Originally published on Set The Tape
There are a number of big names that people will think of when they think of martial arts film stars, figures like Bruce Lee, Michelle Yeoh, Jet Li, and Jackie Chan, but one name that often seems to slip through the cracks, that I’ve seen people forget about quite often, is Cynthia Rothrock.
A world champion martial artist in several different styles, she is as talented and well trained in the field of fighting as any of the aforementioned names, yet her movies never quite seemed to get the recognition they deserved, despite her being a beloved figure within the martial arts film community. Now, however, Eureka Entertainment are giving people a chance to discover a couple of her more memorable movies with this new Blu-ray release of China O’Brien and China O’Brien II.
The movies chart the story of Lori ‘China’ O’Brien (Rothrock), a tough cop in the big city who teaches martial arts in her spare time. When China if forced to shoot an armed gang member during a fight, saving her friend in the process, she’s shaken when she learns that the person she killed was a young man. Quitting the force, she leaves and heads to Beaver Creek, her old sleepy hometown. Arriving in town, she finds her father, the local sheriff, barely keeping things together thanks to an organised criminal element that has worked its way into the background of Beaver Creek, changing the once quiet town into a seedy hotbed of crime. When China’s father is killed by the local crime lord she vows to bring him and his entire organisation down, helped along the way by her childhood crush Matt (Richard Norton), and Dakota (Keith Cooke), a young man looking for revenge for the death of his mother.
China O’Brien is unusual in that it’s a Golden Harvest production made outside of Hong Kong, and feels less like a Hong Kong film and more of an American action movie from the 1980s; something done by design. It’s possible to watch through China O’Brien and be completely unaware of its unique origins, thinking that it’s in fact some low budget US production. However, for those that know the Hong Kong movie sensibilities it’s not hard to see that it’s a Golden Harvest movie, thanks to the care and attention given to the action and the fights that was often lacking in comparison in many US made movies at the time.
The main reason for the westernisation of the film came from Golden Harvest feeling like Rothrock was the key to breaking into the US market, wanting to use the fact that she was an American actor to win over western audiences. They even brought in US director Robert Clouse, who had received acclaim for directing the hit Bruce Lee film Enter the Dragon. The result is a film that mixes together both its influences nicely, feeling very American thanks to its setting and cast, yet retaining all of the best elements of Hong Kong action. And that’s where the film, and its sequel, really shine through.
Whilst the story is pretty basic, the moments when the actors get to flex their fighting abilities is where the film goes from moderately enjoyable to thoroughly entertaining. Rothrock and Cooke in particular pull of some amazing moves, and are impressive throughout, elevating many of the scenes that they’re in, with Norton putting in some decent work throughout but ending up somewhat overshadowed by his co-stars. Cooke in particular stands out when you learn that the reason his character was given a broken hand in the movie, complete with weird home-made brace as seen in the below image, was that he was suffering with a broken hand in real life at the time. Despite this, not only does he still manage to perform all of his fight scenes, but as a result he ends up relying on kicks a lot more, resulting in some pretty great fight scenes across both movies.
Interestingly, the sequel was filmed at the same time as the first movie, and China O’Brien II picks up a few years after the first movie, showing China as her hometown’s new sheriff in a Beaver Creek that has never been better. However, when a group of Vietnam soldiers turned drug-runners and criminals arrive in town looking to get revenge on one of their own who sold them out to the authorities, it puts China and her team back into the crosshairs. This second story feels a little less thought out than the first, and the set pieces during the earlier parts of the film have a little less punch than the first movie; however, the final sequence of the film features some thoroughly ridiculous and over-the-top action and moments that means the film ends up being the weaker of the two, but still entertaining and memorable in its own right.
The new two disc set from Eureka features an audio commentary for each of the movies, with Asian film expert Frank Djeng on the sequel, whilst Mike Leeder and Arne Venema tackle the first film. Each commentary does things fairly differently, with Djeng going more into the history and impact of the film, as well as the careers of those involved, whilst Leeder and Venema take a more conversational approach, and – despite some casual ableism from them at one point – their commentary makes for some easy and entertaining listening. Alongside this are select scene commentaries by Cynthia Rothrock, and a new interview with her. There’s also a new interview with Keith Cooke, and another with Richard Norton that make for informative viewing. Author Leo Hunt and filmmaker James Mudge also get an interview each, where they discuss the movies. The new release also features a collector’s booklet that features some behind the scenes writing on the films.
It’s entirely possible that you could have missed many of the films in Rothrock’s career, and if that’ the case you’ve definitely missed out. Luckily, China O’Brien is a fantastic place to start, and this new set makes for a great time.
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