Blood of Heroes [Import]

The DVD version is slightly different to the film (at the end- the DVD cuts before the 'movie' did). This actually improves the film I think.

This movie is lean, fast and full of heavy action within the game field, but out of has a nice tenderness because of Joan Chen- she is both beautiful and powerful in the movie, sensual and brutal. And Rutger Hauer gives an excellent performance as the leader/guru of the team. The cast is strong and play their roles in a manner that individualizes them all and mimicks their in game personas.

Okay this was no big budget feature, but succeeds all the more because of that. It's about a hard, brutal game played in a hard brutal world, where survival is tenuous and fragile, and the people barely subsist. The closeness of the film really emphasizes humanity there clinging together to hold on. The game is the epoch of civilization so the Juggers are revered. It is the thing that unifies them.

This is a truly brilliant film because it steps outside of cliche and corniness and the typical hollywood drivel. The dialog is excellent and the action in the game sequences are first rate. There is no sentimentality. The game is a metpahor for life and the movie takes you to the very heart of the game and the juggers who play it. All in all 5 stars!

The upshot is that for all the advantages DVD has over VHS, I would suggest you consider purchasing the VHS version over the DVD version. Beyond the usual trailers for other movies, the DVD version offers nothing that the VHS version doesn't already have.