Platoon The Warriors on YouTube...

I didn't know till now that Youtube is full of users who upload tons of full-lengh movies into their accounts...I was used to see clips from all kind of movies but this thing of uploading full movies has really surprised me. But I have to say my heart is divided into two parts because of this....First, I am happy because we are given the chance to watch many rare movies from every corner of the world. I have seem movies that are not avaliable on DVD, VCD or VHS outside third-world countries or they are just collectors pieces...but in the other hand, I don't agree about uploading  copyrighted movies...I consider myself a collector, I enjoy cinema & I think I have to pay for a work other people have done for my own entertainment. It is fair...You make a work, you develope your owns ideas, you have the right to get your benefit...I hate piracy & I despise pirates...

Platoon The Warriors is a copyrighted feature from IFD that is still on their catalog...someone has uploaded it to YouTube. The source is an English-dubbed language VHS from Greece, since the film has not known DVD release, I have decided to include it here, just in case some reader hasn't seen it yet. Anyway, I encourage you to purchase legal releases...

 Platoon The Warriors, as you may know, was directed by Philip Ko who used as main body a 1984 filipino production titled Diegong Bayong, starred by filipino star Anthony Malonzo. Diegong Bayong is a powerful, bloody & gritty action drama that was nicely edited by Philip Ko. Platoon the Warriors is a personal favourite of mine. Oh, I also found in Youtube the original Spanish trailer. I have to say, I had never seen it before on any spanish release...& I like it a lot!!!!!...

Diegong Bayong VCD

Lets say it again: Joseph Lai's IFD didn't use unfinished nor unreleased movies for its cut & paste films. Philip Ko made Platoon The Warriors adding new scenes & re-dubbing a filipino actioner from 1984 titled Diegong Bayong. During the summer of 2009 I was able to find the original movie on VCD in video store inside SM Mall of Asia in Pasay, Manila.

There are a lot of people who still define IFD movies as "bottom of the barrel" films, or as "worst of the cinematic experience". These kind of sentences usually come from people who compare IFD movies with big budgeted movies from Jackie Chan or John Woo. Of course they get dissapointed. It is like if you watch 55 days at Peking expecting to see another chapter from Once Upon a time in China. Both movies are wonderful, both movies are about the colonial time in China, but both movies are totally different & they can't be taken by same measurement.

We must recognice Joseph Lai offered us movies from several asian countries, movies that we would never be able to see if IFD never used them. IFD offer us the chance to discover other action movies from South Korea, Thailand ( before Punna & Tony Jaa arrived), the Philippines & Taiwan. No one talks about this. No one notices it? The easiest way was ( and still is) to despise these motion pictures.

Many of asian action movies fans & collectors have been able to enjoy Sombat Methanee's movies thanks to IFD, the same can be said about Sorapong Chatri's, Anthony Alonzo's, Lu I Chan or Master Lee Dae-Keun & even the korean movies starred by Casanova Wong or Wong Chen Li.

Now it is time to Diegong Bayong & here I offer you some snapshots from the original movie. Enjoy them!

The final battle takes place in an abandoned building that has been used by Philip Ko in many of the movies he shot in the Philippines starred by Yukari Oshima. I remember I have seen this place in movies such as Lethal Panther 2 or Guardian Angel among other titles. The following pics show how that building hadn't changed too much since Diegong Bayong was shot in 1984 until Philip Ko shot there his films at the begining of the 90's.

We have a western moment during the last battle, The police as it happens in most action movies arrives too late to save anyone....our hero waits for them in an heroic pose as Jimmy Wang Yu used to end his films

After this shot, we see the END titles....so it seems Diegong Bayong was a finished movie, right?????

Platoon The Warriors Vs Diegong Bayong ( Part 1)

There have been and there still are) many fake rumours & stories about IFD & its movies. One of the most repeated, disgusting, false & wrong ones is the " leyend" Joseph Lai used un-finisshed asian movies for his ninja / action films. Others said he used different 2 or 3 un-released movies to create a new film. Since I opened this site I have tried my best to prove all those bullshit was totally false & unfair to Mr Lai & his company.

There are some posts in this blog that give the original source movies used by IFD when they designed a new released. So, all my dear readers & friends have found out some asian titles from different countries that were updated by IFD adding new fotage & re-dubbing them.

I really hope this first post of August 2011 could be useful to eradotace & banish once for all that JOSEPH LAI'S IFD NEVER USED UNFINISHED NOR UNRELEASED MOVIES to design their own motion pictures.

One of my favourite IFD movies is Platoon the Warriors. It was starred by my friend Mike Abbott as a ruthless but coward drug lord trying to control the drug market & smashing other dealers like him using ninjas, guns, knives & machine guns. The show was directed by Philip Ko & his stuntmen. As always the plot & the way they film was not enough for a standar movie since the storyline can be resumed into 30 minutes.

IFD new pressbook for Platoon the Warriors, one of its best action movies due to a gorgeous source movie from the Philippines & the directing skills of Philip Ko.

Then, Philip Ko used a high octane filipino action movie to add another subplots related to the main story about drugs, killers & revenge and more actors. So they used a Filipino movie that was FILMED, FINISHED & RELEASED in the Philippines in 1984 titled Diegong Bayong, starred by one the very best action heroes from the Philippines Anthony Alonzo.

"Diegong Bayong" Stars Anthony Alonzo, Janet Bordon, Sarsi Emmanuelle, Ruel, Vernal, Dace Brodett, Lucita Soriano, Mario Escudero, Rocco Montalban.

Diegong Bayong was not an average action movie from the Philipines directed by Ron Gallardo Pablo in 1984. His main actor Anthony Alonzo was at the peak of his popularity among 1981/ 1984 when he played roles based in real people with criminal true stories like Danny Lee Sau Yin did years later in many films produced by his Magnum Films productions.

Besides Anthony Alonzo was already a popular cult- action hero in the international markets because he also played in many co-production in the Philipines. Titles such as Intrusion Cambodia starring along Richard Harrison; W means war, Trident Force, Clash of the warlords were everywhere during the video boom in the 80's & those movies were on tape in each video rental shop in Europe, the Us and even Africa & South America.

Diegong Bayong is one of the many movies that proves IFD never used unfinished or unreleased movies. In this case Joseph Lai provided to Philip Ko with a very popular film in the Philippines for his Platoon The Warriors.

Platoon the Warriors new fotage directed by Philip Ko & starred by Mike Abbott & Mark Watson was shot in 1987 & then edited into Diegong Bayong that was premiered in 1984. So, I truly hope not to find more bullshit about unfinished, unreleased films while I dig for more information related to IFD, Joseph Lai or the people who worked on those films. The truth only has one way.

Special thanks to Mr Simon Santos from the wonderful site VIDEO 48 for his kind help, all the information he passed me about Diegong Bayong and Anthony Alonzo & the original poster of Diegong Bayong.
You may find more information about Anthony Alonzo movies at VIDEO 48 here