No Retreat, No Surrender [Region 2]
by Corey Yuen
![No Retreat, No Surrender [Region 2]](/images/No-Retreat-No-Surrender-Region-2-B0002848WQ-L.jpg)
Our Price: $6.61
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $6.60 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: J.W. Fails, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kathie Sileno, Kurt McKinney, Tai Chung KimDirector: Corey Yuen
Cinematographer: David Golia
Cinematographer: John Huneck
Writer: Corey Yuen
Editor: Allan Poon
Producer: See-Yuen Ng
Writer: See-Yuen Ng
Writer: Keith W. Strandberg
DVD: Region Code 2
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: PAL
Running Time: 85 minutes
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
DVD Reviews of No Retreat, No Surrender [Region 2]
DVD Review: "This time, it will be different, Russian"
Summary: 4 Stars
The "No Retreat, No Surrender" movies, for all their entertainment value, really are one of the strangest film series ever made for the fact that they began as one thing and ended up as something entirely different: even if you're not willing to count as far as The King of the Kickboxers and American Shaolin, you've got to keep in mind that what began as a coming-of-age tale directed by Corey Yuen (The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk) and featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme as a villain ended up being a completely different story about completely different characters in a completely different setting as little as four years later. Only the enthusiasts know why, but what everybody ought to know is that the original outing is certainly worth tracking down for fans of cheesy 80s nonsense and awesome kung fu.
The story: Jason Stillwell (Kurt McKinney, "General Hospital") is the Bruce Lee-idolizing son of a karate master who is forced out of his dojo by a crime syndicate backed by a powerful Russian martial artist named Ivan Kraschinsky (Van Damme, Bloodsport). After relocating from LA to Seattle, Jason finds himself humiliated at every turn by a community determined to make him miserable; but when all seems lost, he's visited by the ghost of Bruce Lee, who offers him personal instruction to become the martial artist he'll need to be to survive both bullies and a returning Ivan.
Jut by reading that summary, you ought to get a feeling of how undoubtedly weird this movie is. It's my belief that director Yuen used this film as a kind of creative outlet for everything he had wanted to put into a film: I think he took all the cool ideas that he hadn't been able to utilize in other movies, coupled with everything he thought was hip in the US at the time, and threw them all together amidst some cool fight scenes. That, at least, would explain the presence of Bruce Lee's ghost (played by former stand-in to the real Lee, Tai Chung Kim), the nonsensical and completely useless disco scene in which Jason's strange friend RJ (J.W. Fails) dresses like Michael Jackson, and the overall 80s-in-overdrive feeling that permeates the movie. Very, very bad acting from everybody involved is further offset by illogical exchanges ("Don't worry; I'm nobody's lunch!") and a general feeling of everything in life revolving in one way or another around martial arts.
Of course, the martial arts in question certainly are worth devoting attention to: there are about six real fights in the movie, and despite not being Corey Yuen's best work, they go to show why the director is one of the best there is when it comes to what he does. To list them chronologically, Jason's father (karate champion Timothy Baker) fights an invading thug and Van Damme, McKinney is confronted by Peter Cunningham (Above the Law) in a one-sided but very technical exhibition match, Jason and his father take on a group of alley thugs wherein McKinney really begins to shine with some awesome kicks, a series of three fights wherein Van Damme takes on Dale Jacoby (Ring of Fire), Cunningham, and tang soo do expert Ron Pohnel (the third of which is probably the best fight of the movie), and the final emotional confrontation between McKinney and Van Damme. I don't think it's an exaggeration to claim that prior to this movie, most Americans had never experienced kung fu quite like this; even though some fights aren't as fun as others, the collection is about as good as it gets for this kind of show, Van Damme's full leg splits included.
Whether or not you should be interested in buying the film depends on your tolerance of cinematic cheese and whether or not you're willing to accept it, either as a complementary side or a grain of salt, alongside the action scenes. Rest assured, "No Retreat, No Surrender" has earned its cult status many times over, but unless you're willing to grasp the significance of all of the film's flaws and strengths as a cumulative package, you ought to look somewhere else for you kicks (and punches).
Description of No Retreat, No Surrender [Region 2]
[NON-U.S. FORMAT (PAL) Region 2 U.K. Import - This will not play on U.S./Canada DVD players or those from most other countries outside of Europe. You would need a "multi-region" or "region-free" PAL compatible DVD player or computer.] SYNOPSIS: Martial arts pupil Jason Stockwell pits his newly acquired skills against a local crime syndicate when his karate teacher is run out of town. (Note: Please be aware there are substantial differences between this DVD and the original VHS release. For the DVD some additional scenes were added back into the movie as well as a new soundtrack and voice for Bruce Lee.)Bestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Ninja Domination IIIRelease date: 1982-12-08; DVD
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops:
American Ninja 5Warner Brothers; Release date: 2005-12-06; DVD
Best price: $6.35
Price in other shops:
Pray For DeathRelease date: 1987-11-18; DVD
Best price: $9.57
Price in other shops:
Four-Film Collection (Black Mask / Bloodsport 4 / Kickboxer / Kickboxer 2)LGF; Release date: 2010-11-23; DVD
Best price: $4.69
Price in other shops:
My Bodyguard (Widescreen Edition)Fox Home Entertainment; Release date: 2002-01-29; DVD
Best price: $5.07
Price in other shops:
The Wraith (Special Edition)Lions Gate; Release date: 2010-03-02; DVD
Best price: $8.74
Price in other shops:
Only the StrongFox; Release date: 2003-12-16; DVD
Best price: $2.83
Price in other shops:
Black EagleDVD
Best price: $3.98
The Last DragonVARIOUS; Release date: 2001-07-03; DVD
Best price: $7.93
Price in other shops:
Best of the BestSony; Release date: 2004-09-28; DVD
Best price: $1.56
Price in other shops: