Eureka Entertainment bring you CHINA O’BRIEN I & II, the franchise that established American martial artist Cynthia Rothrock as an international action star.
They’re presented on UK Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray (separate releases) for the first time anywhere in the world, from brand new 4K restorations as part of Eureka Classics range.
“China O’Brien I & II” is OUT TODAY via Eureka Video and Amazon!
Trailer
Cast
Cynthia Rothrock‘s success in her Hong Kong led to Golden Harvest looking to break the Western market with their latest star.
Rothrock was cast as “Officer Lori ‘China’ O’Brien”, in a co-production with American filmmakers Robert Clouse and Fred Weintraub. Rothrock broke out in Hong Kong movies such as “Yes Madam”, “Millionaires Express“, “Righting Wrongs/Above the Law”, “Magic Crystal” , “Lady Reporter” and “Inspector Wears Skirts/Top Squad“.
Following her return to her native USA, Rothrock carved out a successful career with films such as “Martial Law“, “Rage and Honour” and “Blonde Justice”. She continues to teach martial arts and appear in movies, including “The Martial Arts Kid” and the upcoming “Black Creek”.
Rothrock’s popularity in Hong Kong action films is a feat rarely replicated by other Westerners, with perhaps only her regular co-star Richard Norton coming close.
In these films he stars as “Matt Conroy”. A renowned Australian martial artist and bodyguard to popular music acts such as ABBA, David Bowie and The Rolling Stones, Norton’s close friendship with Chuck Norris led to his first film role in “The Octagon”.
Following roles in films such as “Forced Vengeance”, “Force Five”, and “Gymkata”, Norton won the admiration of the Hong Kong action teams after working with Sammo Hung on “Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars“.
As a result he would go onto work with the likes of Jackie Chan, Andy Lau and Yasuaki Kurata, in titles such as “Millionaire’s Express”, “Magic Crystal”, “City Hunter“, and “Mr Nice Guy”.
In recent years he has been a key action consultant and trainer for Hollywood blockbusters including “Mad Max: Fury Road”, “Stealth”, “The Green Hornet”, “The Amazing Spider-man”, “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” and “The Suicide Squad”. He recently reunited with his “China O’Brien” co-stars for the forthcoming action Western “Black Creek”.
Multiple martial arts world champion Keith Cooke Hirabayashi stars as “Dakota”. Having made an impressive name for himself on the martial arts tournament circuit, Cooke was recruited to star alongside his fellow competitor Cynthia Rothrock in the “China O’Brien” films.
His equally impressive onscreen physicality saw him appear in films such as “King of the Kickboxers“, “Born to Ride”, “Heatseeker”, “Mortal Kombat” and it’s sequel “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation”, and “Beverly Hills Ninja”. In recent years Cooke has focused on teaching and has trained many Hollywood stars.
Plot
China O’Brien
CHINA O’BRIEN Original 1990 Trailer
City cop and formidable martial artist Lori “China” O’Brien is forced to resign from the force and return home to a small Utah town after her involvement in an accidental death.
But upon arrival in Beaver Creek, she finds that her lawman father, Sheriff John O’Brien, is desperately trying to bring down local crime boss Edwin Sommers, and it isn’t long before she steps into the fray.
China O’Brien II
CHINA O’BRIEN II Original 1990 Trailer
Lori must once again protect her hometown when it becomes a hideout for a dangerous fugitive: the escaped drug lord Charlie Baskin
Action
China O’Brien (1990)
The opening credits intercut with Cynthia Rothrock leading a stereotypical karate class.
It’s not long before Cynthia reveals her fighting skills in a grimy alleyway fight with some thugs.
The choreography mixes Cynthia performing Aikido throws and trademark high kicks with stunt doubled Hong Kong action style acrobatic flips and tricks.
A lumberyard setting has some interesting props for Rothrock and Cooke to play with, as well as showcasing a cool, slow motion triple kick that would become something of a calling card for Keith Cooke.
CHINA O’BRIEN “Shutting down the mill” Movie clip
If it’s a rule that Eastern films must have a fight in a teahouse, it follows that a Western film must have a fight in a bar. The scene further establishes Cynthia as a no-nonsense cop, and Keith Cooke as badass leg man.
Richard Norton’s full introduction to the action is at an election rally. Alongside the kicks and punches, he also gets in some weapon work with a pole.
Keith Cooke meanwhile acrobatically flips on, off and over some cars as he beats the granny out of the bad guys.
A gym setting gives the stunt fighters lots of mats to energetically sell all the strikes they receive, as well as plenty of equipment to use as improvised weapons.
The finale features stunts, fights and gunplay as our three heroes take the heat to the bad guys.
CHINA O’BRIEN “China-geddon” Movie Clip
China O’Brien II (1990)
Our first piece of action sees Keith Cooke in scorching form as he teaches a couple of heavies a lesson for harassing a young lady.
There is a particularly cool sequence when he kicks the young lady’s car keys from the thug’s hand, takes him out with a spinning kick, and catches the keys, all in one shot!
Cynthia has a little acrobatic fun dealing with a hillbilly, but doesn’t actually properly let loose until a 4th July BBQ. As well as showing off her fine kicking skills, she also demonstrates her legendary dexterity with the bo staff.
CHINA O’BRIEN II “Fight scene at the firework display” Movie Clip
Following his capture by the bad guys, Keith Cooke gets to show that even with both hands tied behind his back, he can still kick butt!
A fight in a quarry ups the ass-kicking ante as the double act of Norton and Rothrock let loose. The action is well captured, mixing rapid fire strikes with some cool slowmo to emphasise the hard hits.
With the town under siege, Taebo pioneer Billy Blanks pops up to give Keith Cooke a hard time, whilst Cynthia goes full Rambo with her compound bow.
As his two teammates are firing off the high kicks, Richard Norton gets the best of the close quarters hand-to-hand combat.
While the lead heroes are doing their thing in the finale, there is a bizarre but entertaining sequence featuring two, synchronised, kung fu chefs kicking seven bells out of two bad guys.
Summary
These two films are an admirable attempt at fusing Hong Kong movie martial arts with the sentiment of a traditional Hollywood B-movie.
The magnificent restoration job presents both titles in pristine condition, especially the 4K UHD versions. Featuring bright, bold colours in every scene, the clean up job is especially helpful in some of the scenes set in dark locations or at night.
The package features a new interview with Cynthia Rothrock giving a lot of candid insight into the filming of both movies, including a tragic accident that occurred.
Richard Norton also appears in a new interview taken from a video podcast, talking about his martial arts, movie career and work on the China O’Brien films.
Leon Hunt gives a treatise on Fred Weintraub and Robert Clouse’s work, and how they arrived at these vehicles for Cynthia Rothrock. A new interview with Keith Cooke discusses how he got into martial arts, and subsequently movies.
CHINA O’BRIEN I + II 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Unboxing Video
In their respective interviews, all three of the leading actors talk about the possibility of reuniting for a potential “China O’Brien 3”. With their recent collaboration on the forthcoming “Black Creek”, it makes the possibility even more tantalising!
As with other recent Blu-ray releases, we not only have another pair of entertaining commentaries from Arne Venema and Mike Leeder, but also an additional one from film expert Frank Djeng.
CHINA O’BRIEN I + II 4K Two-Disc Blu-ray Unboxing Video
These are two classics that in the days of VHS rental introduced many fans to a different kind of screen fighting, many of whom would go on to seek out other Hong Kong action movies. A great revisit, especially in high definition!
Trivia
- Keith Cooke broke his hand shortly before filming commenced while riding a luge with Cynthia Rothrock. This necessitated his character being one-handed.
- Both movies were filmed back-to-back.
- Producer Fred Weintraub and director Robert Clouse had previously worked with Golden Harvest’s Raymond Chow to deliver Bruce Lee’s Western debut, “Enter the Dragon“, and Jackie Chan’s Western debut, “Battle Creek Brawl”.
- Several actors from “China O’Brien” return as completely different characters in “China O’Brien II”
China O’ Brien on 4K UHD – KUNG FU KINGDOM
