Tag: Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris ‘Missing in Action’ Films Coming to Blu-ray Disc

Kino Lorber in January 2023 will release to home audiences all three of Chuck Norris’ classic “Missing in Action” movies from the 1980s.

All three films — 1984’s Missing in Action, Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985) and Braddock: Missing in Action III (1988) — will be available on Blu-ray Disc under Kino Lorber’s Studio Classics line. The original Missing in Action will be released on Jan. 10, with the two sequels, along with a three-pack featuring all three films, following on Jan. 17.

In the original film, following a daring escape from a Vietnamese POW camp, Special Forces Col. James Braddock (Norris) is on a mission to locate and save remaining MIAs. Aided by a beautiful State Department official (Lenore Kasdorf) and a former Army buddy (M. Emmet Walsh), Braddock amasses top-secret information and state-of-the-art weaponry. Missing in Action was directed by Joseph Zito and costars James Hong and David Tress.

In Missing in Action 2: The Beginning, Braddock and his men are captured during a daring mid-air rescue operation and imprisoned in the jungle by the insane Col. Yin (Soon-Tek Oh), who stops at nothing to break their spirits. But Braddock seizes the opportunity to spring into action, determined on freeing his men at any cost. Missing in Action 2 was directed by Lance Hool costars Steven Williams and Professor Toru Tanaka.

Braddock: Missing in Action III is set several years after the second film. When Braddock is told that his wife and 12-year-old son are still alive in Communist Vietnam, he mounts a one-man assault to free them. Armed with the latest high-tech firepower, Braddock ends up battling his way out with several dozen abused children in tow. The final film in the franchise was directed by Norris’ stunt coordinator and brother, Aaron Norris.

All three films make their Blu-ray Disc appearance from a brand-new HD master from a 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative and feature new audio commentaries.

‘Death Warrant’ and ‘Death Wish 3’ Among Actioners Due on Blu-ray Aug. 23 From MVD and Ronin Flix

Death Warrant with Jean-Claude Van Damme, Death Wish 3 with Charles Bronson and Lone Wolf McQuade and The Delta Force featuring Chuck Norris are being released on Blu-ray Disc Aug. 23 from MVD Entertainment Group and Ronin Flix.

In 1990’s Death Warrant — featuring a new 2020 2K scan — Van Damme is officer Louis Burke, a roguish police detective who goes undercover to investigate a series of inmate murders at Harrison Penitentiary. Posing as a prisoner, Burke encounters brutal inmates, corrupt guards, death and betrayal at every turn. When he unearths the shocking secret behind the penitentiary’s inner workings, Burke must attempt a daring escape that pits him against not only hundreds of murderous inmates but also a deadly enemy from his own past, The Sandman (Patrick Kilpatrick, Class of 1999, Under Siege 2). The film also stars Robert Guillaume (“Benson”), Cynthia Gibb (Youngblood, Modern Girls), Joshua Miller (Near Dark, Teen Witch) and Art LaFleur (Trancers, Cobra). Special features include audio commentary with director Deran Sarafian; an interview with Kilpatrick; an interview with LaFleur; and trailers.

In 1985’s Death Wish 3 — featuring a new 2020 2K scan — Charles Bronson (The Mechanic, Stone Killer, Mr. Majestyk, 10 to Midnight) returns as Paul Kersey, an everyday-man turned vigilante after the murders of his wife and daughter. Paul doesn’t seek out violence. It just seems to find him. But when it does, he never backs down. Road-worn and battle-weary, Kersey longs to leave his fighting days behind him. But when he arrives in New York to visit an old friend, he finds him brutally attacked and gasping for breath in a pool of blood. The silent avenger must wage war once more on the city’s punks, thugs and hoodlums, but this time he’s brought a small arsenal of guns, knives and even a bazooka. The supporting cast includes Deborah Raffin (God Told Me To, The Dove, Once Is Not Enough), Ed Lauter (The Longest Yard, Breakheart Pass, Death Hunt, Midnight Man), Martin Balsam (Psycho, All the President’s Men, A Thousand Clowns, Mitchell), Gavan O’Herlihy (Never Say Never Again, TV’s “Happy Days,” Superman III, Willow), Alex Winter (Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, The Lost Boys) and Ricco Ross (Aliens). Death Wish 3 was the sixth and final collaboration between Bronson and director Michael Winner (Chato’s Land, Death Wish, Firepower). Special features include an interview with actor Kirk Taylor (The Giggler) and audio commentary with Paul Talbot (author of the “Bronson’s Loose!” books).

In 1983’s Lone Wolf McQuade — featuring a 2020 2K scan from the original interpositive — Chuck Norris is McQuade, a legendary Texas Ranger feared by outlaws and respected by other lawmen. When he uncovers a gun smuggling operation led by an American gangster (David Carradine, P.O.W.: The Escape, TV’s “Kung Fu,” Dune Warriors), McQuade wreaks havoc on all those who come between him and the law. The film co-stars Leon Isaac Kennedy (Too Scared to Scream, Body and Soul), Barbara Carrera (Embryo, Never Say Never Again), L.Q. Jones (The Wild Bunch, Bulletproof, A Boy and His Dog), Robert Beltran (Eating Raoul, Star Trek Voyager), R.G. Armstrong (Bulletproof, Jocks), William Sanderson (Blade Runner, Savage Weekend) and Sharon Farrell (The Fifth Floor, Sweet 16) and is directed by veteran Steve Carver (The Arena, Bulletproof, Capone). Special features include audio commentary with Carver, actors Beltran and Jones, and producer Yoram Ben-Ami, moderated by C. Courtney Joyner; interviews with stars Kennedy, Jones, Beltran and producer Yoram Ben-Ami; and the theatrical trailer.

In 1986’s The Delta Force — featuring a 2020 2K restoration from the original interpositive — when a U.S. passenger plane is seized by a vicious hijacker (Robert Forster, Medium Cool, Peacemaker, Jackie Brown) and taken to Beirut, the president calls in the Delta Force — a crack team of commandos led by Colonel Nick Alexander (Lee Marvin, Point Blank, Prime Cut, Academy Award winner for Cat Ballou, in his last film) and Major Scott McCoy (Chuck Norris, The Octagon, Lone Wolf McQuade). Against all odds, the men blast into the compound and — taking no prisoners — rescue the hostages. The film co-stars George Kennedy (the “Airport” series, Deathship, Academy Award winner for Cool Hand Luke), Robert Vaughn (Man From Uncle, The Magnificent Seven, Bullitt), Bo Svenson (“Walking Tall” series, Choke Canyon, Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker), Steve James (POW The Escape, the “American Ninja” series), Martin Balsam (Death Wish 3, Psycho, Academy Award winner for A Thousand Clowns), Joey Bishop (Johnny Cool), Kim Delaney (“NYPD Blue,” Body Parts) and Shelley Winters (Bloody Mama, Tentacles, A Patch of Blue, Academy Award nominee for The Poseidon Adventure). Special features include interviews with Forster, Alain Jakubowicz and James Bruner and the theatrical trailer.

Kino Lorber Sets Blu-ray Date for 1978 Chuck Norris Actioner

Kino Lorber has set an Aug. 2 release date for a special edition Blu-ray Disc of the 1978 Chuck Norris actioner Good Guys Wear Black.

The film, with a suggested retail price of $29.95, is being issued under the Kino Lorber Studio Classics banner.

Directed by Ted Post, the acclaimed director of Hang ’Em High and Beneath the Planet of the Apes,  Good Guys Wear Black is the martial arts classic that launched Norris into stardom. Norris plays John T. Booker, an ex-Vietnam commando whose war actions have landed him at the top of the CIA’s hit list. Aided by a beautiful Senate investigator (Anne Archer), Booker unravels a devious scheme of treachery and intrigue in this stunt-filled thriller, filmed against the backgrounds of championship auto racing, the ski slopes of Squaw Valley and the backrooms of Washington, D.C.

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Aside from Norris and Archer, the cast also includes James Franciscus, Lloyd Haynes, Dana Andrews, Jim Backus, Soon-Tek Oh and Norris’ brother, Aaron Norris, in his big-screen debut. 

The Blu-ray Disc release includes the film from a brand-new 2K master, and comes with a new audio commentary by action film historians Mike Leeder and Arne Venema. The disc also includes a making-of featurette as well as an interview with director Post.

‘Hardbodies,’ ‘Krull,’ ‘Last Action Hero’ Among VHS-Era Classics Due on Blu-ray From Mill Creek in January

Recalling the VHS rental era when the video store reigned, Mill Creek Entertainment in January will release on Blu-ray Disc six of the time periods’ classics, featuring such stars as John Candy, Chuck Norris and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Sporting retro art mimicking the VHS release, the Blu-ray collection includes Happy Birthday to Me, Silent Rage, Last Action Hero, Hardbodies, Who’s Harry Crumb? and Krull.

The mystery-shocker Happy Birthday to Me (1981) follows popular high school senior Virginia Wainwright (Melissa Sue Anderson), who survives a freak accident, but suffers from memory loss and traumatic blackouts. As she attempts to resume a normal life, something terrible is happening — her friends are ruthlessly murdered one-by-one. Will she be the next victim or is she the killer? The terrifying truth is finally uncovered at Virginia’s 18th birthday party.

The release is restored with the original soundtrack.

Chuck Norris, six-time World Karate Champion, stars in Silent Rage (1982), his first suspense film, as the tough, street-fighting sheriff of a small Texas town terrorized by a psychotic killer. He is faced with the dilemma of stopping the invincible murderer, made virtually indestructible through genetic engineering. A young group of researchers are responsible for developing the serum, and the head of the research institute is determined to continue the genetic experiments regardless of the consequences. Norris’s sheriff singlehandedly routs a dozen brutal bikers from a truck stop hangout, while rekindling an old romance with Alison Halman (Toni Kalem), a researcher at the institute.

In Last Action Hero (1993), young movie fan Danny Madigan (Austin O’Brien) knows the first three Jack Slater movies by heart, and the fourth one is just about to be released. With the aid of a magical ticket, while watching the opening action sequence during an advance screening, Danny is transported into the movie. On the other side of the silver screen, Danny becomes the sidekick of Slater (Arnold Schwarzenegger), the toughest cop on the police force. Complications arise when one of the bad guys takes Danny’s magic ticket and escapes out of the movie into the real world. Danny and his hero must chase the arch villain in the real world, a world where evil guys can actually win.

The film, which includes the song “Big Gun” written for the film by AC/DC, features a number of cameo appearances by stars inlcuding Chevy Chase, Jim Belushi, Sharon Stone, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Damon Wayans.

In the classic teen comedy Hardbodies (1984), three middle-aged geezers move into a swinging beach house and hire a young stud to teach them how to score with the local beauties. The ‘80s band Vixen and hundreds of Southern California swimsuit models co-star in the cult comedy originally made for broadcast on the Playboy Channel but picked up for theatrical release by Columbia. Stars include Grant Cramer, Teal Roberts, Courtney Gains, Kane Hodder and Gary Wood.

The sci-fi fantasy Krull (1983) explores a mystical time and place that belongs to neither the past nor the present, where extraordinary creatures of myth work their incredible magic, and where a horrific, omnipotent Beast is the ruler. Prince Colwyn sets out on a daring mission to rescue his young bride who is held captive by the Beast, but slayers and alien beings under the command of the Beast oppose him at every turn. Colwyn must first reach a faraway cavern to recover the legendary Glaive, a flying blade capable of phenomenal powers.

Directed by Oscar nominee Peter Yates, the film stars Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony, Liam Neeson and Francesca Annis.

In Who’s Harry Crumb? (1989), John Candy stars as the bumbling private eye Crumb. When Harry, the last of the great sleuthing Crumbs, finally gets a shot at a frontpage kidnapping, it’s only because his boss Eliot Draisen (Jeffrey Jones) doesn’t want the case solved. At stake is the gorgeous daughter of multi-millionaire P.J. Downing, a $10 million ransom, and Draisen’s mistress (Annie Potts). Attired in a bizarre array of goofball disguises, from a Hungarian hairdresser to a hefty housewife, Harry is determined to crack the case.