"The Rebel" set for DVD release

"The Rebel," the highest-grossing Vietnamese film ever is set for release on DVD on Sept. 30.

Here's the official press release.

“A highly entertaining mix of martial arts and historical drama”

- Variety

SANTA MONICA, CA – Suspense, romance and action ignite when the Vietnamese box office smash THE REBEL charges onto 2-DISC ULTIMATE EDITION DVD
September 30^th from Genius Products and The Weinstein Company under the Dragon Dynasty label. Celebrated as the highest grossing Vietnamese film ever made,
THE REBEL stars contemporary Asian superstars Johnny Nguyen (The Protector), Dustin Nguyen (“21 Jump Street,” Finishing the Game) and Vietnamese pop star/actress Ngo Thanh Van. Set in Vietnam in the 1920s during the long-standing French colonization, rebel forces emerge to disrupt the foreign control as the French employ elite Vietnamese agents to destroy them. “So badass it hurts…but it hurts so good,” (Film Threat), THE REBEL is “an achievement of martial arts ability anchored in an intriguing tale of politics, power and betrayal” (Pop Journalism). THE REBEL
2-DISC ULTIMATE EDITION DVD includes extensive and exclusive behind-the-scenes bonus features (see below for details) and will be available for the suggested retail price of $24.95.

Box art and stills from The Rebel, which will be available with both English and Spanish subtitles. A review is forthcoming.

Asians flourish at Venice Film Festival

Five of the 21 films in the Venice film festival are from Asia this year.

The group is led by Japanese director Takeshi Kitano's "Achilles and the Tortoise," in which Kitano himself plays the lead role of an fame-aspiring artist.

Last year, Chinese director Ang Lee won the top Golden Lion award for "Lust, Caution," repeating a performance from two years earlier when he also won the top prize for "Brokeback Mountain."

guardian.co.uk

Asia on the march at Venice film festival
AFP - 3 hours ago
VENICE, Italy (AFP) — An inscrutable geisha, a diehard triad, an eccentric Japanese artist -- they are all here at the Venice film festival, ...

Kitano examines cruel art in Venice entry The Associated Press
New Japanese Film Lampoons "Cruel" Art World ARTINFO
Kitano takes oddball look at world of art Reuters

Woo's "Red Cliff" opens strong in Asia

John Woo's new film "Red Cliff" is playing in theaters across Asia in the first film to recreate the famous Battle of Chibi in 208 A.D. China.

The 140-minute epic will be released in a shortened version in the West.

Costing $80 million, the film spectacular is the most expensive ever for a Chinese language movie.

Tue Jul 8, 3:29 AM ET

From Left to Right, Japanese-Taiwanese actor Takeshi Kaneshiro, Hong Kong director John Woo, Taiwanese actor Chang Chen, Taiwanese actress Lin Chi-ling, and Hong Kong actor Tony Leung pose for photographs during a press conference for their new film 'Red Cliff' in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, July 8, 2008.

(AP Photo/Wally Santana)