Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10801 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-07-15
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 121 minutes

On the DVD
ccOriginal theatrical trailer
English stereo surround
English, French & Spanish language subtitles

Synopsis
Adapted from the "Destroyer" series of novels and comic books (not exactly the level of Ian Fleming), Remo Williams (Fred Ward) is a New York cop who works for a top-secret government agency accountable directly to the President of the U.S. After his reluctant induction into this agency, Remo is trained in a near-magical Korean martial arts form by Chiun (Joel Grey) in great sequences where walking on water is taken in stride. After his training, Remo goes after a corrupt arms manufacturer with connections in the U.S. military and acquires the necessary help-mate in the form of Major Rayner Fleming (Kate Mulgrew). Antics at the Statue of Liberty and other stunts enliven the action, but cannot make up for comic-book level characters. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

DVD Menu

• Side #1 --
  • Play Movie
  • Scene Selections
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Subtitles
    • English
    • Fran�ais
    • Espa�ol
    • Subtitles: None

Customer Reviews

Remo is a fun film to escape to
This film does not take itself seriously and you shouldn't either. Remo Williams is a lot of fun and it aspires to be nothing more than that which is great. Because of rising production costs, among other things, have forced studios to stay clear of movies that are made just for fun and focus on huge CGI effects blockbusters or long boring oscar winning dramas. All the easy going films that were so common in the 80's have gone away and it's a shame. Part of what makes Remo so great is that there is a complete lack of huge explotions, car wrecks, wire stunt action scenes, or CGI monsters. Remo spends more of its time dealing with the work of becoming a hero which, in this writer's opinion, is much more interesting.

I have never read the Destroyer series but you really don't have to to enjoy Remo. If you're looking for a giant action laced movie you may want to keep looking but if you are in the mood to see a fun, more grounded, how to become a hero, sort of film, Remo is perfect.

His name was Remo and...
First-this movie is far from getting it right.But just the fact that it was even attempted is enough for any Destroyer fan.I've always been a great fan of the paperback series-any series with a charachter like Chiun (pronounced CHYEEWN not CHYUN)can't go wrong.They at many times beat the world news on events that were going to happen.I really liked the movie in spite of itself.Grey did as fine a job as probably humanly possible for a cauc-ie actor portraying a nearly un-portrayable oriental charachter.The villains were alot like you encounter in the books ie: men in power who don't know what real power is and therefore must find out the hard way.Whoever cast Brumley (no offence to Wilford) is an idiot.Oh,and Kate was great-she stepped right outta the series-fine lady,beautiful woman & a wonderful actress.Alas, no sex or even full nudal frontity or even jellified villains eating their own firing guns with no hands,but hey,it's a Dick Clark production,and that's the reason why...and Guy,you Hamilton!!why could'nt you bring as much style and excitement to this as you did for Goldfingah.Which reminds me the theme song and soundtrack is sub-par to say the least.Who could write and sing a cool song out of a title like Remo Williams:The Adventure Begins,anyway.It should have been called His name was Remo and the script should have followed #1Created,The Destroyer up until the execution scene.Gotta admit the rest of this movie is really cool especially the carney played by William Hickey.

Fun Film - Would Benefit from a Sequel
A late-night cable favorite since its creation, REMO WILLIAMS has always been close to my heart and revisiting this DVD recently reignited my wishes for a sequel.

REMO WILLIAMS' strong point has always been its weakness as well. "The Adventure Begins" the title tells us up front, and presents a tale devoted almost entirely to character origin and development. Whereas lesser films would have thrown in a training montage across three minutes of film, Remo's lasts ninety. And it's not even over. Never "ready" to be unleashed as the assassin he's meant to be, Remo Williams spends the entirety of the film under Chiun's tutelage, forced into action only by circumstance. Only in the final minutes does he seem ready to begin the life he has been designed for.

How does this affect the film? Well, it will feel downright slow for the Fast and Furious generation weaned on quick-cut, shallow films like XXX which speed along from one explosion to the next. For those of us who used to read way back when and enjoyed seeing these pulpy characters fleshed out onscreen - as well as those of us who dug Kung Fu Theatre on Sunday afternoons (check out KILL BILL Vol 2's "Cruel Tutelage of Pai Mai" sequence for the heavy influence of Chiun), it means this is a simultaneous delight and letdown (the latter only because, realistically, we know there will never be a sequel to continue this story).

My only other minor criticism of REMO WILLIAMS is its relatively bloodless onscreen presentation. Not that I'm looking for gore, but for an assassination film, this one is very tame. On the upside, one could feel very comfortable sharing this film with pre-teen action enthusiasts.

The REMO WILLIAMS DVD is a bare bones, full-screen affair, but at its bargain price, who can really complain? You know what you're getting and it looks better than a TV re-run. A deluxe edition DVD would be nice but this viewer isn't holding his breath.