Ranked: The Seasonal 7
Seasonal Greetings Action Fanatics!
I say “Seasonal Greetings” because this edition of Ranked will pay tribute to the Seasonal Film Corporation and more specifically the 7 movies Seasonal Films produced for American audiences beginning in 1985. But first a little background…
The Seasonal Film Corporation was a Hong Kong independent film company founded in 1974 by Ng See-Yuen after he left his post at Shaw Brothers. Seasonal Films quickly got in on the mid-70s Bruceploitation craze with the release of 1974’s Call Me Dragon starring Bruce Leung, but Seasonal would really put the Hong Kong movie world on notice with the release of 1976’s Secret Rivals starring John Liu and Don Wong.
From there Seasonal would go on to work with Jackie Chan on two of his earliest hits, Drunken Master and Snake in the Eagle‘s Shadow. And Seasonal’s first bit of expansion would come in the form of 1982’s Ninja in the Dragon’s Den starring Hiroyuki Sanada and Conan Lee. But the Seasonal expansion would continue…
Ng See-Yuen made the decision to branch out and make movies for the lucrative American market and he did that with the help of writer Keith W. Strandberg. When it was all said and done, Seasonal had produced 7 films for the American market and today we will countdown those 7 films and I say we, because I am not doing this alone. I am joined by fellow members of the Bulletproof Action staff, Matt Spector, Chris DePetrillo and Chad Cruise and two special guests…
- Paul London: Actor and professional wrestler Paul London doesn’t just bring the perspective of someone who has performed in front of a camera to this countdown, he is also an action movie enthusiast, who holds the Seasonal 7 near and dear to his heart.
- Mike Leeder: An action movie historian and a fixture in the Hong Kong movie scene for decades, Big Mike has worked with some of the biggest names in action entertainment in front of and behind the camera over the course of his illustrious career. And Mike’s personal connection to some of the major players in Seasonal history and his behind the scenes knowledge was invaluable for this project.
Now on to the countdown…
Chris The Brain: Drew Carson’s world is turned upside down when not only does he suffer a humiliating loss at the hands (and feet) of champion kickboxer Trevor Gottitall (awesome name), he finds out his sensei, Master Kwan (awesome IMDb picture), was lying about being a Shaolin monk. This would be enough for many to call it quits, but not Drew Carson… he does the unthinkable, he goes to China with intentions of becoming a Shaolin monk himself… an American Shaolin!??!
American Shaolin may have the most heart of any of the Seasonal 7 and you can’t help but get behind the likable Drew Carson (played by the equally likable Reese Madigan in his one and only action role) as he does what no American has done before him. The journey Drew embarks on is not without its challenges including Gao (played by Daniel Dae Kim in his feature film debut) a fellow student who is offended that an American has been allowed to train at the sacred Shaolin Temple and a no nonsense “drill sergeant” played by Cliff Lenderman, who isn’t going to put up with any of Drew’s tomfoolery and the man who puts Drew and the rest of the prospective monks through their paces.
I for one am glad that Drew Carson did not have an easy path to becoming a Shaolin monk, because then Drew would have never experienced (and by proxy the audience would have never experienced) The Shaolin Temple Blues!
Matt Spector: Superfights came towards the end of Seasonal Film’s Hollywood dalliance, which probably explains why they went the route of a professional wrestling style fight promotion filled with the steroids and mind control… filmed in Harrisburg, PA. I wouldn’t have it any other way, except for the Harrisburg part. Superfights has Jack Cody joining the promotion only to realize that it is not the pure fight league and is really a base of illegal operations for the head of Superfights Robert Sawyer. Filled with a who’s who and who’s that of Seasonal favorites and fighters, Superfights packs the mid 90s goodness and bright colors and attitudes into a fun (and at times violent) package. Jack Cody was actor Brandon Gaines only role, which is a shame because he was perfect as the rookie fighter, but his has gone on to a career to help people so good on him. However, Keith Vitali’s Sawyer steals the show for me. I have always enjoyed Keith Vitali, but evil Keith Vitali is peak Keith Vitali. Seasonal Films is no slouch when it comes to music, but for my money, “Superfighter” is one of the greatest end credit songs in any action movie. The best way to sum up Superfights is the same way Thornton Melon would characterize it, Superfights is… super!
Chad Cruise: Making sequels can be very hard when your material has absolutely nothing to do with the film that launched the franchise. In the case of No Retreat, No Surrender 2: Raging Thunder, however, that has little to no effect in the enjoyment of the final product. Seasonal Films had a very specific type of film that it made and it’s debatable of its success in making truly memorable films but to those of us who grew up watching and adoring these types of movies it is clear that Seasonal has left a serious imprint on our collective memory.
Considering the star power in the action genre during the 1980’s, one might not expect a man like Loren Avedon to establish himself. He wasn’t a hulking mass of muscle like Arnie, he didn’t have the championship pedigree of a Chuck Norris, and he wasn’t bringing along with him an Oscar from a previous film like Sly. The tools that made Avedon a success related to his scrappiness and ability to deliver a killer fight scene. Much like Seasonal Films itself, Avedon knew his limitations and did what he could to stand out.
But Avedon wasn’t the only rookie on set, Matthias Hues had no acting experience OR martial arts experience, but did have an undeniable screen presence landing him the gig as Yuri the Russian. Both Avedon and Hues benefitted greatly from the experienced crew and the acting and action experiences of co-stars Max Thayer and Cynthia Rothrock.
No Retreat, No Surrender 2 is the kind of film that stands out to me now more than ever because it doesn’t attempt to be anything more than the type of movie that blows up canvas tents and feeds men to crocodiles. Like it or not, it’s pure Seasonal Films and I love it!
Mike Leeder: Seasonal Films and their output will always hold a special place in my heart, it was a double bill of Seasonal Films with Jackie Chan in Snake in the Eagles Shadow and Drunken Master one afternoon on betamax when myself and a couple of friends excused ourselves from school that kickstarted my love for Hong Kong & martial arts cinema that lead to me making the move to the former crown colony some 30 + years ago, while a screening of No Retreat, No Surrender gave English language martial arts movie making a much needed kick in the face and introduced the world and me to a Belgium superkicker named Jean-Claude Van Damme who not only helped define martial arts movie making for a new generation, but would also become a valued friend and mentor. While their until now final English language martial arts movie Bloodmoon holds a very special place, as it starred one of my closest friends, the late great Darren Shahlavi and helped launch his career.
It was late spring 1997 and Hong Kong was in the midst of handover fever and pretty much every western actor and martial artist in town was working on Tsui Hark’s second collaboration with that Jean-Claude Van Damme, Knock Off. While my flat mate and brother in arms Mike Miller was playing one of the villains alongside another friend Jeff Wolfe, the blonde fury Kim Penn was working on it, everyone was working on it, except me! I had got fired following a misunderstanding with one of the AD’s, and was in something of a grumpy bastard mood.
I got a message on my pager, those were the days from a very good friend and fellow British actor Darren Shahlavi letting me know he was back in town and asking me if I would be up for catching up at a screening of the movie he had just made, a movie starring Gary Daniels, Chuck Jeffries and himself called Bloodmoon, made by Seasonal Films. Now Darren and myself had first met in the UK, a shared love for martial art movies had brought us together and we later found out we shared the same birthday and a dream to go to Hong Kong and try and make movies out there. What had seemed like an illusive dream back in the UK had become a reality, and we’d both ended up in HK where we’d shared many an adventure, worked together on a couple of movies including Sixty Million Dollar Man with Stephen Chow where we had been promised major roles, shot one night and then got told that was it, and the promise of additional days had just been to get us to turn up. The last year or so had seen Darren in and out of town, he had secured a major role as a villain in Yuen Woo-ping’s Tai Chi 2/Tai Chi Boxer opposite a young Wushu maestro named Wu Jing, Christy Chung, Sibelle Hu and Billy Chow. They’d been happy with what he did and his role had been enlarged and he had a very impressive final fight with the Wu man that was getting him a lot of attention in Hong Kong. We had both been supposed to work on Gordon Chan’s The First Option as western bad guys but my role got cut and he’d been offered the chance to play the villain in what was then being referred to by Seasonal Films as another No Retreat No Surrender movie, and had jumped at the chance. He’d shot the movie in the States, and we’d exchanged faxes and letters (those were the days!) but this was his first time back in Hong Kong so was looking forward to a catch up and to see the movie.
We caught up at a screening room in Kwun Tong, Darren was in fine form and excited for me, Mike Miller and Kim to all join him for the screening and give us out feedback. We sat down, the lights darkened and the Seasonal logo popped up and we watched 90 plus minutes of martial arts mayhem helmed by Tony Leung, with Darren literally stealing the show as the bewigged somewhat operatic villain (I think Darren would agree that there were some broad acting moments to say the least!) but he held his own in the dramatic scenes and made the character pop, and stole the show from both Gary and Chuck with regards to the action in my opinion. In Tai Chi 2, he’d got some nice moments but Bloodmoon is a great showcase for what Darren had in his arsenal, as he battles everyone from Hakim the Machine Alston, Rob Van Dam and several bouts with Gary D & Chuck including the epic finale which is pretty much a solid 10-15 minutes of high impact martial artistry from all involved. I think all of us at the screening had a similar opinion, we loved the action, Darren really stole the show and i think we all wished we could have got a showcase like that.
Darren seemed happy we liked it, but it wasn’t until a few months later during the shooting of Techno Warrior in the Philippines, when we caught Bloodmoon with a most vocal and enthusiastic audience that he really seemed to accept that he’d done a good job, and the double bill of it and gave him his first springboard into international movie making, and a few years later I was able to cast him for Ip Man 2 to battle Donnie Yen and his career took another giant step forward, and he would appear in co-starring roles with Steven Seagal, headline a cool Aladdin project for sci-fi channel, co-star in the Kickboxer remake and battle Jean-Claude Van Damme in Pound of Flesh. And yes, me producing and him starring alongside JCVD in a movie had us flashing back to the No Retreat No Surrender days many a time, often to JC’s bemusement . Sadly in early 2015, Darren passed away and left behind a legacy of martial arts movie making which people continue to enjoy. We’d always talked about doing a special edition release of Bloodmoon, but for some reason it and Superfights seem to be two of the Seasonal Films that never really got the attention or release they should have. So tonight, shall crank up the projector and put on the laserdisc and watch Darren S letting loose Seasonal Style!
Chris The Brain: Much like Cannon’s “Ninja Trilogy”, Seasonal Films’ “No Retreat, No Surrender Trilogy” shared zero continuity from film to film with all three movies presenting stand alone stories. No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers tells a classic tale of sibling rivalry and how those siblings must come together to thwart the assassination of President George H.W. Bush at the Tampa International Airport by the same extremists who killed their father.
Blood Brothers is my personal favorite of The Seasonal 7 thanks in large part to three standout scenes… First may be the may be the most obvious, the big action finale in the airport hangar with Casey Alexander (Keith Vitali) and Will Alexander (Loren Avedon) squaring off with the unforgettable Franco (Rion Hunter) and that no good turncoat Atterton (Luke Askew). The fight choreography here is what you’d expect from a Seasonal Film complete with a big scaffold fall that’s always a highlight for me… Second, there’s the faux fight between Casey and Will after Will has infiltrated the extremist organization and has to prove his loyalty by killing Casey. Maybe it is my long time love of professional wrestling and staged fights, but this scene resonates with me and I love Vitali hamming it up… Last but not least, is my absolute favorite scene and one that I have rewound more times than I can count, the home invasion and murder of the patriarch of the Alexander family, John Alexander (Joe Campanella) by Franco and his henchmen. The kick that sends John Alexander through a door, over a balcony railing and down to the in-ground pool below is a thing of beauty and I have to give major props to Campanella’s stunt double… And as a bonus we get to see Loren Avedon do what he does better than any action star I have ever seen and that is EMOTE! Will Alexander’s reaction to his father’s death is emoting to the highest degree.
Chris DePetrillo: We’ve got a film where Jean-Claude Van Damme is playing an evil Russian and a possibly deranged young man believes he is being trained by the ghost of Bruce Lee. What’s not to love about No Retreat, No Surrender? I mean, you’re looking at the guy who named his column here at Bulletproof Action after the film! Sure, in some circles it may be looked down upon for being a knockoff of The Karate Kid, but No Retreat, No Surrender has it’s own special charm. In wrestling terms, the character of Jason Stillwell is an excellent fiery babyface, refusing to become a sad sack like his dad by going on a spiritual journey that takes him to an abandoned house where he is mentored by the specter of his idol. With renewed confidence and enhanced skills, he saves his dad from drunken townies, gets the girl, and prevents the syndicate’s takeover of all things karate. We get breakdancing best friends, training montages, Van Damme being a badass, and Kurt McKinney as a hero you want to root for. Out of all of Seasonal’s releases on American soil, I believe this is the best one by far. It’s a film that I’ve loved since childhood, and my affinity for it is something I now share with my son. Although I own both the American and international cuts, for the best No Retreat, No Surrender experience the US version is the one you’ll want to watch.
Paul London: When presented with the opportunity to contribute to the Seasonal 7, without hesitation I lobbied for 1990’s The King of the Kickboxers. Unquestionably one of the greatest martial arts films ever made, The King of The Kickboxers is a piece of cinematic martial arts beauty.
Shot entirely in Thailand (where most of the story is set), The King of the Kickboxers is as epic a “revenge movie” as there is. Opening on championship contender Sean Donahue (Michael DePasquale Jr.) in the midst of his championship fight, his younger brother Jake is ringside photographing his older brother who is clearly his hero. And just like that, Sean knocks out his Thai adversary and is proclaimed the heavyweight champion of Thailand! As Sean and Jake celebrate on their way back to the hotel, they are stopped by a motorcycle gang of thugs and attacked. Sean defends them as any honorable brother would until he is met by the evil Khan (Billy Blanks pre-Tae Bo & pre-Lionheart cameo) who fires at Sean with a machine gun. Sean dives and rolls out of gunfire proving he is just as skilled a tumbler as he is fighter and holds his ground. Incensed that Sean won the fight, Khan implies that the American was to take the dive since he “is not Thai!” and proceeds to ruthlessly pummel Sean with sheer brutality including his signature jumping sandwich double kick to the head followed up with a jumping double stomp kick to the chest (think early Bret Hart style dropkick except landing on his feet without falling to his back) killing Sean as he falls to the sand, eyes open (always a favorite of mine). With less than 5 minutes of screen time, Michael Depasquale Jr. shows that not only is he an acclaimed martial artists, but also a very likeable and talented actor who makes the “murdered older brother” role easy to feel a sense of loss and sadness over. Depasquale Jr. is a real life Jujitsu master as well as the editor/publisher of Karate International Magazine. He is also the founder of the Action Film Academy which I was grateful to attend in 2005 (at the recommendation of Seasonal alum, Rob Van Dam). Anyways, back to the movie and older brother Sean has just been murdered…
Enraged at what he has just witnessed, young Jake yells and attacks Khan, but he is clearly no match for the Thai gangster who kicks Jake within an inch of his life leaving him scarred on his face and unconscious in the sand. We then fast forward 10 years to present day Jake who is NYC’s finest undercover cop. Modern day Jake is played by the amazing Loren Avedon in what would be his last picture with Seasonal. I am a HUGE Loren Avedon fan and still to this day believe he would be able to carry his own with any of the modern day action stars. Can we PLEASE get a Scott Adkins/Loren Avedon buddy cop action film??? Or a heel Loren Avedon vs Michael Jai White revenge movie??? Is this too much to ask?? Standing at a near 6’4″, Avedon displays his mastery of Tae Kwon Do with such fluidity in part because of his lengthy limbs and athletic frame. Never a “body guy”, Avedon’s athletic and believable frame makes him relatable for the viewer while bringing a slightly charming yet smug charisma that’s easy to root for. He is perfectly cast as the protagonist and offers an ability to emote unlike most martial arts stars who generally come off as wooden with forced emotion.
It is with said smug charisma where we are introduced to present day Jake Donahue as he is infiltrating a local NYC drug syndicate lead by the incredible Jerry “Golden Boy” Trimble (character aptly named “drug dealer”). How badass is Jake Donahue you ask? Well, Jake is so badass and confident that the cocksure cop not only admits to being a cop, he also let’s his backup team know that he won’t be needing them while removing his wire! Another short yet brilliantly action packed fight scene busts out, this time between Avedon and Trimble (and his gang) in a warehouse which also includes an Avedon standing suplex into some convenient wooden crates at around the 11:45 mark of this fast moving classic. Also getting less than 5 mins of screen time, Jerry Trimble is able to display not only his world champion kickboxing skills (the guy is a true badass, look him up), but also a comedic bad guy presence in one of his earlier roles after retiring from full contact competition.
So now we are back at the department where Jake is getting an earful from the Captain (Richard Jaeckel, Sands of Iwo Jima) for going against protocol and doing things “his way”. Knowing full well that Jake is his best cop, the Captain assigns Jake a new undercover mission to take down an underground group of “snuff” filmmakers… in Thailand! Hotheaded Jake refuses insisting he isn’t going to Thailand, but takes the file home regardless. Back at his apartment with his golden retriever Jackson, Jake pops in the VHS tape given to him to see what the case is all about. Funny enough, a split second clip from Seasonal’s No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers pops up (Keith Vitali cameo) followed by some low-fi tracking and then footage of the hardcore “snuff” pictures Jake’s tasked with bringing down…but that’s not all. A familiar face appears on screen. Wait a second…*Jim Ross voice* IT’S KHAN!!! IT’S KHAAAANNNN!!!!
Flashback in full effect, Jake immediately recognizes the jacked bastard who murdered his older brother a decade prior and left Jake a scarred man (figuratively AND literally) prompting Avedon to hit his first of several full on emotes as Jake screams into the shadows. Revenge plot set.
Jake travels to Thailand where he casually meets American correspondent Anderson (Don Stroud) who attempts to keep Jake in line and by the book to which Jake says he’ll do things “his way” (how else) in a thanks-but-no-thanks kinda way and off he goes. We see Jake dressed in full Miami Vice wear (he’s undercover remember) as he checks out the local scenery until he comes upon a Thaiboxing gym (not in Miami Vice wear) where he challenges and easily defeats several of their fighters before being asked to leave. Jake appears to be getting a taste for what he thinks he’s up against while secretly searching for Khan and this does not go unnoticed by one of the fighters at the gym.
Meanwhile we see a some “snuff” scenes being shot, which includes a super quick fight between Khan and the production’s latest victim (after realizing he’s been set up) which may be the only time opposing forces were BOTH WEARING PAINTERS COVERALLS. A hook chain to the throat (edited out of the international release of King of the Kickboxers aka Karate Tiger 4) and we’re back to Jake’s search for Khan.
During this time, Jake gets his butt kicked by the mysterious onlooker from the Muay Thai gym who warns Jake that Khan will destroy him. Not out to kill Jake, instead he refers him to the masterful Prang who resides deep in the swamp forest. If Jake is to stand any chance at defeating Khan, it will be thru Prang’s teaching and guidance.
This is where we are introduced to the lightning quick martial arts master Keith Cooke, who plays the mysterious hermit Prang. Keith Cooke is one of the greatest martial artists in cinema history who now works behind the camera as a fight choreographer and coach. To list his full amount of accolades and achievements would require a completely separate story and I know this one is running long already. Cooke is an absolute joy to watch in action and while Tony Leung lead the fight chorography in King of the Kickboxers it was Cory Yuen who choreographed the scene where Prang rescues Jake outside Prang’s hut. This fight scene shows Keith Cooke executing SEVERAL JUMPING TRIPLE KICKS to various members of the insanely talented Chinese stunt/fight team who truly are the unsung heroes of the movie. This is where we first see Prang in action and where he reveals that he IS Prang and not the sloppy drunk he disguises himself as.
With his pet monkey by his side, Prang (after some slight reluctance) agrees to train Jake HIS way. In Prang’s backstory, he reveals that he nearly defeated Khan but lost due to a lapse in focus. So it only makes sense that Jake train under Prang’s mentoring and unique training style. This is full on martial-arts-training-montage-in-the-jungle glory! It is during this montage that we see Prang has a training counter for Khans head-sandwich-double-chest-kick combo. Avedon’s display of flexibility is also magnificently displayed in a sequence where he executes front splits across two floating rafts bringing himself up to standing strictly off his leg/hip/core strength, it is truly an incredible feat)!
During all this we also see moments of Jake catching the attention of the “snuff” producers who are now looking to add more dire emotion to their “productions” (as if killing didn’t already do that) and they offer Jake $20k to “star” in their next film. We are also introduced to a female “love interest” named Molly (Sherri Rose) who previously escaped Khan’s advances after he chose her from a selection of “gifts” offered up by his evil production cohorts. Molly finds her way to Prang’s hut to spend the night with Jake before he is to report to the “set” for his first day after being hired by Khan’s production pals.
Which brings us to THE MAIN EVENT!!! The “film set” is a glorious construction of several platforms encaged within a bamboo structure similar in appearance to Mad Max’s ‘Thunderdome’. And it’s completely in camera. There are no tricks, no green screens, and thankfully no CGI (remember this is 1990!) Jake Donahue knows he is facing the fight of his life, he knows these phoney filmmakers are evil bastards working with Khan and planning on killing him and Jake…is ready. What Jake DOESNT know, is that both Molly and Prang were brutally kidnapped in order to up the stakes. Sadly we also witness Prang’s lifeless body tossed down into the pit upon Khans entrance. As for Molly? She gets the C-3PO treatment and is strung up in a net held above the fighting arena screaming for Jake to save her.
Now, keep in mind that both Loren Avedon and Billy Blanks are at the top of their game here. There are no wires, there are no gimmicks, no riggings. And from what I understand the ONLY time a double was used was during hard falls as well as the sequence involving spears. Speaking of spears, according to various interviews with Loren Avedon he mentions how he had to ask production to remove actual sharpened spears that were placed around the platforms in the pit, as one slip up or trip would have clearly been disastrous and likely fatal! Talk about “snuff” film come to life!
As for the fighting itself? Nothing, to this day, even comes close. To attempt to give a play-by-play would be a complete disservice. It is a masterful display of martial arts technique and choreography in which I fully believe could never be replicated without the use of wires and several sets of stunt doubles. It is as incredible and beautiful as I can imagine. It’s damn near perfect. In terms of martial arts amazement I would put it only behind Jackie Chan and Benny “The Jet” Urquidez’s fight from Wheels on Meals. It’s THAT INCREDIBLE! Loren Avedon lists it as his favorite film fight he’s ever done and had this to say about it to CityOnFire: “That took two weeks to shoot and just about every part of my body was bruised or battered, cut or scraped. Imagine fighting 4 different karate tournaments in one day, round robin all the way to Gold medal; then doing it again, and again, and again… for 14 hours a day, 6 days a week in 100 degree heat with costume, smoke and plenty of impact. Talk about a character building experience!”
In the end, Jake defeats Khan killing him in bloody fashion and avenging the deaths of his brother Sean, and his mentor/friend Prang. And he gets the girl. It is the wrapped bow on a perfectly delivered “revenge movie” gift. The King of The Kickboxers is my undisputed No. 1 of The Seasonal 7 and I will fight ANYONE (to the death of course) in a bamboo Thunderdome who thinks otherwise!
