Topic: Premier Asia Pre-2006

Buckle up, for here comes probably the most rapid martial arts action film of the new millenium. Well, that is until Tom Yum Goong is released. But until then, be sure to check out Ong-Bak which is from the same cast & crew.

Movie review and comparison between the Premier Asia R2UK and the MCOne R2Germany inside...

Director Takashi Shimizu recently re-made Ju-On for the US and European market. The title it was released as was The Grudge which is basically a translation of the Japanese title. It was obvious that Premier Asia would opt for the same title for their DVD release of this film.

Now that the 2-disc edition is finally out, I present you a full review.

Due to the success of their DVD release of Ichi the Killer Premier Asia decided to release this cartoon version of the film which is to be regarded as a prequel in which Ichi's backgrounds are explored. At a running time of 46 minutes, this is a film I enjoyed a lot. It is not your average anime. Some people even say that it isn't drawn very well. While I think this is true if you compare that anime to several other ones, it is rather the story that makes this film so interesting. Why did Ichi become Ichi?

Probably best known as Musa, The Warrior's renaming for the UK is simply a translation of the Korean word 'Musa' (Warrior). The first time I watched this film was at the theatre during the Fantasy Filmfestival over here in Germany and I was stunned by its visual power and the way it tells an epic story. Being a Korean/Chinese production, it stars actors from both countries. For example do we have Zhang Ziyi and Yu Rong-gwong from Hong Kong and Joo Jin-mo and Jung Woo-sung from Korea. If you liked the visuals of David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia you will love all the great desert shots in The Warrior.

Sadly, Premier Asia only offers the international cut of the film, which at a running time of 2 hours and 7 minutes runs 25 minutes less than the original cut (NTSC to PAL conversion already calculated). The scenes cut out from the main feature are available on the second disc as deleted scenes, but can this rescue this release of Musa to be a superior version?

Takashi Miike is famous for shooting provocating films. With films like Vistor Q he manged to shock viewers all over the world equally. I was very surprised when I heard that Premier Asia would be releasing that title under their label, since the gore is very repulsive in this film. But then it is also very attracting. When it was shown at the Fantasy Filmfestival here, a few people were running out of the screening room, only to come back for more after a few minutes. It's hard to imagine, I know, but since the gory scenes are all created quite comically (the film is based on a popular Japanese manga), it is that over the top black humour, that will make you re-watch this film over and over again and even skipping non-violent sequences in order to see only the sanguinary scenes.

A film that is different from other films in every aspect including the credits at the end. Although having received a cut of 3 minutes and 15 seconds the Premier Asia disc is still worth to check out.

November 3rd 2002. Hong Kong Legends announce a new concept on their website called Premier Asia.
January 26th 2003. Hong Kong Legends announce their first Premier Asia-release to be released on March 24th - the Korean box office smash hit Bichunmoo. Does it have the potential to take up the responsibility of representing a brand new Asian movies DVD company? As a 2 disc set it definitely should. Read on to find out.