4 Film Favorites: Urban Action (4FF) (DVD)

Excellent

Everything was ok. Used for entertainment

I had may eye on these foe years, but I never bit because I was hoping for blu-ray releases. Then I thought about Three the Hard Way's subject matter, and I figured that would never come out on BD anytime soon. I also got interested in Jim Kelly films again and Black Belt Jones in particular, when I realized that there is not clean cut of this film, so I decided to bite on this set.Let me start by saying that I have never heard of Hot Potato or Black Samson, but after having watching them, i do recall having seen Hot Potato at a theater that used to run all martial arts related films for $3 for 2 or 4. I do recall the ending of Black Samson, but I believe that I was a baby in the theater. ALL films look clean and near-HD on my set up - except for the main film that I wanted - Black Belt Jones, which looked no better than a copy that you can watch online. THAT was a big disappointment, as it was not even standard home media, direct from the studio quality, it was an exact copy of what you can find online.Three the Hard Way is impossible to find online in any kind of decent quality, so I was forced to buy it. I would have preferred the TV version with the extra 15 minutes, because some portions jump over things, plus I cannot find that version anywhere. All but Jones had that cinematic look on my setup and if they don't make it to BD, they look great for what they are, I just don't understand why Jones got the bootleg treatment.The only other complaint that I might make is, on the case they were supposed to have been double sided DVD's which could mean up to 9gb per side/movie, but we get two discs with both movies on one side, which could be up to 9gb, which means less bitrate/quality per film. I am OK with it since they ended up looking good. I would have given it 5 stars if the quality of Jones matched the others.

Love all the books

I love the rare movie selections

Great price for 4 movies

I've been looking for these movies individually or combined for more than half of my adult life. It has been worth the wait. I think my movie collection is probably worth a small fortune to include the original Star Wars Trilogy on VHS in mint condition.

Four of the best 70's Blaxploitation film on two DVDs. BLACK SAMPSON is extremely rare and THREE THE HARD WAY is one of the best action films of the 70's, Blaxploitation or not. Worth purchasing at such a cheap price for those two films alone. BLACK BELT JONES and HOT POTATO (which is a comedy Blaxploitation film) are also very good, but are in a different vein than the other two films. Don't believe the "Urban Action" tag that is given here. These are 70's Blaxploitation films, plain and simple. One wonders why the PC police keep changing words and phrases because they think they are inappropriate. There is nothing wrong with calling them Blaxploitation, because that was what they were known as in the 70's.

Entretenida

Maybe these films aren't the most known in the blaxploitation genre but these are nonetheless excellent. Jim Kelly is a beast of an actor and the action in these films is just perfect. Of course, you should be prepared for cheesy 70's action but if you like the genre you like this set.

Un super rapport qualité/prix pour ce pack action movie de blaxpoitation.Le seul film que je ne connaissais pas (Black Samson) est dans la même lignée que les 3 autres autrement dit bourré d'action.Mention spéciale à "black belt Jones" ou Jim Kelly nous régale avec ses combats réglés au millimètres et ses seconds rôles savoureux.Les 3 justiciers (Three the hard way) n'est pas en reste avec en plus de Jim Kelly les costauds que sont Jim Brown et Fred Williamson pour les fusillades.Enfin "Hot potato" inédit en France à ma connaissance,met en scène des personnages de bandes déssinées dans une aventure loufoque qui sert de prétexte à de belles bagarres!Enfin,a noter la présence de sous-titres en français sur les 4 films en Zone 1 et un transfert dvd de bonne qualité.

Whether you're a fan of Jim Brown, Jim Kelly, Fred "The Hammer" Williamson or Blaxploitation films in general; the Urban Action Collection has something for everyone. The 1970's gave rise to the Blaxploitation film genre and thanks to Warner Home Video we can now enjoy some of these classic films through the first legitimate DVD release from a major studio like Warner Home Video.Fans of "Black Belt Jones" and "Three the Hard Way" can finally throw away those crappy bootlegs because the film prints used by Warner Home Video in this collection are outstanding to say the least. Either the prints were in excellent condition to begin with or Warner Bros spent some money to clean them up, because I've never seen these films look and sound so good.The Urban Action Collection consists of 4 films on two single sided discs, that's right no double sided discs to fumble with. You get two movies per disc and all four films are in their 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio and the picture and sound quality are excellent. Fans of these films will rejoice in what they see and hear the moment they press the play button on their remote.I expected these films would be riddled with tons of grain and plagued with sound problems, but that definitely wasn't the case. The prints used are fantastic, the picture is sharp and the colors are really vibrant. These films looked and sounded great on my 50" Panasonic Plasma, the only thing I would have changed would be the sound options. Three of the four films should have been in 5.1 Digital Dolby or at least stereo given their funky soundtracks.Film Breakdown:(Black Belt Jones)The Mob want to buy a local karate studio in a city area planned for redevelopment. They enlist the aide of a local thug named "Pinky" and his henchmen to force the owner into selling. After they accidentally kill him, the karate students call on their number one kung-fu expert, "Black Belt Jones" to even the score.(Hot Potato)A really weak sequel to 1974's "Black Belt Jones". Jim Kelly reprises his role as US government agent/contractor named Jones. This time around Jones travels to Thailand to rescue the daughter of a southern U.S. senator, who is being held by a crime lord named Rangoon.(Black Samson)These streets belong to Samson! A local nightclub owner Samson does everything he can to keep his neighborhood clean of crime, corruption and drugs. When a local mobster named Johnny Nappa played by William Smith tries to take over Samson's turf, Samson the staff wielding hero takes a stand against Nappa and his hoods to save his girl and the neighborhood once and for all.(Three the Hard Way)A white supremist named Monroe Feather plots to taint the United States water supply in several US cities with a toxin that is harmless to whites but lethal to black people. Standing in Monroe Feathers way are Jimmy Lait, Jagger Daniels and Mister Keyes, who'll stop at nothing to bring down Monroe feathers and his supremist organization for good.

Contrary to the information above, this item contains not one disk, but two DVDs. Contrary to the information on the packaging, the DVDs are not double-sided, but single-sided disks. There are no extras (just English or French subtitles for all films), but picture and sound quality for all four films is pretty good.These films aren't masterpieces, but they are all entertaining (albeit sometimes for the wrong reasons). So if bad dudes with bad clothes and bad haircuts doing bad martial arts is your thing (and you don't mind a fair amount of bad dialogue and bad acting), this item should make you happy.