Oliver Harper, director of “In Search of the Last Action Heroes” and “Here Comes A New Challenger” has today launched the Kickstarter for his latest project “The Untold Story of No Retreat No Surrender”.
“The Untold Story of No Retreat No Surrender” will explore the story behind the 1980s cult classic, examining the mix of Hong Kong action with Western storytelling, how Kurt McKinney inspired kids and teenagers to fight back against bullies, how the world was introduced to Jean Claude Van Damme, and how it impacted the VHS generation.
According to the Kickstarter ” This documentary will detail the origins of the film, starting with the history of Seasonal Films which was setup by producer, Ng See Yeun. Ng produced many classic Hong Kong action movies and made Jackie Chan a star. He had a hand in the Bruceploitation genre directing Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth and Tower of Death (Game of Death II). Writer of No Retreat No Surrender, Keith Strandberg, explores his relationship with the famous producer with led to them working on Ring of Truth which evolved into No Retreat No Surrender – AKA Karate Tiger for European fans!
We’ll also cover the popularity of Bruce Lee and his impact on cinema, and how after his death the public were desperate for more action movies. We’ll analyse Western vs Hong Kong action and how No Retreat No Surrender broke new ground to combine these styles of filmmaking. We’ll also look at how the video format “VHS” opened the doors for many stars of the action genre, and how the excitement of visiting the rental stores introduced us to these now well regarded classics. We’ll also cover the alternative cuts to the movie, which had two different scores produced for the US and international markets, with interviews with both composers and of course the sequels!
The cast and crew will bring their own unique stories to the documentary, featuring insights you will hear for the first time.”
Check out all the details over on Kickstarter: http://kck.st/4hOD7LT
