BY TODD GARBARINI
I love Asian cinema. During the 1990’s
I discovered a whole other cinematic world in the form of Hong Kong action
films at some great Chinatown movie theaters in lower Manhattan, such as the
long-gone Rosemary Theater on Canal Street which is now a Buddhist Temple. Even
the Film Forum, with its gloriously narrow and Quasimodo posture-inducing seats,
also sported its fair share of Hong Kong festivals with screenings of Siu-Tung
Ching’s beloved A Chinese Ghost Story
trilogy, the Swordsman trilogy, and
the follow-up to Jonnie To’s Heroic Trio
from 1993. Independent video stores situated in Asian and Indian neighborhoods
also offered up these amazing Eastern adventures on VHS and the low picture
quality and poorly displayed white subtitles mattered little to those of us
enthralled by the action onscreen. I was lucky enough to locate a store that
rented imported laserdiscs with letterboxed versions of these amazing films. No
one, however, can have a serious discussion about this genre without including
the inimitable Jackie Chan, a powerhouse of a stuntman who also acts in and
even directs much of his own work.
Jackie Chan is known in the United
States through only a handful of films, the first being Hal Needham’s 1981
comedy The Cannonball Run and its
1984 follow-up Cannonball Run II. He
garnered greater exposure in 1995 with Rumble
in the Bronx and his comedic team-up with Chris Tucker in the three Rush Hour films that he appeared in between
1998 and 2007, and a fourth is now rumored to be in the works. His Hong
Kong-based work, though highly prolific, is much less available here and this
is a great shame as these films are wildly entertaining and even flat out
hilarious, easily lending themselves to repeat viewing. Getting his start in
the Hong Kong film business following the void left by the untimely death of
the late martial arts expert Bruce Lee, Mr. Chan worked his way through many
roles and its his turn as a police inspector in 1985’s Police Story wherein his stunt work really shines.
Mr. Chan portrays an undercover police
officer, Chan Ka-Kui, working for the Royal
Hong Kong Police Force attempting to arrest crime lord Chu Tao (Chor Yuen).
Naturally the deal goes sour and his cover is blown, and this results in some
truly amazing stunts involving cars, a huge shanty town, and a double-decker
bus (we learn later on that these dangerous stunts weren’t stunts at all, but
rather mis-timed mistakes that were left in the film!). Later his bosses,
Superintendent Li (Kwok-Hung Lam) and Inspector Bill Wong (Bill Tung), give him
a tongue-lashing for the destruction caused by the investigation and so he’s
placed on another assignment: to protect Selina Fong (Brigitte Lin), Chu Tao’s
secretary. Her demeanor is blasé at best and after she shrugs off an offer of
police protection, Ka-Kui convinces a subordinate to pretend to be a killer,
sneaking into Selina’s apartment with the attempt “to kill her†in a very
humorous sequence that illuminates Mr. Chan’s comedic talents when he “comes to
the rescueâ€. Selina changes her mind, agreeing to testify against her boss in
open court. Ka-Kui’s girlfriend May (the wonderful Maggie Cheung) comes into
the picture when she surprises Ka-Kui at his apartment for his birthday and
notices Selina who is afraid to remain at her own apartment following the attack.
A series of miscommunications and misadventures ensues to give way to some
truly spectacular set pieces. Selina inevitably discovers that her apartment
“attack†was choreographed and embarrasses Ka-Kui in court the following day in
a very amusing sequence.
Crime lord Chu Tao is released on bail
and threatens to kill Selina, though a double-cross by a dirty Police Inspector
who intends to frame Ka-Kui for murder leads Ka-Kui to take Superintendent Li
hostage, but he is eventually freed. In one of the cinema’s first instances of
blackmail via computer files that I can recall, Selina decides to breach her
former boss’s computer system by downloading incriminating files. As a front,
his office is in a shopping mall, and one of the craziest sequences of shopping
mall carnage following John Landis’s The
Blues Brothers (1980) ensues involving some top-notch stunt work. The
film’s ending is abrupt and gives way to the sequel, Police Story 2 (1988).
In Police
Story 2, Ka-Kui (Jackie Chan) is now a member of the Hong Kong highway
patrol as punishment for his handling of the Chu Tao crime case which resulted
in extensive damage to the shopping mall. His girlfriend, the adorable May
(Maggie Cheung),
is only too happy to have her boyfriend away from such a dangerous career. Her
joy is short-lived however, when a dying Chu Tao schemes to make life
unpleasant for she and Ka-Kui. His henchmen, led by John Ko (Charlie
Cho), antagonize Ka-Kui into a fight and an amazing action sequence takes place
in a restaurant (Mr. Chan’s amazing fighting abilities really shine here as he
makes humorous use of plates and chairs. The influence on his Stateside
brother, actor Jason Statham, are unmistakable). Bothered by his own behavior,
Ka-Kui resigns from the Royal Hong Kong Police Force.
Ka-Kui and May attempt to fly away on
vacation, however a bomb threat at a local mall (another mall!) thwarts
Ka-Kui’s effort to avoid this dangerous career path. Initially thought to be a
hoax, a bomb detonates, destroying the mall. Ka-Kui is back on the force to
May’s chagrin! Ka-Kui, with Inspector Bill Wong (Bill Tung) in tow, plan to
learn more about the bombers and they’re led to a company with the intention of
planting a listening device in the boardroom to gain information. In the funniest
elevator scene since Revenge of the Pink
Panther (1978), Ka-Kui breaks wind as a diversionary tactic. Their efforts
lead to a deaf criminal who is well-versed in martial arts and explosives. This
idea itself is hilarious enough, and the action that ensues is a riot. The
bombers are discovered, and they command a ransom of $20 million. May is
kidnapped and spectacular fights occur between the deaf criminal and Ka-Kui,
ending in a blaze of fireworks and May’s rescue.
Police Story runs 100 minutes and the uncut version
of Police Story 2 runs a bit longer
than it should at 122 minutes (there are unusually long, plodding dialog scenes
that do little but slow down the action) and both films contain enough stunning
action set pieces to make one wonder how in the world do the stuntmen perform
such fast and accomplished maneuvers? The answer lies in the preparation and
training and much can be learned in the methods that Mr. Chan employs when working
with a dedicated team of professionals.
The Criterion Collection is the last
company I would have thought would release these films, but I am so glad that
they have. Once again, they have done an excellent job. Truthfully, Mr. Chan should be put into the spotlight and
given the royal home video treatment as his films are thoroughly entertaining
and deserve to be restored and seen properly. The amount of work and the danger that he puts himself into all in
the name of authenticity is unreal.
The Police
Story films don’t stop at Part 2.
There is Police Story 3: Supercop
(1992) which was released theatrically in the United States in 1996 with the
original excellent Hong Kong musical score replaced by a less appealing one. It
also sports one of the best car chase sequences ever filmed outside of a
William Friedkin or John Frankenheimer film; Police Story 4: First Strike (1996) and a fifth called New Police Story (2004) followed. I hope
that Criterion follows up with these films, especially Supercop, though the film rights might be an issue.
The special features on Police Story consist of:
A new 4K digital restoration with
legible subtitles.
Jackie Chan: My Stunts (standard
definition, about 64 minutes) – These are excerpts of the 112-minute 1999
documentary co-directed by Mr. Chan, focusing on the preparation he does for
his stunts in addition to a look at his stunt team and how they go about
“cheating†the camera. Absolutely fascinating and spoken in English. My guess
is that disc space constraints led to the shorter running time. The full
documentary can be seen on Youtube.
Interview with Edgar Wright
(high definition, about 13 minutes) – This interview features filmmaker
Edgar Wright discussing his enthusiastic love of Mr. Chan’s work through clips
of his films.
The Talkhouse Podcast (Audio discussion
for about 36 minutes) – Filmmaker Edgar Wright talks with Mr. Chan about
action cinema and Mr. Chan’s work.
Becoming Jackie (high definition, just over 16 minutes)
– Author Grady Hendrix, who is also the founder of the New York Asian Film
Festival which, as of this writing, is in its 18th year, talks about
Mr. Chan and how he has managed to be popular with audiences for so long.
The King vs. Kings II (high definition,
about 12 minutes) – Shot in 2017, this is a television show wherein Mr.
Chan sings the song that opens Police
Story. In Cantonese with English subtitles.
Interview with Jackie Chan (standard
definition, about 19 minutes) – This interview was shot in the mid-1980’s and
features Mr. Chan talking about Police
Story and the challenges of making a film that features comedy, action and
drama. Spoken in English.
Trailers (high definition)
The special features on Police Story 2 consist of:
A new 4K digital restoration with
legible subtitles.
Hong Kong Re-Release Version
(high definition, 105 minutes) – This is a different cut of the 122-minute
film and was scanned in 2K. It’s been transferred from a theatrical print, so
the subtitles are on the actual film print rather than generated by a chyron.
The idea is to give the viewer more of a “grindhouse†type of viewing
experience.
Son of the Incredibly Strange Film Show (standard
definition, about 41 minutes) – This is a 1989 episode of the Jonathan
Ross-emceed television show which goes behind the scenes of the Jackie Chan film
The Miracle based in the 1930’s. It
also has interviews with Mr. Chan and Maggie Cheung.
Reinventing Action (high definition, 21 minutes)
– Author Grady Hendrix discusses how action films came to be and how it
relates to the Police Story films.
Benny Lai (standard definition, just under 16
minutes) – The actor who plays the deaf bomb creator is interviewed here. Spoken
in Cantonese with English subtitles.
L’Opera De Pekin A Paris (standard
definition, just under 13 minutes) – This is from a 1964 television show.
It explains what it’s like to train at Opera, something that Mr. Chan did when
he was very young.
Stunt Reel (SD, 4:42) – Clips of
mistakes/bloopers/near misses.
Trailers (HD)
The set comes with a foldout booklet
with a well-written essay by critic Nick Pinkerton.
Watching these films and documentaries
should make one aware that Jackie Chan is one of the world’s biggest movie
stars who loves his fans and what he does: making movies.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON