These brand new videos by renowned karate instructor and historian Harry Cook are packed with information you will find nowhere else. Harry is best known as the author of Shotokan Karate: A Precise History, widely regarded as the most important book of its type ever published, and the knowledge gained from the three decades of research and training that produced this volume, is also very evident in these professionally produced training videos. In these fascinating programs the author shows how karate was transformed from an effective martial art to little more than a gymnastic performance in less than a lifetime, and demonstrates the robust pre-war karate of the original Shotokan training hall in Tokyo’s Toshima-ku district first opened by Gichin Funakoshi in 1939.

Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu karate as formulated by its Founder, Shoshin Nagamine from the teachings of Matsers Chotoku Kyan and Choki Motobu has traditionally ben preserved and disseminated by means of its eighteen kata or formal exercises. This has ensured uniformly high standards of performance within the Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu movement, as well as continuity of techniques and training methods from instructor to student, generation to generation. This video program includes eight of the advanced kata of Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu, as well as the Yakusoku Kumite or two man sparring exercises. The entire presentation is performed by the son of the Founder and current headmaster of the style, Takayoshi Nagamine 9th Dan, assisted by senior instructors Makishi 9th Dan and Taira 8th Dan. All exhibit the highest possible level of technical excellence—the standard to which all practitioners should aspire. To facilitate learning, the kata are performed in slow motion and at full speed with mulitple views shown where deemed necessary in the interests of clarity. Additionally, applications and the explanation of key points are given by Nagamine Sensei in person. Contents: Ananku, Wankan, Wanshu, Passai, Gojushiho, Chinto, Kusanku, Yakusoku Kumite. Running time 56 minutes.

These brand new videos by renowned karate instructor and historian Harry Cook are packed with information you will find nowhere else. Harry is best known as the author of Shotokan Karate: A Precise History, widely regarded as the most important book of its type ever published, and the knowledge gained from the three decades of research and training that produced this volume, is also very evident in these professionally produced training videos. In these fascinating programs the author shows how karate was transformed from an effective martial art to little more than a gymnastic performance in less than a lifetime, and demonstrates the robust pre-war karate of the original Shotokan training hall in Tokyo’s Toshima-ku district first opened by Gichin Funakoshi in 1939.

DeVito and Schwarzenegger as fraternal twin brothers? Hey, why not? This delightful 1988 comedy by Ivan Reitman-about genetically designed twin siblings who discover each other at the age of 35-works out just fine, thanks largely to great chemistry between the two stars. Despite a certain amount of rough action and tension, the film really gets a lift from the palpable innocence Reitman develops, and the female costars (Chloe Webb and Kelly Preston) bring some interesting texture of their own. This is a film that walked the tightrope of a high concept and completely succeeded. To see how easy it is to stumble in a similar situation, check out DeVito and Schwarzenegger in Reitman's Junior. The DVD release has a full-screen presentation, optional French and Spanish soundtracks, optional Spanish subtitles. -Tom Keogh.

This video program presents the first ten kata of the Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu karate syllabus up to Naihanchi Sandan performed by the present headmaster Takayoshi Nagamine 9th Dan, assisted by senior instructors Yasuhiro Makishi 9th Dan, and Taira 8th Dan. Each kata is performed at full speed and shown in slow motion; the most important technical points are then explained by Nagamine sensei, and the applications of fundamental techniques demonstrated by the three instructors. Key issues discussed include the development of explosive striking power, the most vulnerable targets to attack, and the differences between applications as they are performed in the kata, and their use in realistic self defense situations. Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu karate is based in part upon the fundamental teachings of Choki Motobu, Chotoku Kyan and other legendary Okinawan karate pioneers. The genius of the Founder, Shoshin Nagamine, was in drawing together the most refined elements of each school and creating from them his own unique style of Shorin Ryu karate. Contents: Fukyu Kata 1 and 2 Pinan Kata 1–5 Naihanchi Kata 1–3.

A stirring example of courage and the indomitable human spirit, for many John Sturges's The Great Escape is both the definitive World War II drama and the nonpareil prison escape movie. Featuring an unequalled ensemble cast in a rivetingly authentic true-life scenario set to Elmer Bernstein's admirable music, this picture is both a template for subsequent action-adventure movies and one of the last glories of Golden Age Hollywood. Reunited with the director who made him a star in The Magnificent Seven, Steve McQueen gives a career-defining performance as the laconic Hilts, the baseball-loving, motorbike-riding "Cooler King. " The rest of the all-male Anglo-American cast-Dickie Attenborough, Donald Pleasance, James Garner, Charles Bronson, David McCallum, James Coburn, and Gordon Jackson-make the most of their meaty roles (though you have to forgive Coburn his Australian accent). Closely based on Paul Brickhill's book, the various escape attempts, scrounging, forging, and ferreting activities are authentically realized thanks also to technical advisor Wally Flood, one of the original tunnel-digging POWs. Sturges orchestrates the climax with total conviction, giving us both high action and very poignant human drama. Without trivializing the grim reality, The Great Escape thrillingly celebrates the heroism of men who never gave up the fight. -Mark Walker.

A movie that only true horror buffs could love, Army of Darkness is officially part 3 in the wild and wacky Evil Dead trilogy masterminded by the perversely inventive director Sam Raimi, who would later serve as executive producer of the popular syndicated TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Raimi's favorite actor, Bruce Campbell, returns as Ash (hero of the first two Evil Dead flicks), a hardware-store clerk who is magically transported-along with his beat-up Oldsmobile and a chainsaw attachment for his severed left forearm-to the brutal battlefields of the 14th century. He quickly assumes power (who else in the Middle Ages packs a shotgun and a chainsaw?), and unites his band of medieval knights against the dreaded Army of the Dead. Raimi gleefully subverts almost every horror-movie cliché as he serves up a nonstop parade of blood, gore, and vicious sword-bearing skeletons-an affectionate homage to animator Ray Harryhausen's classic Jason and the Argonauts. The frantic action is fun while it lasts, but even at 80 minutes Army of Darkness nearly wears out its welcome. You know that Raimi can maintain the mayhem for only so long before it grows tiresome, and fortunately this madcap movie quits while it's ahead. -Jeff Shannon.

Tom Selleck plays Matthew Quigley, the cowboy hero in this traditional Western, set very untraditionally in Australia. After some macho silliness in the opening minutes, the story settles into a surprisingly evocative tale of Quigley, a sharpshooter who had come to the country to work for a land baron (Alan Rickman) and who is on the mend after a brutal attack. In the company of a woman (Laura San Giacomo) abused by that same baron, Quigley gets his strength and his shooting skills back while healing in the midst of aboriginal people as well as some stunning Australian settings. Director Simon Wincer (Phar Lap) brings a lot of integrity to this rare horse opera from contemporary Hollywood. -Tom Keogh.

Brawny blond longhair Richard Hill is the rogue barbarian hero Deathstalker in this hilariously slapdash sword-and-sorcery adventure. Armed with a sword that makes him invincible (provided by an otherwise completely useless sidekick), he heads off for a tournament of warriors sponsored by an evil wizard with a nasty plot to kill all his rivals. but don't worry about the plot because it makes no sense. This shot-in-Argentina, Roger Corman production features badly staged swordfights, loads of gratuitous nudity, female mud wrestling, trolls in bad rubber masks, and a funky eyeball-eating demon sock puppet. Former Hugh Hefner girlfriend Barbi Benton seems rather embarrassed in her role as a whiny harem girl. John Terlesky took over the title role in the sequel (Deathstalker II: Duel of the Titans) while topless warrior woman costar Lana Clarkson graduated to her own series, Barbarian Queen. -Sean Axmaker.

Hong Kong wuxia films, or martial arts fantasies, traditionally squeeze poor acting, slapstick humor, and silly story lines between elaborate fight scenes in which characters can literally fly. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has no shortage of breathtaking battles, but it also has the dramatic soul of a Greek tragedy and the sweep of an epic romance. This is the work of director Ang Lee, who fell in love with movies while watching wuxia films as a youngster and made Crouching Tiger as a tribute to the form. To elevate the genre above its B-movie roots and broaden its appeal, Lee did two important things. First, he assembled an all-star lineup of talent, joining the famous Asian actors Chow Yun-fat and Michelle Yeoh with the striking, charismatic newcomer Zhang Ziyi. Behind the scenes, Lee called upon cinematographer Peter Pau (The Killer, The Bride with White Hair) and legendary fight choreographer Yuen Wo-ping, best known outside Asia for his work on The Matrix. Second, in adapting the story from a Chinese pulp-fiction novel written by Wang Du Lu, Lee focused not on the pursuit of a legendary sword known as "The Green Destiny," but instead on the struggles of his female leads against social obligation. In his hands, the requisite fight scenes become another means of expressing the individual spirits of his characters and their conflicts with society and each other. The filming required an immense effort from all involved. Chow and Yeoh had to learn to speak Mandarin, which Lee insisted on using instead of Cantonese to achieve a more classic, lyrical feel. [+]