Dragon Dynasty
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Dragon Dynasty is a joint venture started by The Weinstein Company and Genius Products. The company was created on May 23, 2006 for the sole purpose of distributing films from Asian Cinema on DVD whose licenses are held by or will be acquired by The Weinstein Company. Dragon Dynasty showcases classic and contemporary Asian Cinema, particularly those films which fall under the action and martial arts genre.
Quentin Tarantino, who is well recognized for his passionate interest and broad knowledge of Asian Cinema, will actively work with the Weinsteins in all aspects of Dragon Dynasty. [1]
On March 12, 2007, Dragon Dynasty unveiled its new website featuring an enhanced features and a new layout. While the website had been available since the creation of Dragon Dynasty, the website only had minimal information related to the company and its releases and the website went without updates for several months. The new website features information on its catalog titles, upcoming releases, and a blog by Hong Kong cinema expert Bey Logan.
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[edit] Catalog Releases
[edit] Future Releases
[edit] Official Press Release
As part of the formation of Dragon Dynasty, The Weinstein Company obtained the North American distribution licenses for all 43 titles from Fortune Star Entertainment, the distribution division of News Corporation's STAR Group which owns the world's largest contemporary Chinese language feature film library. [2] As well, they have obtained distribution licenses to a special collection of 50 classic Shaw Brothers' movies and a number of independent acquisitions. [3]
In addition to the titles already officially released or scheduled for release by Dragon Dynasty, the official press release noted the following expected titles: [1]
[edit] Fortune Star Entertainment Titles
- Love Asia (Barbara Wong)
[edit] Shaw Brothers Studio Titles
- Come Drink with Me (King Hu). Confirmed by the US Copyright Office.[4] Due for release on May 27, 2008.[5]
- Eight Diagram Pole Fighter (Lau Kar-leung). Confirmed by the US Copyright Office.[4]
- Heroes of the East (Lau Kar-leung). Confirmed by the US Copyright Office.[4] Due for release on May 27, 2008 under the title Shaolin Challenges Ninja.[5]
- Martial Arts of Shaolin (Lau Kar-leung). Confirmed by the US Copyright Office.[4]
[edit] Independent Titles
[edit] Bey's Blog
On the official Dragon Dynasty website, future releases have also been mentioned in Bey Logan's blog:
- The Blade (Tsui Hark) [6] Bey Logan states this as a possibility, not a certainty.
- The Bride with White Hair (Ronny Yu) [7]
- The Five Venoms (Chang Cheh) [8]. Confirmed by the US Copyright Office.[4]
- Invisible Target (Benny Chan) [9]
- The Postman Strikes Back (Ronny Yu) [7] Bey Logan states this as a possibility, not a certainty.
- Shaolin Temple (Xinyan Zhang) [10]. Confirmed by the US Copyright Office.[4]
- Undercover (Billy Chung) [11]
[edit] Listed at Copyright Office
In November 2007, HKFilmNews displayed the results of their research at the copyright office (copyright.gov), which consisted of the Shaw Brothers' titles for which Dragon Dynasty has obtained the licenses to distribute.[4] The list confirms some of the titles mentioned above, plus the following:
- 7 Man Army (Chang Cheh)
- Behind the Yellow Line (Taylor Wong)
- Blood Brothers (Chang Cheh)
- Boxer from Shantung (Chang Cheh)
- Boxer Rebellion (Chang Cheh)
- Buddha's Palm (Taylor Wong)
- Clan of the White Lotus (Lo Lieh)
- Crazy Shaolin Disciples aka Enter the 36th Chamber of Shaolin (Yau Kar-Hung)
- Crippled Avengers (Chang Cheh)
- Dirty Ho (Lau Kar-leung)
- Disciples Of The 36th Chamber (Lau Kar-leung)
- Executioners from Shaolin (Lau Kar-leung)
- Five Shaolin Masters (Chang Cheh)
- Flying Guillotine (Ho Meng-Hwa)
- Full Alert (Ringo Lam)
- Golden Swallow (Chang Cheh)
- Hero (Corey Yuen)
- Justice, My Foot! (Johnnie To)
- Killer Clans (Chor Yuen)
- 5 Fingers of Death aka King Boxer (Jeong Chang-hwa)
- Look Out, Officer! (Lau Sze Yu)
- Love in a Fallen City (Ann Hui)
- Mad Monkey Kung Fu (Lau Kar-leung)
- Man of Iron (Chang Cheh)
- Monkey Kung Fu (Lo Mar)
- New One-Armed Swordsman (Chang Cheh)
- Out of the Dark (Jeffrey Lau)
- Painted Faces (Alex Law)
- Return of the One-Armed Swordsman (Chang Cheh)
- Return to the 36th Chamber (Lau Kar-leung)
- Shaolin Mantis (Lau Kar-leung)
- Shaolin Temple (Chang Cheh)
- Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon (Lau Kar Wing)
- Starry is the Night (Ann Hui)
- The Angry Guest (Chang Cheh)
- The Anonymous Heroes (Chang Cheh)
- The Avenging Eagle (Sun Chung)
- The Chinese Boxer (Jimmy Wang Yu)
- The Dragon From Russia (Clarence Fok Yiu-leung)
- The Flying Dagger (Chang Cheh)
- The Invincible Fist (Chang Cheh)
- The Kung-Fu Instructor (Sun Chung)
- The Mad Monk (Johnnie To)
- The Savage Five (Chang Cheh)
- The Shaolin Avengers (Chang Cheh)
- The Victim (Sammo Hung)
- Vengeance (Chang Cheh)
[edit] Other sources
- On Bey Logan's audio commentary for Kill Zone, he mentioned Shanghai, Shanghai (Teddy Robin Kwan) would be a future release. However, this may have been a mistake, as Millionaire's Express aka Shanghai Express was released a few months later.
- In some Hong Kong-based online DVD stores several further Dragon Dynasty titles are listed as available for pre-order[5], though release dates are subject to change:
- Hapkido - released under the title Lady Kung Fu (October 30, 2008)
- Shaolin Chamber of Death - released under the title Shaolin Wooden Men (October 30, 2008)
- The Killer (no release date noted)
- No Mercy for the Rude (no release date noted)
- Snake & Crane Arts of Shaolin (no release date noted)
- Kung Fu Cinema.com note that the forthcoming film Fatal Move would be released on DVD by Dragon Dynasty in 2008.[12]
[edit] References
- ^ a b The Weinstein Co. (2006-05-23). "The Weinstein Company Builds a "Dragon Dynasty"". Press release. Retrieved on 2006-05-24.
- ^ Parsons, Ryan. Weinstein Creates a Dragon Dynasty. CanMag.com. Retrieved on 2006-05-24.
- ^ Drees, Rich. Weinsteins Establish DVD 'Dynasty'. TheBlob.info. Retrieved on 2006-05-25.
- ^ a b c d e f g HKCFN Exclusive: New Dragon Dynasty Titles Revealed! ALL SHAW TITLES LISTED. Retrieved on 2008-01-16.
- ^ a b c HKFlix. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
- ^ Logan, Bey. Bey's Blog - July 15, 2007. DragonDynasty.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
- ^ a b Logan, Bey. Bey's Blog - March 29, 2007. DragonDynasty.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
- ^ Logan, Bey. Bey's Blog - May 01, 2007. DragonDynasty.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-01.
- ^ Logan, Bey. Bey's Blog - June 03, 2007. DragonDynasty.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-03.
- ^ Logan, Bey. Bey's Blog - April 03, 2007. DragonDynasty.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
- ^ Logan, Bey. Bey's Blog - March 23, 2007. DragonDynasty.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-23.
- ^ Coming Soon in 2008. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.
