Royal Warriors

Starring:Michelle Yeoh, Michael Wong, Hiroyuki Sanada, Eddie Maher, Wai-Man Chan, Dennis Chan, Ying Bai, Kenneth Tsang, Reiko Niwa, Siu-Ming Lau, Fung Woo, Hing Ying Kam, Paul Chun, Jing Chen, Sau Leung 'Blacky' Ko, Wai Lam
Director: David Chung
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Long before Michelle Yeoh hit the international mainstream as a motorbiking Bond girl in Tomorrow Never Dies, and even before U.S. audiences saw her as Jackie Chan's sidekick (literally) in Supercop, she was a Hong Kong action star in her own right. In Royal Warriors, released in 1986, Yeoh plays a Hong Kong police officer who happens to be flying home from Japan on the same flight as a criminal being extradited. In a precursor to the spate of shootout-on-a-plane movies of the 1990s (Air Force One, Executive Decision, Turbulence, Con Air), an accomplice kills the police escorts and frees the criminal midflight. An impromptu team of Yeoh, an air security officer named Michael Wong (played by--hey! Michael Wong of Once a Thief), and an about-to-retire Japanese Interpol officer (played by Henry Sanada) manages to wipe out the bad guys and save the plane. It turns out, though, that the two baddies were half of a quartet of war veterans who once vowed to stick together to the death, and the two remaining are determined to avenge their friends. Although there are three heroes, Yeoh is definitely the star here, combining strong martial-arts moves with a warm personality. Sanada can match Yeoh kick for kick but is angry and sullen through most of the film, while Wong mostly serves as a gadfly to Yeoh. Action fans are treated to the obligatory car chase, revenge motives, annoying bureaucrats, explosions, and bodies diving in slow motion. The film is available in subtitled and dubbed versions, both widescreen. --David Horiuchi

Sea Warriors - The Royal Navy in the Age of Sail
Average customer rating:

Not what I had hoped

Intensely frustrating

Great DVD!

Sea Warriors

right on target

Sea Warriors - The Royal Navy in the Age of Sail
Starring: Capt. Richard Woodman
Director: Chip Richie
Manufacturer: Richie Film Productions
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000USUPC
Release Date: 2003-10-30

Customer Reviews:

Not what I had hoped.......2006-11-04

I was very happy to finally receive my copy and started out with high hopes. Unfortunately it did not show enough of the living conditions aboard the vessels of this time period. We were given a brief view of the Captains quarters and all of the comfort but never got to see the gun decks, galley or living conditions for the average sailor. To much time was spent on various authors hawking their novels.

Sailors lives were tough in those days and not just aboard the First Rates but the smaller craft. I was hoping to see more of this. Very disappointed!!

Intensely frustrating.......2006-08-29

Like a fool I ordered this sight-unseen, hoping that it would be at least an hour of delicious footage of actual ships under sail.

Instead, it turned out to be one talking head after another, with tantalizing glimpses of ships.

The director seems to have dredged up every last single Ph.D. in England with a pulse who knows anything at all about the golden age of the Royal Navy, and in this video they talk, and talk, and talk, and talk, and talk, and talk until you are praying for a 32 pounder carronade loaded with grapeshot and fired at close range to kill or mangle all of them.

The only exception is Captain Richard Woodman. When he is showing us around a ship, there is a chance that my high school students could actually refrain from throwing things at the screen - but he disappears all too quickly, to be replaced by yet another professor extruding endless run-on sentences full of five-syllable words, usually with something inanimate, like a clock tower, in the background.

Along with the animated and passionate Captain Woodman, the reinactors are quite entertaining, and they are obviously true believers who are dedicated to their cause. The glimpses of 18th century life are also very valuable, but once more one has to wade through an endless fogbank of professorial monologue to get to them.

If only the director had relegated the professors to a "bonus materials" section, and had instead filled this DVD with lots and lots of ship footage. Aerial shots, on deck shots, below-decks shots, shots from the rigging, and of course ACTUAL cannon being actually fired, instead of just smoking and being yanked backwards out-of-synch by a cord. Record those actual cannon in THX sound so that we can really smack ourselves with the bass wallop, like in "Master and Commander" or "Gettysburg."

We Age of Sail nuts don't want talking heads! We want to see a real frigate putting on enough sail to put a bone in her teeth! We want to see her heeling over a bit on a quartering breeze! We want to see the dolphins jumping in front of her! We want to see seasoned topmen scrambling up her rigging and shinnying down again. We want to see a real ship being worked by real sailors in real weather on the real open ocean. Give us an hour of that, and if nobody says a d**n thing the whole time, THAT'S EVEN BETTER!

This DVD could have been brilliant - but all the talk got in the way.

Great DVD!.......2005-11-04

This DVD is an excellent introduction into the Royal Navy in the Age of Sail. It lasts a little over an hour, not including the extra features. The program is hosted by Richard Woodman, the author of the Nathaniel Drinkwater novels. It includes the usual interviews with historians and the program is livened up with clips from the Hornblower movies. The topics include a detailed discussion of frigates, ship construction, provisioning and outfitting a ship, life of ship, armaments and hand weapons, and authors talking about their characters. The extras include a host of the HMS Endeavor (Cook's ship), the Articles of War, and resources for further study. I learned a good amount and enjoyed the presentation. Anyone interested in the age of sail should have a look at this DVD

Sea Warriors.......2005-08-03

The English do this sort of thing very well - a distinguished collection of authors of books on the Age of Sail gather to present an excellent examination of life at sea in the Age of Nelson. The documentary is enlivened with reconstructions from re-enactment groups and dramatic clips from the "Hornblower" series. The examination is very thorough and serves to dispel a few unfortunate myths about life at sea in the Eighteenth Century. The lead presenter, Richard Woodman, is a Naval Historian, former Captain (RN) and author of the Nathaniel Drinkwater series. He speaks with authority and enthusiasm. I really enjoyed this documentary and will watch it again.

DJH

right on target.......2004-01-13

i really enjoyed this film, it was entertaining and informative, the cinematography was beautiful, i highly recomend this film to anyone interested in the royal british navy or for any "jack aubrey", "horatio hornblower" or "nathaniel drinkwater" fans

Average customer rating:

A MUST HAVE MOVIE!!!!!!!!
Good old days
Amazing
michelle yeoh at her best
Royal fights

Royal Warriors
Starring: Michelle Yeoh , Michael Wong , Hiroyuki Sanada , Eddie Maher , and Wai-Man Chan
Director: David Chung
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001NBMNU
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Amazon.com

Long before Michelle Yeoh hit the international mainstream as a motorbiking Bond girl in Tomorrow Never Dies, and even before U.S. audiences saw her as Jackie Chan's sidekick (literally) in Supercop, she was a Hong Kong action star in her own right. In Royal Warriors, released in 1986, Yeoh plays a Hong Kong police officer who happens to be flying home from Japan on the same flight as a criminal being extradited. In a precursor to the spate of shootout-on-a-plane movies of the 1990s (Air Force One, Executive Decision, Turbulence, Con Air), an accomplice kills the police escorts and frees the criminal midflight. An impromptu team of Yeoh, an air security officer named Michael Wong (played by--hey! Michael Wong of Once a Thief), and an about-to-retire Japanese Interpol officer (played by Henry Sanada) manages to wipe out the bad guys and save the plane. It turns out, though, that the two baddies were half of a quartet of war veterans who once vowed to stick together to the death, and the two remaining are determined to avenge their friends. Although there are three heroes, Yeoh is definitely the star here, combining strong martial-arts moves with a warm personality. Sanada can match Yeoh kick for kick but is angry and sullen through most of the film, while Wong mostly serves as a gadfly to Yeoh. Action fans are treated to the obligatory car chase, revenge motives, annoying bureaucrats, explosions, and bodies diving in slow motion. The film is available in subtitled and dubbed versions, both widescreen. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

A MUST HAVE MOVIE!!!!!!!!.......2005-10-28

This is one of Michelle's greatest movies! If you like action, drama and comedy at the same time, you will love Royal Warriors. Henry Sanada(a Japanese Agent)also shines in this movie with some great fighting moves. If you are also a Henry Sanada fan, you should really consider owning this movie. Enjoy guys, you will not regret it!

Good old days.......2003-08-19

I haven't seen this for over 10 years.
Surprising storylines, I still remember.
I don't remember about the fight scenes.
I saw this before the days I took Kung Fu lessons.
But I don't remember the muscle lines on her.

ha ha.

Amazing.......2003-01-26

ROYAL WARRIORS is simply one of the best action movies ever made. It features the bone-crunchingly brutal style of Hong Kong choreography that was perfected in the 80's following the renaissance initiated by Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan, and it has rarely looked better than it does in this movie. This is text book action cinema, and Michelle Yeoh is remarkable.

michelle yeoh at her best.......2001-12-06

Wow...the martial arts in this movie really surprised me considering how raw and brutal some of the scenes were. Great movie with a great story. For those that don't know, this is the second installment of the In The Line of Duty series...I highly suggest checking out In The Line of Duty IV...but RW is awesome in terms of martial arts, you can expect a really brutal michelle yeoh in this one...story centers around michelle yeoh as a police officer along with a japanese police officer and an annoying security guard who prevents a plane from being hijacked by terrorists for the purpose of freeing a convict. They killed all the terrorists along with the convict, but then the convict's 3 best War buddies plot a revenge on the 3 individuals, and the rest of the movie is about pure survival...there are many dramatic parts in the film, but you'll be rooting for michelle all the way...definitely one of her best...

Royal fights.......2001-07-14

Michelle Yeoh is a H.K. cop who with the assistance of her partner (Michael Wong sporting a Donnie Osmond haircut) and a Japanese cop traveling with his family break up an attempted hijacking on the jet they're all travelling on. The hijackers motivation is to free their boss who's being escorted to trial on the plane. In the process of botching the hijacking, Yeoh, Wong, and the Japanese cop kill most of the bad guys (I guess there's no equivalent to the Miranda Act in the Far East) including the crime boss that was the target of the hijacking. Unfortunately, this crime boss has two more close friends who want some payback for the killing of their friend, the result being Yeoh & Co. have to wage war all over Hong Kong. This film has the usual H.K. problems of local humor and antics that don't translate well to western audiences, but it also has some of Michelle Yeoh's best fights, especially the last confrontation. The Japanese fighter (whose name I can't remember at the moment)also exhibits some powerful martial arts skills, especially during a bar brawl with one of the deceased crimes bosses friends who subsequently becomes deceased in said bar brawl. Great martial arts and Michelle Yeoh looking more attractive than usual in a Dorothy Hamil bowl cut. If you like Yeoh, good fights, or are just a H.K. cinema fan, you'll probably like this movie.

Average customer rating:

A MUST HAVE MOVIE!!!!!!!!
Good old days
Amazing
michelle yeoh at her best
Royal fights

Royal Warriors
Starring: Michelle Yeoh , Michael Wong , Hiroyuki Sanada , Eddie Maher , and Wai-Man Chan
Director: David Chung
Manufacturer: Tai Seng
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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