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Features: DVD, Pan and Scan (TV Format), Dolby Digital (5.1), Dolby Surround Sound, English, Subtitled
Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in an explosive thriller set in Hong Kong's shady manufacturing scene during the 1997 handover to China! When a shipment of jeans to the U.S. proves counterfeit, Marcus Ray, the "King of The Knock-Offs" (Van Damme) finds himself at the center of a Russian Mafia plot to hold the United States security for ransom. Thousands of tiny micro-bombs, disguised within other manufactured goods, are scheduled for departure from Hong Kong to America. When Ray's company's jeans are found to be the housing for the explosives, he's the one man the CIA can count on to prevent certain disaster! In a territory where loyalty can change hands overnight, Marcus Ray's survival will depend on him knowing the fakes from the real thing.
"[Director Tsui] has a good feel for the vitality and flavor of Hong Kong street life..." Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle
Editor's Note
Van Damme is a shady clothing manufacturer, the king of knock-offs, who understandably gets involved in a Russian Mafia plot. It's his ability to discern the real from the fake that will save him!
| Features | screen Format | | Scene Selection | | Interactive Menus | | Widescreen Format | | 2-Channel And 5.1 Dolby Digital | | English Subtitles | | Theatrical Trailers |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Columbia Tri-Star |
| Release Date: 3/22/2005 |
| Running Time: 91 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1998 | | Catalog ID: 25889 | | UPC: 00043396258891 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Available Subtitles: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 2.35:1/4:3 |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | Box Office
"...KNOCK OFF has some fight scenes that are very exciting to watch..." 11/01/1998 p.159Los Angeles Times
"...[A] high-energy, high-spirited thriller....KNOCK OFF is one of Van Damme's best movies ever....Tsui expresses a well-developed sense of life's dark absurdities that subtly shadows even his zaniest moments..." 09/07/1998 p.C3 San Francisco Chronicle 5 of 10
Knock Off is not a complete rip-off. The new Jean-Claude Van Damme collaboration with director Tsui Hark is something of a kaleidoscopic mess of a movie, but it has its moments... Knock Off is the second film set during the British handover of Hong Kong to China last summer, and, as in Wayne Wang's Chinese Box, that historic background seems almost irrelevant... Tsui (Chinese Ghost Story and Van Damme's Double Team) of course has a good feel for the vitality and flavor of Hong Kong street life, its down-to-earth dim sum houses, crowded marketplaces, glitzy hotels and its twisting and suddenly steep sidewalks. The action includes a rickshaw race through the streets that begins as a business promotion and turns ugly, a rooftop cliff-hanger, and effective use of heavy cargo containers swinging on cables and sliding across decks. Tsui employs slow motion, stop motion, extreme close-ups and staccato blurs among his effects, and there's something, too, for connoisseurs of explosions and the strangely beautiful colors they can produce... Paul Sorvino, as an ominous figure, has little to do except hover ominously in the background. Schneider's character has a kinky side that's worth some laughs. This loony story, however, is treated seriously for the most part, as if anybody really cared. Too bad. The ridiculous complications might have worked if there had been an awareness of how absurd they are. - Bob Graham
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| Customer Reviews | ![]() | | Cinematography |  3.5 | | Plot |  3 | | Acting | 3 | | Overall Satisfaction | 3 |
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5 of 5 More Than Van Damme Monday, August 09, 1999
Rook from Miami, Florida
There's some great film making technique here, Hong Kong-style, and you'll appreciate that the characters don't strive for depth - they just kick butt, both the men and the women. Forget it's a Van Damme vehicle and enjoy. Was this review helpful?  
0 of 1 customers found this review helpful.
1 of 5 Whoa, what smells? Sunday, June 27, 1999
Brian from Columbus, OH
This has to be absolutely, positively the worst movie I have ever seen. I am a big action flick fan, but I must say that this is the ONLY movie I have ever walked out of the theater on in my 29 years. Countless groans emanated from the crowd while watching this one. Bad acting, horrible plot, and unintelligible dialogue. A truly life sucking experience. I had a polite conversation with a married couple who were also looking to get their money back at the box office though! I feel the embarrassment for Rob Schneider and Paul Sorvino. They may have finally destroyed their careers with this one... Was this review helpful?
4 of 5 Worth the Price of Admission Tuesday, June 01, 1999
A Viewer from Portland, OR
This is a strange movie. It moves along at a frenetic pace. In fact, it moves along almost too quickly for most people to absorb. There are some brilliant sunts and camera work. If action is your thing and you don't care too much about heavy plots, then this movie will deliver. Was this review helpful?
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