Direct to Video Connoisseur: The DTVC 40 Club

The Direct to Video Connoisseur

I'm a huge fan of action, horror, sci-fi, and comedy, especially of the Direct to Video variety. In this blog I review some of my favorites and not so favorites, and encourage people to comment and add to the discussion. For announcements and updates, don't forget to Follow us on Bluesky and Like our Facebook page. If you're the director, producer, distributor, etc. of a low-budget feature length film and you'd like to send me a copy to review, you can contact me at dtvconnoisseur[at]yahoo.com. I'd love to check out what you got. And check out my newest book, Nadia and Aidan, over on Amazon.

Members of the 40 Club have had 40 or more movies reviewed on the DTVC

1. Dolph Lundgren - 74*

2. Gary Daniels - 60

3. Cole S. McKay - 58

4. Art Camacho - 55

5. PM Entertainment - 49

As Cannon was winding down operations in the early 90s, another studio that had formed in the late 80s was starting to build up steam. Run by production team Pepin and Merhi (PM), PM Entertainment put out some of the best DTV actioners of the 90s, plus a slew of other great films that, despite being in other genres, never failed to have at least one car flip.

6. Albert Pyun - 46†

Friend of the DTVC Albert Pyun is the only director in the 40 club. Love him or hate him, he's always earnest in his approach, and comes to his projects with the best of intentions. Not only that, but his films are often chock full of great names that are familiar to us DTV fans. Like the other members of this club, he's a true DTV legend.

7. Cannon Films - 46§

Cannon revolutionized the action realm in the 80s, in particular with DTV films. Big names and big action were their hallmarks, and there was no shortage of great ones, especially when the famed producing duo of Golan and Globus took the helm. Alas, as the decade wore on, they set their sights on bigger productions, and two in particular proved their undoing, The Masters of the Universe and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. But what they achieved before that will live on in our hearts.

8. Cynthia Rothrock - 44

The first lady of DTV action, Cynthia Rothrock's CV is one of the best ever--not just for female action leads. Combining expert skill with next-level athleticism, she put out one high-octane actioner after another. From Hong Kong to PM Entertainment, her credentials are unimpeachable, and really it's Hollywood's loss that they never cast her in anything on the big screen, and our gain that she has had so many DTV gems.

9. Don "The Dragon" Wilson - 40

Champion kickboxer Don "The Dragon" Wilson parlayed that success into one of the greatest DTV action careers. Bloodfist and Ring of Fire are the two franchises he's best known for, but really it was the sense if we saw his name on the tin when we were browsing our local video store, we knew we were in for a fun night.

* Dolph Lundgren has 75 tags, but one is for the JCVD Film Fest we did for our 400th Post
† Albert Pyun has 47 tags, but Mean Guns was reviewed twice.
§,Cannon has 47 tags, but American Ninja 2 was reviewed twice.