Full Title: Jean-Claude Van Damme et ses doubles: de Jean-Claude Van Varenberg à JCVD
Author: David Da Silva (not the Brazilian footballer, the other one with the PhD)
Publisher: Omaké books
ISBN-13: 9782379892103
Finally! A life-long fan gives us a serious and extensive analysis of Van Damme's Hollywood carrier.
What I did like:
The author is always positive and respectful.
Nice foreword by screenwriter and film director Sheldon Lettich.
A short chapter about Van Damme's box office rival: Steven Seagal.
Plenty of unrealized movie projects. Fascinating!
Fresh content from:
Keith W. Strandberg (No Retreat, No Surrender (1986))
Eric Karson (Black Eagle (1988), Lionheart (1990))
Christopher Cosby (Bloodsport (1988))
Paulo Tocha (Bloodsport (1988), Death Warrant (1990), In Hell (2003))
David Worth (Bloodsport (1988), Kickboxer (1989))
Paul Hertzog (Bloodsport (1988), Kickboxer (1989))
Dennis Chan (Kickboxer (1989), Knock Off (1998))
Harrison Page (Lionheart (1990))
Rick Avery (Lionheart (1990))
Vic Armstrong (Double Impact (1991), Universal Soldier (1992))
Christopher Leitch (Universal Soldier (1992))
Randy Feldman (Nowhere to Run (1993))
David Gribble (Nowhere to Run (1993), The Quest (1996))
Peter MacDonald (Nowhere to Run (1993), The Quest (1996), Legionnaire (1998))
Chuck Pfarrer (Hard Target (1993))
Dennis Maguire (Hard Target (1993))
Mark Verheiden (Timecop (1994))
Peter Hyams (Timecop (1994), Sudden Death (1995), Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009), Enemies Closer (2013))
Damian Chapa (Street Fighter (1994))
Todd Senofonte (Sudden Death (1995), The Quest (1996), Maximum Risk (1996), Double Team (1997), Knock Off (1998), Legionnaire (1998), Universal Soldier: The Return (1999), Until Death (2007), Swelter (2014), Pound of Flesh (2015), Darkness of Man (2024))
Nikolas Korda (The Quest (1996))
Lawrence Riggins (Replicant (2001))
Simon Fellows (Second in Command (2006), Until Death (2007))
Isaac Florentine (The Shepherd: Border Patrol (2008))
Frédéric Bénudis (JCVD (2008))
Cung Le (Dragon Eyes (2012), Jean Claude Van Damme: Behind Closed Doors (2011))
Mike Leeder (Pound of Flesh (2015))
Dimitri Logothetis (Kickboxer: Vengeance (2016), Kickboxer: Retaliation (2018))
Pasha Patriki (Black Water (2018))
Josef Cannon (The Eagle Path aka Frenchy/Full Love/Soldiers (unreleased))
Sheldon Lettich (Bloodsport (1988), Lionheart (1990), Double Impact (1991), The Order (2001), The Hard Corps (2006))
What I did not like:
Only a couple of pages are dedicated to Cyborg (1989). Why was Jean-Claude's dad (Eugène Van Varenberg) present during the shoot? I wanted to know.
No interview with professional surfer Vincent Klyn!
No interview with actor Ralf Moeller.
No interview with Ms. Olympia Corinna Everson!
Aren't you a little old for video games? Covers for Jim Power in Mutant Planet, Bare Knuckle II (btw, Blaze Fielding is based on Gladys Portugues on that cover and Arnold Schwarzenegger also appears), Cobra 2 (Atari ST, Loriciels) and Art of Fighting (Neo Geo AES) are not mentioned.
Hard Times (1975 film) is mentioned, but not its connection to Street Fighter II's stages.
No mention of Franco Columbu (the unseen medical officer in Predator (1987)) visiting the Universal Soldier (1992) shoot.
Too much Sylvester Stallone, Ronald Reagan and Diego Maradona.
The cover by Jean-Baptiste Pollien.
Jean-Claude's 2023 comments about his Friends cameo in “The One After the Superbowl: Part 2” are not present.
No mention of The Muscles from Brussels' fan club from the early 1990s that would send out autographed photos to fans via snail mail... FOR FREE.
No mention of Jean-Claude's love of Goldorak aka UFO Robot Grendizer!
A double is overlooked: professional wrestler Rob Van Dam (Whose thumbs pointing is an homage to "GIVE ME TONG PO!").
No mention of Loaded Weapon 1 (1993) that makes fun of Jean-Claude's kicks.
No mention that Kiichi Miyazawa from the manga TOUGH (by Tetsuya Saruwatari and a big hit in France) is a JCVD fan.
No mention that Angelina Jolie's first starring role was in Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow (1993).
Still no English version of Jean-Claude Van Damme et ses doubles.
I give it a 9/10. Van Damme and his doubles is the greatest book about Jean-Claude Van Damme and Michel Qissi that has ever been written! The astonishing amount of research that went into Da Silva's tome will blow you away. You think you know everything about your favourite Belgian actor? Think again.
