Lovers of 1990s American schlock cinema are well rewarded by Eureka’s double bill release of the popular Cynthia Rothrock kung fu thrillers in which the genre’s best-known female stars battle corruption in a small Utah town following the murder of her Sheriff father.
The petite blonde Rothrock had appeared in several Hong Kong action thrillers in the late 80’s establishing herself as a formidable on-screen presence with her flashy and dynamic fighting style. She was, therefore, flattered when the producer and director of 1973’s Enter the Dragon invited her to return to her native USA to star in her first American movie tailored to introduce her skills to an international audience. Obviously, she was never going to be the next Meryl Streep, but have we ever seen Streep dispatch an opponent to the ground by delivering a well-aimed scorpion kick to the back of the head?
The two China O’Brien movies were filmed simultaneously on a small budget and were not intended to be cinema releases. They were part of the burgeoning direct-to-video market of the time and, as such, were destined to become small-screen ‘Blockbusters’ rather than big-screen blockbusters, and in this, they unquestionably succeeded. These two colourful and enjoyable films allowed Rothrock to kick, punch, and generally maim villains to her heart’s content, and she does this with aplomb and the action is captured on screen by director Robert Clouse with his usual satisfactory proficiency.
Rothrock is aided in the action stakes by the always excellent Richard Norton, with whom she appeared in many films, with one critic describing them as the Tracy and Hepburn of ‘chop-socky’ cinema. (I can testify to this because I was that critic on the much-missed IMDb message boards.) Another skilled martial artist in the cast is Keith Cooke, and when asked for his recollections of making the films in an interview on this disc, he replies, “Well, I wore a black vest in the first one and a purple vest in the second one”. Nice one, Keith. thanks for the detail.
The movies are presented here in brand-new 4K restorations, which look and sound superb, as do the all-new extras and commentaries. Cynthia Rothrock was the real deal, as this reviewer can personally attest after training with her in London shortly after these movies were made.
CHINA O’BRIEN 1 and 2 is released on April 29th from Eureka Entertainment.
