A genre-blending action comedy mashup that somehow finds the right tone and features a Buster Keaton-like physical talent, Jackie Chan (writer/director/star/stunt coordinator), at the top of his game
At 100 minutes in running time– it is flying—this has got to be one of the lowest ASL’s (average shot lengths) of any films in the archives. It is Eisenstein. Rapidly introducing the bad guys with freezes, jump cuts and zooms and we’re in a major urban western shootout in 10 minutes
The skeleton of the story on the page is as generic as the title suggests
It isn’t just comparable to Buster Keaton because of the physical skills of Jackie Chan—he’s hilarious here and the film has a genuinely goofy spirit (he gets hit in the pie three times)—and the story is just an excuse for his talents
The slapstick and stunt physical talent is the show
Strong set pieces as well—the cars rolling down literally though the squatter’s village on the hill
Speeding up the film stock speed is a mistake. They didn’t need to do it and it distracts and detracts from the talent. It isn’t ballet like slow-motion sometimes can be in Kurosawa or Peckinpah
Astonishing – the double-decker bus set piece—Chan is a marvel- showing off his skills – Peking Opera Company background
Astonishing – the double-decker bus set piece—Chan is a marvel- showing off his skills – Peking Opera Company background
Buster Keaton-like for sure
There’s a long slow brutal court scene
Goofy- he’s literally moonwalking off bull$hit at one point
The chandelier drop in the mall at the end of the film- a wow as well
The chandelier drop in the mall at the end of the film- a wow as well — to make sure you caught it they show it three times
There aren’t a lot of gorgeous frames but I admired the one with Chan lying down with a plane flying over at 78 minutes
At 80-85 minutes when Chan is losing it on his commissioner that’s just really good acting to anyone who ever says he can’t actually act and it is all about the stunts
A genre-blending action comedy mashup that somehow finds the right tone and features a Buster Keaton-like physical talent, Jackie Chan (writer/director/star/stunt coordinator), at the top of his game
The hand to hand content, the choreography is impressive… the finale at the mall there is a lot of messing with film stock speeds, they show him jumping from the ceiling over and over again (the same feat repeated in the film) and then the “making of” stunt work during the finale credits .
@Drake – I saw Criterion is releasing a Jackie Chan Box Set. My childhood buddy was a big fan of Rush Hour (1998) which I thought was okay but not great (In his defense we were only like 12 or 13) so when I saw Story Police (1985) on Criterion Channel a couple of years ago I was a little surprise as again I only knew him as the Rush Hour guy. None the less I checked it out and a posted this on the 1985 page a few years ago,
“Police Story is such a blast, a not as over the top version of a John Woo film. Not crazy about most of Chan’s work in American films (though he has his moments) but he’s so much fun to watch here. The second police story is great too. Though American films have some of the best genres; mob movies, film noirs, and westerns, I’ve always felt Asian action films put American ones to shame.”
I am curious as to whether you’ve seen any of the films in the Box Set which includes the following:
Half a Loaf of Kung Fu (1978)
Spiritual Kung Fu (1978)
Fearless Hyena (1979)
Fearless Hyena II (1983)
The Young Master (1980)
My Lucky Stars (1985)
@James Trapp- I have not – honestly not on my radar. Not saying they aren’t worthy- I just haven’t seen them, read about them or ever had anyone tell me I should see them.
@Drake – Yeah, I do love a lot of Hong Kong action films, their cinematic specialty but have not seen that many straight up Kung Fu films but I did recently watch John Woo’s “Last Hurrah for Chivalry” and was impressed.
@Drake – I saw Criterion is releasing a Jackie Chan Box Set. My childhood buddy was a big fan of Rush Hour (1998) which I thought was okay but not great (In his defense we were only like 12 or 13) so when I saw Story Police (1985) on Criterion Channel a couple of years ago I was a little surprise as again I only knew him as the Rush Hour guy. None the less I checked it out and a posted this on the 1985 page a few years ago,
“Police Story is such a blast, a not as over the top version of a John Woo film. Not crazy about most of Chan’s work in American films (though he has his moments) but he’s so much fun to watch here. The second police story is great too. Though American films have some of the best genres; mob movies, film noirs, and westerns, I’ve always felt Asian action films put American ones to shame.”
I am curious as to whether you’ve seen any of the films in the Box Set which includes the following:
Half a Loaf of Kung Fu (1978)
Spiritual Kung Fu (1978)
Fearless Hyena (1979)
Fearless Hyena II (1983)
The Young Master (1980)
My Lucky Stars (1985)
@James Trapp- I have not – honestly not on my radar. Not saying they aren’t worthy- I just haven’t seen them, read about them or ever had anyone tell me I should see them.
@Drake – Yeah, I do love a lot of Hong Kong action films, their cinematic specialty but have not seen that many straight up Kung Fu films but I did recently watch John Woo’s “Last Hurrah for Chivalry” and was impressed.