Messenger of Death

Starring:Charles Bronson, Trish Van Devere, Laurence Luckinbill, Daniel Benzali, Marilyn Hassett, Charles Dierkop, Jeff Corey, John Ireland, Penny Peyser, Gene Davis, John Solari, Jon Cedar, Tom Everett, Duncan Gamble, Bert Williams (II), Jerome Thor, Sydna Scott, Cheryl Waters, Melanie Noble, Patricia Allison
Director: J. Lee Thompson
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Description

Disc 1: KINJITE Disc 2: MESSENGER OF DEATH Disc 3: MURPHY'S LAW Disc 4: 10 TO MIDNITE

Customer Reviews:

GRRR..BRUISIN....BRONSON'S ON DVD.......2005-01-30

IT'S GOOD TO SEE THAT MENACING FACE COME TO DVD, HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET BORDERLINE AND THE STONE KILLER ON DVD, THEN I WILL BE HAPPY.

An excellent sampling of Bronson's Cannon era........2004-03-28

During his winter years in the 80s, international action star Charles Bronson made movie after movie for the maligned Cannon Group Inc, the production company run by Menachem Golan and Yoram Globus. Cannon got its start making (and did quite well with) exploitation pictures and just about every one of Bronson's films for them has the flavor of grindhouse exploitation cinema in the mix. But that does not mean the movies are plain bad, or so bad they're good, far from it. While Bronson did make some clunkers (Death Wish 2 in my opinion) and a few cult classics perfect for the MST3K treatment (Death Wish 3), some of his Cannon pictures are quite good. The quite good ones were usually directed by J. Lee Thompson. This box set gathers together the Bronson/Thompson team ups, with the exception of Death Wish 4: The Crackdown. All feature widescreen anamorphic transfers, again with the exception of the not included Death Wish 4: The Crackdown. Each movie is a solid piece of entertainment where Bronson did not simply phone in an embarrassed and wooden performance. Odd trivia: the cover of the box set uses an image for Death Wish 4, did I mention it's not inlucded in this set?

10 TO MIDNIGHT (1984): Was the first thriller Thompson and Bronson worked on for Cannon (the two had previously teamed on The Evil That Men Do and, I believe, The White Buffalo) and its one of the best. Bronson plays a cop (a standard role for him when he wasn't replaying Paul Kersey in Death Wish sequel after Death Wish sequel) who matches wits with a cunning serial killer. Gene Davis plays the killer with a bemused and arrogant indifference that might appear wooden, until his mask of control slips. Andrew Stevens is Bronson's book smart partner and the lovely Lisa Eilbacher plays Bronson's estranged daughter (obviously she got her looks from her mother). Bronson grows desperate when his emotional investigation puts his daughter at risk. The characters and mind games are well set up in the script, but it degenerates into a slasher movie in the final reel. Nonetheless, it's a solidly crafted thriller.

MURPHY'S LAW (1986): Bronson is a cop (again) who is dealing with his wife's leaving him by hiding in a bottle of booze. When he is framed for her murder, he escapes (with foul mouthed girl-woman Kathleen Wilhoite shackled to his wrist) to find the real killer. Gail Morgan Hickman's script (she also wrote Death Wish 4: The Crackdown and the story for the third Dirty Harry movie, The Enforcer) won't win any awards, but the story places enough obstacles in Bronson and Wilhoite's path to keep the yarn from getting boring.

MESSENGER OF DEATH (1988): This is a real change of pace for Bronson. He plays an investigative reporter trying to get to the bottom of a mass murder that, at first, seems to be result of a venom filled blood feud between two fundalmentalist Mormon brothers. The mystery gets the emphasis over the action (though there is enough of that to keep it from getting boring) and only a rushed conclusion keeps it from being more than a tad above average.

KINJITE: FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS (1989): This was last movie from the Bronson/Thompson/Cannon team and it's the weakest. Bronson is a vice cop slowly cracking from the pressures of dealing with the sleaze soaked Job. His obsessive hunt for a particular pimp named Duke is hampered by things like due process and his teenaged daughter getting groped in a crowded bus. What he does not know is that the father of the child kidnapped by Duke is the same man who felt his daughter up on the bus! The unpleasant subject matter (molestation and child prostitution) just isn't mixed well with the standard plot. It isn't there to make commentary about the characters, it's there to either titilate or shock. The script needed a little more work ironing out those story problems to really cook.

Any fan of Bronson or Cannon or both (they're out there, I should know, I am one of them) will want this collection, as it pretty much puts the best of Bronson's Cannon years in one box. Recommended.

Finally on DVD. Go Get them !.......2003-02-28

All 4 films are directed by J. Lee Thompson. All films won't win any awards for any categories but all 4 are fun films especially for Bronson fans.

10 to Midnight from 1983 : Bronson tracks serial killer (co-stars Andrew Stevens)

Murphy's Law: Bronson is up against corrupt police force

Messenger of death: Bronson as Denver reporter up against nasty developer

Kinjite: Bronson Vs. child prostitution ring

All 4 are in wide screen anamorphic which has good picture. The sound quality is so-so (10 to midnight and Murphy's law are mono) but overall this is one box set to get for Bronson fans. Highly recommended and hopefully someone will be releasing Death Wish 2, 3, and 4.

Return of the vigilante senior citizen..........2003-01-31

At long last, Charles Bronson comes to DVD. Forget the people that tell you his best movies are 'The Magnificent Seven', 'The Great Escape', or even 'Death Wish'. For me, and countless other film-literate fans, his J Lee Thompson 80's output is the best.

This box set features:

Murphy's Law: Bronson teams up with a young female hoodlum to stop a maniac, the mafia, AND corrupt cops. Guess who wins...

10 to Midnight: Bronson manages to deliver justice to a serial killer who likes 80's soft-rock.

Messenger of Death: Bronson plays a reporter who teaches a lesson to greedy child-murdering land-developers.

Kinjite, Forbidden Subjects: Charlie displays his love for everything Japanese, in this bittersweet tale of a father's love, cultural exchange, and (surprise) vigilante justice.

Amazon.com

The tender, tragic saga of Jason Vorhees, the world's unhappiest camper, continues when yet another batch of hormonally advanced teens decide to ignore past history and spend some time at the woodsy, pine-scented slaughterhouse known as Camp Crystal Lake. It may be a bit of a stretch to describe any of the entries in this interminable series as "good," but this creatively grotesque installment manages to come surprisingly close with a welcome sense of humor and some quick glimmers of real menace (courtesy of director Steve Miner, who would later go on to helm the far more accomplished Halloween: H20). Originally presented in 3-D, which explains the never-ending slew of objects (knives, pitchforks, yo-yos, cats, eyeballs, etc.) that are repeatedly thrust in the viewer's general direction. --Andrew Wright

Customer Reviews:

Where Is The 3-D DVD?.......2007-05-31

This movie was shot in 3-D and unless you saw it at the theatre you missed the 3-D part which is a shame because it looks to be the most frightening and terrifying 3-D film ever made. If "Spy Kids 3-D" can be released on dvd in 3-D then why can't all the others, especially when the 3-D gimmick is integral to the presentation of the film..
Anyway, I saw this as a kid for the first time after having my babysitter tell me how the whole movie went. It scared me intensely. It still has the prettiest "Friday The 13th" survivor to date. Plus this is the first film in which Jason wears the hockey mask. I think "Part 3" as well as "Jason X" are the best in the series for doing something different("Part 3" 3-D and "Part 10" Space). You can't truthfully say if you've never seen this before, and you sit down to watch it alone with the lights off, that it didn't scare you. So, for succeeding to do, what horror films today can't seem to do, scare me, I definately consider this film a good shocker.Just hope to see the 3-D dvd sometime soon, are you listening Paramount Home Video? Hello? HeLLO!? I didn't think so.

JASON.......2007-05-11

THIS WASN'T AS SUSPENSEFUL AS 1 AND 2-BUT IT'S STILL A GREAT MOVIE!I LIKED THE MOTORCYCLE GANG.ANDY WAS CUT DOWN THE MIDDLE AND TIED UP LIKE A PRETZEL.I DIDN'T LIKE CHRIS AND RICK.CHRIS SCREAMED ALL THE TIME, AND RICK WAS A DORK.JASON STILL IS GREAT-AND HE ALWAYS WILL BE!

JASON.......2007-04-28

MY COMMENTS ARE THE SAME AS PARTS 1 AND 2.EXCELLENT!I DIDN'T GET TO SEE IT IN 3D.I COULDN'T STAND SHELLY.I'M GLAD HE GOT KILLED.I COULDN'T STAND CHRIS EITHER-SHE SCREAMED ALL THE TIME.I LIKED CHILI AND CHUCK -THEY JUST WANTED A GOOD TIME AND SMOKED POT ALL THE TIME.THEY WERE FUNNY AND CUTE.I LIKED EDNA AND HAROLD.EDNA WAS ALWAYS YELLING AT HAROLD AND HAROLD JUST NODDED HIS HEAD LIKE OKAY DEAR.THAT WAS CUTE.

"ITS COMIN AT YA".......2007-04-27

This 3rd installment which happens to be my favorite is so cool to watch with the 3-D version which I have now. Jason uses a variety of stabbing weapons all throughout the movie meant to be projected towards the viewer and is the first in many sequels where we see Jason don his famous hockey mask. I think all of the characters bring something of their own to the movie. You have the main character Chris who invites all her friends to stay with her and Derek her boyfriend at his house at Camp Crystal Lake . The character Shelly was pretty wacky with his scare tactics, and you have the 2 pot smoking hippies and the motor cycle gang stalking them. Some pretty tense moments for chris in this until the very end.

Second best Jason-fest.......2007-04-20

Ok, first of all Oct Fri the 13th I FINALLY saw this movie in 3D, sigh I can die happy! Ok this one is really pretty awesome. Chris plays a great leading girl (the only F-13 leadI didnt want to see with an axe in her skull). The other characters are pretty harmless too. Wev'e got bikers (snort), pothead hippies, a fro'd chubster and a dude who can walks on his hands better than he can act. Plus this came out in the early 80's so the ratings board didnt demolish all the awesome gore scenes. I give this one a high-5! Cool deaths, funny scenes and aside from Chris's sherbert pants, some decent 80's fashion too. Yo Debbie, I want your bikini, too cuuute.

Average customer rating:

Above average by Bronson standards
CHARLIE,Charlie,charlie,.......
I was IN this movie!
a little more "refined" than most Bronson movies
Bronson Vs. The Mormons!

Messenger of Death
Starring: Charles Bronson , Trish Van Devere , Laurence Luckinbill , Daniel Benzali , and Marilyn Hassett
Director: J. Lee Thompson
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Murphy's Law (1986)
10 to Midnight
Assassination (1987)
Kinjite - Forbidden Subjects
The Evil That Men Do

ASIN: B00007GZRH
Release Date: 2003-02-04

Amazon.com

Charles Bronson stars in yet another tale of murder and vengeance. After the brutal massacre of a Colorado family, reporter Garret Smith (Bronson) investigates the blood feud between two brothers of an isolationist Mormon sect, only to uncover a conspiracy that leads to the heights of Denver society. Messenger of Death aspires to be some mixture of Witness and Chinatown; the movie has a workmanlike structure, but there's not much inspiration to be found. Bronson, puffy-faced and graying, isn't doing much more than earning a paycheck. Also featuring Trish Van Devere and Daniel Benzali. --Bret Fetzer

Description

In a sleepy Colorado town, a horrific crime has been committed…and only one man can bring the killer to justice! Action hero Charles Bronson stars as a crime reporter on a relentless search for the truth in this "crisply directed" (Los Angeles Times) suspense thriller! Could a simple feud between brothers lead to the brutal massacre of an entire family? Garret Smith (Bronson) travels to a remote Rocky Mountain town to investigate and uncovers far more sinister motives. As he gets closer to the bizarre truth, Smith unravels a plot of greed, revenge and religious zealotry. But can he get to the bottom of the murders before an "avenging angel" visits him with an equally deadly message?

Customer Reviews:

Above average by Bronson standards.......2006-02-28

Be warned, this review may be biased. You see it was partly filmed in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, my home of twenty five years. In one scene Mr. Bronson's Garrett Smith, a Denver reporter solving a brutal family murder, is walking downtown speaking with the local sheriff when a large Chevy truck passes them. I'm happy to report that truck (mine) and its driver (my dad) are both alive and well. While Mr. Bronson is sadly not, fans of the square jawed tough will certainly enjoy this film. It may not be "Death Wish", or even "Mr. Myjestyk"; "Evil That Men Do" though, it is not.

The plot centers on a massacred family in the Colorado hills. The husband/father is the lone survivor and the head suspect. Everyone suspects foul play, but no one is Aticus Finch enough to confront it, which sometimes puts Bronson in some absolutely ludacris situations. If I told you that there was a shootout involving two sides of a family with multiple deaths, your last guess as to the man who would sue for peace would be Charles Bronson--but he does. In this regard his character is equivelant to his Danny in "Great Escape"; he uses his brain to solve problems and lets everyone else blast away. Yes, we're thinking of the same Charles Bronson.

What follows is a complicated (sometimes silly) view of Mormonism, corruption in city politics and family feuds. Worth the price of admission though, is the film's pure 1980's small town Americana texture. Cars are very, very ugly and there were more STDs than SUVs at the time of filming. Vehicles also are, along with everything else, brown. Clothes, hairstyles, houses and buildings, all brown and all better left a score ago. Let's call it an ugly decade and move on huh?

This is one of the few films where Charles Bronson hardly fires a shot in anger. Yes he's a reporter, but he's also Charles Bronson, and Charles Bronson wouldn't back down from a fight if he played Nathan Lane in Birdcage and only had 2x4 as a weapon. He may be a reporter, but then again the pen is mightier than the .357 Magnum.

CHARLIE,Charlie,charlie,..............2006-01-25

Words cannot describe the pain I am going thru to
have to give the Man one star on a movie of his. I
love Bronson films,yes even those bad ones that are
going thru your head right now,but this is by far
his WORST movie ever(and Amazon readers thats saying
alot). Willing to do the PEPSI challenge test with
the syrup NYQUILL anytime. This is the Messenger of
snooze.ZZZZZZZZZZ-ZZZZZ-ZZZZZZZZZZ-ZZZZZZZZ

I was IN this movie!.......2005-01-06

Although this B-film was a bomb, it was fun and a learning experience to participate in a movie. It's great fun to see yourself onscreen, even if you have to fast-forward through the first ten minutes of gore. It kind of ruined movies for me for a couple of years because I would analyze how a scene was shot and the 'magic' was gone. However, I will treasure my copy of the film forever because a dear friend who has since passed away is standing next to me in the train station scene (I'm the lady in the camel hair coat and black hat). The most redeeming thing about this film is the scenery. Shot in the beautiful Rocky Mountains, the views are breathtaking. Makes you want to vacation in Colorful Colorado!

a little more "refined" than most Bronson movies.......2004-12-08

There's a little more of a "detective/thriller" vibe in Messenger of Death than in some of Bronson's other movies of the period but that's not a bad thing IMHO. It's just a little different from the usual vigilante formula and that's fine by me. I enjoyed this one.

Bronson Vs. The Mormons!.......2003-11-06

After a string of sleazy action flicks with Chuck(Evil That Men Do, Murphy's Law, Death Wish 4: The Crackdown), director J. Lee Thompson seemed like he wanted to do something a little different with his next Bronson picture. Messenger Of Death is a little more on the drama/suspense side than action. Sure it's got bits of action here and there, but most of the film has Bronson trying to get to the bottom of a brutal murder. It's not terribly exciting, but it certainly isn't a bad film. I guess I'm just used to the vigilante Bronson, which is unfortunate coz he's capable of more than that. But this movie won't give you anything you haven't seen before, although it certainly makes mormons out to be a creepy bunch. Bronson really doesn't turn on the Bronson until the last five minutes or so of the film, but he does it with that flair we all love. All in all, not too bad, but it's main function will be to make your Bronson collection larger.

Average customer rating:

Above average by Bronson standards
CHARLIE,Charlie,charlie,.......
I was IN this movie!
a little more "refined" than most Bronson movies
Bronson Vs. The Mormons!

Messenger of Death [Region 2]
Starring: Charles Bronson , Trish Van Devere , Laurence Luckinbill , Daniel Benzali , and Marilyn Hassett
Director: J. Lee Thompson
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

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Similar Items:

Murphy's Law (1986)
10 to Midnight
Assassination (1987)
Kinjite - Forbidden Subjects
The Evil That Men Do

ASIN: B0001P1BS4

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Above average by Bronson standards.......2006-02-28

CHARLIE,Charlie,charlie,..............2006-01-25

I was IN this movie!.......2005-01-06

a little more "refined" than most Bronson movies.......2004-12-08

Bronson Vs. The Mormons!.......2003-11-06

Average customer rating:

Beware of the Killer Peacocks!
the first one stank,why did we need a second one
ric meyers said it best, "if you see that seasonal film logo, you know it's gonna be good.
Good Choreography, Bad Movie
Can't agree with other reviews

The New Game of Death
Starring: Ernest Curtis , Bruce Lee , David Hess , Bruce Li , and Robert Kerver
Director: Pin Lin
Manufacturer: Tai Seng
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Enter the Dragon
Fighting Fists Of Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee and Kung Fu Mania
The Legend of Bruce Lee
The True Game of Death

ASIN: B00004W5W7
Release Date: 2000-11-14

Customer Reviews:

Beware of the Killer Peacocks!.......2007-06-13

Game of Death II (aka Tower of Death) is a dichotomy of a film. It is a Bruceploitation film (though it is one of the better ones) and it is an exiting revenge flick. Raymond Chow had apparently not made enough money off of the insipid Game of Death and was slowly leaking "newly found" footage of Bruce so it was bound that he would create another film with spliced in footage, redubbed dialog and, of course, Bruce's namesake. A lot of people were using Lee's name to promote their own productions, but Golden Harvest (who Bruce worked for; though technically this was a Seasonal production) was the worst of these offenders.

The first act of the movie is the least interesting and worst part of the film. Bruce Lee stars (posthumously edited in) as Billy Lo (Bruce Lee) who visits his friend Chin Ku (Hwang Jang Lee) who is currently beating up an under-classed challenger. After an reestablishment of friendship between the two (never a good sign in a Kung Fu film), he visits an abbot (Roy Chiao revisiting his role from Enter the Dragon so they can reuse and redub footage) to discuss about his contumacious brother Bobby Lo (Tong Lung who also starred in Game of Death).

Of course, the scenes that compromise the first act are not only exploitative of Bruce Lee they are also poorly done. The most obvious is that the backgrounds do not match between Bruce's footage and the new footage. Also check out the sculpted back muscles of Bruce and compare them to his double. It is not even close. The fight scenes with Bruce (and his double) do not flow well. However, anytime you see a fight scene and that Bruce (or his double) does a difficult move such as a flip you will notice that it is the incomparable Yuen Biao (he even has a small role toward the beginning.)
Bruce later visits the funeral of his friend Chin Ku and he is prevented from examining the body (this must mean something to the plot.) When the ceremony takes place a helicopter comes by and snags the coffin. For some strange reason, well to dispose of the fake Bruce character, he jumps on the coffin as it is flying away and is hit with a dart and falls to his death. This is absolutely absurd. Though this is not as bad as the 70s clothes at the funeral or the tacky real funeral footage of Bruce Lee that would come next.

Now the movie gets more interesting and less exploitative. Bobby learns of his brother's death from his father who tells him to meet Sherman Lan. Sherman tells him to go to the Palace of Death. Now this is an interesting place. It is owned by Lewis, played by Roy Horan who has been an executive at Seasonal, an actor who also acted in Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, a student of Hwang Jang Lee and currently a lecturer at HK Polytechnic University; obviously his life is more interesting than this film. Bobby suspects Lewis as the culprit behind his brother's death. Lewis likes to eat raw meat, is surrounded by lions (who are fed the fighters that he defeats), Killer Peacocks and a one-armed valet (oh my). The one-armed assistant, a monk from the Fan Yu temple) does not seem that he could be of great use to Lewis, but Lewis says that he is faithful and he has known him for a long time (do not dwell on this fact because the absurdity of what happens later is quite hilarious). I really do not trust one-armed people in Hong Kong films unless they are played by Jimmy Wang Yu.

Lewis tells Bobby of a tower built by abbot Hung Kuang. However, it cannot be found above ground. The abbot had it built underground (this is a nice twist until you see how much they spent on the set design and how many levels there actually are). Obviously there is going to be a show down there with Bobby fighting however is behind all of this madness. I will not give it away (or tell what happens at the Palace of Death) but it is fairly obvious who it will be.

The final act of the film leads to some good fighting scenes, obviously with the help of action director Yuen Wo-Ping, as Bobby makes his way down the tower (try to see how many times Yuen Biao is used as a stunt double; hint check every other move Bobby makes). Most of the film is entertaining (not counting the irritating and unnecessary flashbacks). There is always going to be tackiness involved anytime you invoke Bruce Lee's inimitable name; but once the movie gets past that it is fun to watch. In fact it is the best Bruceploitation film out there -- though that does not necessarily mean that much.

the first one stank,why did we need a second one.......2006-05-23

useing 3 min. worth of bruce lee footage(and not the best of that) doesn't mean bruce lee stars in or would even put his name on this junk. this is just a case of tring to make more money of his name without any care for what he wanted or what he stood for.shame on them for making this mess,and shame on me for buying it.

ric meyers said it best, "if you see that seasonal film logo, you know it's gonna be good........2006-02-28

except karate tiger 4--ha ha, i know you probly like that.

This is also called game of death 2 and officially is called the last bruce lee movie, even though he's not really in it, that's ok, cause like 5 guys that can rival bruce( hwang lee is the only guy i think would really stand a chance against bruce) are in this.

So I advise you to get the GM 2 version, it has english dub that certainly can't rival the jet li collection in badness, but it does havesome altime classic dubbed lines, also look for the song that tarantino ripped for kill bill, which he improved drastically, but it he went with the same singer

Eevry action scene in this is so freaking sweet(except the ones with the white guy).

The main topic that I want to bring up of this movie is the scene where bruce's brother(in the movie)gives in to a yellow toothed nice bodied woman, and she tries to kill him, he prevents her from doing so but then this guy in a lion costume storms in.

Now I have seen this movie about 5 times, and it seriously gets better every time you see it. The first time I saw it the first fight in the greenhouse REALLY caught my eye, but I didn't really like it. Well I need to start watching all movies sober at least the first time but it's really hard when watching a movie called game of death 2 and i didn't even like the first one.

Anyway back to the lion scene----
I still can't figure out whether or not this lion was supposed to be a real lion or a man dressed up in a lion costume. i would love other opinions on this because it is truly mystafying. And I don't know how to spell that word but I can't think of another one to describe this truly unique movie experience that this lion gave me.

So please check this movie out if you get a chance.
You are not going to find this in any 50 pack or something because it is a good, so just go buy it at bestbuy for 7.99 like I did, and I guarantee you will rate this as one of the the best Hwang Lee action films, and it is also my favorite cassanova wong performance ever so enjoy.

Oh yeah, it has aYuen Bioa scene, I think he was fighing with a pole, but that ranked like #14 for fight scenes in this.

Good Choreography, Bad Movie.......2006-01-08

Whoever thinks the choreography of this film is bad is highly mistaken, it's some of the best stuff ever. Also, Tong Lung's kicks show he's no hack, in fact he probably kicks in this movie more than all of Bruce's films in total.

Just like other Ng See-yuen and Yuen Woo-ping collaborations, this movie is all about TKD practitioners. Essentially, this film is Bruceploitation combined with a typical bootmaster filled Seasonal Films movie.

While bruceploitation is no doubt disrespectful stuff, Yuen Woo-ping's choreography and Yuen Biao's stunts saves this one.

Listen to Eric Jacobus, he knows what he's talking about (just search him up and you'll find out why).

Can't agree with other reviews.......2005-07-27

Almost everything following the opening scene is horrible... the way they kill off Bruce is SOOOOOOOOO lame and misleading... he's barely in the film. The rest of the film relies on lesser talents and a hack of an editor. Stupid story lines are ok if the fighting's good... BUT its not. Don't waste your time when there are plenty of good Kung Fu movies out there.

Average customer rating:

Lon Chaney's silent film about Yen Sin, "The Heathen"

Shadows
Starring: Priscilla Bonner , Lon Chaney , Marguerite de la Motte , Walter Long , and Frances Raymond
Director: Tom Forman
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Shock
The Penalty

ASIN: B000087F1I
Release Date: 2003-01-21

Customer Reviews:

Lon Chaney's silent film about Yen Sin, "The Heathen".......2003-11-04

Lon Chaney's performance in "Shadows" is really the only thing that makes this 1922 silent film worth preserving. Chaney plays Yen Sin, known as "The Heathen." Set in in the sea side fishing town of Urkey, the story focuses on Sympathy Gibbs (Marguerite De La Motte), who marries Daniel Gibbs (Walter Long), a violent seaman who supposedly dies at sea. She then marries the new parson, the Reverend John Malden (Harrison Ford). However, Sympathy has also caught the eye of the rich man in town, Nate Snow (John St. Polis). After the Maldens celebrate the birth of a daughter, the Reverend is told that his wife's first husband is still alive, and is blackmailed with the information, which leads him to reject his wife's bed.

Directed by Tom Forman (who would commit suicide in 1926 when suffering from an illness), "Shadows" was scripted by Hope Loring and Eve Unsell from the Wilbur Daniel Steele story, "Ching, Ching, Chinaman." Yen Sin is a Chinese laundryman, who came to town after he was washed ashore in the wake of the same shipwreck that killed Daniel Gibbs. Having put up with the prejudice of this community that prides itself on its Christian piety, he learns of the blackmail plot. The idea of the title is that he can no longer hide in the shadows, which puts him on a collision course with the ironically named Mr. Snow. The irony, of course, is that Yen Sin is the most Christian soul in Urkey. There is even a deathbed conversion just to set everything to rights in the end.

Chaney plays a relatively minor but pivotal role in the proceedings, which is rather odd given he is the star of "Shadows." His make up is pretty good, which is what you would expect from the legendary "Man of a Thousand Faces." This is not a classic Chaney film, being an overblown melodrama once you get away from Chaney's understated performance. If you are interested in getting beyond the obvious classic Chaney performances in "Phantom of the Opera" and "Hunchback of Notre Dame," then you should check out "Unholy 3," "The Unknown" or "He Who Gets Slapped" before you get around to second level Chaney films like "Shadows."

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