Green Blood Irons (film)

Green Blood Irons is a 2006 American fantasy martial arts action film written by Isaac Reaper, directed by ? ?, produced by Reaper, and starring ?. It is an adaptation of the 90's fighting game series Green Blood Irons and the first installment of the live-action Green Blood Irons film series.

The plot of the film follows the residents of New Vic, a town occupied by a powerful martial arts cult/bootlegging outfit called Silver Forest, who force the towns various gangs and groups to fight one another in a yearly tournament..

Green Blood Irons, an Ivory Lion Productions film in association with Mercury Games, was filmed primarily in Oregon and premiered on August 10, 2006 in the United States. It received mixed reviews from the critics with praise towards its martial art sequences, atmosphere, presentation and production values whereas the performances were criticized along with the simple script. Its tie-in media included hit soundtracks Green Blood Irons: Original Motion Picture Score & Green Blood Irons: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

Green Blood Irons spent six weeks as the number-one film at the U.S. box office, earning over $300 million worldwide.

Plot
It is the year 1927. New Vic is a town in Portland, USA, during the Prohibition years. Gunpowder was never invented and as such cold weapons are still prominent and martial arts are commonly practiced. New Vic boasts multiple criminal organizations and groups, each with their own respective territories, which they guard wholeheartedly. For over two decades however, no group has gained any new territory. This is because of the Silver Forest, a cult-like group of martial artists and bootleggers led by Arthur Silvers. This group reigns supreme and have destroyed several non-compliant groups over the years. Since taking over, Silver Forest hosts a yearly martial arts tournament. The participants are representatives from each of the criminal gangs, groups and even solitary individuals who have obtained Arthur's attention. The winner of the tournament, and their associates, receives various concessions.

Production
Michael Shannon was originally cast as Buchanan, but dropped out due to a knee injury and was replaced by Harley Cook. Kevin Sellick was the filmmakers' first choice to play Roth, due to his performance in the film Taking Allister. Colton Reed was offered the role of Silvers but turned it down in order to do Rebel Free and the role eventually went to Gordon Brandis.

Shelly, Oregon was used as the main film site. Portland was used as well, though to a lesser degree.

Filming began in November 2005 and ended in March 2006.

Music
Green Blood Irons: Original Motion Picture Score is the instrumental score album with the music by ? ?, released by ? on October 22, 2006.

Green Blood Irons: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the compilation album released by ? Records on November 9, 2006. Original Motion Picture Soundtrack went platinum in less than a year reaching No. 20 on the Billboard 200.

Box office
New Vic opened on August 10, 2006, and was #1 at the box office for the weekend''. ''The film enjoyed a ?-week stint at number one, grossing an estimated $300 million worldwide. The film so far sits among the 15 highest-grossing video game adaptation ever released in the US.

Critical response
Green Blood Irons received a score of 66% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Metacritic gave the film a rating of 60/100.

Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly

According to Stephen Holden of The New York Times

Roger Ebert

Marc Savlov from The Austin Chronicle

Laura Evenson from San Francisco Chronicle

Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times

Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune

Leonard Klady from Variety

Kim Newman from Empire

Legacy
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