Amazon.com

No one uses color like Chinese director Zhang Yimou--movies like Raise the Red Lantern or Hero, though different in tone and subject matter, are drenched in rich, luscious shades of red, blue, yellow, and green. House of Flying Daggers is no exception; if they weren't choreographed with such vigorous imagination, the spectacular action sequences would seem little more than an excuse for vivid hues rippling across the screen. Government officers Leo and Jin (Asian superstars Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro) set out to destroy an underground rebellion called the House of Flying Daggers (named for their weapon of choice, a curved blade that swoops through the air like a boomerang). Their only chance to find the rebels is a blind women named Mei (Ziyi Zhang, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) who has some lethal kung fu moves of her own. In the guise of an aspiring rebel, Jin escorts Mei through gorgeous forests and fields that become bloody battlegrounds as soldiers try to kill them both. While arrows and spears of bamboo fly through the air, Mei, Jin, and Leo turn against each other in surprising ways, driven by passion and honor. Zhang's previous action/art film, Hero, sometimes sacrificed momentum for sheer visual beauty; House of Flying Daggers finds a more muscular balance of aesthetic splendor and dazzling swordplay. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (153)

DO NOT buy this crap!
OK! Who the hell gave this movie 4 stars??!! Poor story, poor dialog, poor EVERYTHING!!! This movie sucked. Get stabbed by a dagger and the girl stays alive until the unnecessary long fight between two bad actors is over??!! Come on! This movie is worse than the Hindi crap that comes out of Bollywood. Wish I could give it zero stars, but I can't. Amazon, will you please see that movies of this low quality get zero stars?

Technically breathtaking, but left this viewer a little cold
Zhang Yimou's HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS continues where the director's HERO left off: it is a film of immense visual beauty and amazing choreography, supporting a plot with melodramatic elements to it. But whereas HERO could conceivably, amidst the dazzling imagistic pageantry and big emotions, be interpreted as a political statement (the film ends with a ruler having to sacrifice a hero for what he considers the greater cause of unifying feudal China), HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS is content to be romantic melodrama, plain and simple.

Personally, I kinda prefer the extra intellectual and thematic stimulation offered by HERO. At the end of that film, you really had something to think about; at the end of HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS...well, the story is over (and a song sung in English by soprano Kathleen Battle plays over the closing credits). Nothing of great consequence, I felt, had really happened in this film; it is basically one ravishing image and one amazing fight sequence following another, interspersed with (admittedly well-acted) moments of intimacy or high drama. If Zhang Yimou was aiming for thematic subtlety in HERO, here he goes for operatic emotions and visual spectacle. And for all its technical brilliance, the whole thing ultimately left me a little cold---maybe a bit too melodramatic and soapy for my taste.

That is a very personal reaction, of course. The technical brilliance Zhang Yimou brings to HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS is not to be denied; these are some of the most breathtaking (and breathtakingly filmed) fight sequences seen since the last notable "wuxia" film, Ang Lee's CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. And the actors bring as much conviction as possible to their basically two-dimensional characters: certainly, as House of Flying Daggers member Mei, Ziyi Zhang brings convincing passion to her role, as do Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy Lau as, respectively Jin and Leo, two police deputies who rescue Mei from prison and try to trick her into bringing them to the House of Flying Daggers to stop their rebelliousness once and for all.

Perhaps the best way to appreciate HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS is to look at it as a cinematic opera. Zhang Yimou is clearly not afraid to work on a big canvas, and he brings all the big emotions and spectacular sights he can to tell his melodramatic story. Those who go into this film expecting to be dazzled will most likely be satisfied; it is a genuine technical marvel. For me, though, I was expecting more substance to the film than it delivered. HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS may be more purely enjoyable than HERO, but the latter, to me, is a much more interesting movie than this one.

Super Cool Movie!!!
The action and special effects sequences in this movie are incredibly fun to watch.Zhang Ziyi is flawless as usual, and her perfomance and beauty justifies buying this DVD in itself.

Great cinematography, weak story
Genre: Foreign, Martial Arts, Romance

Genre Grade: B+

Final Grade: A-

This was another great film from Chinese director Yimou Zhang. Although not even close to comparing to his last film, Hero, it still was a great movie. Zhang is an artist, it is as simple as that. His locations are perfect, the colors are vibrant, and the characters are passionate. This is much more a love story than anything. It offers some good surprises concerning the characters and keeps the mystery of the "House of Flying Daggers" a secret to even the viewers. Actress Ziyi Zhang should learn to speak English because she could be a huge star in the United States.

I recommend this film to anyone who enjoyed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Hero. It is dubbed in English so you don't have to read subtitles if you don't want to.

stunning
Yimou is a true artist of cinema. Hero and House of Flying Daggers are beautiful and spiritual adventures in Asian cinema. Both films are remarkable acheivments that are lost on the reviewer who gave this film one star. True art is often missunderstood by the masses. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

These People are trying to rip Chow Yun-Fat off!
After the success of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Chow Yun Fat has truly become one of the hottest acting commodities not only in the United States and Asia but across the globe as well. But with this great fame there are many money grubbing executive pushers that are literally taking food out of his mouth. By selling these cheap, horrible transfer movies (Most that are not really Chow Yun Fat movies to begin with) these companies are not only tarnishing the integrity of CYF star but are disrespecting and confusing the viewer as well. How the heck are you going to take a forgotten hong kong flick, splice in short Chow Yun Fat footage from another movie, then call it Hong Kong Corruptor? Chow should really consider suing these a@#holes! I don't even think that Chow is aware what is going on. Well in behalf of Chow Yun Fat and his fans BEWARE!!!

Beware These Arena Titles and the below review!
I have to get the word out there to warn the public about these arena titles. They are trying to bank off of the American Success of John Woo, Chow Yun Fat and Jet Li. Let me review them in a few steps.

#1. Some of the titles aren't even John Woo or Chow Yun Fat films. The one called 'Hong Kong Corruptor' (banking off the success of the Corruptor), is actually an Alan Tam film entitled 'Return Engagement' (a better tomorrow ripoff) with an unrelated Chow Yun Fat scene from another film pointlessly edited in. This one 'Hong Kong Face Off' (key words FACE OFF), i cannot place. I know John Woo's filmography and I can't place this one (if anyone can tell me the real title, please mail me). John Woo's directorial debut 'Hand Of Death' was released on Arena home video as 'Strike Of Death', and banks more on the apperance of Jackie Chan (only a minor character in the film, but takes over the cover of the box). so all in all, point #1- the films don't really match.

#2- Extremely poor quality. I purchased 'Strike Of Death, and master copy it was from must have been warped. The picture quality was horrbile. Another one I bought 'Shanghai Killer' was a HK tv movie called 'The Bund'. this one was just cheesy tv fare, with nothing good but the laughs. Another was an early CYF film called 'Blodd money' under another title, which had subtitles, but the film was a pan and scan version, so the subtitles were totally chopped off throughout the whole film, leaving it indecipherable.

The only one purchased that was decent quality and a fun movie to own was under the Arena title 'Killers Two', which was pawning itself off as a sequel to the killer (how?). It is actually a very early 80's film called 'Heroic Cops', with a stickly thin Yun-Fat, and Danny lee sporting flare pants and horrid haircuts. This film is only good for unintentional laughs, and the Cantonese Version of 'Stayin' Alive"!

All in all, Beware these Arena Titles. I stopped buying them. It's better to get the HK version.

Ps- the reviewer below was reviewing 'The Corruptor' not 'Hong Kong Corruptor', i don't want people to get confused!

Close but no cigar
I'm glad to see Hollywood try to make a home for Chow Yun Fat. He's proven himself to be a fine actor with a certain amount of something that makes his appeal more universal. Now if only the right vehicle could be found for him. This movie is far from bad, but it has only a couple of scenes that hint at CYF's abilities and it merely points at what more he is capable of doing. The movie has Chow Yun Fat playing a Chinatown cop who knows his way around and is corrupt by Western standards. Mark Wahlberg plays the "round eye" who is going to help clean up the place. This in itself is not new stuff. A few things do get thrown in to complicate matters though. First is the fact the Mark is actually working for internal affairs and is there to sting Chow. Second is that Mark's father is in money trouble with the mob and, though he needs his son's help desperately, he also chastises him for being an internal rat. Things progress and get messier as the lines between good and bad become blurred and cause the various situations to become more tense. Therein lies at least part of the problem. The lines didn't seem all that blurred to me. These people made conscious decisions to do the wrong thing. Plus the story was needlessly complicated by the fact the audience isn't made aware right away that Mark is with internal affairs. The subplot with his father probably could have landed on the floor with no one noticing either. Add to this the lack of better scenes with Chow Yun Fat and you have a frustrating experience. This is not a bad movie. It's quite watchable and very sincere. The production standards are high and most of the right people did most of the right things. It just doesn't quite make it to the finish line. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Very Hard to Follow, but Very Enjoyable Once You Get It
This was the first subtitled Jackie Chan (sorta) movie I ever got, and I will have to say that it was quite possibly the worst choice for the first in the world. When I read on the back that Jackie was in Japan, I thought that it was written by some idiot who thinks that Jackie Chan is Japanese; but when he called his superior in Hong Kong, and the phone had a Japanese flag, I got REALLY confused! There's also a scene in which the Lucky Stars (the five main characters) get in a sticky situation, and must be recognized by a gang as being good people by speaking with the same Cantonese accent.

I sadly couldn't reach the ending the first couple of times I sat to watch it. However, after a month or so, I finally caught on, and discovered that once you get into the right state of mind (and after those two parts), it's quite easy to enjoy! Following it accurately no longer mattered to me!

Why? It's because I discovered the secret: this movie is all about the characters and the situations of the present scenes! Even the complete absense of Jackie Chan through 65% of this movie no longer mattered; the Lucky Stars were all very real, and VERY likable! The sequences with them lusting over Ba Wah are all very amusing, and the fight scenes (which DOES NOT include Benny "The Jet" Urquidez) in the end are all great!

My Lucky Stars is enjoyable fun from beggining to end. Once you get through the strangeness of the movie, it could dominate your next week's worth of nights by making you watch it over and over again! Have fun, and enjoy!

Not so much a Jackie Chan movie...
My lucky stars does not have much Jackie in it, but the parts he is in are great. The car chase at the begining and the funfair fight that follows are amazing, and the end fight scene is one of the best Jackie has ever done! The rest of the movie is done by the stars of the 'Lucky Stars' series. The cast are very talented, so the absence of Jackie is only noticable if you are a hardcore fan. An all round good film.

A good movie, but not Chan's best.
This is a great movie, and it has a wonderful plot. The humor is dead-on, and I really enjoyed the action in it. Might not be one of the movies you watch to see just Jackie, but it's wonderful to see Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao (though he's not in it very much) and Jackie Chan working together. The acting is good, and it's great to watch in subtitles or voice-over. I'd suggest anyone who's a fan of Jackie Chan or of Chinese import action-comedy movies to buy this movie. You won't regret it.

not a great jackie move
ok this move is funny but the only good action is at the end and it is mosle fist fiting no using odd objects like a lader ect but the fiting at the end was wiy it got a 3 not a 1. If you like the odd objects that he fits with than this move is not for you but than agin this is my opion not yours

VERY GOOD, BUT DON'T BUY IT TO SEE JACKIE CHAN
IN THIS SEQUEL TO WINNERS & SINNERS, A COP [JACKIE CHAN] ORDERS FIVE OF HIS CHILDHOOD FRIENDS TO BE RELEASED FROM JAIL SO THAT THEY CAN HELP HIM CATCH A CRIMINAL MASTERMIND AND HELP RESCUE HIS KIDNAPPED PARTNER [YUEN BIAO]. EVEN THOUGH JACKIE CHAN IS ON THE COVER, YOU'RE NOT REALLY GONNA SEE TOO MUCH OF JACKIE CHAN IN THIS MOVIE. THIS IS REALLY A SAMMO HUNG MOVIE. OTHER THAN THAT, THIS MOVIE FEATURES SPECTACULAR FIGHTS FROM BEGINNING TO END. ALSO HAS SOME HILLARIOUS MOMENTS. THIS DVD HAS AN ENGLISH-DUBBED TRACK AS WELL AS THE ORIGINAL CANTONESE TRACK. ... Read more

Description

The action legend himself -- Jackie Chan (SHANGHAI NOON, RUSH HOUR) -- explodes across the screen in a power-packed adventure that critics agree captures some of the most incredible action stunts ever! When the British government is discovered smuggling precious Chinese artifacts out of the country, folklore hero Wong Fei-Hung (Chan) uses his uniquely outlandish style of martial arts ... Drunken Boxing ... to fight the conspirators and salvage the valuables before it's too late! And the more Hung drinks, the more agile he becomes -- able to fend off numerous attacks with unbelievable moves! With Chinese treasures and family pride on the line, Hung steps up to every challenge in this fun and unstoppably entertaining hit! ... Read more

Reviews (171)

It's a keeper! Rent it. Buy it!
This film has several formats. The VHS version from 1994 is the one you want to see! It is the perfect movie! It's also Jackie's perfect movie! This is a sequel, with 20 years between but Chan manages to look and act much younger. It is not difficult to accept him as being "young Wong Fei - hung". The only connection between the two films is Jackie and drunken boxing. Ti Lung is his father and Anita Mui is "Mom" (actually Fei - Hung's mother is dead). Anita darn near steals the show! This is a fantastic film! It is a period film, with unscrupulous people stealing as many Chinese treasures a possible. Chan accidentally gets involved in helping to stop the thefts and ends up taking on some major bad guys including Ken Lo in a steel factory. In my opinion the extended fight sequence is the absolute best, with
"Wheels On Meals" fight with Benny coming in a close second.
The final fight has Jackie battling a number of people before he squares off with Ken Lo. (Lo is a major talent in the kickboxing world and stands out as one of the best.) Jackie had some differences of opinion with the director and the final fight is designed by Jackie and it shows! It is powerful yet graceful..furious but with purpose. It is beyond excellent!
This film has something for everyone. In addition to Jackie's excellent fighting there are plenty of laughs, and more intricate plot than with many of his movies. There is a scene with Ti Lung and Chan that is poignant and feels very real. But it is the fight scene in the steel factory that will have you rewinding a dozen times. I have two MAJOR criticisms of the US release,primarily Disney's decision to throw out the the soundtrack and musical score! The music from the original is perfect and part of the whole feel of the film. There never was a valid explanation from Disney as to why they dumped the original score. Jackie dubbed his voice for Fei - hung, but the dialogue is not the same! Some might be attributed to the difficulty in translation but in some scenes the dialouge has been radically changed. Disney also cut out the very end of the movie as they felt it was offensive. But that leads to an abrupt end to the film. I have no problem with cutting that scene though and it does not change the film.
One of my all time favorite movies! This one should not be missed!

Simply the best Martial Arts Film ever made
I know some of you will disagree and say that Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon", or Jet Li's "Fist of Legend" was the best ever made but I would have to disagree. While Bruce Lee was the best Martial Artist ever, his movies were average in regards to their fight choreography.No one could ever touch him in his films. The fight choreography in "Drunken Master 2" was incredible. It was realistic because there were almost no wire stunts involved and the fight scenes were fantastic. The fight scene with Jackie and Liu Chia Liang (Lau Kar Leung) in the beginning was pure poetry in motion. The final fight scene was fifteen minutes of pure adrenaline pumping action. Unique choreography makes this movie a classic. Unlike Jet Li's characterization of Wong Fei Hung, Jackie makes Fei Hung seem more human and vulnerable. Nobody could ever touch Jet Li in the "Once Upon a Time in China" series. Plus some of the moves just look so ridiculously fake. "Fist of Legend" is Jet's best movie because it isn't as fake and he actually has to fight hard to win. However, it is still only the second best film ever made. Not to criticize any other reviewer, but since when does the ability to do 540's and 720's and Butterfly kicks make a martial art film great? I have been involved in Martial Arts for over a 20 years and would love for someone to try to fight me using those kicks. While they look fancy in forms competition, they mean nothing in a real tournment fight and even less in a real street fight. This film is without a doubt the best Jackie Chan film ever and the best ever made. (At least until Jackie and Jet team up to do a film as has been rumored)

If you see one kung fu movie SEE LEGEND of Drunken Master.
Excelent
a great action movie and a great comedy there isnt a low spot in this movie. Off the start there is amazing fight sceens that are keeping your attention, but not without some story line and, Jackie Chans hillarious personality. But what is truly great about this movie would be that it starts with great action and continuously gets better, when its time for the end fight sceen you can't imagine any better action but youll be amazed again, and what i liked was the little to no use of wires in this movie contrary to many other kung fu movies. It really adds a reality to the action in a way.

What is also great is the well played characters even with the movie dubed it is still acted well enouph to make it a good movie. Not to mention the dubing adds to much of the comedy without being too cheesy.

So if you have never seen a kung fu movie see this one!

You will beilieve Jackie really is the Drunken Master

Decent sequel
Although not as good as the first, Jackie makes an all out effor in this film. The story is somewhat silly, but the action more than makes up for it.

With a bowl in his arms Fat Han's going mad!
This is the best comedy martial arts film. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Starts out interesting and ends a little weak.
At first the film is very promising. However, towards the end it just fades. The movie paces itself nicely throughout the movie using John Woo's old style elements to accomplish beautiful screenplay, directing, and artful action. Somehow it just changes towards 3/4's way into the film. I feel the director just had a hardtime ending it and simply ended it very awkwardly. It's like he had a good idea and doesnt know how to finish it. The dialogue is really neat and the action is even more impressive utilizing John Woo's old style to give us a refreshing screen play that is gone in Woo's new style of film making as we can see when he arrived to America. John Woo's style has dimished with each passing film and at least this director brings back old memories.

Pros:
-nice screenplay
-interesting dialogue
-artful action
-great use of coreography and filming quality is great

Cons:
-as the film progressed the movie slows down
-muffled storyline, confusing plot
-strange use of languages make it hard to focus on the characters. The movie shifts from cantonese to english to chinese without reason. (the japanese language used by the characters has a point to the movie so I wont complain about its usage).

Watch it only if you are a hardcore HK movie fan
Doesn't even come close to a John Woo, Ringo Lam or Tsui Hark film. Some interesting action sequences though - the opening is excellent. I found Andy Lau's acting a little over the top. Also, it seemed that every character was coincidentally related to another character in several ways. 2 rival assasins and one assasin's boss is the brother of the other assasin? A few of these I'll buy but there were way too many unexplained coincidences. I would have preferred a longer film that probed more info the relationships. Don't bother with this unless you are die hard HK fan - there are much better HK films out there.

Not Bad Actioner, But Definitely NOT the Best Of Johnny To
Excuse me for giving only three stars for this film, for I know "Fulltime Killer" is, good as it is, NOT the best of Johnny To, a Hong Kong director whose intense style is not be missed. His best remains "Running Out of Time" (starring the same cool Andy Lau), or "The Mission," especially the latter one. See them first, and remember his name.

"Fulltime Killer" is in fact co-directed with Wai Ka Fai, but the subdued style is definitely that of Johnny To. The film traces the two free-lance killers, "O" (Takashi Sorimachi, popular Japanese actor), and Tok (Lau). O is the top dog of the killers, but Tok, confident of his professional skills, wants to bring him down in his own style. In between comes a female cleak working at a rental video store (beside the escalator which was shown in one famous Hong Kong film), Chin (Kelly Lin), and the determined policeman Lee (veteran Simon Yam).

The gun action of the film is an average one, but sadly, as the story lacks coherent developing, it is often hard to follow what is going on. Johhny To's cool style and oddball humor are not given much chance to be shown, and the result is curiously devoid of tension, even though the actions themselves are decetly done.

Some people might find the languages it uses slightly troublesome, for Andy Lau often speaks Japanese, which is very hard to understand (I am a Japanese, and watched it in the origiunal language). But more lamentable thing is the lack of charisma of Sorimachi as "O" whose one-dimentional performance as a killer with a heart lacks convincing power. And as for Andy Lau, he was much better in "Running Out of Time."

The film is a result of recent Hong Kong film industry, which tries to capitalize on the name of Japanese actors who are gaining popularity in Hong Kong. But I think the casting here has backfired. I do not say "Fulltime Killer" is bad. I only say you can get better ones from To, underrated Hong KOng filmmaker, and that is "The Mission" which you should see first.

Beats You With A Stick
Full Time Killer is teh win. It steals your megahertz. Stop teh hacks. ii omoshiroite desu yo!

Question
For anyone who has seen this movie, do you know what song is played when O is listening to the mp3 player in chapter 7 I think. I would really like to know and if anyone can help. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Ho hum.
The production of Francis Drake consists of a narration, some live action monologues, beautiful costumes, and nice close-ups of antique maps. The acting by the Francis Drake character, and other characters, consists mainly in a number of poses. There is little real dialogue, just mainly monologues by the actors. Francis Drake's speech is somewhat easy to understand, but there is a young, blond-haired actor who plays some other character, whose speech is unintelligible. At one point, the Queen Elizabeth character talks to herself by a window, posing stiffly. Wouldn't if have been better to have her talking with some other character? This picture could be helped a bit if it allowed you to activate captions, since the actor's speech is not well recorded. The scenes of the ship, both inside and out, are lovely and inspiring. However, there are no scenes of the ship (Golden Hinde) in the proximity of any other ships, and there are no scenes of it docking near any beaches or towns. Hence, the production as a whole gets a little monotonous. The production could be improved by a few dialogues involving two actors, an argument or two, a short debate, some amusing banter. The company that made this video made a large series of videos on historic persons. Unfortunately, I also bought their version of King Alfred the Great. It too, has monotonous monologues, and speech that is not well recorded.

THE ADVENTURERS!
Here is an international SPY THRILLER from director RINGO LAM! Starring ANDY LAU as a young Cambodian who heads to San Francisco's CHINATOWN twenty years after seeing his parents killed by a TREACHEROUS CIA AGENT! Now the killer has become a CRIME BOSS and now Wai Lok-yan, now known as MANDY CHAN, is going to get his revenge! Co-starring the lovely ROSAMUND KWAN! Not as much action as you would expect from a HONG KONG film, but, HEY! They can't all be good! ALSO you will be outrageously happy to know that this DVD includes both the CANTONESE and MANDARIAN soundtracks!

Video Review of "Sir Francis Drake"
This British filmed documentary depicts historical events in Sir F.Drake's early days as a privateer, the famous circling the globe in the "Golden Hind" ship during 1577-1580,his relationship with Queen Elizabeth I,the defeat of the Spanish Armada at his hands and ultimately his shipboard demise.The movie may be a nice addition for Drake, Naval or Anglophile historians, libraries or schools.There is a lot of footage of the replica "Golden Hind" ship on the high seas with English actors in 16th Century clothing recounting the drama of the events. This is not the most action packed historical documentary.There are no fancy computer graphics or elaborate fight scenes with the Drake's foes but the producers did a commendable job recounting Drake's storied life.

Shackleton - The Search for Good Video Documentation
As one thirsty to find good video content on Shackleton's legendary expedition to Antartica, I am especially interested in Hurley's (Shackleton's photographer on his Endurance voyage) motion picture images, said to exist and to be used to document that trip. Unfortunately, this video has (little or) no footage of Hurley's moving pictures, but does contain the most famous still photos. Perhaps the weakest part of the video is the periodic dramatization, in a studio, of the life threatening circumstances. The snow and setting are obviously fake and don't convey the sense of suffering and harsh conditions under which the expedition labored. On the positive side, the video does a good overall bio on Shackleton, presenting him in a positive light, and showing something of the extraordinary nature of his character. ... Read more

Reviews (171)

It's a keeper! Rent it. Buy it!
This film has several formats. The VHS version from 1994 is the one you want to see! It is the perfect movie! It's also Jackie's perfect movie! This is a sequel, with 20 years between but Chan manages to look and act much younger. It is not difficult to accept him as being "young Wong Fei - hung". The only connection between the two films is Jackie and drunken boxing. Ti Lung is his father and Anita Mui is "Mom" (actually Fei - Hung's mother is dead). Anita darn near steals the show! This is a fantastic film! It is a period film, with unscrupulous people stealing as many Chinese treasures a possible. Chan accidentally gets involved in helping to stop the thefts and ends up taking on some major bad guys including Ken Lo in a steel factory. In my opinion the extended fight sequence is the absolute best, with
"Wheels On Meals" fight with Benny coming in a close second.
The final fight has Jackie battling a number of people before he squares off with Ken Lo. (Lo is a major talent in the kickboxing world and stands out as one of the best.) Jackie had some differences of opinion with the director and the final fight is designed by Jackie and it shows! It is powerful yet graceful..furious but with purpose. It is beyond excellent!
This film has something for everyone. In addition to Jackie's excellent fighting there are plenty of laughs, and more intricate plot than with many of his movies. There is a scene with Ti Lung and Chan that is poignant and feels very real. But it is the fight scene in the steel factory that will have you rewinding a dozen times. I have two MAJOR criticisms of the US release,primarily Disney's decision to throw out the the soundtrack and musical score! The music from the original is perfect and part of the whole feel of the film. There never was a valid explanation from Disney as to why they dumped the original score. Jackie dubbed his voice for Fei - hung, but the dialogue is not the same! Some might be attributed to the difficulty in translation but in some scenes the dialouge has been radically changed. Disney also cut out the very end of the movie as they felt it was offensive. But that leads to an abrupt end to the film. I have no problem with cutting that scene though and it does not change the film.
One of my all time favorite movies! This one should not be missed!

Simply the best Martial Arts Film ever made
I know some of you will disagree and say that Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon", or Jet Li's "Fist of Legend" was the best ever made but I would have to disagree. While Bruce Lee was the best Martial Artist ever, his movies were average in regards to their fight choreography.No one could ever touch him in his films. The fight choreography in "Drunken Master 2" was incredible. It was realistic because there were almost no wire stunts involved and the fight scenes were fantastic. The fight scene with Jackie and Liu Chia Liang (Lau Kar Leung) in the beginning was pure poetry in motion. The final fight scene was fifteen minutes of pure adrenaline pumping action. Unique choreography makes this movie a classic. Unlike Jet Li's characterization of Wong Fei Hung, Jackie makes Fei Hung seem more human and vulnerable. Nobody could ever touch Jet Li in the "Once Upon a Time in China" series. Plus some of the moves just look so ridiculously fake. "Fist of Legend" is Jet's best movie because it isn't as fake and he actually has to fight hard to win. However, it is still only the second best film ever made. Not to criticize any other reviewer, but since when does the ability to do 540's and 720's and Butterfly kicks make a martial art film great? I have been involved in Martial Arts for over a 20 years and would love for someone to try to fight me using those kicks. While they look fancy in forms competition, they mean nothing in a real tournment fight and even less in a real street fight. This film is without a doubt the best Jackie Chan film ever and the best ever made. (At least until Jackie and Jet team up to do a film as has been rumored)

If you see one kung fu movie SEE LEGEND of Drunken Master.
Excelent
a great action movie and a great comedy there isnt a low spot in this movie. Off the start there is amazing fight sceens that are keeping your attention, but not without some story line and, Jackie Chans hillarious personality. But what is truly great about this movie would be that it starts with great action and continuously gets better, when its time for the end fight sceen you can't imagine any better action but youll be amazed again, and what i liked was the little to no use of wires in this movie contrary to many other kung fu movies. It really adds a reality to the action in a way.

What is also great is the well played characters even with the movie dubed it is still acted well enouph to make it a good movie. Not to mention the dubing adds to much of the comedy without being too cheesy.

So if you have never seen a kung fu movie see this one!

You will beilieve Jackie really is the Drunken Master

Decent sequel
Although not as good as the first, Jackie makes an all out effor in this film. The story is somewhat silly, but the action more than makes up for it.

With a bowl in his arms Fat Han's going mad!
This is the best comedy martial arts film. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Blah blah, rent the "Returner" instead.
This is a supernatural "thriller" about a mysterious cult that is murdering famous scientists (why?) by spontanteous combustion. Our hero, played by the talented Andy Lau, is a scientist on the list who has police protection forced on him, but will only accept his old friend the cop, played well by the accomplished Anthony Wong, as a bodyguard. Things get weird as Andy's dead fiancee starts appearing to him and everyone else and soon it becomes clear as the cult invites him into their inner sanctum, that God is pissed and everything falls to Andy making a decision.
Despite competent direction and good acting all around, this just drags on, makes no sense in many places, and has a ridiculous sappy ending that will make just about anyone cringe. The few positive moments are all in snappy banter between the two friends and virtually no action exists here. Unless you can't resist the re-united beyond the grave love story thing, avoid this one.

Oh, what a mess
Andy Lau is the scientist. Anthony Wong is his buddy, the cop assigned to protect him when leading scientists start getting knocked off in some unusual ways. Oh, and there's a dead wife coming back here and there to torment Andy.Actually, this film held my attention for about the first 45 minutes. It seems to be headed in some neat, techno occult direction, but . . . well, this one falls apart and it's not pretty.One last question: how come all the worst Caucasian actors are in Hong Kong? I think some L.A. waiters should buy a plane ticket and try their luck.

At least it doesn't have Bruce Willis in it
Well, it might not be as well known as the Bruce Willis film, but Armageddon is not short of action and excitement. The film is set in 1999, the end of the millennium, and suddenly one by one the top seven scientists in the world start getting assassinated in unusual ways like spontaneously blowing up. Andy Lau plays one of the seven leading scientists desperately trying to find out what is going on....The film itself is pretty good, but I did find the ending to be a little disappointing. The effects are very good though; but it just seemed a bit weak right at the end.

SHOULD BE 1998 NOT 1989
Andy Lau's is a super star and idle for whole Chinese communities. He published a lot of films and songs for over 17 years. He done much charity works and gained more awards.

H.K. X-files, romance, history, and humour rolled into one!
I have watched many movies by Andy Lau in which most were of comedy/romance/street gang-like...so, this movie has a freshness. It talks about Dr. Ken (played by Andy Lau) who is named one of the most promising young scientists in the world and his search for an answer on why his dead fiance (Michelle Rels) has come back to the world. Meanwhile, other top scientists and world contributers are killed in ways that were never used before (nope, not a gun, not poison...more like turning one into powder...). He and his friends begin to suspect that the reappearance of Adele (Rels) and the deaths of the scientists are messages from God that the end of the world is near and that Dr. Ken is the only one that is eligible to save the human race...

This is an excellent film with great special effects, music accompliment (including "Why Take Her Away" by Andy Lau), beautiful shots at Prague, and a great cast! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Ho hum.
The production of Francis Drake consists of a narration, some live action monologues, beautiful costumes, and nice close-ups of antique maps. The acting by the Francis Drake character, and other characters, consists mainly in a number of poses. There is little real dialogue, just mainly monologues by the actors. Francis Drake's speech is somewhat easy to understand, but there is a young, blond-haired actor who plays some other character, whose speech is unintelligible. At one point, the Queen Elizabeth character talks to herself by a window, posing stiffly. Wouldn't if have been better to have her talking with some other character? This picture could be helped a bit if it allowed you to activate captions, since the actor's speech is not well recorded. The scenes of the ship, both inside and out, are lovely and inspiring. However, there are no scenes of the ship (Golden Hinde) in the proximity of any other ships, and there are no scenes of it docking near any beaches or towns. Hence, the production as a whole gets a little monotonous. The production could be improved by a few dialogues involving two actors, an argument or two, a short debate, some amusing banter. The company that made this video made a large series of videos on historic persons. Unfortunately, I also bought their version of King Alfred the Great. It too, has monotonous monologues, and speech that is not well recorded.

THE ADVENTURERS!
Here is an international SPY THRILLER from director RINGO LAM! Starring ANDY LAU as a young Cambodian who heads to San Francisco's CHINATOWN twenty years after seeing his parents killed by a TREACHEROUS CIA AGENT! Now the killer has become a CRIME BOSS and now Wai Lok-yan, now known as MANDY CHAN, is going to get his revenge! Co-starring the lovely ROSAMUND KWAN! Not as much action as you would expect from a HONG KONG film, but, HEY! They can't all be good! ALSO you will be outrageously happy to know that this DVD includes both the CANTONESE and MANDARIAN soundtracks!

Video Review of "Sir Francis Drake"
This British filmed documentary depicts historical events in Sir F.Drake's early days as a privateer, the famous circling the globe in the "Golden Hind" ship during 1577-1580,his relationship with Queen Elizabeth I,the defeat of the Spanish Armada at his hands and ultimately his shipboard demise.The movie may be a nice addition for Drake, Naval or Anglophile historians, libraries or schools.There is a lot of footage of the replica "Golden Hind" ship on the high seas with English actors in 16th Century clothing recounting the drama of the events. This is not the most action packed historical documentary.There are no fancy computer graphics or elaborate fight scenes with the Drake's foes but the producers did a commendable job recounting Drake's storied life.

Shackleton - The Search for Good Video Documentation
As one thirsty to find good video content on Shackleton's legendary expedition to Antartica, I am especially interested in Hurley's (Shackleton's photographer on his Endurance voyage) motion picture images, said to exist and to be used to document that trip. Unfortunately, this video has (little or) no footage of Hurley's moving pictures, but does contain the most famous still photos. Perhaps the weakest part of the video is the periodic dramatization, in a studio, of the life threatening circumstances. The snow and setting are obviously fake and don't convey the sense of suffering and harsh conditions under which the expedition labored. On the positive side, the video does a good overall bio on Shackleton, presenting him in a positive light, and showing something of the extraordinary nature of his character. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good
This movie is good, but it's not 1/10th as good as the book.

Oliver Stone is an excellent director, and features of the movie such as light and camera angles and the movement of the camera are excellent. The acting is good too. Tommy Lee Jones has an impossible role, but in each scene he is convincing. Hiep Thi Le's role is also impossible, and she is not bad. Those who have read the book will be happy to see Le Ly Hayslip herself playing the jewelry dealer in the middle of the movie. The soundtrack by Kitaro is fair, although my personal tastes disagree.

The problem is that Le Ly Hayslip's story, upon which this movie is based, is too complex for a two hour movie. Tommy Lee Jones' character is an amalgamation of three men, and the result is nothing if not schizophrenic. So many scenes are too subtle for most people to understand, although the book makes everything clear. Compacting her remarkable life (the movie is based on two books!) into a feature-length movie is just impossible, and on an emotional level the film nearly fails.

Let me push the books once more. Even if you are not a reader, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places, by Le Ly Hayslip and Jay Wurts, will pull you along. It is one of the very best books I have ever read. The sequel, Child of War, Woman of Peace, is also pretty good. I strongly encourage you to read especially the first book. Like I said, the movie is fine, but the book is simply incredible. It is the only book that has ever made me cry. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Ho hum.
The production of Francis Drake consists of a narration, some live action monologues, beautiful costumes, and nice close-ups of antique maps. The acting by the Francis Drake character, and other characters, consists mainly in a number of poses. There is little real dialogue, just mainly monologues by the actors. Francis Drake's speech is somewhat easy to understand, but there is a young, blond-haired actor who plays some other character, whose speech is unintelligible. At one point, the Queen Elizabeth character talks to herself by a window, posing stiffly. Wouldn't if have been better to have her talking with some other character? This picture could be helped a bit if it allowed you to activate captions, since the actor's speech is not well recorded. The scenes of the ship, both inside and out, are lovely and inspiring. However, there are no scenes of the ship (Golden Hinde) in the proximity of any other ships, and there are no scenes of it docking near any beaches or towns. Hence, the production as a whole gets a little monotonous. The production could be improved by a few dialogues involving two actors, an argument or two, a short debate, some amusing banter. The company that made this video made a large series of videos on historic persons. Unfortunately, I also bought their version of King Alfred the Great. It too, has monotonous monologues, and speech that is not well recorded.

THE ADVENTURERS!
Here is an international SPY THRILLER from director RINGO LAM! Starring ANDY LAU as a young Cambodian who heads to San Francisco's CHINATOWN twenty years after seeing his parents killed by a TREACHEROUS CIA AGENT! Now the killer has become a CRIME BOSS and now Wai Lok-yan, now known as MANDY CHAN, is going to get his revenge! Co-starring the lovely ROSAMUND KWAN! Not as much action as you would expect from a HONG KONG film, but, HEY! They can't all be good! ALSO you will be outrageously happy to know that this DVD includes both the CANTONESE and MANDARIAN soundtracks!

Video Review of "Sir Francis Drake"
This British filmed documentary depicts historical events in Sir F.Drake's early days as a privateer, the famous circling the globe in the "Golden Hind" ship during 1577-1580,his relationship with Queen Elizabeth I,the defeat of the Spanish Armada at his hands and ultimately his shipboard demise.The movie may be a nice addition for Drake, Naval or Anglophile historians, libraries or schools.There is a lot of footage of the replica "Golden Hind" ship on the high seas with English actors in 16th Century clothing recounting the drama of the events. This is not the most action packed historical documentary.There are no fancy computer graphics or elaborate fight scenes with the Drake's foes but the producers did a commendable job recounting Drake's storied life.

Shackleton - The Search for Good Video Documentation
As one thirsty to find good video content on Shackleton's legendary expedition to Antartica, I am especially interested in Hurley's (Shackleton's photographer on his Endurance voyage) motion picture images, said to exist and to be used to document that trip. Unfortunately, this video has (little or) no footage of Hurley's moving pictures, but does contain the most famous still photos. Perhaps the weakest part of the video is the periodic dramatization, in a studio, of the life threatening circumstances. The snow and setting are obviously fake and don't convey the sense of suffering and harsh conditions under which the expedition labored. On the positive side, the video does a good overall bio on Shackleton, presenting him in a positive light, and showing something of the extraordinary nature of his character. ... Read more

Reviews (24)

BGT - Brutal, Grim, and Tragic
This is an average Jackie Chan movie, since I've seen better action sequences and a better storyline from his myriad of movies. What really took away the stars was that this was pretty depressing. I wanted this to be a feel good movie, like all his other movies. It's just so sad at the end, I won't give it away, but any one who likes Jackie Chan will fully or partially agree with me. I thought having Sammo Hung in the film would brighten things up, but he has a depressing role too. This is the first movie I've seen pop singer Andy Lau doing any fighting. Can he really do those moves or was it a stunt double? Despite the tragic theme throughout the film, it's not a bad movie, but to see a really cool Chan film, you gotta see "Drunken Master 2" aka "The Legend Of Drunken Master". It's a definite 10 stars.

Another EXCITING Honk Kong Film!!!!!
Here, you see many BIG NAMES in ONE~!!! They are ALL BIG HONG KONG MOVIE STARS and such a treat to see them all. If you are NEW to Jackie Chan, he is a master of an art. He can play comedy, bad guy, serious, silly, action, drama, and EVERYTHING in between. If you are too spoiled by Hollywood action movie with big budget to ruin the true action stars does it all, you MUST see this film. Hong Kong people are the BEST at showing you a REAL action film. THUMBS UP~!!!!!!!

NOT A JACKIE CHAN MOVIE
Not a bad movie for this genre, but the title of the movie ("Jackie Chan is the Prisoner") is a Big Fat Lie. This is not a Jackie Chan movie -- he's just one of many in the cast. Maybe it's naive to let such bold face lying (marketing) bother me, but it still does. We got the movie, actually believing that it was what Columbia/Tristar Studios promised it would be ...

Pretty Good Prison Flick
JACKIE CHAN IS THE PRISONER (originally titled ISLAND OF FIRE) is a group effort all the way so those expecting to see Jackie Chan in all of the scenes will be disappointed, but not terribly disappointed as the rest of the cast is top notch and the film itself is pretty good.

The story involves a cop (Tony Leung) who believes something fishy is going on within the walls of a certain prison and then goes undercover as a prisoner to try and prove it. Once inside, however, he finds that this dangerous assignment just may be his last.

Supoporting stories include a desparate young man (Jackie Chan), who kills the brother of a well-known gangster while trying to raise money for his girlfriend's liver transplant, an ingenious convict (Sammo Hung) who always manages to escape from jail to see his son on important occasions, a convicted gang boss (Jimmy Wang Yu) who earns respect from prisoners and resentment from wardens, and the gangster (Andy Lau) who's brother Jackie killed who purposely gets caught and sent to the same prison to avenge his brother's murder. Also, along the way are the usual tough guys, weaklings, sadicious wardens, and corrupt officials.

The film is a low budget affair lensed mostly in Taiwan (probably in an old airplane hangar redesigned into a prison according to audio commentator Philip Rhee), but this actually helps to convey the real sense of grittiness the characters feel behind bars. The fights are well staged with Jackie being given the most opportunities to display his acrobatics and martial artistry, although there is one brief car stunt involving Sammo escaping that, while simple, is a real doozy. Sammo, Tony, and Jimmy are also given the chance to shine as dramatic actors in many poignant scenes showing they're truly more than just action actors. Sammo's comic touch isn't ignored either as witnessed in two especially fun moments, one involving a large breasted woman and a flat tire, and the other involving a race between a mouse, a lizard, an insect, and some cigarettes!

The film's flaws are that it does try to cover a lot of ground in one movie, and that ground is rather familiar. If you've seen one corrupt prison movie chances are you've seen elements that appear in this one (bullies, weaklings, fightings, beatings, solitary confinements, lousy food, breakouts, etc.) However, the lead actors succeed in giving their characters unique and very human qualities, the individual stories are plausible and moving, and the fight scenes are appropriately dirty with every move visible and suspensefully logical as the fights build to exiting finales.

I recommend this film to fans of Jackie Chan to show that he is as capable an ensemble player as he is a star. His fight scenes here are plentiful and well staged, and he really gives his all when he's on screen. I'd also recommend it to fans of the other four leads, fans of modern day Hong Kong action films, and those who just like prison movies in general (as long as you don't mind that the actor's mouths don't match the words since this version's been dubbed into English from Chinese). Give it a try! 3&1/2 stars!

For other takes on Hong Kong or martial arts action styled prison flicks try: PRISON OF FIRE (starring Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung), BAMBOO HOUSE OF DOLLS (starring Lo Lieh), THE STORY OF RICKY (with Yukari Oshima), DEATH WARRANT (starring Jean-Claude Van Damme), and IN HELL (also starring Van Damme).

Great fun!
The title is misleading. It's 'Cool Hand Luke' meets 'Lock Up' in Hong Kong, with some slightly bizarre plot twists that leave you going "Huh??". I enjoyed it, though, in spite of the fact that this is NOT your typical Jackie Chan film. It's gritty, the dubbed dialogue is comprised of American slang, and there's an abundance of gratuitous profanity. Also, be warned that Chan's character is a rather minor one with not much face time and minimal fight scenes. If you aren't familiar with Chan's work, I suggest becoming acquainted with it before you see this one. Though it obviously wasn't meant to be, if viewed with a grain of salt, this film is a hoot. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Very Hard to Follow, but Very Enjoyable Once You Get It
This was the first subtitled Jackie Chan (sorta) movie I ever got, and I will have to say that it was quite possibly the worst choice for the first in the world. When I read on the back that Jackie was in Japan, I thought that it was written by some idiot who thinks that Jackie Chan is Japanese; but when he called his superior in Hong Kong, and the phone had a Japanese flag, I got REALLY confused! There's also a scene in which the Lucky Stars (the five main characters) get in a sticky situation, and must be recognized by a gang as being good people by speaking with the same Cantonese accent.

I sadly couldn't reach the ending the first couple of times I sat to watch it. However, after a month or so, I finally caught on, and discovered that once you get into the right state of mind (and after those two parts), it's quite easy to enjoy! Following it accurately no longer mattered to me!

Why? It's because I discovered the secret: this movie is all about the characters and the situations of the present scenes! Even the complete absense of Jackie Chan through 65% of this movie no longer mattered; the Lucky Stars were all very real, and VERY likable! The sequences with them lusting over Ba Wah are all very amusing, and the fight scenes (which DOES NOT include Benny "The Jet" Urquidez) in the end are all great!

My Lucky Stars is enjoyable fun from beggining to end. Once you get through the strangeness of the movie, it could dominate your next week's worth of nights by making you watch it over and over again! Have fun, and enjoy!

Not so much a Jackie Chan movie...
My lucky stars does not have much Jackie in it, but the parts he is in are great. The car chase at the begining and the funfair fight that follows are amazing, and the end fight scene is one of the best Jackie has ever done! The rest of the movie is done by the stars of the 'Lucky Stars' series. The cast are very talented, so the absence of Jackie is only noticable if you are a hardcore fan. An all round good film.

A good movie, but not Chan's best.
This is a great movie, and it has a wonderful plot. The humor is dead-on, and I really enjoyed the action in it. Might not be one of the movies you watch to see just Jackie, but it's wonderful to see Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao (though he's not in it very much) and Jackie Chan working together. The acting is good, and it's great to watch in subtitles or voice-over. I'd suggest anyone who's a fan of Jackie Chan or of Chinese import action-comedy movies to buy this movie. You won't regret it.

not a great jackie move
ok this move is funny but the only good action is at the end and it is mosle fist fiting no using odd objects like a lader ect but the fiting at the end was wiy it got a 3 not a 1. If you like the odd objects that he fits with than this move is not for you but than agin this is my opion not yours

VERY GOOD, BUT DON'T BUY IT TO SEE JACKIE CHAN
IN THIS SEQUEL TO WINNERS & SINNERS, A COP [JACKIE CHAN] ORDERS FIVE OF HIS CHILDHOOD FRIENDS TO BE RELEASED FROM JAIL SO THAT THEY CAN HELP HIM CATCH A CRIMINAL MASTERMIND AND HELP RESCUE HIS KIDNAPPED PARTNER [YUEN BIAO]. EVEN THOUGH JACKIE CHAN IS ON THE COVER, YOU'RE NOT REALLY GONNA SEE TOO MUCH OF JACKIE CHAN IN THIS MOVIE. THIS IS REALLY A SAMMO HUNG MOVIE. OTHER THAN THAT, THIS MOVIE FEATURES SPECTACULAR FIGHTS FROM BEGINNING TO END. ALSO HAS SOME HILLARIOUS MOMENTS. THIS DVD HAS AN ENGLISH-DUBBED TRACK AS WELL AS THE ORIGINAL CANTONESE TRACK. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Very Hard to Follow, but Very Enjoyable Once You Get It
This was the first subtitled Jackie Chan (sorta) movie I ever got, and I will have to say that it was quite possibly the worst choice for the first in the world. When I read on the back that Jackie was in Japan, I thought that it was written by some idiot who thinks that Jackie Chan is Japanese; but when he called his superior in Hong Kong, and the phone had a Japanese flag, I got REALLY confused! There's also a scene in which the Lucky Stars (the five main characters) get in a sticky situation, and must be recognized by a gang as being good people by speaking with the same Cantonese accent.

I sadly couldn't reach the ending the first couple of times I sat to watch it. However, after a month or so, I finally caught on, and discovered that once you get into the right state of mind (and after those two parts), it's quite easy to enjoy! Following it accurately no longer mattered to me!

Why? It's because I discovered the secret: this movie is all about the characters and the situations of the present scenes! Even the complete absense of Jackie Chan through 65% of this movie no longer mattered; the Lucky Stars were all very real, and VERY likable! The sequences with them lusting over Ba Wah are all very amusing, and the fight scenes (which DOES NOT include Benny "The Jet" Urquidez) in the end are all great!

My Lucky Stars is enjoyable fun from beggining to end. Once you get through the strangeness of the movie, it could dominate your next week's worth of nights by making you watch it over and over again! Have fun, and enjoy!

Not so much a Jackie Chan movie...
My lucky stars does not have much Jackie in it, but the parts he is in are great. The car chase at the begining and the funfair fight that follows are amazing, and the end fight scene is one of the best Jackie has ever done! The rest of the movie is done by the stars of the 'Lucky Stars' series. The cast are very talented, so the absence of Jackie is only noticable if you are a hardcore fan. An all round good film.

A good movie, but not Chan's best.
This is a great movie, and it has a wonderful plot. The humor is dead-on, and I really enjoyed the action in it. Might not be one of the movies you watch to see just Jackie, but it's wonderful to see Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao (though he's not in it very much) and Jackie Chan working together. The acting is good, and it's great to watch in subtitles or voice-over. I'd suggest anyone who's a fan of Jackie Chan or of Chinese import action-comedy movies to buy this movie. You won't regret it.

not a great jackie move
ok this move is funny but the only good action is at the end and it is mosle fist fiting no using odd objects like a lader ect but the fiting at the end was wiy it got a 3 not a 1. If you like the odd objects that he fits with than this move is not for you but than agin this is my opion not yours

VERY GOOD, BUT DON'T BUY IT TO SEE JACKIE CHAN
IN THIS SEQUEL TO WINNERS & SINNERS, A COP [JACKIE CHAN] ORDERS FIVE OF HIS CHILDHOOD FRIENDS TO BE RELEASED FROM JAIL SO THAT THEY CAN HELP HIM CATCH A CRIMINAL MASTERMIND AND HELP RESCUE HIS KIDNAPPED PARTNER [YUEN BIAO]. EVEN THOUGH JACKIE CHAN IS ON THE COVER, YOU'RE NOT REALLY GONNA SEE TOO MUCH OF JACKIE CHAN IN THIS MOVIE. THIS IS REALLY A SAMMO HUNG MOVIE. OTHER THAN THAT, THIS MOVIE FEATURES SPECTACULAR FIGHTS FROM BEGINNING TO END. ALSO HAS SOME HILLARIOUS MOMENTS. THIS DVD HAS AN ENGLISH-DUBBED TRACK AS WELL AS THE ORIGINAL CANTONESE TRACK. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

One of Jackie's best.
The fight scenes in this are incredible. Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Andy Lau, Sammo Hung, and Richard Norton all have some of the best fight scenes. The routine with Sammo and his freind trying to get into bed with a girl is pretty cheesy, but hey! You watch Jackie Chan movies for action not for Oscar caliber performances! Come on! I rank this one up there with his other fine martial arts movies.

best out of the series
This movie was ok. It is like the rest of the series (Winners and Sinners my lucky stars, and this one) they always want a girl, but the ending fight scene with sammo, jackie and Biao was cool. The pepsi fight was cool too, you have to see Sammo with the tennis rackets, but this movie is mostly talking not action. This movie is not worth 34.95, I got it for 9.99, lucky for me.

Skip them all
After seeing them all, I can safely recommend that you avoid any Chan film with the word "Stars" anywhere in the title. One has a good fight scene in a Coke (Pepsi?) factory, but other than that they are pointless and irritating. Long, grueling scenes of them all wanting to get into bed with a girl get old VERY fast.

I'm sure it kicks ass.
Welp, I have not seen this film yet but I'm sure it's damn good. it is the third installment of the "Winners and Sinners" trilogy directed by Sammo Hung. I've read lot's about it, and even saw the laser disc at the store but didn't have enough money to buy it. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

A pure romance movie
This movie is so great.The story of the movie reflects about young people with their responsibility.It reflects the pure love that croosing the different of society's class amoung them.I feel the leading actress(led by Wu Chien Lien)'s performance is pure and so natural which can make audiences believe and feel in her role about this kind of love.
This movie is really much worthy for people whom believe in love.

A Classic Of Its Genre
A Moment of Romance is responsible for many a Hong Kong Cinema cliché, and indeed the film is itself far from original. A disaffected youth, a "good girl" romantic interest and a cartoonish villain all figure into the 1990 hit. Director Benny Chan has his way with the clichés, and throws in enough slow motion, syrupy Cantopop montages and hyperemotional crescendos to tax even the most weepy audience member. However, regardless of its genre excess-or perhaps because of it-the film succeeds, and is even viewed a classic of its genre.

Andy Lau is Wah Dee, a tough triad member who gets drawn into a spiraling circle of events. He's picked by fellow gangmember Trumpet (Tommy Wong) to be the getaway driver in a jewel heist, but things don't go as planned. The getaway is chaotic, and Dee takes a rich student, Jojo (Wu Chien-Lien), hostage to make good his escape. Trumpet wants her dead, as she's seen their faces, but Dee lets her live, saying that he'll be responsible for her. Presumably, Dee believes she'll let them off in exchange for her life, but he doesn't even posit such an exchange. He merely puts her on his bike, takes her home, and lets her go. He's like a Chinese Clint Eastwood, only he rides bikes and looks like Andy Lau.

Unfortunately, things are not that easy. The cops find Jojo's purse at the crime scene and drag her in for questioning. She still won't identify the robbers, but Trumpet doesn't want to take any chances. Dee rescues her again from Trumpet's clutches, but the seeds are sown. With an internal gang war brewing, Trumpet wants Dee dead, and the cops (led by Lau Kong) want him brought in. And, Jojo wants his affections.

The "good girl loves bad boy" scenario is far from new, but A Moment of Romance is far more than a teenybopper romantic fantasy. Dee is a through-and-through triad, meaning he's not averse to violence or criminal activity, but there's a basic morality within him that prevents him from simply doing away with Jojo. His existence reveals itself to be one of resigned self-loathing. He's not happy with his life, but sees no real exit. It's that internal angst that drives him to reject Jojo at first, and even to mistreat her in hopes that she'll leave. Eventually he accepts her love, but the choice is not made frivolously. It's handled quietly, and with a subtle emotional weight.

Andy Lau brings a righteous anger and hidden tenderness to an exceptional genre character. What's so compelling about the character and the performance is that Wah Dee acts and doesn't talk. The filmmakers go the character and action route in telling this story, and the result is far better than what you'd expect from this genre.

A real stinker!!!
I'm not sure what the other reviewers saw in this film. From the overly dramatic soundtrack (that virtually beats you into submission and overstates what's happening in the movie) to the slow script, to the predictable ending, this was a real stinker. Being a die hard HK movie buff I had to fight my desire to turn this off mid way through the movie. And this coming from an Andy Lau fan. I did enjoy the main characters and the acting from them was pretty good. Having said that, every thing else about the movie stunk. Unless you like bloody noses (the bloody nose of all movie bloody noses) don't waste your money on this one.

Typical HK
Supposed to be a classic. It's not all bad, but is highly predictable and overdramatic. If you can except it for what it is, it does what it means to.

SEE THIS FILM AT ALL COSTS!
This has got to be one of my all time favorite, and I would recommend it to anyone. One of Hong Kong's best film ever, A Moment of Romance is one unforgettable ride. The film has a strong but simple script and the soundtrack has got to be one of the best soundtrack ever! Remember to keep a full box of tissue by your sofa as you are watching this film. SEE THIS FILM AT ALL COSTS! ... Read more