Chan, Jackie

Jackie Chan's Who Am I?

Shot in English and budgeted higher than any of his previous Asian features, Jackie Chan's last film under his Hong Kong contract is an action-packed globe-trotting adventure shot with the American audience in mind. The spies and secret agent-laden plot is packed with car chases, explosions, gunfire aplenty, and of course Jackie's own brand of gymnastic martial arts. But the flood of his older films between his hits Rumble in the Bronx and Rush Hour had sated American viewers and Who Am I? wound up being sold directly to cable. It's our loss, for this mix of goofy slapstick and jaw-dropping action is his most impressive film since Drunken Master II. Playing a special forces agent (named, naturally, Jackie) struck with amnesia and adopted by an African bush tribe following a failed assassination attempt, he embarks on a quest to discover his true identity while armies of killers pour after him. After an explosive opening, the story gets momentarily bogged down in the kind of mugging humor that leaves most American audiences scratching their heads, but once Jackie kicks into gear the film is a high-speed action flurry that culminates in a furious battle atop a Rotterdam skyscraper. Jackie is at his most charmingly naive (he berates the villains, pleading "Why do you want to destroy when you can make things better?") and athletically impressive: the marvelous stunts--including a flight down the side of the skyscraper--and fight choreography make Rush Hour look like a Sunday drive. --Sean Axmaker

The Legend of Drunken Master

Wong Fei-Hong (Chan) is inadvertently caught up in a fight between foreign exporters and those who don't want ancient Chinese artifacts to leave the country.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: R
Release Date: 6-APR-2004
Media Type: DVD

Jackie Chan's Police Story (Special Collector's Edition)

This classic Jackie Chan picture opens with one of the wildest police action set pieces ever filmed, an extended chase that includes the total destruction of a hillside shanty settlement, as fleeing crooks and pursing cops crash down through it with their vehicles. Overall, however, the picture is an awkward mixture of clashing elements. At first it is a little strange seeing Chan playing it (mostly) straight in a hard-edged police thriller. The fights are all extremely ferocious and real-looking, without the lighthearted slapstick stylization that leavens his best period vehicles, like Project A, Part II. The comedy elements (especially a recurrent cake-in-the-face gag) seem to come out of nowhere; they are no longer integral to the spirit of the movie. But there are wonderful set pieces, stunts, and action scenes, including Jackie struggling to answer a dozen jangling phones at once, when he's left alone at the police station, and the all-out, glass-smashing fervor of a climactic battle royal in a shopping mall. --David Chute

Jackie Chan has become a genre unto himself, and watching Police Story, you'll understand why. The plot is minimal: Chan is a hero cop involved in a raid that goes wrong. He's assigned to guard a witness, the kingpin's attractive female secretary (Brigitte Lin). For the rest of the film, Chan's protecting himself from the secretary, from the gangsters out to silence her, and from his own jealous girlfriend (Maggie Cheung). But watching Chan for plot is like watching porno for existential themes. While most modern action films steal cues from Westerns, Chan condenses those open mesas into the dense throngs of modern Hong Kong--and tosses in Buster Keaton slapstick. For example, when the opening raid goes haywire, there's an unbelievable car chase through the steep huddle of a hillside shantytown. That's through. No roads, just shacks. Flimsy shacks. As the film progresses, Chan scales a speeding bus using an umbrella, uses cow dung as an excuse to break into some Shaolin moonwalking, and transforms an urban shopping mall into a demented gymnasium (think clothes racks, escalators, and lots of plate glass displays). Chan is amazingly versatile both physically and emotionally--and he's a secure enough star-director to let his costars shine, too. --Grant Balfour

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This classic Jackie Chan picture opens with one of the wildest police action set pieces ever filmed, an extended chase that includes the total destruction of a hillside shanty settlement, as fleeing crooks and pursing cops crash down through it with their vehicles. Overall, however, the picture is an awkward mixture of clashing elements. At first it is a little strange seeing Chan playing it (mostly) straight in a hard-edged police thriller. The fights are all extremely ferocious and real-looking, without the lighthearted slapstick stylization that leavens his best period vehicles, like Project A, Part II. The comedy elements (especially a recurrent cake-in-the-face gag) seem to come out of nowhere; they are no longer integral to the spirit of the movie. But there are wonderful set pieces, stunts, and action scenes, including Jackie struggling to answer a dozen jangling phones at once, when he's left alone at the police station, and the all-out, glass-smashing fervor of a climactic battle royal in a shopping mall. --David Chute

Police Story breaks new ground with its breathtaking fights and incredible stunt sequences. Featuring a top-notch cast, which includes multi-award winning actresses Brigitte Lin & Maggie Cheung, director Chan combines a compelling storyline of an honest cop on the run from a false murder charge with dynamic visuals and full-blooded fight action which is electrified with emotional underscoring. In the case of this particular project the price of excellence was high, with many of Jackie's elite stunt team being seriously injured during the course of principal photography.

Police Story 2 (Special Collector's Edition)

Before making a name for himself in Hollywood with the Rush Hour franchise, Jackie Chan was already an international superstar, thanks to Hong Kong films such as Police Story and its sequels. While not quite up to par with that film, Police Story 2 (released in 1988) still manages to pack quite the punch, picking up where Police Story left off. Chan's Ka Kui has been demoted from detective to traffic cop, something that depresses him but is a source of relief for his gorgeous girlfriend May (Maggie Cheung, Hero), who is hoping that they can live in peace. But hell hath no fury like a Triad member scorned, and Ka Kui finds himself a hunted man when the gangsters he locked away seek revenge. While the plot is familiar, the impeccably choreographed action sequences are a work of art. Exhibiting both strength and grace, Chan who also directed and co-wrote the screenplay as well as performed all his own stunts) is both heroic and comical as he fends off hordes of villains. He's in fine form, whether he's beating up his opponent or about to get bullied by a waif of a handicapped man. Chan is famous for including a blooper reel at the end of his movies, and while the bloopers for his later films appear almost forced--as if he had to scrounge around to come up with good material--his earlier pictures conclude with gasp-inducing mistakes that make the viewer wonder how one man's body can endure this kind of physical punishment. The DVD offers both the Cantonese version with English (and Spanish) subtitles, as well as a cheesy English dubbed treatment. Opt for the subtitles: The action will more than speak for itself. --Jae-Ha Kim

(Martial Arts/Foreign) The explosive sequel to Jackie Chan's groundbreaking original, Police Story 2 is famous internationally for some of the most daring and inventive stunt sequences ever committed to film. Despite his success at apprehending criminals, Kevin Chan's unorthadox approach to his work as a police officer sees him demoted to the traffic branch. Despite this, the man he put behind bars is now out of prison, and has vowed to make his life a misery.

Jackie Chan's Project A

For people who've discovered Jackie Chan through his American hit Rush Hour and want to learn what his Hong Kong movies are like, Project A is an excellent place to start. Chan plays a sailor in 19th-century Hong Kong; pirates have been terrorizing the seas for months, and all efforts to combat them have been sabotaged by the corrupt chief of police and a criminal gang, who are in cahoots with the pirates. But the plot is hardly the point--a Jackie Chan movie is about astonishingly acrobatic action sequences and breathtaking stunts, and Project A has plenty. Of particular interest is a bicycle chase that is more suspenseful than any car chase you've ever seen. Chan is joined by Sammo Hung (star of TV's Martial Law) as a shifty con man who comes through when the chips are down. Project A also features Yuen Biao, a frequent costar in Chan's movies, who's yet another astounding martial artist. But what separates Jackie Chan movies from other kung fu flicks is his sense of humor; every fight scene is punctuated by something--a clever use of a prop or sudden reversal of your expectations--that will make you bark with laughter. Sometimes it's just so exquisitely choreographed that the entire movie seems to float on a cloud of giddy delight. Purists may object to the movie being dubbed, but given the overall hamminess of the acting, it's not particularly intrusive. Jackie Chan is often compared to the classic silent comedians for his grace and timing--he lives up to it. --Bret Fetzer

Coast guard officer Dragon Ma (Jackie Chan) takes on harbor pirates with the help of co-stars Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: UN
Release Date: 6-SEP-2005
Media Type: DVD

Legends of Kung Fu 10 Movie Pack

Blind Fist Of BruceBruce Li stars in this 1970s tribute to the formula that made Bruce Lee a star. Plenty of amazing Kung Fu action makes Blind Fist of Bruce an instant Hong Kong classic! (Approx. 90 Min.)Fist Of Fear - Touch Of DeathMayhem reigns where martial arts meet! Filmed at the famous Madison Square Garden this epic contains non-stop action from the legendary Bruce Lee at the peak of his career. Starring with Bruce is former all-pro football star Fred "The Hammer" Williamson. (Approx. 90 Min.)Kung Fu - The Punch Of DeathKung Fu superstar Meng Fei stars in this WIDESCREEN presentation of the 1970s martial arts classic. Meng Fei is a promising martial artist who is ambushed by a rival school. Through vigorous training he prepares himself for a final battle with the entire school! (Approx. 90 Min.)36 Crazy FistsWong Tai-Kwong doesn't know much about martial arts and seems doomed to a life of getting beaten up by rival fighters. Until one day when Wong meets a drunken hermit who would become his Kung-Fu teacher. 36 Crazy Fists features the direction and fight choreography of Jackie Chan! (Approx. 80 Min.)Legend Of The Eight SamuraiPrincess Hiroku Yokoshimaru's family is wiped out along with her bodyguards. All that stands between the princess and certain death is an inexperienced young samurai (Sonny Chiba). Chiba must battle an octet of phantom warriors a witch and a killer centipede! (Approx. 130 Min.)The Street FighterTerry Tsuguri (Sonny Chiba) is a tough mercenary master of martial arts who is hired by the mob to spring a convicted killer from prison. This classic presented in its original WIDESCREEN format features incredible fight scenes by master Chiba. (Approx. 90 Min.)BloodfightYears after retiring from the world of free fighting martial arts a man returns to the deadly world of fighting after his best student is killed in the tournament.Starring Bolo Yeung and Simon Yam. (Approx. 105 Min.)Breathing FireA Vietnamese teenager and his American b

Jackie Chan: My Story

Jackie Chan spent many years as a relatively obscure Hong Kong stuntman and actor; it was only after he took over his own films that he started on the path to superstardom. Realizing that nobody bought him as the next Bruce Lee, Chan shrugged off stoicism in favor of characters and situations that capitalized on his comedic abilities and everyman's charm. Portraying an average guy caught up in extraordinary situations allowed his fans to believe that they, too, could pull off some of Chan's incredible stunts--which, as the painful outtakes that run at the end of most of his films remind us, he largely performs himself.

Unfortunately, Chan might have learned his lesson a little too well: now that he trusts his own instincts above all others, he seems to be loath to let others tell his story for him. On the 75-minute My Story, it's a fatal flaw: rather than providing what fans want--either non-stop action or a truly revealing look at Chan's life would be fulfilling--this documentary feels more like a late-night low-budget infomercial for those who don't really care about Chan. (It even includes the full trailer from Chan's first Hollywood starring effort, Rush Hour.)

The only time Chan truly lets people into his life comes in My Story's final moments, when he talks about what his monomaniacal professional drive has cost him in terms of a personal life and what his life's goals truly are. Even that falls flat in the end, when Jackie, surrounded by children, tells of his one, true dream: "Peace." For a more professional look at Chan's life and career, try the A&E-produced Biography installment on him. --Randy Silver

The 36 Crazy Fists

Wong Tai-Kwong doesn't know much about martial arts and seems doomed to a life of getting beaten up by martial artists. In order to protect himself Wong enrolls in a Kung Fu school but ends up spending most of his time cleaning the floors instead of learning martial arts. One day however while carrying water from the river Wong meets a drunken hermit who eventually becomes his Kung Fu teacher - and teaches him the "36 styles" of Kung Fu that eventually lead him to victory over a series of deadly fighters. 36 Crazy Fists features the direction and fight choreography of the master himself Jackie Chan who also has a cameo role in the film as a stunt coordinator.System Requirements: Running Time 90 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: SPORTS/GAMES/MIXED MARTIAL ARTS Rating: NR UPC: 787364418992 Manufacturer No: 44189-9

The Young Master

Fantasy Mission Force

Jackie Chan makes a brief guest appearance in this surreally goofy action comedy, a high-spirited shambles from 1982 that hovers awkwardly somewhere between Monty Python and The Three Stooges. When all else fails, cult director Chu Yen-ping (Island of Fire) resorts to exploding cigars, guys making funny faces, men dressed in women's clothing, even a ghost or two. The nominal star, '70s kung fu veteran Wang Yu (The One-Armed Swordsman), is an Allied agent assembling a troupe of commandos for a mission behind enemy lines during World War II. (Although the landscape is obviously Asian, there are Hogan's Heroes-style Nazis scampering through the jungle.) Every member of this movie's mismatched clown-squad seems to hail from a different planet, including one inexplicable fellow who looks like an Elvis impersonator in a kilt. Most of the exhilarating action is handled by the glorious Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia, from Peking Opera Blues and The Bride with White Hair, who kicks heads and looks smashing in a red-and-black-leather jumpsuit. --David Chute