My childhood in the leafy suburb of Linlithgow, near the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh, could not have been more idyllic and beautiful. On Saturdays the family would head through to Edinburgh, a place I remember as a kid being labyrinthine with great Victorian atmosphere, with winding streets that connect up in weird ways. In the evening we would regularly go to my Grandparents house, just outside of the city. My Grandad loved Westerns, Horror and Schwarzenegger films; my father always turned them off, afraid that my young mind would be disturbed – this must be one of the reasons I love mature violent cinema as an adult. One day, Grandad popped in a VHS of Enter the Dragon, when I was about 11. When it reached that most famous fight scene Bruce vs. the guards, I can still remember it like yesterday. My eyes widened in awe, and a feeling deep within me awoke that still hasn’t left – one I still experience when I see this great fight scene. I describe it as awestruck consciousness… these are the only words that work.
As we all know, Enter the Dragon is an American production; the aforementioned fight scene being perhaps the greatest in all of American cinema. This article is about the film that introduced me to Hong Kong cinema, and it wasn’t long before that life-changing experience occurred. A couple of months after watching Enter the Dragon, my Grandad and I paid a visit to the local video shop. I looked through the titles until one stuck out, a big box VHS with nice artwork with the tagline “a rip roaring adventure on the old China Coast’. The film was Project A. I told my Grandad I wanted it, so he looked at the rating, PG, and consented. We got home and I eagerly stuck the VHS in. Nothing could have prepared me for the wealth of entertainment I was about to experience… my introduction to Hong Kong Cinema, and to the Three Dragons: Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan and Yuen Baio.
“Project A” International Poster
To this day, Project A holds up as one of the greatest action comedies ever produced, and for me the ultimate three Dragons film (although there were not many!). Take a look at the action. From the first barroom brawl to the magnificent three on one ending, it’s up there with the best of all time. And let’s not forget how game changing the action is. Previously most Hong Kong movies were period pieces with shapes or basher action; Project A updated this style to incorporate kickboxing, which was all the rage at the time, and a dynamic editing style that favours clear presentation and seamless flow between shots. Sammo’s classic Wing Chun film Prodigal Son was the first to update the action style of Hong Kong movies, and on in to films such as the all star action comedy Winners and Sinners, but Project A consolidated and made it the trend of the mid-80’s.
The “young me” adored the characters in the film, and the actors who played them, and the older me agrees. In fact, Sammo’s character and performance made the biggest impact; and to this day he remains my ultimate hero. Meeting and interviewing him 2 years ago is sincerely one of the high points of my life. His hilarious demeanour, amusing dialogue and expert martial arts skills blazed image after image in to my mind, most vividly when throwing a slow motion flying kick to villain Dick Wei’s back in that end fight. Wei’s dastardly pirate Sanpao is easily his best role, tattooed up and iconic, throwing those amazing kicks. Jackie really cuts loose with his performance, when his buffoonish but morally upstanding character was in its infancy. The mid film chase and stunt work section is one of the greatest in any film, with moment after moment of jaw dropping ingenuity, the ultimate being the fall from the clocktower, which I rewind every time even though it’s a double take. Yuen Baio plays against type as a cocky officer, but his acrobatics and kicking throughout are extraordinary. The chemistry between the three is electric, in comedic and action terms. I can only imagine what it was like to see this film in 1984, seeing before your eyes the game being changed.
The signature 80’s action comedy style for all three Dragons was bourne in by the film, and set the precedent for what was to come. The success of Project A across the board in Asia and international markets such as the UK paved the way for a new type of kung fu movie, one which embraced new settings and styles.
“Project A” Japanese Theatrical Poster
For me this opened up a treasure trove of wonders; next I rented the action masterpiece Above the Law (aka Righting Wrongs) with Yuen Baio, and it became the first VHS I ever bought, when I was 13. It still holds pride of place in my collection as the only VHS, surrounded by DVDs and Blu-rays, and is one of my prized possessions. From then, it was classic Jackie such as the Police Story trilogy, of which the first is in my top 5 favourite Hong Kong movies.
Despite watching these movies in the mid-90’s and most of them being made in the 80’s, the atmosphere crawled under my skin and affected me like nothing had before. They became my private obsession, as I watched more and more, on in to the time of the video labels Made In Hong Kong and Eastern Heroes. I savoured such delights as the prime of classic kung fu like Invincible Armour and Drunken Master, and on into Heroic Bloodshed masterpieces by my favourite director John Woo, such as A Better Tomorrow and Hard Boiled… I could keep going. Now in my mid-thirties, I look back on that time with immense nostalgia and child-like wonder, but realise I must pay attention to the present. It chills my bones to think of the terrible state of HK cinema at the moment, apart from a few gems, so I now look to Korea for class A Asian cinema.
I could watch Project A another 50 times, as it is a timeless action masterpiece, a cinematic ride so potent it would blow me away every time. I envy the kid who comes across the film, his eyes widening and world changing as mine did, ready for for a lifetimes worth of Hong Kong cinema.
Read First Experiences of Asian Cinema: Hong Kong & China Edition Part I
Read First Experiences of Asian Cinema: Hong Kong & China Edition Part II
Read First Experiences of Asian Cinema: Hong Kong & China Edition Part III
This article struck a chord in my old martial arts fan’s heart as Project A still holds my personal record of being viewed more than 65 times (I lost count 10 years ago) it’s one of the movies which I can also watch over and over again as it is flawless in my eyes. I first saw in on VHS from German dub and it had the title Superfighter, which was cut by 16 minutes, later I bought the full version on VHS again, then had it on import digitally remastered boxset with the second part and now I made a pre-order on the Bluray edition from Eureka. It still captivates me although I know every line and scene from it, the bike chase being the highlight of the whole experience for my mind and soul. The chemistry between Jackie, Sammo and Yuen is astonishing and I have to agree that this is the best film of all their collaboration on screen (Dragons Forever is second for me). Thank you for the nostalgia ride I greatly enjoyed it and appreciate your articles on the subject!
Thanks very much Kiril! Glad to hear someone else has such nostalgia for the film.
Great piece Mr. Sandison! & I’m kinda jealous that you still have your ‘Above the Law’ VHS, I wish I still had my original Eastern Heroes ‘Shaolin Temple’ tape for nostalgic reasons.
I remember reading that Jackie Chan had already started to build a big fan base after ‘The Young Master’ and ‘Dragon Lord’, so many of them were disappointed that the ending of ‘Project A’ was a 3 vs. 1, as opposed to Chan taking on Dick Wei by himself. I’m pretty sure in the same piece it mentioned this was one of the main reasons why in ‘Wheels on Meals’ they each to get their own individual final fights, with of course the highlight being Chan vs. Benny ‘The Jet’ Urquidez.
Cheers Paul! That’s interesting info. I cannot wait to watch the end fight of Project A in 4K, Eureka are too good to us!