88 Films UK Blu-ray Synopsis: A high-kicking soldier of fortune (Andy Lau, Infernal Affairs) finds himself on the trail of an alien artefact and forced to contend with both an Interpol agent (Cynthia Rothrock, China O'Brien) and Russian crime lord (Richard Norton, Mad Max: Fury Road). The feet and fists fly fast and funky on sunny Greek locations, on Hong Kong's mean streets, and amid the ruins of an ancient UFO. Populist Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Jing (City Hunter) remixes ET into a wacky comedy caper that delivers some of the best traditional kung fu fighting ever performed in a modern setting. (95 Mins)

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Vinegar Syndrome US Blu-ray Synopsis: Andy Lo and his comedic sidekick, Pancho, are freelance special agents who are called in by the Hong Kong police department when they have a mission that needs to be kept 'off the books'. One day, Andy receives a letter from a former colleague in need of help and, together with Pacho and Andy's young nephew, Bin Bin, heads to Greece on a secret mission masquerading as a vacation. After Andy's colleague is killed, Bin Bin accidentally ends up with a suitcase that contains a magical talking crystal. Soon, a group of KGB agents, lead by the sadistic Karov, are after Andy and his family in an attempt  to retrieve this mysterious artifact. With the help of two Interpol agents, Andy must stop the KGB and uncover the secret behind the magic crystal before it's too late. MAGIC CRYSTAL is best described as an 'everything but the kitchen sink' Hong Kong actioner, directed by the always outrageous, Wong Jing. Featuring elements of sci-fi, adventure, comedy, and of course kung-fu, MAGIC CRYSTAL remains one of the most unique martial arts movies of the 80s, due to its blending of genre elements combined with some truly impressive martial arts choreography. Featuring one of Hong Kong's most famous stars, Andy Lau (House Of Flying Daggers), in one of his early leading roles, as well as a who's who of international martial arts actors, including America's Cynthia Rothrock (Righting Wrongs), Hong Kong's Max Mok (Once Upon A Time In China 2), and Australia's Richard Norton (China O'Brien), as well as comedic performances by Kien Shih (Enter The Dragon), Taiwanese child star Bin Bin, and the director himself, Wong Jing, as Pancho. Vinegar Syndrome Archive is proud to present MAGIC CRYSTAL for the first time on Blu-ray in the U.S. newly scanned and exclusively restored for this release by Vinegar Syndrome from the original camera negative, and complete with all the martial arts mayhem one could ask for including a show-stopping fight scene between Cynthia Rothrock and frequent co-star Richard Norton. (95 Mins)

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German DVD Synopsis: During excavations in a Greek temple ruin, Shum finds a mysterious stone that is probably of extraterrestrial origin. But he doesn't do himself any favours with the rescue, as it is the dangerous start to a series of deadly encounters with the KGB and Interpol. Everyone wants to have the strange stone for themselves and doesn't shy away from even the most delicate actions to get hold of it. Breath-taking action scenes in Greece and Hong Kong follow and the hunt for the stone becomes a great risk for everyone involved. (92 Mins)

 

American Imperial UK VHS Synopsis: Nike Lo is under contract to the Royal Hong Kong Police working in a special division called 'The Eagles'. Heis asked to go to Greece by his friend Shum who has discovered an ancient piece of Jade that has supernatural powers. A mystery ensues when Shum goes missing and a high ranking KGB Officer (Richard Norton) appears with two Interpol Officers, Bill and Cindy (Cynthia Rothrock) chasing him. There is only one way that this scenario can go – an all out Martial Arts Battle Royale with both Cynthia Rothrock and Richard Norton out for total victory. (91 Mins)

 

Views: When I first saw Magic Crystal on VHS in the mid-90s, I was blown away by its unmatched energy, exciting fight scenes, and wacky comedy. I'd picked it up as an ex-rental, caught by the images of Cynthia Rothrock and Richard Norton on the front cover, and while it was far from perfect in many ways the film has always been a favourite among Hong Kong film fans, largely due to its powerful martial arts action and the great cast on offer! No doubt wanting to cash in on the success of Spielberg movies such as Raiders Of The Lost Ark and E.T. - prolific Hong Kong director Wong Jing gives viewers a wild genre-blending mix of parody, sci-fi, and martial arts action, all wrapped up in a family friendly comedy without ever veering off into his usual low-brow, or sexualised jokes. With its Chinese title literally translating as Magic Jade, the film was shot between Hong Kong and Greece, getting its release in the Philippines as Fight To Win – ironically the title of another Rothrock and Norton film that would come out the following year. The same Filipino distributors would go on to release Cindy's hit film Righting Wrongs as Fight To Win 2 and the fun Yukari Oshima action-comedy, A Book Of Heroes, as part three (just to make things a little more confusing)...

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Apart from its fun and memorable score, courtesy of Joseph Yip, Magic Crystal boasts a strong cast with superstar Andy Lau leading the way, named Hunting Eagle after one of his earliest TV roles. This would be the first project that saw Wong Jing direct Andy Lau – a move that set in place a long working relationship with the pair later delivering hit titles including The Crazy Companies 1 & 2, Casino Raiders and its sequel No Risk No Gain, Crocodile Hunter, God Of Gamblers 1 & 2, Tricky Brains, Dances With Dragon, Casino Tycoon, Future Cops, The Last Blood, A True Mob Story, Chasing The Dragon, and so much more. As the leading man of Magic Crystal, Lau Tak Wah is just a joy to watch oozing plenty of charm and handsomeness, and holding his own in the action department alongside his talented western co-stars delivering some impressive moves and stunt-work. Martial arts legends Cynthia Rothrock and Richard Norton had just come off Sammo Hung's epic Millionaires Express, where they had both impressed in their roles as mountain bandits and fantastic action scenes, but with Magic Crystal, the pair take things to a whole new level and deliver what is quite possibly their finest on-screen martial-arts moves that help make the fight scenes here some of the best in modern action cinema. This would only be the third Hong Kong film for both stars after Rothrock starred in Yes Madam and Richard in Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars, as well as the aforementioned Millionaires Express, and while Norton would work with Wong Jing a number of years later in Jackie Chan's hilarious City Hunter, Magic Crystal would be the only time that Cynthia Rothrock would work with the director – jumping between this and Corey Yuen Kwai's Righting Wrongs. Interestingly, the pair would occur a lot of injuries during production with Richard Norton catching a bacterial infection on his leg as well as gaining a slashed eye during a fight scene with Rothrock. Before production began, Cindy was suffering from an injured ACL and went on to damage her knee even more during a fight scene in Greece – an injury which led to her accidentally stabbing her on-screen opponent in the groin with her spear. Both her and Richard have since revealed that they had no script to work with, often turning up on the day to have a few notes of lines given to them from director Wong Jing; but this would have been a regular occurrence on most Hong Kong and Wong Jing productions of this time. Of course, the pair would go on to form a strong friendship that would see them work together on a number of exciting projects including the aforementioned Fight To Win, Lady Dragon, China O'Brien 1 & 2, Rage & Honor 1 & 2, and Redemption with Don 'The Dragon' Wilson – often seen by film fans as one of the best on-screen pairings of their era!

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Screenwriter and director Wong Jing himself stars as Andy's right-hand man, and provides plenty of laughs with his unconventional looks and wacky humour. Although he had already gained a reputation as one of Hong Kong's busiest film-makers, Wong also enjoyed his time in front of the camera, starring in almost 20 titles before Magic Crystal and has appeared in almost 90 to date. Wong Jing film-regular and comedic actor in his own right, the hilarious Nat Chan, co-stars as the loved-up Lau Ta and gets to deliver one of the films funniest scenes in the movie that sees his hands and feet rearranged. The gorgeous Max Mok stars as Cindy's Interpol partner, and does a hugely impressive job in the role. Although not a trained martial artist, Mok pulls off some fantastic fight sequences and looks great while doing it. Much like Andy, Max was still a pretty fresh face on the scene when Magic Crystal came about having spent the previous years at the Shaw Brothers studio appearing in films such as The Lady Assassin, Holy Flame Of The Martial World, and Journey Of The Doomed. Over the years, both handsome duo would appear together in films such as Last Eunuch In China, The Dragon Family, Long Arm Of The Law 3, City Kids 1989, and The Fortune Code. Kung fu queen Wong Mei Mei, from classics such as Monkey Kung Fu, Five Superfighters, Rendezvous With Death, Human Lanterns, and Holy Flame Of The Martial World alongside Mok, stars as Andy's kick-ass sister – almost stealing the show with her fight scene against Norton and his cronies. While she was hugely impressive, both in the acting and action department, Magic Crystal would have been one of Mei Mei's last movies before retiring from the industry in the late 80s. Sharla Cheung Man stares as a love interest and sister of Philip Ko Fei – who originally finds the magic jade in Greece – with recognisable actors such as Mak Wai Cheung, Shum Wai, Chung Fat, Shek Kin, and Eddie Maher also appearing, along with popular child actor Bin Bin who ramps up the films cuteness level as the 'Elliott' of the story.

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As well as making an appearance as one of Norton's henchmen, the great Tony Leung Siu Hung – brother of the legendary Bruce Leung of Kung Fu Hustle and Gallants fame – provides the incredible and highly exciting fight choreography generously offered throughout the movie. Here, Tony choreographed the action as if his life depended on it, making each and every one of its stars give their finest action performances ever with some intricate and powerful fight scenes that uses traditional kung-fu styles such as eagles claw and the deadly mantis, as well as letting Richard show his skills with a pair of sai. From Andy's introductory fight scene, that sees him take on the brilliant Chung Fat in a bid to capture criminal Shum Wai, to the incredible and fast-paced first fight of Cynthia Rothrock and Max Mok's Interpol agents that sees the former put her incredible spear talents to use, Leung crafts some of the most exciting fight action ever committed to celluloid and doesn't disappoint. With a wide range of action scenes on offer such as the hilarious and furious gym fight, close-quarter weapons battle at the family home, car-park fight scene, extensive warehouse showdown, and breathtaking grand finale around the UFO, Magic Crystal is still as impressive today as it was upon release.​ Magic Crystal would be the first film produced under the Movie Impact banner, the same company behind many other Andy Lau films including Runaway Blues, City Kids 1989, The Truth, A Moment Of Romance, Dragon In Jail, The Tigers, and The Last Blood, and while it's odd mix of sci-fi, comedy and hardcore martial arts action may seem odd to most western viewers, it wasn't unusual for Hong Kong cinema – and especially Wong Jing – to blend many genres together in order to tell a tale. It's a trait I personally love about them and one of the main reasons I fell in love with Hong Kong cinema in the first place, making for a welcome change of the 'normality' and simple story telling of big Hollywood productions. Magic Crystal stands tall and proud as one of these genre-blending titles, hailed for over 30 years as one of the best martial arts flicks of modern action cinema that never fails to entertain, with its recent restoration and Blu-ray releases from the UK, France, USA, and Hong Kong proving its worth!

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Overall: Jam packed with exciting martial-arts action, hilarious and wacky, and so much fun, Magic Crystal is still massive fun many decades later and deserves to be seen by any fan of Hong Kong cinema!

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88 Films Blu-ray Extras: 2K Restoration, Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng, Introduction & Interview with Richard Norton on Magic Crystal, Interview with Cynthia Rothrock on Magic Crystal, UK Trailer

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Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray Extras: 2K Restoration, Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng & Ric Meyers, Interviews with Cynthia Rothrock and Wen 'Bin Bin' Chao Yu, Original Trailer

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German DVD Extras: Trailers​

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Watch my unboxing video of the 88 Films Blu-ray release HERE

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Watch my unboxing video of the Vinegar Syndrome release HERE

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Watch my video retrospective HERE