Heart of Dragon
| Heart of Dragon | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Sammo Hung Fruit Chan |
| Written by | Barry Wong |
| Produced by | Chua Lam Wu Ma Leonard Ho |
| Starring | Jackie Chan Sammo Hung Emily Chu Mang Hoi Lam Ching-ying James Tien Yuen Wah |
| Cinematography | Arthur Wong |
| Edited by | Peter Cheung Joseph Chiang Wong Ping Ding Yue Ng Kwok-wa |
| Music by | Lam Man-yee |
| Distributed by | Golden Harvest Bo Ho Film Company Ltd |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Language | Cantonese |
Heart of Dragon (Chinese: 龍的心, released in the United Kingdom as Heart of the Dragon) is a 1985 Hong Kong action film directed by Sammo Hung, who also starred in the lead role. The film co-stars Jackie Chan, Emily Chu and Mang Hoi. It also features Yuen Biao is the action director for this film.
It is also known by the titles as The First Mission and Powerman III.
Background
The film is unusual in that although featuring Sammo Hung and Lam Ching-ying, two actors famed for their kung fu abilities, neither actually perform any martial arts. Golden Harvest had wanted Hung to perform fight scenes in the film, but he refused, rationalising "My character was mentally retarded, mentally disabled, so how can you ask me to fall down and suddenly become well again? And fight? They knew my fighting skills and wanted me to be part of the action but I thought that would have completely destroyed the tone of the film, the principles behind the film."[1]
The action is left to Chan and his fellow CID officers, Mang Hoi, Yuen Wah, Chan Lung and Corey Yuen. Despite the relative lack of action scenes, the film was nominated for the Best Action Choreography award at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1986. It was beaten by Chan's Police Story.
The bad guys are led by James Tien and include Dick Wei, Chung Fat, Phillip Ko and Kao Sau-leung. The film also features a small role for Wu Ma as a restaurant owner, and like My Lucky Stars, Sammo Hung's real life brother makes a cameo appearance as a Policeman (who walks into Inspector Wong's office without knocking).
Cast
- Jackie Chan – Ted / Tat Fung (doubled by Yuen Biao)
- Sammo Hung – Danny / Dodo Fung
- Emily Chu – Jenny
- Mang Hoi – Ian
- Lam Ching-ying – SWAT Team Commander
- Peter Chan – SWAT Team Member
- Chin Kar-lok – SWAT Team Member
- Yuen Wah – SWAT Team Member
- Corey Yuen – SWAT Team Member
- Melvin Wong – Inspector Wong
- Dennis Chan – Waiter
- Anthony Chan – Private Teacher
- Chung Fat – Moose / Cho Yee Fat / Fa
- James Tien – Mr. Kim
- Dick Wei – Kim's Man
- Phillip Ko – Kim's Man
- Shan Tai – Kim's Man
- Kao Sau-leung – Kim's Man
- Kong Chow – Kim's Man
- Billy Ching – Kim's Man
- Tai San – Kim's Man
- Wu Ma – Cafe Owner
- Soh Hang-suen – Cafe Owner's wife
- Lam Ying-fat – Edmond Pang Kwok Hwa
- Lee Ka-ho – Heung Chi Ming
- Tze Man-ha – Mrs. Chee / Grandma
- Tai Bo – Kenny
- Lee Hoi-san – Thug at restaurant
- Fung Hak-on – Thug at restaurant
- Chiu Chi-ling – Thug at restaurant
Versions
As this was intended as a dramatic film, showing a different side of Hung's acting abilities, it contains comparatively few action scenes. Two additional fight scenes were filmed, but these were cut from both the domestic Hong Kong print and the international print of the film. Due to the demands of certain markets, these scenes were included in some prints of the film, notably the Japanese release. They are included as additional features on the US, UK and Australian DVD releases of the film.
Box Office
This film grossed HK $20.3 million at the Hong Kong box office.[2] Although a commercial success, it was considerably low compared to the other Jackie Chan action blockbusters of the 80's.
Awards and nominations
- 1986 Hong Kong Film Awards
- Won: Best Original Film Song - for the song "Sui Hoh Seung Yi" (誰可相依) ("Who Could Be Dependent"). (Lam Man-yee - music, Poon Yuen-leung - lyrics, Julie Su Rui - performer)
- Nominated: Best Action Choreography
- Nominated: Best Director (Sammo Hung)
- Nominated: Best Actor (Jackie Chan)
- Nominated: Best Original Film Score (Lam Man-yee)
References
- ^ Sammo Hung (August 2004). Heart of Dragon, "Different Strokes" interview with Sammo Hung (DVD). Contender Entertainment Group.
- ^ "The Action Mutant Reviews : Heart Of Dragon". Theactionmutant.blogspot.in.