Disappointing but Has its Moments
Summary
American Expendables: The Films of North American Pictures doesn’t have much to it with only a few interesting moments featuring interviews with Cynthia Rothrock. I would have preferred people like Jalal Merhi and Billy Blanks to give some insight, but this is still an enjoyable enough one-time watch.
Plot: ETR Media is the brand new film distribution arm of Enjoy the Ride Records, a Long Island based record label, specializing in cult following reissues through a variety of genres. ETR Media releases will adhere to the same quality standards as fans have come to associate with their lavish LP reissues. Vinegar Syndrome’s sister company, OCN Distribution, is thrilled to be representing this new and unique home video line!
Review: American Expendables is a documentary that is a love letter to some of the unsung action stars of the late eighties and early nineties in the North American Pictures Catalog. It features interviews with Cynthia Rothrock, Lloyd Kaufman, John Brennan (The Last Drive-in), Debbie Rochon (Toxic Avenger IV), Tim Kulig (MacLeod) and James Richardson (VHS Massacre Too).
Directed by Thomas Seymour (VHS Massacre 1&2) American Expendables is just under an hour long and at times is a little dry but still has some interesting sound bites. Cynthia Rothrock had one of the best where she talks about how Jalal Merhi blew up his own Porsche for Tiger Claws because it would look better on film. She also talks about being pregnant while making Tiger Claws 3, which is why she had such a small role. I wish there were interviews with the likes of Jalal or Billy Blanks as I love hearing about making these lower budget action pictures.
There was an interesting discussion about diversity in movies and how it’s such a huge thing these days however, they mention that the action genre was always quite diverse especially in the straight to video movies of the 90s. The second half focuses more on Troma films with Lloyd Kaufman talking about how hard it was (and still is) to get the word out there about their movies. I haven’t seen many Troma movies myself, so admittedly I was less interested in this part of the doc.
This isn’t something I’d likely watch again but it’s enjoyable for what it is. There are a few special features which I’ll list below.
- Region Free Blu-ray
- Trailer
- Audio Commentary from the Director/Producer
- Extended Interviews with Lloyd Kaufman, Debbie Rochon
- MacLeod: There Can Be Only One – Additional 24 minute documentary
- Fountain of Death (2006) – Additional 80 minute Action film
- English subtitles
There isn’t much here but the brief clips of Kaufman discussing the effects of streaming for Troma films paints a picture about how tough it is to get your films seen these days.
Debbie Rochon is also entertaining talking about what was expected from these films where there has to be a fight scene, kill or nudity within a certain time period of a movie as that’s what’s expected from it.
There is a full feature called Fountain of Death which is black and white and 80 minutes long but one of the cooler extras.
MacLeod: There Can Be Only One is a tribute to the composer who has created a huge library of royalty-free music.
Overall, the awesome packaging may make American Expendables look like it’s going to be a documentary featuring lots of stars from 90’s action pictures but the interviews are limited. It’s still great hearing Cynthia Rothrock talk about her experiences and there are some fun discussions, but I would have liked more interviews with the likes of Jalal Merhi, Billy Blanks or Matthias Hues. Still, it’s entertaining for what we get and is worth watching once but maybe not paying the rather hefty price tag for it.