Here's a real oddity for ya, it's a bizarre mix of kitsch, kung fu and 70's crime drama. Wow, this flick is more eclectic than a bag of Chex Mix! The Amsterdam Connection comes to us as part of Crash Cinema's Pagoda Films Premium Collection, a series that is known for being top of the line in quality among the Crash Cinema collections. It definitely holds up to the reputation of the line, but I'm not even sure where to begin with the actual film itself, this is one weird flick!

Two friends are torn apart by none other than a woman (the things we do for love) and spend their time in rival gangs traveling between Honk Kong and Holland. In the mean time the young woman who tore these guys apart begs and pleads with her parent's to let her get a job. Of course they decline, that is until the job opportunity of a lifetime comes up when she's offered a part in a major motion picture! Her protective parents reluctantly allow her to travel to Holland with the strange men and a few other women! Turns out that the movie producers are really using the girls to smuggle drugs into Holland for them, and then they sell them off to a prostitution ring! I bet you didn't see that one coming!

Our two young rival chaps are forced to band together once again and set aside their differences after they save the same young lady that separated them both to begin with. They'll need to stick together as it seems as if there's now a price on both of their heads add in a heavy dose of corruption around every corner and they don't know where to turn. To be honest, after watching this flick, I don't know where to turn either!

If you think it all sounds a bit confusing, there's really no maybe about it, this flick is confusing! The main problem is that it's hard to differentiate between the good and bad guys. I mean, just about everybody in this flick is a willing participant in some sort of illegal activity, who should I be rooting for? It's a tough call, and despite all this, I found the film to be oddly compelling. Now don't get me wrong, this is not a great film by any stretch of the imagination, but it's still a jaw dropper nonetheless and definitely has enough bizarre set pieces to satisfy even the most jaded trash flick fan.

The dubbing is fairly atrocious with heavy accents and plenty of inane dialogue like the moment when our young heroine realizes she's part of a whorehouse and she's told "Hey you! You're also going to be a whore!" Or "Because of my vanity, I've been tricked!" sure why not! The "audition" for the film itself (called something like The Man and Seven Women) is quite priceless as well, in which our would be "actors" actually interpret a scene from Romeo and Juliet (complete with that classic R&J music) and recite lines like "Juliet, why did you kill yourself?" and then there's some bizarre scenes involving gang members and leaders that involve some kind of "rhyming competition" (no that's not a misprint). I'm also pretty sure that I heard some sort of musical copyright infringements in a few places as well! Also of note are a few (and mostly unexpected) scenes of female full-frontal nudity that really caught me off guard.

All told, I still dug the flick despite all of its weirdness, I just couldn't turn away. There are some effective fight scenes choreographed right alongside some atrocious 70's clothes and hairstyles. Obviously, there are plenty of comical moments (intentional or not) and by the end of the flick it's definitely a question of "did I actually just see that?" Not to mention the fact that the ending itself will most likely leave you questioning your existence on this ungodly planet.

Crash Cinema has done a commendable job in bringing this oddity to DVD. The flick looks to be properly letterboxed and the transfer is near exceptional. Sure there is some evidence of print damage (mostly a few specs and some light scratches) but for the most part this is a fairly clean transfer. This DVD boasts strong vibrant colors and a near razor sharp image. There are some outdoor scenes that look truly outstanding. Crash Cinema has probably done this flick more justice than it deserves!

Audio is your basic dubbed mono track. Nothing to get excited about, but it gets the job done. Not much in the way of hiss or background noise. Plenty of silly lines though, so beware.

Extras include trailers for a few other Crash Cinema titles in their Pagoda line, a still gallery, filmographies, and a few random fight scenes from an unrelated flick.

If you go into this one knowing what to expect, you shouldn't be too disappointed. Chalk this one up to a guilty pleasure, I probably shouldn't have enjoyed the onscreen shenanigans as much as I did. It's silly and outrageous fun, nothing more and nothing less (well maybe a little bit less), cheese fans unite... and enjoy! Not for nothing, if you derive no other enjoyment, this flick is perfect for a new drinking game. Every time someone onscreen says, "How's things in Holland?" take a drink. I guarantee you won't be able to stand up by the time the credits roll!

Be sure to visit Crash Cinema online here!