MAN CALLED HERO (DVD) DVD

A Man Called Hero
In 1998, Andrew Lau's groundbreaking smash hit The Storm Riders came out of nowhere and resurrected the ailing Hong Kong film industry. Lau's follow-up, using much of the same cast and crew, is another martial arts epic set largely in New York's Chinatown. The film opens in the early 20th century with a young Hero Wah (Ekin Cheng) going to study under Master Pride (Anthony Wong). When he returns to his parents, he learns that they have been murdered by a band of evil Westerners. After impregnating his wife Jade (Kristy Yang), Hero Wah ventures to New York in search of his parents' killers. Sixteen years later, Hero's son Sword Wah (Nicholas Tse) along with family friend Sang (Jerry Lamb), arrive at Ellis Island in search of Hero's dad. Once the tearful reunion finally takes place, much of the rest of the story is related through flashbacks involving a fearsome fight with Japanese ninjas and the death of Jade at the hands of the ninja ring leader. The film climaxes a la Alfred Hitchcock or Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985) with a battle to the death against the ninja grand master at the Statue of Liberty. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Cast Ekin Cheng as Hero Wah Shu Qi as Takagi Kristy Yang as Jade Yuen Biao as Yuen Mo Jerry Lamb as Sang Anthony Wong as Master Pride Francis Ng as Ninja Master Mark Cheng as Sam Lee as

Crew Lee Pik-kwan - Costume Designer Andrew Lau - Director Pang Fat - Editor Manfred Wong - Executive Producer John Chu - Executive Producer Barbie Tung - Executive Producer Chan Kwong-wing - Composer (Music Score) Wong Ka-nang - Composer (Music Score) Andrew Lau - Cinematographer John Chu - Producer Raymond Chow - Producer Centro Digital Pictures - Sound Special Effects Manfred Wong - Screenwriter

A Man Called Hero
Fans of director Andrew Lau's past films, such as The Storm Riders and The Duel, know just what to expect from his 1999 release A Man Called Hero. Not only does this film feature similar CGI-soaked, pumped-up, high-flying kung fu action scenes, but many of the same actors as well. What fans may not be anticipating is that this is one of the director's most mature and personal films. After a perfect comic-book style opening sequence, the film does not take off as fast as the audience may expect. It actually is not until an hour into the film that we get our first taste of action as Hero (Ekin Cheng) and his brother Shadow (Yuen Biao) battle a group of wall-climbing Japanese ninjas. While the bombastic action scenes can seem out of place next to the film's quiet tale of Chinese immigrants in early America, Lau and Manfred Wong's script holds everything neatly in place by telling the story through a series of cleverly made flashbacks. A Man Called Hero kicks into action overdrive during the final act. The climatic fight between Hero and the renegade martial artist Invincible (Francis Ng) is so exciting, one can see that it inspired the finale of Bryan Singer's first X-Men film. For a director who has often been accused of making films with far more style than substance, Andrew Lau shows with A Man Called Hero that the concept of an intriguing, intimate story is not out of his cinematic reach, and reinforces the fact that he is one of foreign cinema's most gifted filmmakers. ~ Jason Gibner, All Movie Guide
 

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General Specifications: Language Options: Cantonese, Mandarin Subtitle Options: English Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel Additional Features: MPAA Rating: NR DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: All Content Length: 105 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 0. Chapters 1. Chapter 1 [2:26] 2. Chapter 2 [3:45] 3. Chapter 3 [5:03] 4. Chapter 4 [11:30] 5. Chapter 5 [8:08] 6. Chapter 6 [4:48] 7. Chapter 7 [8:38] 8. Chapter 8 [5:11] 9. Chapter 9 [5:06] 10. Chapter 10 [5:17] 11. Chapter 11 [8:10] 12. Chapter 12 [3:11] 13. Chapter 13 [6:23] 14. Chapter 14 [7:33] 15. Chapter 15 [5:23] 16. Chapter 16 [3:19]