Some fans felt that actor/writer/editor/director Takeshi Kitano's foray to win over the American audience, Brother, lacked the all-around Renaissance Man's stylish explorations of violence, his keen satirical edge, and overall laconic cinematic mood that made his earlier films (Hana-bi and Sonatine to name the most popular) so breathtaking and memorable. Other fans felt that Brother's screenplay was just too clich~d, unfocused, and perhaps a little too Westernized for their tastes. Regardless of the die-hard fans' grumbling, Brother still contains enough of Kitano's trademark cool factor and is a film that should appeal to action fans who usually stray no farther than the latest Steven Seagal or Jean-Claude Van Damme flick. Columbia/TriStar Home Entertainment's DVD is presented in its proper 1.85 aspect ratio (enhanced for widescreen televisions). The picture is excellent and very sharp, although there are a couple of scenes about a quarter of the way into the film that contain some slight compression problems. Outside of that, the picture is stable and excellent. The disc also contains a 5.1 Dolby Digital Japanese/English language soundtrack, as well as a very good and robust two-channel option. The disc has been equipped with English, Spanish, and French subtitles. Note that the disc defaults to English subtitles when playing, even though the film contains a duel Japanese/English soundtrack. So if you don't want to watch the film's English dialogue subtitled, make sure to switch them off before beginning. The disc unfortunately does not contain the original theatrical trailer, though three other Columbia/TriStar DVD release trailers have been supplied.

The Kung-fu cult favorite Five Deadly Venoms comes to DVD with a widescreen transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Mono. There are neither subtitles nor closed-captions on this release. There are no supplemental materials of any consequence, making this release difficult to recommend to anyone who is not a genre enthusiast.

Michael Ritchie directed Eddie Murphy in the fantasy-adventure The Golden Child, which comes to DVD with a widescreen transfer that preserves the orignal theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. English soundtracks are rendered in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital Surround, while a French soundtrack has been recorded in Dolby Digital Mono. There are no subtitles, but both English soundtracks are closed-captioned. Supplemental materials are limited to theatrical trailers. The picture and sound quality on this Paramount release are both quite good, but the lack of extras make it difficult to swallow the high list price.