BULLETPROOF MONK was released on video last Wednesday in China. But, it is dubbed in Mandarin Chinese and the only subtitle option is Chinese. By the way, the Chinese title of the movie is "Bulletproof Martial Monk", which is actually a more accurate description of Chow Yun-Fat's character.

(left) Box design of the DVD case

Cyrus Voris and Ethan Reiff, the screenwriters of BULLETPROOF MONK have sit down and talked to SCREENTALK Magazine. Click here (Beware of spoilers)

Guang Dong Face Audio & Video Production Co. Ltd., one of the video distributors of HERO, has claimed that it would release BULLETPROOF MONK on DVD and VCD in the mainland China on April 18, only two days after the North American theatrical release date. The movie will also hit the theaters in Hong Kong, Taiwan and a few others in Asia around the same time. DVDs and VCDs containing a bootlegged video shot during a test screening held in the States were found  in the market three months ago. Even though the video was in inferior quality, missing the beginning, the ending, some CG effects and audio components, MGM, the movie's distributor, and Motion Picture Association have felt very uneasy about the incident. Such simultaneous release could be the new attempt to fight piracy. Pirated video of a movie usually hits the market in Asia in less than a week after being released in theaters.

Review: CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE (Negative, Major Spoilers) by "Mr. T"

Review: BULLETPROOF MONK (Positive, Minor Spoilers) by "BTH"

Click here

According to Hong Kong Media, MGM has decided to maKe a new ending of BULLETPROOF MONK as part of the damage control. A bootlegged video shot during a screen testing in the US has been made to VCD. But the VCD, being sold as low as US$1.3, does not contain the beginning and the ending. Chow Yun-Fat is already in the States working on the film's post-production.

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Even though BULLETPROOF MONK will not be seen on the big screen until April, even though the film is still in post-production and even though shooting of a few additional scenes has just been scheduled, pirated DVD of this Chow Yun-Fat comic adaptation has hit the market in Asia. Believed to be recorded during a test screening in the US, the video is in inferior quality with the beginning and ending missing. Malay Mail reports a copy of the DVD is sold as low as US$1.3 in the street of Malaysia. According to The Hollywood Reporter, MGM has hosted "a couple of press screening without the ending to the film." According to Hong Kong's The Sun, a spokesperson of Motion Picture Association said they had started to investigate. Meanwhile, Golden Screen Cinema, the movie's distributor in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore, is currently talking with MGM over the possibility of an earlier released.

Related Story:  Pirates Capture MGM's "Monk"

The official site of BULLETPROOF MONK has gone live: click here

Thanks to "heyjey" for the tip

You know it's always fun to look for mistakes in movie trailers. See those bucket-like wheels at the Tibetan temple, when Chow Yun-Fat is receiving power from his master? They are supposed to be turned by hands, and they should always rotate clockwise (looking down), unless you want to curse someone. But in the trailer, the wheels on the right-hand side are rotating toward the wrong direction. Also, I saw the logo of Hakim Optical which is only available in Eastern Canada. The film was shot entirely in Toronto and surrounding area. The original location is New York, but after "9.11", Toronto was picked.

Shots striped from the trailer have been posted on "heyjey"'s site.

Trailer: BULLETPROOF MONK (QuickTime)

The trailer of BULLETPROOF MONK is finally online:

Trailer: BULLETPROOF MONK (QuickTime)

Review: BULLETPROOF MONK (Negative, Massive Spoilers) by 'Harvey's Third Chin'

                                               (Positive, Minor Spoilers) by Anonymous

                                               (Positive, Major Spoilers) by 'Hard Boiled Killa'

According to two of these three reviewers, they went to see a movie called "SILVER BULLET" and it turned out to be BULLETPROOF MONK. Does this mean they may change the title to "SILVER BULLET"?

Related Story: First BULLETPROOF MONK Review (Dark Horizons) October 19, 2002

The first known BULLETPROOF MONK review has been posted on Darkhorizons.com:

Review: BULLETPROOF MONK (Mixed, Minor Spoilers) by 'Remarc'

SHAOLIN SOCCER

HULK and BULLETPROOF MONK: A B

Others

From the website of Hong Kong's TVB:

(Left) Kar (Seann William Scott).

(Mid) Kar and Bad Girl (James King).

(Right) Kar and The Monk (Chow Yun-Fat) running in the street. This is a close-up of a pictures previousely posted on this site (May 23, 2002).

photos: TVB.Com