Who'll Stop the Rain

Stephanie Prange

March 1, 2023

The boxing drama Body and Soul (1981); the mystery thrillers Last Rites (1988), Who’ll Stop the Rain (1978) and Wild Orchid 2: Blue Movie Blue (1991); and a Jet Li double feature are available on Blu-ray Disc March 14 from MVD Entertainment Group and Ronin Flix.

In Who’ll Stop the Rain, from the bloody battlefields of Vietnam, Ray Hicks (Nick Nolte, The Deep, 48 Hrs., The Prince of Tides) does his friend Converse (Michael Moriarty, Courage Under Fire, Pale Rider, Q, The Stuff) a favor, smuggling a stash of heroin back to the States. But when Ray goes to deliver the drugs, he and Converse’s wife, Marge (Tuesday Weld, Pretty Poison, Thief, Falling Down), are ambushed and barely escape with their lives. Suddenly on the run from two ruthless thugs and a murderous cop, the unlikely pair must find a way to get along and survive a perilous double-cross. The film also stars Anthony Zerbe (The Omega Man, Opposing Force, License to Kill), Richard Masur (The Thing, Risky Business, Scavenger Hunt, Fallen Angel), Ray Sharkey (The Idolmaker, Wiseguy, Hellhole), Charles Haid (Altered States, “Hill Street Blues”) and Gail Strickland (The Drowning Pool, Protocol) and features music by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Special features include audio commentary with film historians Daniel Kremer and Scout Tafoya and interviews with actor Richard Masur, associate producer Roger Spottiswoode and screenwriter Judith Rascoe.

Body and Soul is based on the 1947 classic of the same name. It’s rags-to-riches tale about a vivacious young fighter from Chicago that pulls no punches in its portrayal of boxing’s dark side. Featuring Muhammad Ali as himself, Body and Soul follows Golden Gloves champ Leon, played by Leon Isaac Kennedy (Lone Wolf McQuade, Too Scared to Scream), who has no interest in becoming a pro boxer. Instead, he wants to be a doctor. But when his little sister requires immediate and expensive medical treatments, he decides to go for the title and all the money it will bring. On his way to the top, however, Leon succumbs to the temptations that come with success. As a result, he begins to lose everyone and everything he used to care about. The film also stars Jayne Kennedy, Peter Lawford (Salt and Pepper, One More Time), Perry Lang (The Hearse, Spring Break) and Academy Award nominee Michael V. Gazzo (The Godfather: Part II, Alligator). Special features include an interview with star Leon Isaac Kennedy.

The mystery thriller Last Rites stars Tom Berenger (The Dogs of War, The Big Chill, Platoon, Major League) and Daphne Zuniga (The Sure Thing, Modern Girls, The Fly II, TV’s “Melrose Place”) in a controversial tale of a love affair between a priest and a woman. With a shocking final twist, Last Rites features a Mafia hit, a vulnerable witness and a man of the cloth with a secret past. In the film, when Father Michael Pace (Berenger) finds himself drawn to the mistress (Zuniga) of a brutally murdered mobster, he risks his life, his standing and even his faith to protect her. Shot on location in New York by legendary cinematographer David Watkins (Catch-22, Out of Africa, Chariots of Fire, Moonstruck) and featuring a supporting cast that includes Chick Vennera (The Milagro Beanfield War, Yanks), Anne Twomey (Deadly Friend, The Image Maker), Dane Clark (Moonrise, Skidoo), Paul Dooley (Breaking Away, Sixteen Candles), Tony Lip (Goodfellas) and Adrian Paul (Duncan MacLeod of TV’s “Highlander”). Special features include interview with Director Donald Belissario and the theatrical trailer.

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The mystery thriller Wild Orchid 2: Blue Movie Blue is from the director of the erotic titles Wild Orchid and “Red Shoe Diaries.” It follows a beautiful young woman caught between passion and innocence — and two shades of the truth. The film stars Tom Skerritt (Top Gun, Alien, Opposing Force), Robert Davi (License to Kill, Showgirls, Die Hard, The Taking of Beverly Hills), Wendy Hughes (Paradise Road, My Brilliant Career, Happy New Year), Nina Siemaszko (License to Drive, Lost Angels, Airheads), Joe Dallesandro (The Limey, Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein, Seeds of Evil) and Liane Curtis (Sixteen Candles, Critters 2: The Main Course). In the film, after her father (Skerritt) dies, Blue (Siemaszko) is forced to grow up fast. Taken in by Elle (Hughes), a high-class brothel madam, she discovers a beguiling world of power and pleasure — but also the tightening grip of Elle’s control. To make matters worse, she is falling for Josh (Brent Fraser, Dark Side of Genius, Wild at Heart), a regular guy who doesn’t know about her double life. Special features include scenes deleted from the theatrical cut and the theatrical trailer.

The limited edition Jet Li double feature includes two martial arts action films directed by Corey Yuen (The Transporter): The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk 1 and, for the first time on Blu-ray in the United States, The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk 2. In The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk 1 (aka The Legend), Li stars as a carefree young martial arts expert who gets involved with a government official’s daughter just as he discovers his family is part of a rebel resistance movement. While his fighting ability and charm made him a local champion, his epic battle for freedom would make him a legendary hero. It includes a sequence fought entirely atop the heads of stunned onlookers. The Legend was the winner of Best Action Choreography at the Hong Kong Film Awards. In The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk 2 (aka The Legend 2), Li kicks back into action as the heroic Fong Sai Yuk. In the film, having fought to save his father from the wrath of the Chinese government, Fong Sai Yuk joins his father’s underground revolutionary organization, the Red Flower Society. But in the camp of rebels, a traitor lurks. At a time when few can be trusted, Fong Sai Yuk must utilize his every skill in the fight to overthrow his nation’s brutally powerful empire. Special features include a custom slipcover; theatrical trailers; “The Pen is Mightier than the Sword,” an exclusive interview with writer Jeff Lau; “Hit Hard & Fly High,” an exclusive interview with Yuen; and new audio commentary from the author of These Fists Break Bricks, Chris Poggiali (The Legend only).