Albert Pyun’s homage to John Woo, Mean Guns, makes its Blu-ray debut thanks to MVD Entertainment. Their Rewind Collection of the cult classic in waiting is filled to the brim with special features.
The Film
Albert Pyun like Rodney Dangerfield gets no respect.
He should.
Pyun takes micro-budgets and turns them deftly into elevated B-movie cult classics. The Sword and the Sorcerer, Cyborg, and Nemesis all legit B-Movie bangers, as the kids say. You can add Mean Guns to that list of bangers as this action free-for-all is as clever a story as it is an ingenious use of a location and limited restrictions to conjure something adroitly entertaining.
Crime Boss Vincent Moon (Ice-T) needs to clean his house, which is filled with double crossers and rats. Rather than hire a hit squad, Moon has a unique solution. Let these mid-level criminals fight each other for supremacy. Why would these goons not just turn on Moon? The $10 million in hard cash will be split three ways to those that can survive the battle royale of bullets and bats. With the clock ticking and many with ulterior motives, Moon watches the bodies pile up with glee.
Part of the fun of the film is its lean economical style. There is hardly a plot – which isn’t a bad thing – just a lot of style and attitude. This loose thread style allows for the ensemble that Pyun has put together to shine with character bits that seemed to be influenced by Quentin Tarantino as the action has been inspired by John Woo. The result is a crafty blend of action and character that feels elevated in the best way.
It does help that Pyun also has a game cast of actors led by Ice-T, Christopher Lambert, Michael Halsey, Deborah van Valkenburgh, Yuji Okumoto, Kimberly Warren, and Tina Cote. Lambert steals the show as a morally bankrupt assassin who just decides to get into the mix by choice not because Moon wants him to deal. The actor with his iconic laugh and understanding of the tone of the piece shines – one part Chow Yuen-Fat, one part Gary Oldman, and all charisma.
To know more about Mean Guns would do it a disservice. Trust in the fact that if you’re a fan of action films, this one has got your number.
The Transfer
The transfer which restores the correct aspect ratio (2.35:1) is a beautifully imperfect perfect picture. There’s something to the image that appears to be remastered but not restored that gives the film an added oomph. Think of Grindhouse (the QT/Rodriguez “failed” experiment) and the look of the “prints” on that film. Mean Guns on Blu-ray feels and looks like the real not the REEL version of it. There are slight imperfections, flecks of dirt, and even the print’s cigarette burns… this works FOR THE FILM. It gives it that midnight movie feel to everything. The image retains the sharpness and clarity one expects but those added imperfections, again I’ll say this to be clear, add to the film’s charms.
The Extras
They include the following;
- Audio Commentary from Director Albert Pyun
- Introduction by Director Albert Pyun
- NEW! Interview with Producer Gary Schmoeller
- NEW! Interview with Executive Producer Paul Rosenblum
- NEW! Interview with Composer Anthony Riparetti
- Original Theatrical Trailer
The Audio Commentary from Director Albert Pyun opens with when it was shot and released. Some of the details include how another project begat this project described as a “Tarantino-esque” over his sci-fi interpretation of Treasure Island; the development of the script and the rewrites he did; a discussion of the budget – a larger discussion of where that went in a fully transparent conversation; how he got the prison – which was a real life prison in LA that had not opened yet; a crafty reason why they chose after a location scout; a discussion of the actual production schedule; the deal they made with Fuji – including a great discussion about watching test footage of a very famous serial killer film informed on their look; the flash of film stock and the bleach bypass process – and how they ultimate came to agree on the costly process; why the lack of blood and squibs during the film; the invaluable addition of his prop master Jeff Spellisburg – which leads to a larger discussion about gun safety and his rules on set to guarantee safety; a practical discussion of ensuring the guns, if dropped, land safety; the scheduling of actors and how this effected the actor’s performances; the time in which this was released including a longer discussion about the DTV market, the Cable market and how these effected budgets, release, and other various ineffable of a production; how the Mambo style score came about; a discussion about the time that actors (the bigger stars) were scheduled to be on the set – most of them being very short turnarounds; and much more. Pyun’s honesty and transparency about the product’s limitations and tricks he used to accomplish what he wanted.
Introduction by Director Albert Pyun (0:39)
Interview with Producer Gary Schmoeller (28:59) – in this all-new interview with the producer begins with how he got his start and taking extension courses at UCLA and taking interviews for PA jobs at 40+ years old. Some of the other details include how Brian Yuzna gave him his break – beginning on Yuzna Society; how successful working with Yuzna was; how he became involved with Albert Pyun; their first interaction and meeting; the shooting of 3 Pyun films in 57 days across the world; the forming of the production company; the reason why they moved all their productions Brestislava; how the film came about and was developed; and much more.
Interview with Executive Producer Paul Rosenblum (23:41) – in this all-new interview with the executive producer begins with how he got started with Cannon Films and became Albert Pyun’s assistant. Some of the details include how he began with Roger Corman on the film Last Resort; the first film he shot with Pyun called Dangerously Close; his various work at Cannon, Carolco, Martha Coolige, and Bud Yorkin; his being hired at FilmWerks – a larger discussion of how he worked within the production company and working with Pyun; how they found the script for Mean Guns (under a different name); the development and production of the film – including various fascinating anecdotes about how low budget the film was; and much more.
Interview with Composer Anthony Riparetti (18:31) – in this all-new interview with the composer begins with how he met and began to collaborate with Pyun. Some of the details include the songs for Pyun’s Vicious Lips; why he loves working with Pyun as opposed to other directors; how they came up with the use of Mambo as the primary score; the additional work done on Mean Guns; and much more.
Original Theatrical Trailer (1:28)
The Final Thought
MVD Entertainment with their Rewind Collection continues to curate great cult titles and filling them with great special features, Mean Guns being a prime example. Highest Recommendations!