Action Packed Movie Marathon, Vol. 2 (Bamboo Gods & Iron Men, Bulletproof, Trackdown & Scorchy)

I have to admit I bought this 2-DVD set for Gary Busey's insanely over-the-top performance in "Bulletproof", but found intermittent enjoyment in the other films in the set, particularly "Trackdown". Note that all the films (apparently excluding "Bulletproof") are somewhat edited, which takes a star off the overall rating. The fact that some of the other features tried my patience removed a further star.Is Gary Busey the greatest actor of his generation? Watch "Bulletproof" and judge for yourself. This slice of 1980s cheese deserves to be more widely known, and one could only hope that the new reincarnation of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" knows of its magisterial grandeur. I was frankly blown away with everything about this movie: the script, the direction, the acting, and the special effects will surely keep you on the edge of your seat...where you will be doubled over laughing.The premise is straightforward: Busey is a retired special operator that has tried to quit government service, but since he's the best (obviously), he gets tapped for one last super-secret adventure, and what a thrill ride it is. The film opens with a bit of light stunt work in which Frank McBain (Busey) jumps into a mob of international arms smugglers and introduces us to his oft-repeated favorite insulting adjective, "butthorn". He calls lots of people butthorns and you know what, I think it's a great addition to the English language. There are multiple subplots: he's a lady's man (one conquest says "You may be bulletproof, but you're not loveproof" which made me throw up in my mouth a little), there is some military malarkey involving terrorists and special operations in Mexico, and my personal favorite, he surgically removes bullets from his person with forceps and keeps them as mementoes in a glass jar. Before it's over he's up to his 39th bullet extraction.Because these extremely stereotyped terrorists are in Mexico, the army decides to send in a token special ops team led by a female, Captain Devon Shepard (Darlanne Fluegel) and the most insanely ridiculous tank, the "Thunderblast", in screen history. For those of you who think I'm spoiling the plot, I find it difficult to believe you cannot predict exactly where this film is headed. To illustrate my point, I will ask two questions. First, what do you think the chances are that this special ops unit with the hot female commander will be captured within five miles of the Mexican border? Second, what do you think the chances are of said female Captain and McBain formerly being romantically involved are? Of course you know the answers. The government blackmails McBain into going on a rescue mission to Mexico to retrieve Thunderblast and friendly (in one case extremely friendly) personnel from the "People's Liberation Army".Much of the film is told in McBain's flashbacks, of which my favorite occurs as he contemplates the luscious Captain Shepard with a soulful saxophone soundtrack punctuating the scene for mood...only to pan over and reveal McBain is the one playing the saxophone! Bet you didn't see that coming! Of course there are nuns and a priest being held captive, a subplot about selling Thunderblast to the Soviets, and a whole load of scenery chewing by every single character. Please note the tremendous number of utterly preposterous accents here: I really cannot decide whose accent is worst. (Maybe one of the Russians, but it's a tough call.) Obviously McBain has to take on the 80 terrorists by himself and his first task is, you guessed it, to get captured. This is actually pretty hilarious, but nothing can prepare you for his escape. Let's just say it involves a kiss, some of the most awkward romantic banter ever filmed, a hand grenade, and a giant cable spool that serves multiple purposes, one of which is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud. There's a lot of limitless ammo, explosions galore, and some really entertaining special effects.McBain and Shepard manage to get in the Thunderblast together (where her first order of business is letting her hair down) and hilarity ensues as they try to figure out how to operate it (they do find the coffee maker in short order). There's a plotpoint about setting the church containing the prisoners on fire, but the military comes to the rescue and there is an epic finale concluding with a border crossing like no other.Clearly "Bulletproof" is an ill-advised product of the Cold War '80s, but it is a glorious relic. The acting is unbelievably over-the-top, the script is ponderous, the leads have no chemistry on camera, and the special effects trigger involuntary eye rolling. It is absolutely mandatory viewing for fans of bad movies, laughable '80s cinema, and Gary Busey. Now go get yourself a copy and watch it right now, Butthorn!I had no idea what to expect from the second film in the package given the title, but as a fan of 1970s low budget cinematic atrocities I thought I'd give it a whirl. Honestly I had a hard time rating it as it is an intriguing concept with a few entertaining moments, but has amazingly horrible acting, poor pacing, and some truly unholy clothes and hairstyles. Made in the Philippines during the martial arts film craze (released in January 1974), and set partially in Hong Kong, the film follows the Jeffersons (not George and Weezy, unfortunately) on their Asian honeymoon.Cal Jefferson (James Iglehart), a champion boxer, and his wife (Shirley Washington) do typical newlywed stuff which is occasionally fun but is more often boring (don't miss where they are chased out of bed and into a pool by bees). Needless to say martial arts and boxing collide in a plot centering on a wooden Buddha statue Cal bought his wife at an antique shop in Hong Kong and which contains the power to destroy the world (as explained in the opening monologue). The script is just terrible and the dialogue is frequently painful; perhaps the best example of this is in the introductory exposition where a fan fawns over Cal in a restaurant. (Eye roll.) There are a few amusing comic relief moments (Cal learning martial arts, the police interrogation about the Buddha theft, and the police massage parlor observation are especially ludicrous), and a lot of over-the-top bad guys that try to keep the plot on track, but some scenes are oddly slow and go on far too long, making this intermittently very boring. It's all an excuse for fighting, of course, and in that regard the film does deliver although the fights are nothing of note.This film had promise and an interesting concept, but the acting and pacing rendered what could have been a unique hybrid of several '70s genres tedious. By no means is this among the worst Filipino films of the decade, but it's typical light exploitation fare with a tawdry underbelly, and I found it ultimately unsatisfying.I wasn't expecting a lot from "Trackdown", and the first half of the film was a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. The film starts slowly about a pretty girl, Betsy (Karen Lamm), who leaves boring Montana for the big city of Los Angeles. Immediately she gets into trouble with petty criminal Erik Estrada and his gang of hoods. Since Betsy is so pretty, she's a natural mark for prostitution and vice, but when she resists a particularly nasty encounter, she pays dearly. Betsy's brother Jim (Jim Mitchum) comes looking for her but finds indifferent cops and little assistance. He finally partners up with a do-gooder love interest and Estrada, who feels the need for redemption. It all comes down to a clever (if overblown) finale of good versus evil. Bet you can't guess how it turns out.Let me dispense with the bad first: the pacing is inconsistent. The first half of the film is ponderously slow, but when the conflict is defined about halfway through, it moves along at a snappy rate and is never boring thereafter. The acting occasionally ranges from oddly disinterested to over-the-top, but isn't ever a distraction. Mitchum doesn't have his father's onscreen gravitas, but I actually ended up liking his performance for the most part. Estrada seems like a caricature at first, but as the film progresses and his motivations become clearer he does better in the role, while Lamm is good throughout and is very pretty. For the praise: there are some clever pieces of plotting here and even though the overall story arc is predictable, it was entertaining. The more implausible bits like the elevator races and shooting from the hip in the finale are no great works of drama, but they work well in context in a film from this genre.If you can get through the plot setup, the last half of the film is well-paced and interesting. "Trackdown" is not a movie that you need to see twice, but it is interesting and better than many of its peers from the mid-1970s.After reading the description of "Scorchy" I thought it would be a fun and campy 1970s police drama starring Connie Stevens. What it turned out to be was dark and boring. I mean dark in the literal and conceptual sense: the subject matter (heroin smuggling, murder, and mayhem) is grim but the print is so dark that there are some scenes where you may be wondering what's going on because you can see almost nothing. Written and directed by Hikmet Avedis (Howard Avedis) and also known as "Race With Death", the film opens in Rome but quickly shifts to Seattle where Jackie (Stevens) is an undercover cop who will do anything to crack the case...and I do mean anything.Nestled amid some of the worst hair, clothing, and furniture I have ever seen, there is terrible dialogue, wooden performances, and pointless stunts (the flaming man scene was especially eye-rolling) aplenty. The acting is abysmal, and the whole elaborate premise about Jackie being a "freelance pilot" in debt to the smarmy Philip (Cesare Danova) for her plane gets tedious quickly. My vote for worst scene is the incredibly over-the-top scenery chewing related to the worst piece of taxidermy I've ever seen in my life (but which is alleged to be a priceless treasure). As is fit for this set, there is even another Buddha theft! The list of transportation modes involved here is extensive: cars, motorcycles, planes, helicopters, boats, ferries, the Seattle monorail, and Jackie driving a dune buggy at high speed all over downtown. There are predictable double-crosses, late arriving backstory about Jackie's dad being a good (but dead) cop, and even a blowgun assassination snaking their tendrils around the plot, but at the end of the day the film is tawdry without any payoff. It's ponderous, predictable, and more fit for weekly television than a feature film. I've seen worse, but this wasn't fun to watch, even as a cheesy time capsule.

there all very good movies trackdown is good but also sad eric Estrada is in that one and connie stevens does a great job in scorch but I wasin't feelin the end scene at all and bulletproof is the 2nd best movie on the 4 set but the story is kinda weird and last but not least bamboo gods and iron man is the best very funny hot women good story and action

Somewhat forgotten trashy action flicks.

arrived on time. product exactly as described. very satisfied.

Okay, I bought this 4 film set for "Scorchy". Well first, the film print here isn't even called "Scorchy" -- instead going under the title of "RACE WITH DEATH". I would think that would have tipped someone off at the SHOUT FACTORY that this wasn't the proper print to be releasing. I was shouting all the way through this edited mess. All four letter words - GONE. All excessive gore and spurting blood - GONE. All nudity - GONE. Yep, you don't get to see Connie Stevens in the flesh like you do in the R-Rated version. How could they have dropped the ball on this exploitation classic?!!"Trackdown" is also edited. All four letter words and excessive violence is GONE. Still worth watching because it's so damn entertaining. Also, the music score by Charles Bernstein ("Gator", "Mr. Majestyk") is excellent. Another plus - it is presented in widescreen format."Bamboo Gods" -- just avoid. You'll waste 90 minutes of your life that you'll never get back. I'd rather watch an episode of "CHIP's"."Bulletproof" is the only movie that is uncut. It has been "matted" to 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio for widescreen TV sets.All in all, a BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. I gave it only one star, that's because 0 stars wasn't available.Think twice before you buy -- or better yet, if you want to see "Bulletproof", rent it from NETFLIX.

Got it for bulletproof great 80's action movie.

can't beat a four pack for the price of one

I rated this 3 stars for the movie Track down I loved this movie could never find it on dvd, at this price this set was worth it other movies okay not familiar with them

Quality of transfer to disc is very poor.