Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it another half-arsed Wong Jing movie? Nope, thankfully its just the second edition of the DDUK mailbag! Once again, we have cast aside the confines of our busy day-to-day schedules (or you could replace "busy" with "boring") to sit down and answer a few of your personal quandaries. If you would like to feature in a future mailbag then we'd love to hear from you so just click on our Contact Us page and hit that submit button! Right, time to shut up and pass things over to Scott...

APRIL 2007

This month your questions will be answered by : Scott "The Dirty Tiger" Napier

Q.  My wish is to meet Jackie Chan before I die or even get an autograph, if there's any way you can get me one I would be very grateful thanks - T Volney

A.  Whilst we can't help you, you should look around on the likes of Ebay and competitions. However, watch out for fakes - do your homework first!

Q.  I have a number of books, magazines and posters of both Jackie Chan and Jet Li from the early eighties. Is there anywhere I can find out how much they might be worth. Alternatively are there any collectors sites that may be able to give me a steer on them. - Dean Jones

A.  I have no idea Dean. Maybe post on some forums, look on Ebay for quotes (if any are being sold) and find out the latest on the company, that kind of thing.

Q.  Say your prayers and lock your doors, The Ghouligans are living next door! The Ghouligans (www.theghouligans.com) is a classic horror comedy show following four manic monsters and their mad adventures living in suburbia. A modern day spook, with classic horror creeps. Get up and get down with The Ghouligans! - Boris

A.  I'm not actually scared of the whole horror concept, but more how the Ghouligans made it through our 'no-email-address' contact form! Think I'll pass... and set the junk-mail filter a TAD higher... and keep the doors locked... and say my prayers.

Q.  Do you know if there is a magazine available that is dedicated to Asian cinema? Since Eastern Heroes stopped publication I have been desperate to find anything similar. Thanks - Rob

A.  The UK get Jade Screen and Impact - they both do Asian cinema.

Q.  What is the difference between the Iron Monkey versions (1993). I don't have an all region player and which is my best option and why? All info you can provide will be appreciated - Vladimir 

A.  It depends on what region your player is locked on. Region-free players are cheap nowadays - you might be able to find a code to unlock your current one! If you manage that, all DVDs in the market have some kind of advantage, but I'll list them all so you can choose the right one for you:

HKL DVDs (both 'Special' and 'Platinum' editions) - Have the best extras and superior subtitles available (somewhat muffled remixes and no mono).

Miramax DVD - Has the best image (cut, dubtitled and altered soundtracks, no mono).

IVL - Has the original Cantonese in mono - can't confirm if it's a downmix however (poor image/subtitles).

Deltamac - Has genuine mono (poor image/subtitles).

The only (supposedly) region-free DVD with Cantonese/English subtitles, in widescreen and with somewhat decent quality, is the Mega Star version. I recommend you avoid it as there are far better options, providing you can get past the region barrier.

Q.  The quality of your reviews is much better than the large majority of competing sites. An excellent example of this is Phil Mills's review of "Eastern Condors." Some other sites downgrade this exceptional film - I suppose because it isn't exactly the film the reviewer would have made - but Mr. Mills recognizes that it accomplishes what Sammo Hung was attempting, and is an entirely satisfying film. This is fairly typical of the standard level of your reviews: Very well done! - Jeffrey

A.  Thank you very much Jeff.  'Eastern Condors' for the majority of  'Dai-Gaw-Dai' (Sammo's nick name 'Big Brother Big') fans, is an absolute classic. His duties as an action choreographer are masterclass, no doubt about it. With regards to the DDUK review, I suppose it's because we're more 'exclusive' to the genre (compared to the mainstream lot who tend to be more used to the values of a Hollywood feature).

Q.  With the contacts you guys have with martial art movie stars would you be able to set up an autographed photo site? Theres a site called Bondstars.com which sells signed photos from the 007 franchise. They exclusively contract these stars for their signature. I would love a signed photo from Leung Kar Yan or Philip Ko. They get paid, you get paid and for once us Kung Fu fans get some decent memorabilia. Is it possible? All the best - Lee

A.  Hi Lee. We do have contacts to a few (hence, for example; the interviews they kindly spared some of their time to do), but we don't feel it would be very suitable to set up such a site, as we're only doing it as a personal hobby in our spare time. 

(Of course if anyone has the funds, the contacts, and a big fat wage packet for me then I'm on this one today! - Phil)

Q.  I want to get the movie Happy Ghost III on the megastar release? the megastar release has the English dub but is out of print! - Kenneth

A.  Kenneth, had a search around but unfortunately to no avail :(

Previous Mailbags: March 2007