvest kung-fu classics, as well as delivering many fun roles in Sammo's hit films My Lucky Stars, Heart Of The Dragon, Millionaires Express, and more – while not forgetting his role as the main vampire in the classic Mr. Vampire; it's fair to say that Eastern Condors was his breakout role and a role he would pay homage to (to some degree) in the legendary Dragons Forever. Wah is backed by a host of villain-favourites from Hong Kong cinema including the incredible Dick Wei, Philip Ko Fei, Yasuaki Kurata, and Billy Chow – all of whom get to show off their amazing fighting skills and prove to be deadly adversaries for each of our heroes. For me, these guys are four of the greatest bad-guys ever to appear on-screen and, once again, they don't disappoint when it comes to the action department. Legendary Japanese action-star,Yasuaki Kurata, also known as Shoji Kurata and David Kurata among many others, made quite the impression in his first Sammo Hung production, Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars, as the parachute assassin who later faces off against Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung with the deadly sai before coming ear-to-ear with the wrath of Sammo's tennis rackets. His brilliant role in as a ninja in the big man's epic Millionaires Express would follow just after this, although it would be some time later before the pair would star in the same movie again, with roles in Wong Jing's brilliant gangster film The Last Tycoon and Gordon Chan's God Of War, 15-20 years later. While they certainly weren't close to what the legends had dished-out in their 80s films, it was still nice to see them share a title once again. It's also worth noting that 1987 was a breakout year for Billy Chow who was taken under Sammo's wing and cast in this, Dragons Forever and Paper Marriage which really helped put him on the map. Of course, soon after that, Chow would keep his star lit with brilliant roles in Sammo Hung films such as the incredible Pedicab Driver, Blonde Fury, License To Steal, Magic Cop, and many more that would secure his position as one of Hong Kong's cinemas finest. The incredible Philip Ko Fei, whose amazing filmography highlights over 250 titles from his debut in Chang Cheh's Heroic Ones in 1970 through to 2006, has shared the screen a number of times with Hung Kam Bo and is absolutely one of my favourite stars who I feel was robbed of appreciation due to his later self-directed titles. And then, of course, there's the formidable Dick Wei – quite possibly the toughest bad guy in martial arts who, like Ko Fei before him, starred in a host of Shaw Brothers hits from The Brave Archer to The Killer Constable, before getting on-board with Sammo. This started with a role in The Prodigal Son in 1981 and saw Wei appear in most Hung titles (including those he produced) throughout the 80s. The late great Wu Ma provides an enjoyable role as a fussy Vietnamese corporal who forces his way into the home of Haing S. Ngor in order to use his toilet, and the great James Tien also cameos in a memorable role as an angry customer that sees him witness, first-hand, the fury and acrobatics of Yuen Biao when he threaten him with a couple of heavies.

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In a nutshell, Eastern Condors is as amazing as everyone says it is! Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Lam Ching Ying, Yuen Wah, and others provide some of the finest action ever seen on film with incredible stunt-work and full-contact hits that make you squirm in pain. These include moments that see stuntmen take a full-force kick to the head from Sammo, or Yuen Biao's foot to the face after a gorgeous spinning-back kick. Another sees Yuen Biao get thrown from his ox-drawn cart and hitting the ground in such shape that would see most regular human beings snap in half – it's painfully amazing and you can't help but reach for the rewind button on many occasions. While the majority of the fight scenes involve Sammo and/or Yuen Biao taking on the Vietcong in jungle environments or their camp, which is pretty brutal, the grand finale allows for an incredible display of showdowns that push their choreography to the limit. Of course, this results in final bout between our two heroes and Yuen Wah which has long been a favourite of many Hong Kong film fans. If you haven't already gotten your hands on a copy of Eastern Condors by now, then get out there and find the best restored Blu-ray you can – you won't be disappointed!

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Overall: One of my all-time favourites and a genuine classic of Hong Kong cinema, Eastern Condors shows Sammo at his best and well worth seeing!

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Eureka Video UK Blu-ray Extras: 2K Restoration, Export Version (95 Mins), Audio Commentary with Mike Leeder & Arne Venema, Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng, Archival Interviews with Sammo Hung & Yuen Wah, Original Opening & Closing Credits, Eastern Condors Live Show, Trailers

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Criterion US Blu-ray Extras: 2K Restoration, Export Version (95 Mins), Audio Commentary with Tony Rayns, New Interview with Sammo Hung, Archival Interviews with Sammo Hung & Yuen Wah, Original Opening & Closing Credits, Eastern Condors Live Show, Trailers

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Nameless German Blu-ray Extras: 2K Restoration, Export Version (95 Mins), Audio Commentary with Mike Leeder & Arne Venema, Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng, Archival Interviews with Sammo Hung & Yuen Wah, Original Opening & Closing Credits, Trailers

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Hong Kong Legends UK DVD Extras: Biography Showcase, Interviews with Sammo Hung, Trailers

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Made In Hong Kong UK VHS Trailers: A Better Tomorrow 2, God Of Gamblers, Saviour Of The Soul, Tiger On The Beat, Moon Warriors, Drunken Master