Stoner – 88 Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1974
Director: Huang Feng
Writers: Huang Feng, Ni Kuang
Cast: Angela Mao, George Lazenby, Betty Ting, Hwang In-shik, Joji Takagi, Sammo Hung Kam-Bo

Release Date: August 11th, 2026
Approximate Running Times: 114 Minutes 58 Seconds (Hong Kong Version/Malaysian Version), 106 Minutes 9 Seconds (Export Version)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Versions)
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono Mandarin (Hong Kong Version/Malaysian Version), LPCM Mono English (Export Version)
Subtitles: English (Hong Kong Version/Malaysian Version)
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"Someone's flooding Australia with designer drugs and Sydney's toughest cop, Joshua Stoner - George Lazenby (On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Queen's Ransom) - has travelled to Hong Kong to find out who. He's not the only one on the hunt - Taiwanese super-cop Li (Angela Mao, the first lady of kung-fu) is also on the case; between them, the mob is in big trouble." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5 (Hong Kong Version/Malaysian Verson, Export Version)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "2K restoration from the original negative."

Stoner comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 44.6 GB

Feature: 32.6 GB

The sources look excellent; flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, compression is solid, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4.25/5 (Both Mandarin Audio Tracks), 3.75/5 (LPCM Mono English)

The Hong Kong version comes with two audio options, a LPCM mono mix in Mandarin and an alternate LPCM mono mix in Mandarin for the Malaysian version. Both tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced, and action sequences sound robust when they should. Included are removable English subtitles for the Mandarin tracks. The export version comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English with removable English subtitles for text in Mandarin. The track sounds clean, clear, and balanced. That said, it is not as robust as the Mandarin tracks.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery with music from the film playing in the background (stills/posters), a theatrical trailer (4 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Mandarin with burnt-in English subtitles), an alternate title sequence from the Malaysian version (1 minute 41 seconds, Dolby Digital mono), an interview with Kim Newman on Stoner titled Kangaroo Kung Fu (15 minutes 40 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with Frank Djeng and Michael Worth, reversible cover art, a double-sided foldout poster, and an O-card slipcase (limited to the first pressing).

Summary:

Huang Feng directed Stoner. He’s known for The Shaolin Plot, Naked Comes the Huntress and his nine collaborations with Angela Mao.

An Australian cop investigating a new deadly drug becomes personal when his sister overdoses. From there he travels to Hong Kong, looking to take down those responsible for his sister's death.

Stoner originally began as The Shrine of Ulitmalte Biss, and it was supposed to be Bruce Lee’s next film after Game of Death. The Shrine of Ulitmalte Biss would have paired Bruce Lee with Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba; it was the first of three films George Lazenby made for Golden Harvest. After Bruce Lee’s death, The Shrine of Ulitmalte Biss would morph into something completely different with Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba dropping out and Angela Mao being added to the cast.

While Stoner has most of the elements that one expects from 1970s martial arts films, the result is a film that leans heavily into exploitation elements, notably T&A. Another clear influence is the spy film genre, which is not a surprise since George Lazenby did portray James Bond. That said, despite Hong Kong cinema’s long history of successfully mixing genres, Stoner is not as effective in this regard.

Angela Mao (Lady Whirlwind) and George Lazenby (On Her Majesty's Secret Service) deliver solid performances, but they truly excel during action sequences. That said, the loss of Bruce Lee and Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba is devastating and impossible to overcome. Sammo Hung Kam-Bo (The Magnificent Butcher) is cast in yet another evil henchman role before he had his breakout as a leading man.

The opening setup does a good job setting the foundation; unfortunately, the narrative that unfolds has trouble building any momentum. While the narrative is not without its issues, the action sequences for the most part are solid. Ultimately, despite its shortcomings, Stoner is a film that can be a lot of fun if you're in the right frame of mind.

Stoner gets a first-rate release from 88 Films that comes with a strong audio/video presentation, two versions of the film and informative extras. Recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Destination Moon / Flight to Mars – Film Masters (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: USA, 1950 (Destination Moon), USA, 1951 (Flight to Mars)
Director: Irving Pichel (Destination Moon), Lesley Selander (Flight to Mars)
Cast: John Archer, Warner Anderson, Tom Powers, Dick Wesson, Erin O'Brien-Moore (Destination Moon), Marguerite Chapman, Cameron Mitchell, Arthur Franz, Virginia Huston, John Litel, Morris Ankrum, Richard Gaines, Lucille Barkley, Robert Barrat (Flight to Mars)

Release Date: August 9th, 2026
Approximate Running Times: 91 Minutes 2 Seconds (Destination Moon), 71 Minutes 38 Seconds (Flight to Mars)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Films)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English (Both Films)
Subtitles: English SDH (Both Films)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $31.95

"Produced by Academy Award-winner George Pal, Destination Moon (1950) is the groundbreaking science-fiction classic that launched Hollywood into the Space Age, and set the standard for realistic space travel on screen. When a team of daring American industrialists and scientists defy government hesitation to build the world's first privately funded rocket, they embark on a perilous journey to the Moon. Cult favorite Flight to Mars (1951) is a thrilling blend of Cold War allegory and pulp adventure. A bold expedition crew reaches the Red Planet where they encounter an advanced Martian civilization with intentions that threaten Earth!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5 (Destination Moon), 3.5/5 (Flight to Mars)

Here’s the information given about the transfers, "Both films are from 4K scans of 35mm archival elements."

Destination Moon comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 22.8 GB

Feature: 16.2 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, and there are no issues with compression or digital noise reduction.

Flight to Mars comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 21.4 GB

Feature: 17.6 GB

Although the source is clean, free of any debris, it is a few notches below Destination Moon. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity is strong, black levels fare well, and there are no issues with compression or digital noise reduction.

Audio: 3.75/5 (Both Audio Tracks)

Each film comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. Both tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced. That said, they are limited range-wise.

Extras:

Extras for Destination Moon include the original pressbook with music from the film playing in the background, a restored original theatrical trailer from a 4K scan (2 minutes 6 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), an archival audio interview with Monster Kid Bob Burns, who recalls his longtime friend, Sci-Fi producer George Pal (39 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a documentary titled Man's Greatest Adventure: The Making of Destination Moon 23 minutes 9 seconds, LPCM stereo English with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Justin Humphreys.

Extras for Flight to Mars include a restored original theatrical trailer (2 minutes, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival documentary titled Walter Mirisch: From Bomba to Body Snatchers (14 minutes 7 seconds, LPCM stereo English with removable English subtitles), an extended edition of a documenatry titled Interstellar Travelogues (15 minutes 52 seconds, LPCM stereo English with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Justin Humphreys.

Other extras include a 14-page booklet with an essay titled One Small Step/One Giant Leap written by Sloan de Forest.

Summary:

Destination Moon: Irving Pichel directed Destination Moon. His notable films include The Most Dangerous Game (1932), Tomorrow Is Forever, Temptation, and Quicksand.

After their latest rocket failed, a scientist and a retired general enlist the owner of an aviation construction firm to help them build and successfully fly the first rocket to the moon.

While there were a few science fiction films before Destination Moon, it was the first to deal with the scientific and engineering challenges of space travel. Its opening 30 minutes are slow-moving until the rocket successfully launches into space. That said, once things move to outer space, the narrative hits its stride.

Destination Moon is not a film that’s going to be remembered because of its cast or their performance. The most famous cast member is Woody Woodpecker, who appears in a sequence to explain the principles behind space travel. The only cast member that leaves a lasting impression is Dick Wesson in the role of Joe, the rocket’s pilot. His character provides a lot of comedic relief for a film that’s mostly serious.

The middle section of the narrative focuses on the characters exploring space inside and outside of their rocket. The zero-gravity scenes look impressive. The last act sees them looking around the moon, and when they are faced with one final challenge, they band together to solve the problem. For a film about exploring space, there are no aliens. Ultimately, Destination Moon is an interesting time capsule film that some viewers might find too technical in its exploration of space.

Flight to Mars: Lesley Selander directed Flight to Mars. He directed 127 feature films; 107 of them were westerns.

An American scientific expedition to Mars encounters problems when the inhabitants of the planet try to prevent them from leaving.

Flight to Mars was shot quickly in five days on repurposed sets and sound effects from Rocketship X-M. While there are many similarities between Flight to Mars and Rocketship X-M, the latter features Martians who were descendants of a nuclear holocaust; the former encounters human-like species who, in many ways, are superior to humans. There was a proposed sequel to Flight to Mars titled Voyage to Venus that was never made.

Although a large portion of the narrative takes place in space and on Mars, there is not much in the way of special effects. The narrative is dialogue-heavy, with characters mostly philosophizing about space and life. The narrative also manages to weave in a pair of romantic entanglements.

While the cast all approach their characters with the utmost seriousness, there are too many unintentionally funny moments to take them seriously. The most notable cast member is Cameron Mitchell (Blood and Black Lace) in the role of a reporter who goes to Mars. The costumes worn by the women, very short mini skirts, showcase their sexy legs. Ultimately, Flight to Mars is a silly film that can be a lot of fun, and fortunately at 72 minutes it never overstays its welcome.

Film Masters gives Destination Moon and Flight to Mars their best home media release to date. Recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Laurin: Collector's Edition – Visual Vengeance (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: West Germany/Hungary, 1989
Director: Robert Sigl
Writers: Ádám Rozgonyi, Robert Sigl
Cast: Dóra Szinetár, Brigitte Karner, Károly Eperjes, Hédi Temessy, Barnabás Tóth

Release Date: July 28th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 83 Minutes 38 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo English, Dolby Digital Stereo German
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $34.95

"Laurin is a quiet and precocious adolescent girl living in rural 1901 Germany. She voyeuristically observes the behavior of the self-absorbed grownups around her, all of them seemingly oblivious to the fact that this strange little girl is growing up alone. While her father is away at sea, her mother's violent death leaves Laurin effectively orphaned and unsupervised. Now, a murderer has begun targeting Laurin's classmates, and Laurin has begun having terrifying hallucinations of the children. The grownups are desperate to catch the killer, but they're woefully ignorant of the dark, secret world right under their noses. An evil has surfaced in their seemingly idyllic village, deeply rooted in childhood traumas and long-buried secrets...and no child is safe." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about Saurians' transfer, "Director-approved 2K HD transfer from the original 35mm film elements, complete and uncut, in both English- and German-language versions."

Laurin comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.9 GB

Feature: 16.2 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 3.5/5 (Dolby Digital Stereo English), 4/5 (Dolby Digital Stereo German)

This release comes with two audio options, a Dolby Digital stereo mix in English and a Dolby Digital stereo mix in German. While both tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced, the German track sounds fuller. Included are removable English SDH for the English language track and removable English subtitles for the German language track.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a Visual Vengeance trailer for Laurin (1 minute 21 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Laurin’s original theatrical trailer (2 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German, no subtitles), Laurin black and white stills and behind-the-scenes gallery, Laurin lobby cards and pressbook gallery, Laurin postcard gallery, Laurin technical screenplay, The Chirstmas Tree image gallery, The Christmas Tree polaroid gallery, Robert Sigl Bavarian film awards presentation (2 minutes 48 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German with non-removable English subtitles), an archival documentary titled The Making of Laurin (10 minutes 3 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with film historian Jonathan Rigby (32 minutes 49 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles for text in German), an interview with actor Barnabás Tóth (10 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles for text in German), an interview with actress Dóra Szinetár (18 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles for text in German), an interview with cinematographer Nyika Jancsó (15 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles for text in German), an interview with director Robert Sigl (59 minutes 14 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German with non-removable English subtitles), two short films directed by Robert Sigl: The Christmas Tree (19 minutes 26 seconds, 1.33:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital mono German with non-removable English subtitles) and Coronoia 21: It Comes with the Snow (9 minutes 54 seconds, 1.78:1 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), original VHS rough cut of Laurin from Sigl’s private collection, featuring set-recorded audio allowing viewers to hear the actors’ real voices prior to overdubbing (101 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary by film historian Troy Howarth, author of Innocence Lost: Robert Sigl and the Curse of Laurin, a collectible folded mini-poster, reversible cover art featuring original home video art, limited-edition mini-postcard set reproduced from German promotional materials (limited to the first pressing), ‘Stick your own’ VHS sticker sheet (limited to the first pressing), a 6-page leaflet with an essay titled Curses and Secrets: The Hidden World of Laurin written by Tony Strauss, and an O-card slipcover (limited to the first pressing).

The Christmas Tree: A father and son hang lights on a tree for their last Christmas together.

Coronoia 21: It Comes with the Snow: A man wandering in snow-covered streets hears voices.

Other extras are Visual Vengeance trailers for American Taboo, Cyclops, and Vampire’s Embrace.

Summary:

A young girl, left alone, while her father is always at sea, is haunted by visions of missing children from her rural village.

Laurin is a folk horror film with gothic horror-infused visuals. Set at the beginning of the 19th century, Laurin’s production design does a superb job recreating that era. Laurin implies violence more than it explicitly shows, despite the sinister overtones associated with the missing children. Connected to the missing children, violence is more implied than explicitly shown.

From a production standpoint, Laurin is a film full of surprises; the most notable of these is the performances. Dóra Szinetár delivers a remarkable performance in the role of the protagonist, Laurin. Traumatized by the death of her mother and isolated by her father's long absences, she perfectly captures Laurin’s frame of mind.

Although the narrative moves at a deliberate pace, it always holds your attention as it effectively builds to a twist finale that reveals the killer's motivation. Areas where Laurin excels are its striking cinematography and its score, both of which greatly enhance the mood. Ultimately, Laurin is a well-crafted film that’s overflowing with atmosphere.

Laurin gets a solid release from Visual Vengeance that comes with a solid audio/video presentation, two short films, and a wealth of extras. Recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer

Full Contact: Hong Kong Cinema Classics – Shout! Factory (UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1992
Director: Ringo Lam
Writer: Nam Yin
Cast: Chow Yun-fat, Simon Yam, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Ann Bridgewater, Bonnie Fu, Frankie Chan

Release Date: July 14th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 99 Minutes 3 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10 Dolby Vision
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese, DTS-HD Mono Cantonese Alternate Mix, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $44.98

"In an effort to get his buddy out of a gambling debt, Gou Fei agrees to join forces with his friend Judge in a weapons heist. The job goes bad and Judge betrays him. Gou Fei plots the ultimate revenge on Judge and his followers and sets forth a plan of violence and deceit." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD), 4.5/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "4K Scan from the Original Camera Negative."

Full Contact comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 68.3 GB

Feature: 68 GB

This is another solid transfer from Shout! Factory: the source looks excellent. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic appearance.

Full Contact comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 43.6 GB

Feature: 28.3 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 5/5 (All Audio Tracks)

This release comes with three audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese, an alternate DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese, and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. All tracks sound excellent; dialogue always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should. Included are English subtitles for the Cantonese tracks, English SDH for the English-language track, and English subtitles for Cantonese text when watching the English-language track. It should be noted that subtitles and audio can only be chosen via the audio setup menu, and they cannot be turned off while watching the main feature.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an audio commentary with James Mudge, Hong Kong Film Critic at EasternKicks.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a poster and lobby card gallery (16 images), a then-and-now image gallery, a theatrical trailer (5 minutes 2 seconds, DTS-HD mono Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an interview with martial arts director Ridley Tsui titled Full Combat and Full Contact (16 minutes 50 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an interview with actor Simon Yam titled Fully Fantastic (35 minutes 1 second, DTS-HD stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an interview with Hong Kong cinema expert Frank Djeng titled Full Fledge Classic (17 minutes 46 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), and an audio commentary with James Mudge.

Other extras include a slipcover (limited to the first pressing).

Summary:

Ringo Lam directed Full Contact. He rose to prominence in Hong Kong cinema in the latter part of the 1980s after directing films like City on Fire, Prison on Fire, and School on Fire. Even though he has made three films in Hollywood with Jean-Claude Van Damme, unlike most of his contemporaries, he has also managed to stay active in Hong Kong cinema.

When one of them offends a loan shark, three friends are forced to flee, and needing money, they team up with a trio of unscrupulous criminals.

Ringo Lam is one of a handful of filmmakers who excelled in the Heroic Bloodshed genre, with City on Fire being his most celebrated film. Though Full Contact has all the core elements of Heroic Bloodshed cinema, the result is an askewed version of this genre. Where his earlier forays into Heroic Bloodshed cinema had social commentary and were political, Full Contact is a film that drops all subtext in favour of style.

A key component to Ringo Lam’s most celebrated films, they all feature Chow Yun-Fat, an actor who he worked with for the sixth and final time on Full Contact. Chow Yun-Fat portrays Gou Fei, a bouncer who wears a vest and rides a motorcycle. Though there is a cool aspect to his character, it is not the same King of Cool-type character that he’s known for. That said, he delivers another superb performance in which he dominates every moment he’s onscreen.

Cast in the role of the bad guy is Simon Yam (Naked Killer); he portrays a flamboyant character named Judge who is openly gay. There is a song and dance going on between Judge and Gou Fei, in which the former flirts with the latter, who always rejects him. Judge is a cunning character who uses a handkerchief to disguise his surprise ambushes. He’s a versatile actor who portrayed a range of characters, including a few memorable turns as psychopaths.

Besides these two characters, there is a crew of colorful characters like Deano, a muscular madman with no impulse control, and his slutty girlfriend, who is aptly named Virgin in the English language version. The most surprising performance is Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, who, more than any Hong Kong actor, is known for portraying psychopaths. In Full Contact, he portrays Sam, a meek character who evolves into the type of character that Anthony Wong Chau-Sang is known for.

One thing you can say about Full Contact is that it never skims when it comes to its action sequences. In its opening moments, Judge and his two sidekicks rob a jewelry store. This opening sequence perfectly sets the tone for what follows; it is a bombastic moment of excessive carnage and destruction. When it comes to action sequences, they will not disappoint. That said, the action is more Gung Fu than hand-to-hand combat.

From a production standpoint, Full Contact is a film where everyone involved is clicking on all cylinders. The narrative moves briskly to an explosive finale that somehow tops all the earlier action set pieces. Though Ringo Lam lets his actors take center stage, there is never a shortage of stylish moments. Ultimately, Full Contact is one of the high-watermarks of Heroic Bloodshed cinema and one of this genre's last hurrahs.

Shout! Factory gives Full Contact an exceptional release that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of insightful extras. Highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer