Hey Guys, in these types of videos my goal of course to provide factual information; however, I will make mistakes from time to time. We have a great community of Commentors who are very knowledgeable. Here are some errors I made in the video that were pointed out: At 01:23 - When I stated Michel Quissi would reprise his role as Tong Po in Kickboxer 2 and 3 with Sasha Mitchell, I was incorrect; Tong Po never appeared in Kickboxer 3. At 01:57 - I stated that Richard Norton was the karate guy wearing the blue pants who was fighting Attila; however, it has been brought to my attention that it’s actually Michael M. Foley. Key takeaway on that one is Not to trust the Trivia section on IMDB as it lists Richard Norton.
I met James Brewster Thompson at Radford University in Radford Virginia back in 1992 at a 3 day seminar Karate College he was performing the skipping rope stunts very impressive person.
- I know you! You were the _brother!_ I will send you to hell...to join your _brother!_ - I'VE BEEN THERE! FOR TEN YEARS! WWWWAHHHH!!! hilarious shit! :D
There's a ton of talent in Lionheart. I believe Lionheart is one of Van Damme's best films. The story is good and you really want him to be with his family, do right by his family. Thanks for making this video. Sometimes, we forget how much talent is in a movie. TERRANCE OUT
Absolutely i couldn't agree more 👍 👌 also it's the emotion that really makes this film what it is. Even the guys chasing him to America had a heart. Both michel Qissi and the big guy are perfect in their roles 👏 👌
Scott2016 ....was coming to make this comment, one of the coolest 80’s-90’s martial arts movies....the end scene fighting in that bamboo dome was epic!!
@@jsdzx ... haha, yep that’s the one! That’s his “special move” , so to speak, as part of a 3 kick combo The movie is available free on TH-cam if you want to watch it again ever
James Brewster Thompson and the guy that wins the fight prior to James', both of them are characters in the game 'Pit Fighter'. James is 'Southside Jim' and the other guy is 'Ty', the kickboxer you can choose to play as.
Just listened to Scott Adkins his pod/video cast with Phillip Rhee and now this You guys are really bringing back those wonderful nineties vibes Keep it up!!
Love these breakdown videos of old van dam movies. Totally missed all of these things when I was a kid. Would never have realised the pool guy was actually the bad guy from only the strong. Or that Richard Norton was even in it at all! Amazing how the martial arts movie industry was all so connected at various points.
@@VikingSamurai i usually have an eye for faces once i see them full one time , but back and forth they slip through . funny to be given knowledge aboute who is who in movies , even if they are old movies , i had no idea that the guy playing attila is quissis older brother , keep up the good work man , regards from sweden .
Love your content! It's nice to know there is a channel that geeks out on this stuff as much as I do! Love the van damme stuff! Loved billy blanks growing up. My favorite film of his was "Balance of power". Loved that movie growing up! I really miss when I was a kid and my mother would take me to rent these films over and over again. I rented bloodsport so many times that she finally talked the store into just selling it to her! Keep it up Viking!
That's hilarious the video store sold her Bloodsport! Lol I remember having my mom rent us all these Van Damme and Seagal movies when we were growing up that were rated R, and then later all those lower budget PM Entertainment films with Jalal Merhi and Billy Blanks... I seen a lot of Billy Blanks movies but not Balance of Power.
The first thing I could ever notice about James Brewster Thomson is that he looks like Southside Jim in the Pit Fighter video game from the early 1990's.
Billy Blanks was legendary. As a cinéphile nerdy kid growing up in Zaïre(DRC), he was the guy I aspired to be when I grew up and binged watch most of his movies. I hope you do a video on him.
Holy crap!!!! I've honestly seen Lionheart probably five hundred times since 1990 & never noticed that was Billy blanks! The one movie from blanks I really enjoyed was King of the kickboxers & his small part in The last boy scout, which was the best scene of the entire movie & that's saying a lot because that film is an action-packed thrill Ride. I was aware of a few of the other fighters backgrounds but not all of them, so thanks for filling me in. Awesome video, keep them coming
i don't know if anyone has mentioned this already but at around 1:29:30 into the film Tony Halme aka Ludwig Borga appears as a security guard right before the final fight is about to begin. Tony Halme was known for his stint in the WWF and his fight against Randy Couture at UFC XIII
Awesome video! 30 years in the making! This is my favorite Van Damme movie. I rented this every weekend for like 4 months, I'm not exaggerating, every weekend. Really awesome facts, I didn't know several of these good job. I never saw Jeff Speakman! I mean how did I miss this. I've seen the perfect weapon at least 100 times. Great video and awesome channel! Keep up the awesome work!
Great and very informative video! Never knew there were so many accomplish martial artists in that movie. Specially the ones who lose quickly or were playing background extras, btw, in the video Jeff Speakman you mention about him being in Lionheart and i made a comment saying that it wasn´t him, it was Van Damme, thinking you meant he was the star of the movie,lol I never knew Speakman was actually in that movie. I guess im not as big Van Damme fan as i thought i was lol
@@VikingSamurai You know there's a possibility that you and I were separated at birth although we aren't twins like Alex Chad. I have 3 brothers none loved fitness and martial arts like myself but they love Van Damme movies haha!
I love your channel, much like you i grew up as a little kid watching these movies. Van damme was also my inspiration for becomming a first degree black belt with ATA. I also totally agree bloodsport is the greatest martial arts movie ever. I would like to see your interpretation of jackie chan movies, the comedy aside (which is something i love and expect from Chan) id like to see your breakdown of his style, especially my favorite chan film "who am I".
Awesome topic dude! Billy Blanks it such a good martial artist and his final figth on" The King Of The Kickboxers" against Loren Avendon in the cage continuous very impressive even today. I did not know about Richard Norton and Jeff Spekman cameos in "Lionheart", its very interresting about the other guys two like stuntmans and real figthers. That´s a reason about this channel is such awesome, keep it up dude.
Hey man, I never comment on any TH-cam videos, but I’ve been impressed enough about your content to say something. I am really impressed by your research! I’ve learned a lot of facts watching your videos that I didn’t know, and I’ve been a journalist and a martial artist for 20 years so I guess you could say I pay attention. Again, great job, great research, love your stuff.
Thanks, I really appreciate that comment, it definitely motivates me to keep putting videos like this out there! Make sure to read the pinned comment on this video, I did make 2 errors I wanted to correct... If I didn't have to pin that comment I'd definitely pin this one! Lol
Cobra Kai is probably my favorite tv show. Im currently in my masters program for clinical mental health counseling an I have written two papers on Cobra Kai already. That show is deep! The way it subtly handles the father effect especially really intrigues me. If you ever decided to do some Cobra Kai content here I will be all for it!
James Brewster Thompson came to my elementary school in Wahiawa, Hawaii back in 1996, to talk to us about his story, saying no to drugs, and I guess staying in school and stuff. The highlight was when he jump-roped with our 6'2" 6th grade teacher on his shoulders. Nice guy. Super random.
Love the new Cobra Kai! Also Lionheart was my favorite after Cyborg and Bloodsport. It was the first JCVD film I saw in the theater. I'm from New Zealand so here it was called 'Wrong Bet' for some reason.
Just found and a big thank you. I grew up with a martial art father. He studied Chinese Kenpo, so early on was turned on to martial arts movies. Nice someone else researched others who studied..
Loved Billy Blanks movies too. He was a great villain in King of the Kickboxers, which was another one of my favorites growing up. Lauren Avadon was hilarious in it
Fun fact, Ashley Johnson, the voice actress for Ellie from the game Last of Us plays the little girl who along with the mother character, Van Damme is trying to help in Lionheart.
so thanks to this video i’m watching alll of Billy Blank’s movies which are mostly free on youtube, except Talons of the Eagle is only in spanish :( but i love how your videos look into the lesser known worlds of these films, and there’s no other channel i’ve seen like it. would love some videos on some of the deep cut movies, the very much lesser known ones...maybe lesser known leads such as Billy Blanks, Don Wilson, bolo yeung, jeffrey falcon. perhaps what are some of your favorite martial arts films that for some reason haven’t entered classic territory? or movies that sucked but had a particularly amazing fight scene. anyways, love this channel
I think all these guys were perfect for their roles and have Abdul Qissi as the killer street fighter was perfect i mean just the look of him is intimidating. Thanks for the videos viking Samurai it's great content 👌 👍
I watched Showdown like 1000 times as a kid. I remember that I trained spinning back kick for days trying to replicate Blanks signature move from this movie 😀
Wow, I had no idea all those fighters were *actual* fighters! Thanks for putting all this info together. As for Mark Dacascos, I may still have the autographed picture he sent me... Come on, Derailed wasn't *that* bad 🤣
@@VikingSamurai The Only Bloodsport Movies are The First Movie and The First Two Sequels The only reason I like Bloodsport 2 and 3 because it had Pat Morita a.k.a. Mr Miyagi from The Karate Kid and James Hong a.k.a. David LoPan from Big Trouble in Little China
Very informative as always amigo. Loved watching movies in the 90's with Billy Blanks, Richard Norton & Cynthia Rothrock. The plot may not have been great but they had great martial arts fights in them. On a different note I think its great that Van Damme uses a lot of the same fighters in his other movies. I've met Michael Qissi on a night out back in Oct'19 and he is such an approachable guy when I went up to talk to him and he was very cool. He even told me that he & and Van Damme are planning on making another movie together called, "The Tower." You heard it here first!! P.s. I cant believe you have two copies of Derailed..lol. Keep up the good work.
@@VikingSamurai I really thought I had given you some brand new information right from Michael Qissi himself. You really do know your stuff and I thought I knew a lot about movies. My collection of movies is just as big as the one you have behind you. All the best with the TH-cam Channel.
Another EXCELLENT video. Billy blanks was the man in Talons of the Eagle, TC 2000, and Back in Action. He made a second solid action movie with Roddy Piper called Tough and Deadly. He really has amazing leaping ability, awesome physique and a great face for fight scenes. A comprehensive video about Billy belongs on this channel, hes starred or costarred with so many names in this whacky sub genre of films, like don wilson, mathias hues, bolo and Patrick Kilpatrick. Ur content is great im excited to watch your channel continue to grow.
Wow! This takes me back! I've seen all of those Billy Blank movies.I really liked TC 2000 as that movie had a lot of martial arts stars in it I recognized, and Back in Action because it had Roddy Piper in it who was my favorite. The Scottish fight Van Damme fought in Lionheart made me realize at age 15 that Scots spoke another language. That got me interested in learning Scottish Gallic and the bagpipes which I still practice today.
@@charjohnnie Course it would of, And Billy Blanks was well known then firstly Blanks opened a fitness center in Los Angeles to teach his new workout. He later attracted celebrity clients such as Paula Abdul, and the popularity of the workout quickly grew, becoming a pop culture phenomenon after Blanks began releasing mass-marketed videos. He sold over 1.5 million VHS tapes in his first year, and is reported to have grossed between $80 million and $130 million in sales. + then in many well known Films + TV Shows!
Richard Norton is a very known guy in martial arts movies,mostly playing the villain. He was in a ton of Hong Kong movies back in the day,starring alongside Jackie Chan,Sammo Hung,Michelle Yeoh & Cynthia Rothrock. He plays the villain in Jackie Chan´s "City Hunter",which is one of the most hilarious Jackie Chan movies.It´s the one with Jackie,cosplaying as Chun Li from Street Fighter. And he´s still in good shape,despite his age, he was in Spartacus season 3 and in Mad Max:Fury Road. Fun Fact:he used to be the bodyguard for Kylie Minoque,back in the day.
I made a mistake in this video, found out blue pants karate fighter is actually Michael Foley... But Richard Norton is cool, I should do a future video on him.
Great insight I totally agree only the strong should've been a bigger hit Paco Prieto's Silverio is up there as of my favorite mma movie villains along with The Sandman, Screwface & Chung li. Also the fact that all the lionheart fighters had a very impressive mma backround is really cool too!
Hi there. I've just stumbled across your channel and your content is great. It's really informative and gives an excellent account of the fighters. You have a new subscriber my friend keep up the good work. Now I'm off to check out your other vids.
1. That's Billy Blanks as a Foreign Legionnaire in Lionheart? I never knew. One Blanks movie you didn't mention was the incredibad King Of Kickboxers with Loren Avedon. Whooooowheee that's a bad one. Still fun, though. 2. Michel Qissi was that guy in Bloodsport? I thought I knew these movies. Obviously I don't... 3. Jeff Speakman in a bit part?? Okay, I've just subbed to your channel. This is gold. 4. Richard Norton?? I love the amount of research you put into this video. Glad TH-cam recommended it to me. I'm going to dig up so many of these movies, it will be great.
Awesome research, very detailed as usual, I never put the dots together about the smasher watched both movies a thousand time, for me Over The Top takes the cake, could be a future vid for you to dissect, enlighten the youth of today on Hawks vs Hurley.. Keep up the awesome content
Awesome mate!! I really love your Chanel! Great job mate!! One sugestion, make a vídeo about David Bradley!! I really like him and he just disapear of the martial movies!
Magic Schwarz, I remember him as a pro wrestler before Lionheart, speaking of wrestler, in Sly's film Over the Top, in addition to pro wrestlers, Scott "Flash" Norton and Terry Funk was also in the film.
I like your collection behind you, but also i'm a little bit anvy cause here in Croatia it is very hard to find those action classics on dvd or blu ray :(
Very good and info. I’m always knew that their mannerisms is not just acting or stunt related that you would have to have vast knowledge of martial arts to do what they were doing. They don’t make these movies anymore if they did technology would ruin it.
Hey Guys, in these types of videos my goal of course to provide factual information; however, I will make mistakes from time to time. We have a great community of Commentors who are very knowledgeable. Here are some errors I made in the video that were pointed out:
At 01:23 - When I stated Michel Quissi would reprise his role as Tong Po in Kickboxer 2 and 3 with Sasha Mitchell, I was incorrect; Tong Po never appeared in Kickboxer 3.
At 01:57 - I stated that Richard Norton was the karate guy wearing the blue pants who was fighting Attila; however, it has been brought to my attention that it’s actually Michael M. Foley. Key takeaway on that one is Not to trust the Trivia section on IMDB as it lists Richard Norton.
I met James Brewster Thompson at Radford University in Radford Virginia back in 1992 at a 3 day seminar Karate College he was performing the skipping rope stunts very impressive person.
Pacos fight scenes look like he uses a double for the capoeira
Very cool, thanks for sharing!
@@20FreeWill That was Paco. He has never been doubled, in any movie.
@@sheldonlettich2728 why is it when he is doing flips etc you never see his face ? Looks deliberate
I never thought there were other freaks like me who just appreciates and loves these movies, then i found this channel lol Keep up the great work man!
Dude .... Billy Blanks in King of the Kickboxers, he was epic in that!
- I know you! You were the _brother!_ I will send you to hell...to join your _brother!_
- I'VE BEEN THERE! FOR TEN YEARS! WWWWAHHHH!!!
hilarious shit! :D
Thats right!! He plays the role as Bad dude un that movie!
I had that poster on my wall when i was about 8
He was dope to
There's a ton of talent in Lionheart. I believe Lionheart is one of Van Damme's best films. The story is good and you really want him to be with his family, do right by his family. Thanks for making this video. Sometimes, we forget how much talent is in a movie.
TERRANCE OUT
Absolutely i couldn't agree more 👍 👌 also it's the emotion that really makes this film what it is.
Even the guys chasing him to America had a heart.
Both michel Qissi and the big guy are perfect in their roles 👏 👌
Billy Blanks was in King of the Kickboxers, really enjoyed that movie
Scott2016 ....was coming to make this comment, one of the coolest 80’s-90’s martial arts movies....the end scene fighting in that bamboo dome was epic!!
Loren Aveeden , should have got an Oscar for that performance! Great acting!
@@Day-ZDuke , it that the movie he does a flying head scissors?
@@jsdzx ... haha, yep that’s the one!
That’s his “special move” , so to speak, as part of a 3 kick combo
The movie is available free on TH-cam if you want to watch it again ever
Tong Po scared the shit out of me as a kid didn’t know for years he played in other parts with van damme. Normal bloke.
James Brewster Thompson and the guy that wins the fight prior to James', both of them are characters in the game 'Pit Fighter'. James is 'Southside Jim' and the other guy is 'Ty', the kickboxer you can choose to play as.
Shame this video didn't mention that. When I saw Lionheart the first time I was like "there's Southside Jim!" Even had the same outfit haha.
You channel brings me back to where it all started for me! Sentiment! I subscribed! Epic channel!
Steven Segal obviously still sore at the Gene Lebell story turning him into a joke.
Especially the way Kevin Hart retells it😂
Poopy pants. Just like lil Reese
Lebell would turn most anyone into a joke
And employed teams of researchers to try and discredit him.Proofs in the pudding though isn't it Steven? Or should I say,the poop...
Just listened to Scott Adkins his pod/video cast with Phillip Rhee and now this
You guys are really bringing back those wonderful nineties vibes
Keep it up!!
I need to watch that Philip Rhee episode!
@@VikingSamurai you should asap LoL
@@VikingSamurai it’s a great one. The Rhees are legit.
Am still in awe of how Frank Dux suckered Hollywood with his tall tales. Classic - lie so good he started to believe it him self.
The truth is boring Hollywood likes sizzle
Maybe a lie, but the best story ever for a martial arts myth..... Van Damme!!!
He is a 6th degree black belt in scam-con-do.
Great video, bro! You certainly did your homework. I didn’t know that Paco dude was the same Capoeira Maestre in Only the Strong.
This film was titled Wrong Bet here in Australia. Loved this movie and great vid mate, cheers.
I wish Lionheart had more footage of Cynthia, personally. XD
There’s more of her in the extended cut. It’s been on Amazon Prime lately.
On how she became who she was
Cynthia I’m not your boy toy
@@parlimentjenkinsiii6658
I'd love to be her boy toy ❤️
Love these breakdown videos of old van dam movies. Totally missed all of these things when I was a kid. Would never have realised the pool guy was actually the bad guy from only the strong. Or that Richard Norton was even in it at all! Amazing how the martial arts movie industry was all so connected at various points.
Glad you enjoyed the vid! I did make 2 errors on this one, please read the pinned comment (one of the errors is on Richard Norton!) Lol
@@VikingSamurai i usually have an eye for faces once i see them full one time , but back and forth they slip through . funny to be given knowledge aboute who is who in movies , even if they are old movies , i had no idea that the guy playing attila is quissis older brother , keep up the good work man , regards from sweden .
Love your content! It's nice to know there is a channel that geeks out on this stuff as much as I do! Love the van damme stuff! Loved billy blanks growing up. My favorite film of his was "Balance of power". Loved that movie growing up! I really miss when I was a kid and my mother would take me to rent these films over and over again. I rented bloodsport so many times that she finally talked the store into just selling it to her! Keep it up Viking!
That's hilarious the video store sold her Bloodsport! Lol I remember having my mom rent us all these Van Damme and Seagal movies when we were growing up that were rated R, and then later all those lower budget PM Entertainment films with Jalal Merhi and Billy Blanks... I seen a lot of Billy Blanks movies but not Balance of Power.
Great video, with a lot of interesting info about the cast of this classic👏👍👍
Great video. It’s really interesting to get background on these characters. I did love Best of the Best 2 lol
This is my favorite van damme movie of all time, I'm so surprised billy blanks played a such a small part I didn't even notice him in the movie.
The first thing I could ever notice about James Brewster Thomson is that he looks like Southside Jim in the Pit Fighter video game from the early 1990's.
It is him!
Same guy. Good catch!
Billy Blanks was legendary. As a cinéphile nerdy kid growing up in Zaïre(DRC), he was the guy I aspired to be when I grew up and binged watch most of his movies. I hope you do a video on him.
I'll be covering him in a future video.
Man, I love your videos. You do a great job. Lots of childhood memories.
Great video, I watched lionheart a ton when I was a kid, also watched the perfect weapon and only the sting countless times!
Holy crap!!!! I've honestly seen Lionheart probably five hundred times since 1990 & never noticed that was Billy blanks! The one movie from blanks I really enjoyed was King of the kickboxers & his small part in The last boy scout, which was the best scene of the entire movie & that's saying a lot because that film is an action-packed thrill Ride. I was aware of a few of the other fighters backgrounds but not all of them, so thanks for filling me in. Awesome video, keep them coming
What part in Last Boy Scout did he play? I only watched that film a few weeks ago.
I never knew he was in these others films...
@@mrlee924 he played Billie Cole at the very beginning the football player that shoots everybody
cool channel. great info here. I grew up with all these films
Glad you like the channel.
i don't know if anyone has mentioned this already but at around 1:29:30 into the film Tony Halme aka Ludwig Borga appears as a security guard right before the final fight is about to begin. Tony Halme was known for his stint in the WWF and his fight against Randy Couture at UFC XIII
Great video man! I’ve never seen a well detailed video on this film like this one!
Awesome video! 30 years in the making! This is my favorite Van Damme movie. I rented this every weekend for like 4 months, I'm not exaggerating, every weekend. Really awesome facts, I didn't know several of these good job. I never saw Jeff Speakman! I mean how did I miss this. I've seen the perfect weapon at least 100 times. Great video and awesome channel! Keep up the awesome work!
That was the Best movie in the video store back then!
@@VikingSamurai Hell yeah! Easily! I loved Lionheart because it was similar in some ways to Hard Times with the late great Charles Bronson!
Billy Blanks was the footballer who shoots himself on the field in the beginning of the last boyscout.
basquat76 did not know that!
Yeah I remember! :D
Ain't life a bitch!
Yes, he was.
Great and very informative video! Never knew there were so many accomplish martial artists in that movie. Specially the ones who lose quickly or were playing background extras, btw, in the video Jeff Speakman you mention about him being in Lionheart and i made a comment saying that it wasn´t him, it was Van Damme, thinking you meant he was the star of the movie,lol I never knew Speakman was actually in that movie. I guess im not as big Van Damme fan as i thought i was lol
I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL!!! GREAT CONTENT
I'm way too excited about this video but man!!!! You talked about so many awesome movies! Only The Strong! Shoot fighter! Awesome!
Only the Strong and Shootfghter were great!
@@VikingSamurai 100% I rented Shootfighter because of Bolo Yeung!
Lol, me too!
@@VikingSamurai You know there's a possibility that you and I were separated at birth although we aren't twins like Alex Chad. I have 3 brothers none loved fitness and martial arts like myself but they love Van Damme movies haha!
At least they love Van Damme movies lol. My brother loves the fitness and martial arts along with the Van Damme movies like me! Lol
I love your channel, much like you i grew up as a little kid watching these movies. Van damme was also my inspiration for becomming a first degree black belt with ATA. I also totally agree bloodsport is the greatest martial arts movie ever. I would like to see your interpretation of jackie chan movies, the comedy aside (which is something i love and expect from Chan) id like to see your breakdown of his style, especially my favorite chan film "who am I".
I've done some interesting videos with main opponent at end of Who Am I, Ron Smoorenburg
just ran across your channel! awesome work man! as a kid from the 80's i love this stuff!
Glad you're enjoying the channel!
Awesome topic dude! Billy Blanks it such a good martial artist and his final figth on" The King Of The Kickboxers" against Loren Avendon in the cage continuous very impressive even today. I did not know about Richard Norton and Jeff Spekman cameos in "Lionheart", its very interresting about the other guys two like stuntmans and real figthers. That´s a reason about this channel is such awesome, keep it up dude.
Glad you liked the video!
Yes, that really was Jeff Speakman near the end of the movie. But Richard Norton is not in the movie at all.
Hey man, I never comment on any TH-cam videos, but I’ve been impressed enough about your content to say something. I am really impressed by your research! I’ve learned a lot of facts watching your videos that I didn’t know, and I’ve been a journalist and a martial artist for 20 years so I guess you could say I pay attention. Again, great job, great research, love your stuff.
Thanks, I really appreciate that comment, it definitely motivates me to keep putting videos like this out there! Make sure to read the pinned comment on this video, I did make 2 errors I wanted to correct... If I didn't have to pin that comment I'd definitely pin this one! Lol
Cobra Kai is probably my favorite tv show. Im currently in my masters program for clinical mental health counseling an I have written two papers on Cobra Kai already. That show is deep! The way it subtly handles the father effect especially really intrigues me. If you ever decided to do some Cobra Kai content here I will be all for it!
That's awesome you're writing about Cobra Kai in your masters program!
Viking Samurai I love it! I told one of my professors about your channel tonight; he was wearing a Kumite shirt with Jean Claude on it 😂
Great Video, cool to know all this Backgrounds behind this People. ;-)
Huge fan of Billy Blanks growing up..... King of kickboxers was my fav
Appreciate the research. Excellent video!
Thanks for the appreciation!
James Brewster Thompson came to my elementary school in Wahiawa, Hawaii back in 1996, to talk to us about his story, saying no to drugs, and I guess staying in school and stuff. The highlight was when he jump-roped with our 6'2" 6th grade teacher on his shoulders. Nice guy. Super random.
Cool, thanks for sharing!
Love the new Cobra Kai!
Also Lionheart was my favorite after Cyborg and Bloodsport. It was the first JCVD film I saw in the theater. I'm from New Zealand so here it was called 'Wrong Bet' for some reason.
Honestly, I don't recall in Billy Blanks having a very small part in Lionheart.
You barely see his face, and it’s a very dusty fight.
The line finish him is said by Martin Kove first in KK1 so that other movie is pretty much a Karate Kid spin off with Johnny and Kreese in it!
Best of the best was my favorite movie growing up great movie
I love showdown...i lost count how many times i watched that movie
Just found and a big thank you. I grew up with a martial art father. He studied Chinese Kenpo, so early on was turned on to martial arts movies. Nice someone else researched others who studied..
Loved Billy Blanks movies too. He was a great villain in King of the Kickboxers, which was another one of my favorites growing up. Lauren Avadon was hilarious in it
Fun fact, Ashley Johnson, the voice actress for Ellie from the game Last of Us plays the little girl who along with the mother character, Van Damme is trying to help in Lionheart.
so thanks to this video i’m watching alll of Billy Blank’s movies which are mostly free on youtube, except Talons of the Eagle is only in spanish :( but i love how your videos look into the lesser known worlds of these films, and there’s no other channel i’ve seen like it. would love some videos on some of the deep cut movies, the very much lesser known ones...maybe lesser known leads such as Billy Blanks, Don Wilson, bolo yeung, jeffrey falcon. perhaps what are some of your favorite martial arts films that for some reason haven’t entered classic territory? or movies that sucked but had a particularly amazing fight scene. anyways, love this channel
I think all these guys were perfect for their roles and have Abdul Qissi as the killer street fighter was perfect i mean just the look of him is intimidating.
Thanks for the videos viking Samurai it's great content 👌 👍
I watched Showdown like 1000 times as a kid. I remember that I trained spinning back kick for days trying to replicate Blanks signature move from this movie 😀
Yo Bro!!!! That last comments on Johnny Lawrence and Creese connected to Shootfighter had be laughing my ass off!! You did Good!
Glad you appreciated that!
Wow, I had no idea all those fighters were *actual* fighters! Thanks for putting all this info together. As for Mark Dacascos, I may still have the autographed picture he sent me... Come on, Derailed wasn't *that* bad 🤣
I may lighten up on Derailed, but Not Bloodsport 4! Lol
@@VikingSamurai 😂. Fine with me - I never have, and never will, see Bloodsport 4, lol.
Very good decision!
Lol
@@VikingSamurai The Only Bloodsport Movies are The First Movie and The First Two Sequels The only reason I like Bloodsport 2 and 3 because it had Pat Morita a.k.a. Mr Miyagi from The Karate Kid and James Hong a.k.a. David LoPan from Big Trouble in Little China
Dude this is great video, took me back and I grew up watching these guys, so getting some back story on them was excellent! 😀👍🏼💯
Very informative as always amigo. Loved watching movies in the 90's with Billy Blanks, Richard Norton & Cynthia Rothrock. The plot may not have been great but they had great martial arts fights in them. On a different note I think its great that Van Damme uses a lot of the same fighters in his other movies. I've met Michael Qissi on a night out back in Oct'19 and he is such an approachable guy when I went up to talk to him and he was very cool. He even told me that he & and Van Damme are planning on making another movie together called, "The Tower." You heard it here first!! P.s. I cant believe you have two copies of Derailed..lol. Keep up the good work.
One of the copies of Derailed is my brothers... He doesn't want it back lol... I've heard about The Tower forever ago, I hope it actually gets made!
@@VikingSamurai I really thought I had given you some brand new information right from Michael Qissi himself. You really do know your stuff and I thought I knew a lot about movies. My collection of movies is just as big as the one you have behind you. All the best with the TH-cam Channel.
Another EXCELLENT video. Billy blanks was the man in Talons of the Eagle, TC 2000, and Back in Action. He made a second solid action movie with Roddy Piper called Tough and Deadly. He really has amazing leaping ability, awesome physique and a great face for fight scenes. A comprehensive video about Billy belongs on this channel, hes starred or costarred with so many names in this whacky sub genre of films, like don wilson, mathias hues, bolo and Patrick Kilpatrick. Ur content is great im excited to watch your channel continue to grow.
I do need an entire video on Billy Blanks!
Fecking awesome. Thank you!
This was VERY interesting!! I did know about a couple of these guys, only by recognition
When you went on the rant about derailed and the dark kumite...I feel your pain, as I suffered watching both as well.
I had totally forgotten about the movie "Shootfighter"! Would love to see you do a full piece on this movie!
That was definitely one of the better Martial Arts movies from that era.
Billy Blanks rules, hes got heart. Amazing video i cant believe its Richard Norton in that VHS clip, makes the movie even better.
Wow! This takes me back! I've seen all of those Billy Blank movies.I really liked TC 2000 as that movie had a lot of martial arts stars in it I recognized, and Back in Action because it had Roddy Piper in it who was my favorite.
The Scottish fight Van Damme fought in Lionheart made me realize at age 15 that Scots spoke another language. That got me interested in learning Scottish Gallic and the bagpipes which I still practice today.
was it not roddy piper who did the police serie , riptide , with joe penny ?
Billy Blanks and the Rhee Brother (The Best of The Best) is what sold me on TKD. Jump spinning busted ankles for life.🥋 🤛 🦶🏻🌪
Paco close family friend over 30 years.
Love your setup!
Wait, Billy Blanks and Vandamme in the same movie? Why this is not the final fight?
Atila was too good, It wouldn’t have been as legendary as it was, besides Billy Blanks wasn’t well known at the time
@@charjohnnie Course it would of, And Billy Blanks was well known then firstly Blanks opened a fitness center in Los Angeles to teach his new workout. He later attracted celebrity clients such as Paula Abdul, and the popularity of the workout quickly grew, becoming a pop culture phenomenon after Blanks began releasing mass-marketed videos. He sold over 1.5 million VHS tapes in his first year, and is reported to have grossed between $80 million and $130 million in sales. + then in many well known Films + TV Shows!
this is just the video i was looking for, thanks.
Damn never knew that guy facing off against atilla in the video footage was richard Norton. Cool!
I used to always wonder who that was when I watched it in the 90s lol
Me neither hahah
It was not Richard Norton.
It wasn't Richard Norton. That guy is Michael Foley
@@sheldonlettich2728 you aren't real Sheldon Lettich...
I'm really liking the content on this channel.
In Britain the movie is called awol.
The French version was called Wrong Bet
@@ambehak4758 Australia too.
@@ambehak4758 Wrong Bet is a brilliant title! I am English so it's AWOL to me which is as bad as Lionheart
@@gavinbrando8255 i'm english too. I think wrong bet, leon and lionheart were more suitable names for the movie. Not A.W.O.L 😆
Lionhearted made me a big fan of Van Dam . All these guys were great in the fight roles.
Richard Norton is a very known guy in martial arts movies,mostly playing the villain.
He was in a ton of Hong Kong movies back in the day,starring alongside Jackie Chan,Sammo Hung,Michelle Yeoh & Cynthia Rothrock. He plays the villain in Jackie Chan´s "City Hunter",which is one of the most hilarious Jackie Chan movies.It´s the one with Jackie,cosplaying as Chun Li from Street Fighter. And he´s still in good shape,despite his age, he was in Spartacus season 3 and in Mad Max:Fury Road.
Fun Fact:he used to be the bodyguard for Kylie Minoque,back in the day.
I made a mistake in this video, found out blue pants karate fighter is actually Michael Foley... But Richard Norton is cool, I should do a future video on him.
Painful?
Great insight I totally agree only the strong should've been a bigger hit Paco Prieto's Silverio is up there as of my favorite mma movie villains along with The Sandman, Screwface & Chung li. Also the fact that all the lionheart fighters had a very impressive mma backround is really cool too!
The Johnny Laurence/Shootfighter reference gave me a chuckle 😂😂😂
Another great video. Keep up the good work.
Excellent information garnered
Hi there. I've just stumbled across your channel and your content is great. It's really informative and gives an excellent account of the fighters. You have a new subscriber my friend keep up the good work. Now I'm off to check out your other vids.
Glad you're enjoying the content!
1. That's Billy Blanks as a Foreign Legionnaire in Lionheart? I never knew. One Blanks movie you didn't mention was the incredibad King Of Kickboxers with Loren Avedon. Whooooowheee that's a bad one. Still fun, though.
2. Michel Qissi was that guy in Bloodsport? I thought I knew these movies. Obviously I don't...
3. Jeff Speakman in a bit part?? Okay, I've just subbed to your channel. This is gold.
4. Richard Norton??
I love the amount of research you put into this video. Glad TH-cam recommended it to me. I'm going to dig up so many of these movies, it will be great.
I made a mistake about Richard Norton, I actually found out it was Michael M Foley... Thanks for subbing!
Great video, would love to see a video about the fighters in Bloodsport 👊 keep up the great vids 👍
I'll look into it, as long as I can find enough info on them.
Great video man, thanks!
Shootfighter is still one of my favorite movies! Bolo Yeung as a good guy? Hell yeah! And I'm pretty sure Kreese was on rails at the time.😉
Awesome research, very detailed as usual, I never put the dots together about the smasher watched both movies a thousand time, for me Over The Top takes the cake, could be a future vid for you to dissect, enlighten the youth of today on Hawks vs Hurley.. Keep up the awesome content
That's definitely on my list, love that movie!
@@VikingSamurai I guess we'll see you in Vegas!
Great research done on this brother. Never knew actors of the film were Talented martial artists. Thanks again.
Very well documented ! It's very rare !
A few mistakes ? Who really care ?!
Bravo to you !
just watched lionheart! great content
Really interesting back info on these guys.
9:48 "with a plot like that, it's no wonder it went straight to video."
Lmao!
amazing content again, i really love these interesting stuff in van damme movies 👍
Glad you're enjoying the videos!
thats crazy how many legends had small roles in that movie!!
And that was just Lionheart. JCVD gave so many martial artists a shot in the industry during his career.
Check out King Of The Kickboxers for sure. Blanks is the main villain and is great in it.
Awesome mate!! I really love your Chanel! Great job mate!! One sugestion, make a vídeo about David Bradley!! I really like him and he just disapear of the martial movies!
Glad you like the channel, I'll put him on the list.
Impact magazine in the 90’s kept me up to speed on all these guys.
Love the video, keep up the good work 👍
Wow, I didn't know James Brewster Thompson was from Salinas, Ca. That's where I grew up! Small world, it's a small town
Magic Schwarz, I remember him as a pro wrestler before Lionheart, speaking of wrestler, in Sly's film Over the Top, in addition to pro wrestlers, Scott "Flash" Norton and Terry Funk was also in the film.
I like your collection behind you, but also i'm a little bit anvy cause here in Croatia it is very hard to find those action classics on dvd or blu ray :(
ATILA side burns are legendary.
Very good and info. I’m always knew that their mannerisms is not just acting or stunt related that you would have to have vast knowledge of martial arts to do what they were doing. They don’t make these movies anymore if they did technology would ruin it.