MEN OF WAR (Perry Lang, 1994)

[Jox]

US LASERDISC

[Jox]

FAN QUESTION OF THE DAY (from Humberto):
"What do you think about Perry Lang? "Men of War" is, for me, your best movie! When the next movie with him??"

ANSWER:
He did a great job and the location we shot the film in Thailand made it look fabulous.
/Dolph

(photo from my collection)

[Jox]

MEN OF WAR will be released by Echo Bridge on Blu-ray in a combo with a flick called TWO ZERO (with Sean Bean) in September. Not sure what the quality will be.

http://www.amazon.com/Men-War-Bravo-Zer ... h+lundgren

(We can expect BLACKJACK to come out from them in a similar combo since HIDDEN ASSASSIN was also released in a combo)

[Travis]

Dolph could have looked really good in this film, if he didn't have that silly hairstyle. It looked like a hairstyle a jr. high skate boarder would have.

[Jox]

It looks good in MOW or THE EXPENDABLES, but I agree it wasn't the best choice for PENTATHLON or THE SHOOTER/HIDDEN ASSASSIN.

[Travis]

I'm just saying he was relatively young and still could have looked good in this with a decent haircut.

The film is another story though. For me, this is another one I really wanted to like but it just didn't do much for me.

I did have the poster for this film hanging on my bedroom wall in the 90's though.

[savagesketch]

Was this intended to be a major theatrical release? The production values seem fairly high, not to mention the talent involved. This is hands down Dolph's best performance.

On a somewhat related note, did Dolph have a distribution deal with Dimension Films at the time? They released three of his films consecutively -- MEN OF WAR, HIDDEN ASSASSIN, and BLACKJACK...

[Mosquito]

I like his hair (not in The Shooter though), I think he really looked great and MoW is easily in his Top Five. Great movie with an awesome showdown fight.

[Travis]

This is another one that I disagree with most people here. For me, this really wasn't all that great. I found it a but boring and lackluster in general.

[Jox]

Was this intended to be a major theatrical release? The production values seem fairly high, not to mention the talent involved. This is hands down Dolph's best performance.

On a somewhat related note, did Dolph have a distribution deal with Dimension Films at the time? They released three of his films consecutively -- MEN OF WAR, HIDDEN ASSASSIN, and BLACKJACK...

I wouldn't say "major" but it was made as a theatrical film and was released theatrically almost worldwide except in the US, UK, Germany. Sony had it for the US and then Miramax bought it from them with a promise of a theatrical release, the film had excellent test screenings yet they ultimately decided not to give it a shot because they didn't believe people would go see a movie with Dolph as a hero.

Also time had passed between the time that the film was pre-sold (fairly high, it was a hot title in film markets) and shot (spring and fall 93) and it's release (spring summer 1995 in most countries). Dolph's aura had diminished considerably.

Dolph didn't have a deal with Miramax/Dimension, they just happened to be interested in those titles (produced by different companies) and probably thought they could make a buck with Dolph's flicks.

[Mosquito]

Dolph's aura had diminished considerably.

People were deaf and blind.

[Coligion]

MEN OF WAR will be released by Echo Bridge on Blu-ray in a combo with a flick called TWO ZERO (with Sean Bean) in September. Not sure what the quality will be.

http://www.amazon.com/Men-War-Bravo-Zer ... h+lundgren

I'm not keen to this being a double-pack, or the fact that Echo Bridge will release it, but at this point one can't be too picky. In my opinion, I don't mind double-packs when they house movies together from the same actor, but I don't like them otherwise. Also, Echo Bridge seems to release a number of films with altered aspect ratios and without lossless audio. I hope that is not the case here.

I like his hair (not in The Shooter though), I think he really looked great and MoW is easily in his Top Five. Great movie with an awesome showdown fight.

I agree. I liked how he looked in this film, and also thought Terry Goddard was an excellent villain. Definitely would like to have this on Blu-Ray.

[savagesketch]

Was this intended to be a major theatrical release? The production values seem fairly high, not to mention the talent involved. This is hands down Dolph's best performance.

On a somewhat related note, did Dolph have a distribution deal with Dimension Films at the time? They released three of his films consecutively -- MEN OF WAR, HIDDEN ASSASSIN, and BLACKJACK...

I wouldn't say "major" but it was made as a theatrical film and was released theatrically almost worldwide except in the US, UK, Germany. Sony had it for the US and then Miramax bought it from them with a promise of a theatrical release, the film had excellent test screenings yet they ultimately decided not to give it a shot because they didn't believe people would go see a movie with Dolph as a hero.

Also time had passed between the time that the film was pre-sold (fairly high, it was a hot title in film markets) and shot (spring and fall 93) and it's release (spring summer 1995 in most countries). Dolph's aura had diminished considerably.

Dolph didn't have a deal with Miramax/Dimension, they just happened to be interested in those titles (produced by different companies) and probably thought they could make a buck with Dolph's flicks.

It seems like delays are quite common with Miramax / Dimension films. I can think of a handful of films that have sat on the shelf for YEARS with them... Is there a definitive answer as to why these studios in comparison with all the others is notorious for such long delays?

[Jox]

All these companies can take weird decisions, they're pretty similar to the one I was working for in France (headed by the Hadida brothers also called the "French Weinsteins"). Miramax is also notorious for re-cutting films they distribute and that's what they did with THE SHOOTER/HIDDEN ASSASSIN taking out 15 mins out of it to fasten the pace, which is why there is two versions out of the film...

[savagesketch]

They certainly make some weird decisions, especially with a lot of their genre titles... They've cut, recut, reshot, delayed (sometimes for years), and shuffled the releases of a ton of films. IMPOSTER, HIGHLANDER: ENDGAME, THEY, DARKNESS, TEXAS RANGERS, CURSED (which director Wes Craven went on the record and expressed his displeasure over the Weinstein's incessant reshoots and distribution), MINDHUNTERS, and VENOM to name a few... Not the best films, but still examples of the Weinsteins letting their egos get in the way, thinking they know what's best.

I realize we're getting way off topic here, but it is interesting that other countries have their versions of these guys...