David Carradine on DVD: 6 touchstones

The sad and awful death of cool-guy David Carradine comes with a bit of irony.

Throughout his career, Carradine played wise and disciplined men who'd learned the ways of life and transcended them.

 This dates back, of course, to his early days of fame as "Kung Fu's" Kwai Chang Caine, a seeker and purveyor of knowledge from spiritual planes. That 1970s TV series steered many a baby boomer toward the martial arts and Eastern philosophy.

Carradine said he felt his career was "like a mission. A holy one." His next film job had him playing a priest.

This week we learned that Carradine was plenty mortal, as he was found dead with a rope around his neck in a Bangkok hotel room. He's being mourned by pretty much everyone with a love of action and genre movies.

Carradine made many films, more than 100 -- some quite good, others not so good. We forgave the stinkers and we dug that funny yellow pages TV ad.

Carradine's longtime interests in Eastern thought, spirituality and martial arts led many to incorrectly assume he was part Asian (like the Caine character). He made tai chi instructional DVDs. This all made him a go-to guy for Eastern martial arts directors in need of a marketable U.S. actor and some instant gravitas.

He was 72 and by most accounts a happy man. He died with six movies in post-production.

Here's a look at a half dozen Carradine touchstones, along with what's what on the DVDs/Blu-rays.

Circle of Iron: Bruce Lee wrote this strange piece of business but was unable to get it made. After the martial arts superstar died, the project resurfaced with Carradine in the Lee role(s). Jeff Cooper ("Dallas") plays a young warrior on a quest to find a legendary book. Standing in the way is Carradine, who pops up in four roles, including Death. The actor shows off his new martial arts chops and remains the reason to see the movie. "Circle of Iron" reached out to martial artists and lightweight seekers, but ended up playing to stoners, who appreciated its persistent weirdness. Don't miss Eli Wallach as a man forever sitting in a vat of oil, in hopes of soaking off his dick. Blue Underground released this oddity on Blu-ray only a few weeks ago, following up on its DVD from a few years back. Carradine participates in the extras, which stretch over two hours.

Kung Fu: Nostalgia is a key ingredient for appreciation of this seminal but quite dated series. Much of the appeal back in the early '70s was the novelty of its Eastern set-up and themes. ABC's "Kung Fu" came out before "Enter the Dragon." There are some outstanding episodes that stand the test of time, however. In 2007, Warner Home Video released "Kung Fu: The Complete Series Collection." Individual seasons came out on DVD in 2004 and 2005. The images and audio appear the same in all releases. Savvy fans howled about the cropping of season 1in order to simulate widescreen. Warner got the message and the two remaining seasons came full-screen. Carradine did a few commentaries for the DVDs. Decent featurettes, including one about the actor's trip to China, where he played his flute on the Great Wall. "Kung Fu" guest stars included David Carradine's dad, the great John Carradine.

Kill Bill 1 & 2: Quentin Tarrantino name-checked "Kung Fu" in "Pulp Fiction" and then went to the source for his two-part pop-art martial arts epic. Carradine plays the titular Bill, a wealthy and self-actualized villain who runs a squad of femme fatale assassins. His protege and ex-squeeze, Uma Thurman, returns from the near-dead with revenge on her mind. Her shopping list of people to kill lists Bill as the main event. Carradine does most of his work in the second film, delivering long speeches originally written for Warren Beatty. The film gave Carradine a late-career supercharge of hip, which lasted until his death. The "Kill Bill" Blu-rays came out via Miramax last fall. The DVDs date back to  2004. 

The Long Riders: Westerns were way out of fashion when Walter Hill directed this tale of the James Gang. It came out in 1980, the same year as the hugely costly flop "Heaven's Gate." Hill and his acting buddies showed 'em how it's done, cranking out a better western for a lot less money. The movie had heart and humor. The gunfights were messy, scary and loud. The hook was that four clans of acting brothers played the outlaw anti-heroes: three Carradines and two each from the Quaid, Keach and Guest families. David Carradine was livewire Cole Younger, who gets into a whopper of a knife fight thanks to Belle Starr. "The Long Riders" DVD came out in 2001, from MGM, and its only extra feature was a trailer. Time for a Blu-ray special edition of this influential but rarely screened western.

Boxcar Bertha and Bound for Glory: Both available on older MGM DVDs that lack extras. "Boxcar Bertha" (1972) captures Carradine and real-life lover Barbara Hershey as Bonnie and Clyde-like robbers in the Depression-era South. Carradine does a great job as a union organizer turned jaded and larcenous. Hershey has done better work, but the beauty all-star sheds her duds with frequency. Notable as the big-screen debut of director Martin Scorsese, working cheap for Roger Corman. "Boxcar Bertha" was included in the "The Martin Scorsese Film Collection" (MGM, 2005) and came out solo with upgraded a/v in 2002. "Bound for Glory" (1976) is perhaps Carradine's most highly regarded performance, as folk icon Woody Guthrie. Hal Ashby directed. Word on the street is the transfer is junk. (MGM's films are in better hands these days.) 

Also ... Roger Corman got his hands on Carradine again in 1975, for the B-movie classic "Death Race 2000." The movie came out on DVD as part of a Corman series in 2005, via Buena Vista.

Comments

[Tobamel]

so many Kung Fu fans (such as myself) wanted to grow up to be like David Carradine