Knock Off: 2-Disc Collector's Edition – MVD Rewind Collection (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong/USA, 1998
Director: Tsui Hark
Writer: Steven Edward de Souza
Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Rob Schneider, Lela Rochon, Michael Fitzgerald Wong, Carmen Lee, Paul Sorvino

Release Date: February 17th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 91 Minutes 27 seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 English, LPCM Stereo English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $49.95

"When a shipment of jeans to the U.S. proves counterfeit, Marcus Ray, the 'King of The Knock-Offs' (Van Damme), finds himself at the center of a Russian Mafia plot to hold the United States security for ransom. Thousands of tiny micro-bombs, disguised within other manufactured goods, are scheduled for departure from Hong Kong to America. When Ray's company's jeans are found to be the housing for the explosives, he's the one man the CIA can count on to prevent certain disaster. In a territory where loyalty can change hands overnight, Marcus Ray's survival will depend on him knowing the fakes from the real thing." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5 (4K UHD), 3.75/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "HD Restoration (16-Bit Scan of the Original Camera Negative) of the film presented in its original 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio in HDR."

Knock Off comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 60.6 GB

Feature: 60.1 GB

While not as big of an upgrade as MVD’s Double Impact 4K UHD release, it is still a stronger release than this film’s previous Blu-ray releases. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, and there are no issues with compression or digital noise reduction.

Knock Off comes on a 50 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 38.5 GB

Feature: 24.6 GB

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

Audio: 4.25/5 (Both Audio Tracks)

This release comes with two audio options, a LPCM stereo mix in English and a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English. Both audio tracks sound clear and balanced, and they are robust when they should be. The 5.1 track does a great job opening up the original stereo source. Included are removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an archival audio commentary with action cinema experts. Mike Leeder and Arne Venema.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer (1 minute 57 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Making of: Knock Off (23 minutes 15 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with screenwriter Steven E. de Souza (9 minutes 49 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), a new interview with Steven E. de Souza (40 minutes 51 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with producer Moshe Diamant (18 minutes 24 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), and an archival audio commentary with Mike Leeder and Arne Venema.

Other extras include a collectible Knock Off “4K LaserVision” mini-poster, reversible cover art, a slipcover (first pressing only), and trailers for Double Impact, Lionheart, Black Eagle, Death Warrant, and One Tough Cop.

Summary:

Tsui Hark directed Knock Off. He’s known for Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain, Peking Opera Blues, Once Upon a Time in China, The Banquet, Twin Dragons, and Time and Tide. Besides directing, he’s also produced these notable films: A Better Tomorrow, A Better Tomorrow II, A Chinese Ghost Story, The Killer, Iron Monkey, Burning Paradise, and Black Mask.

Knock Off is the second of two films that Jean-Claude Van Damme made with Tsui Hark, the other film being Double Team. Set in Hong Kong on the eve of the 1997 handover ceremony, Knock Off has all the more in common with Hong Kong cinema than Hollywood. The outlandish narrative features Russian mobsters, the CIA, nanobombs, and a person manufacturing "knockoff" jeans. That said, Knock Off is a melting pot of genres: action, melodrama, and comedy, pulled off in a way only Hong Kong cinema can.

From a casting perspective, Knock Off surrounds Jean-Claude Van Damme with one of the strongest ensembles he ever worked with. Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas) portrays Harry Johansson, the head of a clandestine CIA operation in Hong Kong; Lela Rochon (Gang Related) in the role of a CIA operative named Karen Lee; and Rob Schneider (Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo), who portrays Tommy Hendricks, a CIA operative who becomes friends with Marcus Ray, Hong Kong’s king of “knock-offs." While the two former bring some gravitas to the film, the latter is the source of the majority of the comedic relief.

The star and main draw of Knock Off is Jean-Claude Van Damme (Bloodsport) in the role of Marcus Ray. He’s a well-dressed, suave character who's a smooth talker that kicks ass and takes names later. While Jean-Claude Van Damme would often portray this type of character, he really excels in this type of role. The most surprising aspect of his performance is how well he executes humor, and not in an unintentional way.

After Knock Off, Tsui Hark would return to Hong Kong and never work again in Hollywood. Jaded by the experience, he felt restrained creatively, while he pretty much had free rein to create in Hong Kong. While Knock Off is not without its shortcomings, when it comes to the action set pieces, they are outstanding. The most notable of these are fruit factory sequences, where Marcus and Tommy frantically search for an escape from an angry mob and the finale, a lengthy action set piece that lasts nearly 30 minutes. Ultimately, Knock Off is a film that fans of Jean-Claude Van Damme will thoroughly enjoy, while it will be a hard sell for just about everyone else.

Knock Off gets a first-rate release from the MVD Rewind Collection that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and a wealth of informative 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