Action Overload

I went with a blue tone for IN THE LINE OF DUTY IV starring Cynthia Khan and Donnie Yen. (Perhaps the abundance of 1980s denim played a role.) The cover strives for that balance of positive and negative space. With bold lines driving the eye toward the title. I never like to clutter the image with dozens of heads peeking over shoulders so the colored lines provide a natural visual element for layering the figures. And I was able to render every figure doing something energetic which helps define their character, and provides a better impression of the film.

Although the first four films are the most popular, it would still be wonderful to release the remaining films in the (admittedly loosely-connected) series. If nothing else but for the sake of completing the set.

Hopefully, if original film elements survive in good condition, one day Fortune Star will see fit to remaster the final few films in HD and make them available for licensing by distributors. We can only hope.

Until then, we can at least enjoy these HK cinema action classics in beautiful new transfers. They look better than ever on home video.

The series... so far.

Next time... the streets run red.

A Warrior's Heart

Michelle Yeoh followed up her star turn in YES, MADAM! with the brutal actioner, ROYAL WARRIORS, in 1986. You can tell the producers were now confident in her proven abilities to carry the film and please an audience, as they did not feel the need to add goofy sequences featuring star cameos into the film this time. The film is better for it.

For this cover design I went with an intense orange tone, culled from the fiery Hong Kong poster.

The right hand side of the image is a bit "spoilerific". As it slyly tells the story of Michael Wong's character arc. 

HE'S A COP READY FOR ACTION. 

HE DIES FALLING THRU A GLASS CEILING.

HIS COFFIN GETS HUNG FROM A CRANE.   

The book cover design naturally follows the theme established on the previous film in the series.

As does the rather sparse menu design.

We'll take a quick break from the IN THE LINE OF DUTY series, but stay with MICHELLE YEOH to focus on her next film. It's magnificent. That's next time.