'Son of the Dragon'
(David Carradine, Rupert Graves, Desiree Stahaan, John Reardon, et al / DVD / NR / 2007 / RHI Entertainment)
Overview: An adventurous young thief has his eyes on swindling the royal court of its jewels by winning the hand of the Governor's daughter. The Princess, however, manages to convince her father to challenge all her suitors with vigorous tests. But it takes the faith of a bird, a magical flying carpet, and the mystical Fruit of Life for our hero to see the dream to an end.
DVD Verdict: The martial-arts film 'Son Of The Dragon' features the wonderful Golden Globe® Nominee David Carradine ('Kill Bill') as a thief with his eye on the royal jewels. But to do so, he must win the hand of the Governor's daughter by facing an ever more spectacular series of tests.
'Son of the Dragon' (first time on DVD) is a wild ride filled with dazzling romance, stirring action, and breathtaking suspense. Not only starring the incredible David Carradin, but allong for the journey are John Reardon ('Scary Movie 4'), Rupert Graves ('V for Vendetta'), and the rather lovely Desiree Siahaan ('Marco Polo'). This film has some of the most amazing cinematography and quite stunning special effects that I've seen in a long long time. You know, those kind of special effects that seem seamless, seem quite real ... now that's refreshing in this day and age, is it not!?
Plot wise, "Devil Boy" (Reardon) - abandoned at birth and rescued from the docks of Shanghai to grow into an adventurous young thief, steals to provide food for the street children he considers his family. Now the clever lad and his faithful companion "Bird" (Carradine) have their eyes on swindling the royal court of its jewels. The best way to do it is by winning the hand of the Governor's daughter, Princess Li Wei (Siahaan) with whom he is immediately and genuinely smitten.
As luck would have it, she's being presented with potential suitors. But there is formidable competition with the Prince of the North (Graves), who is the political choice for the Governor. The Princess, however, is secretly attracted to D.B. and manages to convince her father to challenge all her suitors with vigorous tests. It takes the faith of Bird, a magical flying carpet, and the mystical Fruit of Life for Devil Boy and Li Wei to see their dream to the end.
And for those true fans of the great man and his films, this first-time-on-DVD film is available here in an extended, full-length form and is loaded with bonus features! This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:
Getting Candid with David Caradine - An In-Depth Interview with the Martial Arts Zen Master
Epic Stories in a Fabled Land - The Making of 'Son Of The Dragon'
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