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antmumford 12th March 2011 10:22 PM

The Van Damme Thread
 
I just saw an advert on ITV4 for an upcoming documentary on Jean Claude Van Damme, it'll be airing on 22nd March. I thought I'd mention it on here as I'm sure it'll be really interesting.

Was shocked to see that there was no thread dedicated to him like there are for other action stars so thought I'd start one up myself.

What do you think of Jean? Any fond memories of seeing one of his films for the first time?

I always remember his really camp little appearance in Breakdance: the Movie which I just found so odd. I really do enjoy a lot of his films though and an underated actor to be honest after watching JCVD.

Stephen@Cult Labs 12th March 2011 11:04 PM

I have almost all of Van Damme's films. My favourites would have to be Bloodsport, Hard Target, Universal Soldier, Cyborg and Timecop, but tbh, Most of his pre- straight to dvd films come close. Even his more recent films are pretty entertaining.


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antmumford 12th March 2011 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephen@Cult Labs (Post 135177)
I have almost all of Van Damme's films. My favourites would have to be Bloodsport, Hard Target, Universal Soldier, Cyborg and Timecop, but tbh, Most of his pre- straight to dvd films come close. Even his more recent films are pretty entertaining.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hard Target is on ITV HD as we speak, I should have set it to record :(

Peter Neal 13th March 2011 08:05 AM

My fondest Van Damme memory must be watching the longer "unrated" version of "Hard Target" on UK VHS for the first time.:cool:
That flick was a real eye opener to me, introducing me to the films of John Woo and subsequently a lot more of HK/Asian cinema.:rockon:
Actingwise, I think he was pretty good in Ringo Lam's "Maximum Risk" as well as "Timecop" and "Sudden Death" while "Universal Soldier" was probably his purest "popcorn-fun" flick.:popcorn:
There's quite a gap in my collection, but I caught some of his more recent flicks again- like "Wake of Death" and the latest "Unisol", which I enjoyed far more than I anticipated.
I still have to catch up with "JCVD":nod:

Stephen@Cult Labs 13th March 2011 01:52 PM

It's a shame that Universal has never released Woo's Director's cut of Hard Target. While the European unrated cut is a lot better than the butchered R-Rated version the US got, The DC has even more violence in it, including the graphic slicing of Randall Pope's ear.

darthelvis 13th March 2011 03:00 PM

No Retreat No Surrender was my first JCVD film and I still love it. Blood Sport is my favourite of his films, one long overdue a Blu Ray release.

Not seen many of his recent films but did buy The Shepherd in Poundland.

darthelvis 13th March 2011 07:28 PM

Just noticed Bloodsport is on Blu Ray in U.S. and Australia with Time Cop, I see a purchase coming up!

Stephen@Cult Labs 13th March 2011 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darthelvis (Post 135310)
Just noticed Bloodsport is on Blu Ray in U.S. and Australia with Time Cop, I see a purchase coming up!

I already have the UK Timecop blu-ray so I'm waiting to see if Bloodsport gets a standalone release somewhere.

wayfarer 14th March 2011 01:43 PM

Ok, my use of this forum is getting very expensive. What version of Hard Target can you recommend? Is the DC cut available. AS Universal hasn't released it then I'd guess not. I own the UK DVD release which is this 116 Minute "European Cut"?

I started watching JCVD in Bloodsport, Kickboxer and Cyborg. I always thought that Cyborg was heavily edited and have only found out recently that it was. The director, Albert Pyun, was kicked out of the editing suite by JCVD and someone else and the movie was re-scored by Kevin Bassinson. The Director's Cut is now available but the quality is rough given that it was taken from two long last VHS screeners, that the original composer owned, and JC was dubbed as the print had been created before he completed his ADR on the movie.
If anyone is interested, the DC can be bought through Curran Pictures, through Albert's Facebook page. But, it is for hardcore fans only.

i lost interest in JC's career post Double Team.

Stephen@Cult Labs 14th March 2011 06:49 PM

I emailed Curran pictures about the CYBORG Director's Cut. Seems like it is an added extra that comes with Pyun's new movie BULLETFACE.

wayfarer 15th March 2011 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephen@Cult Labs (Post 135475)
I emailed Curran pictures about the CYBORG Director's Cut. Seems like it is an added extra that comes with Pyun's new movie BULLETFACE.

Which is odd as I've owned their special edition of Bulletface for some time now. My Review: Bulletface

I wonder if this was a contractual thing where Albert and Curnan pictures were allowed to offer this DC as an extra rather than a dedicated release of Cyborg.

kingofwitches666 24th August 2011 12:21 AM

Whoa this one passed me by. I only live a few miles away too.

My mate managed to get in as an extra. Lucky bugger!

He took great delight in telling me. :mmph:

BBC News - Jean-Claude Van Damme to shoot UFO film in Derby

pedromonkey 24th August 2011 12:28 AM

i read about that a couple of days ago, very intrigued....

wayfarer 24th August 2011 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingofwitches666 (Post 176345)
Whoa this one passed me by. I only live a few miles away too.

My mate managed to get in as an extra. Lucky bugger!

He took great delight in telling me. :mmph:

BBC News - Jean-Claude Van Damme to shoot UFO film in Derby

Upon first reading this, I thought it was the movie version of Gerry Anderson TV series "UFO" but as I continued reading it appeared not. It's strange as there's no detail on imdb.

The movie version of UFO was to star Joshua Jackson: Peter Bishop in the TV show Fringe. The entry has disappeared from his imdb profile so I guess the project is now dead. Shame as Jackson has some time on his hands right now.:mmph:

kingofwitches666 24th August 2011 10:14 AM

The Eagle Path being released by Revolver Entertainment on the 4th October, DVD & Blu-Ray.

The Eagle Path [2012] - Official Trailer HD - VAN DAMME - YouTube

kingofwitches666 24th August 2011 10:47 AM

Assassination Games with Scott Adkins being released by Sony on the 10th October, DVD.

ASSASSINATION GAMES - TRAILER [HD] 2011 - YouTube

wayfarer 24th August 2011 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingofwitches666 (Post 176404)
Assassination Games with Scott Adkins being released by Sony on the 10th October, DVD.

ASSASSINATION GAMES - TRAILER [HD] 2011 - YouTube


It looks good but this appears to be yet another release on DVD only:mmph: Hopefully, the US Blu-Ray will be Region free. The excellent Undisputed III hasn't had any kind of release here yet. Shocking!:loco:

blindfold 11th November 2011 11:12 AM

Van Damme
 
Very ecited aboput the Van Dammge heading up the villains in the Expendables. Hoping that he gets to tag a few of the team before taking an almighty fall in the climax.

Phurious 11th November 2011 03:22 PM

Did anyone watch that Behind Closed Doors series he did for ITV?

It was amusing in moments, but really wince-inducing a lot of the time.
No denying he's a grafter, but he's gonna run himself into an early grave - the guy just doesn't stop.

I'll always have a massive soft spot for him and remember wearing copies of Kickboxer and Bloodsport thin as my mates and I would watch, rewind and watch 'em again constantly.

A.W.O.L. is another absolute corker and many of our school breaks were spent trying to recreate that elbow move he did in the swimming pool :o

I've not seen anything post Double Team, not because I don't want to, it's just that there's some many other bloody films to get through and catch up on in my short life.

blindfold 11th November 2011 03:38 PM

JCVD-TV
 
The TV show was great!

Will be posting some links on here for people to check out some retrospective reviews on JVCD over at Filmwerk.

We covered 20 odd films of his - varied writers from Bloodsport to Assassination Games.

Splatterdragon73 12th November 2011 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Neal (Post 135202)
My fondest Van Damme memory must be watching the longer "unrated" version of "Hard Target" on UK VHS for the first time.:cool:
That flick was a real eye opener to me, introducing me to the films of John Woo and subsequently a lot more of HK/Asian cinema.:rockon:
Actingwise, I think he was pretty good in Ringo Lam's "Maximum Risk" as well as "Timecop" and "Sudden Death" while "Universal Soldier" was probably his purest "popcorn-fun" flick.:popcorn:
There's quite a gap in my collection, but I caught some of his more recent flicks again- like "Wake of Death" and the latest "Unisol", which I enjoyed far more than I anticipated.
I still have to catch up with "JCVD":nod:

I used to enjoy vintage Van Damme with the likes of Double Impact, Death Warrant, Bloodsport, Kickboxer, Cyborg and A.W.O.L. However, yours truly can't really get away with these efforts nowadays as imo they've always paled in comparison with what Hong Kong and now Thailand can do. Gimme the likes of Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa anyday!

Van Damme's fight choreography also falls foul of Bruce Lee's approach with the bad guys standing around remaining deliberately defenceless and allowing the hero to get a few moves in.

I do still approve of US, HT and Timecop though, but i never liked SD. Subsequently, the abysmal Replicant caused me to abandon all hope in any new outings for 'The Muscles From Brussels'.:)

Andra Jai 12th November 2011 10:17 PM

its about time some more classics found their way to blu-ray,

having already got kickboxer, nowhere to run and timecop i would love to get any of the following on blu


no retreat no surrender
death warrant
sudden death
cyborg
hard target
legionaire

Pete 12th November 2011 10:47 PM

This will no doubt sound like heresy to all the folk on here but I can't stand Van Damme. :behindsofa:

Stephen@Cult Labs 12th November 2011 10:52 PM

I'd love Bloodsport to get a blu-ray release on it's own. Can't stand those double feature blu's (which are only going to get worse artwork now that Warner are starting with the triple feature blu-rays!)

Splatterdragon73 13th November 2011 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sam tyler (Post 197244)
its about time some more classics found their way to blu-ray.

I already own US on BR but does anybody know if Timecop is available in HD on U.K. shelves yet? I've currently only got the old R2 DVD (The PQ on which looks like it came from the prior U.K. LD.) and i'm unsure if this release is uncut.

HT would be another definite BR buy for me too.:)

Bringer Of Funerals 13th November 2011 11:04 AM

I want the new Assassination Games but i've always wondered what would the STDVD films would be like on blu

Stephen@Cult Labs 13th November 2011 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Splatterdragon73 (Post 197323)
I already own US on BR but does anybody know if Timecop is available in HD on U.K. shelves yet? I've currently only got the old R2 DVD (The PQ on which looks like it came from the prior U.K. LD.) and i'm unsure if this release is uncut.

HT would be another definite BR buy for me too.:)


Timecop is available on BD in the UK, and uncut.

http://img.tapatalk.com/5c021695-a725-d7a0.jpg

Bringer Of Funerals 13th November 2011 11:19 AM

picking that up

Bringer Of Funerals 13th November 2011 11:23 AM

Maximum Risk [Blu-ray] [2008][Region Free]: Amazon.co.uk: Zach Grenier, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Stephane Audran, Paul Ben-Victor, Natasha Henstridge, Frank Senger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Ringo Lam, Moshe Diamant, Ltd. Bloodstone Film Productions: Film &

Paul@TheOverlook 13th November 2011 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Splatterdragon73 (Post 197323)
I already own US on BR but does anybody know if Timecop is available in HD on U.K. shelves yet? I've currently only got the old R2 DVD (The PQ on which looks like it came from the prior U.K. LD.) and i'm unsure if this release is uncut.

HT would be another definite BR buy for me too.:)

You must have either the Prism of Boulevard DVD, both of which are non-anamorphic. The Universal DVD is anamorphic and looks a lot better ;-)

Bringer Of Funerals 13th November 2011 11:34 AM

I have the Prism Timecop

Paul@TheOverlook 13th November 2011 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bringer Of Funerals (Post 197355)
I have the Prism Timecop

I sought out the Universal DVD especially. This is all a little irrelevant if you have a Blu-ray player! I've no intention of upgrading though.

Van Damme worked with some dependable or great directors (Woo, Hark, Lam, Hyams, Emmerich), which is quite unusual for a not-quite A-list action actor. I suppose he was kind of mid-field - bellow the likes of Schwarzenegger and Stallone but above Lundgren and Seagal.

He's been in some enjoyable films.

Splatterdragon73 13th November 2011 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephen@Cult Labs (Post 197339)
Timecop is available on BD in the UK, and uncut.

http://img.tapatalk.com/5c021695-a725-d7a0.jpg

Oooo, good man and cheers. I take it there's no extras on this release as per the U.S. edition?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul@Lovelockandload (Post 197352)
You must have either the Prism of Boulevard DVD, both of which are non-anamorphic. The Universal DVD is anamorphic and looks a lot better ;-)

Actually no, my Timecop DVD is the Universal issue and looks the same as the LD print from what i recall. The same label's HT DVD is non-anamorphic, though and i own this one too.:)

Splatterdragon73 13th November 2011 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul@Lovelockandload (Post 197359)
Van Damme worked with some dependable or great directors (Woo, Hark, Lam, Hyams, Emmerich), which is quite unusual for a not-quite A-list action actor. I suppose he was kind of mid-field - bellow the likes of Schwarzenegger and Stallone but above Lundgren and Seagal. He's been in some enjoyable films.

Quite so and there's no denying the pedigree of some of the filmmakers Van The Man worked with back in his Hollywood heyday. He was definitely not in the same league as Arnie and Sly but like you say, bigger than Lundgren and Norris for that matter. However, imo 'The Muscles From Brussels' always occupied the action movie scale on the same level as Seagal. Probably because they both hit it big in cinemas roughly around the same time.:)

Bringer Of Funerals 13th November 2011 02:25 PM

I went through a faze of buying every Van Damme film on dvd

Paul@TheOverlook 13th November 2011 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Splatterdragon73 (Post 197362)
Oooo, good man and cheers. I take it there's no extras on this release as per the U.S. edition?



Actually no, my Timecop DVD is the Universal issue and looks the same as the LD print from what i recall. The same label's HT DVD is non-anamorphic, though and i own this one too.:)

There were two Universal UK discs. The first when the company's films were distributed by Columbia/TriStar and the second followed a couple of years later ;)

Paul@TheOverlook 13th November 2011 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Splatterdragon73 (Post 197367)
Quite so and there's no denying the pedigree of some of the filmmakers Van The Man worked with back in his Hollywood heyday. He was definitely not in the same league as Arnie and Sly but like you say, bigger than Lundgren and Norris for that matter. However, imo 'The Muscles From Brussels' always occupied the action movie scale on the same level as Seagal. Probably because they both hit it big in cinemas roughly around the same time.:)

I know what you mean about Seagal but Andrew Davis aside, his films were made by jobbing directors for hire, rather than accomplished filmmakers like Hark, Woo and Hyams.

Splatterdragon73 14th November 2011 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul@Lovelockandload (Post 197483)
There were two Universal UK discs. The first when the company's films were distributed by Columbia/TriStar and the second followed a couple of years later.;)

I believe my Timecop DVD is the original release so i may try to track down the reissue. Cheers!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul@Lovelockandload (Post 197484)
I know what you mean about Seagal but Andrew Davis aside, his films were made by jobbing directors for hire, rather than accomplished filmmakers like Hark, Woo and Hyams.

Most definitely but i do think outta both Van Damme and Seagal's early hit parade the latter's outings were more unintentionally funny and gratuitously violent.:)

Bringer Of Funerals 14th November 2011 05:13 PM

I prefer the Big Van to Seagal. He takes care in what films to pick and star in where Seagal sees a script and does it, it's

Director "I have a scri"

Seagal "Yeah i'll do it"

Director "Do you want to read it"

Seagal "Am I getting paid?"

Director "Yes"

Seagal "Yes I'll do it then"

Director "Ok"

Stephen@Cult Labs 14th November 2011 07:46 PM

I'd love to get Hard Target on blu-ray. Anyone know where to find a copy of the Russian dvd? (which seems to be the only anamorphic dvd of the unrated version).


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