Jackie Chan's Police Story: Special Collector's Edition – DVD Review

Film, Reviews


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Director

Jackie Chan

Cast

Jackie Chan ………. Chan Ka Kui
Brigitte Lin ………. Selina Fong (as Brigette Lin)
Maggie Cheung ………. May
Kwok-Hung Lam ………. Supt. Raymond Li
Bill Tung ………. Inspector Bill Wong
Yuen Chor ………. Mr. Chu
Charlie Cho ………. John Ko
Chi-Wing Lau ………. Cheung, the Lawyer
Hark-On Fung ………. Danny Ko
Hing Ying Kam ………. Inspector Man
Mars ………. Kim
Po Tai ………. Lee

The Movie

With Bruce Lee’s death in 1973, the possibility of a Chinese mainstream star in Hollywood grew smaller as Lee presented perhaps the best chance for a martial artist to be a top level action star. Men like Schwarzenegger and Stallone would dominate the field, as they and imitators crafted the action star for the next quarter century as a muscle-bound goliath who could take on armies of men with machine guns and win with a conveniently placed scratch or two. With the release of Die Hard in the late 1980s, this stereotype of the muscular “one man army” changed forever and Hollywood needed someplace to steal ideas and characters from for the new wave of action heroes. They would be glib and smart, overcoming the odds in more plausible ways than walking into their lair and killing them all single-handedly. And one of the first places they imitated, and still do imitate, is Hong Kong.

In China, Jackie Chan had been a star equivalent to Arnold and Sly. While he never achieved the sort of mainstream success they did in the U.S during his heyday, as his attempts at making films in the early 1980s didn’t appeal to audiences at the time, Hollywood took the style and substance of his films in the 1980s for many films after Die Hard. He may have become a mainstream star in the light of Rush Hour and the like, but he was a bigger star in China for the better part of two decades than he has ever been stateside. And one of the films that has had plenty of its signature scenes imitated and duplicated is Police Story, a film in which he would dislocate his pelvis as well as give himself third degree burns on his hands during a pole slide stunt.

Chan stars as Chan Ka Kui, also known as Kevin in the American dubbing, a police officer in China out to stop a drug dealer (Yuen Chor). After he arrests him, the dealer manipulates events to take down the star witness against him as well as frame Kevin for the killing of Inspector Man (Hing Ying Kam). On the run from the law which he represents, he has to clear his name and save the day.

But the plot of Police Story isn’t what matters the most. It is a good plot, mind you, as it’s a solid thriller involving a cat and mouse game between Mr. Chu and Kevin. While it isn’t a pure drama, with plenty of comedy sequences and the requisite action to break things up, it is dramatic enough to keep the film entertaining and interesting for the whole running time. It’s an added bonus, as the film’s calling card is its spectacular action sequences for the time.

Chan, who also financed and directed the film, sets up the action in quite dramatic ways. They may look old, as the film is over 20 years old, but for what they lack in style they make up for in substance as they are still gripping and wildly entertaining. Chan designed the stunt work and action to be exciting from an athletic level, not a technological one, so the fight sequences of his crazy gymnastic-style of martial arts still holds up on a visceral level. It looks two decades old, but it doesn’t feel two decades old. The abilities of technology in film may have advanced in many ways since this film, but Chan has crafted an atmosphere where they still hold up as wildly entertaining despite the lack of modern technology.

Garnering a U.S release for the first time on DVD through the Dragon Dynasty label, it’s a must have for action films and movie aficionados alike. While action junkies may have grown up with Arnold, Willis, Stallone and others for a generation, the international age has brought out some other stars previously unknown to the American audience during their peak.

The Audio

Presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 format with subtitles for those not fluent in Chinese, as well as a Dolby 2.0 soundtrack for those who wish to watch I with dubbed-in English, Police Story has been remastered from earlier DVD releases to have a relatively good soundtrack. While it doesn’t match up to a film released now, as the sound isn’t nearly as good, it is about as good as a foreign film from the 80s can get.

The Video

Police Story comes in a widescreen format with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio and like the audio it was remastered as well. With little grain and a surprisingly clear picture despite the circumstances, 1980s China looks remarkably vivid. The colors and fashion, et al, come through cleanly and clearly despite the picture being a bit grainy due to its age.

The Extras

Deleted scenes are included with this release of Police Story, including extended opening and ending sequences that were cut down for the theatrical release of the film. The new opening is a bit more playful than the original opening, as it has a slower and more methodical pace to it than the film does and it’s easy to see why it was cut. The extended ending sequence isn’t that much different than the film’s final ending as well, but certain things were cut from it for obvious pacing issues.

A Tribute to Jackie Chan by Brett Ratner and Bey Logan is a video perspective from Rattner and Logan on getting Chan to make movies in America as opposed to his safe haven of China. Looking back at his career from Police Story forward, Ratner and Logan discuss how in the wake of Bruce Lee’s death how Hollywood has tried and failed to make a Chinese martial artist into a mainstream star, as well as the attributes Chan has that have allowed him to become one in Hong Kong.

A conversation with director and star Jackie Chanis a retrospective from Chan about the making of the film. Chan put up his own money to make the film due to its cost, so as the financier as well as its star and creative force its interesting to hear what he has to say since the film was released over 20 years ago. Chan is in story-telling mode with some of his recollections about the film, talking about the stunt work and how everyone questioned his sanity during some of the stunts as well as detailing plenty of injuries he suffered on the set.

Stunts Unlimited is a retrospective with members of the celebrated Jackie Chan stunt team using footage from Police Story to demonstrate the terrific stunts they’ve been able to pull off. It’s interesting to hear Chan’s stunt crew tell stories of working with Jackie in his early days as well as what it was like working in what has been called the glory days of Hong Kong action movies. They also talk about the various stunts they did in Police Story and talk about the particulars of setting them up, et al.

Commentary by Brett Ratner and Asian film expert Bey Logan

InsidePulse’s Ratings for Police Story
CATEGORY
RATING
(OUT OF 10)
THE MOVIE

9.0
THE VIDEO

7.5
THE AUDIO

7.5
THE EXTRAS

7.5
REPLAY VALUE

9.5
OVERALL
8.5
(NOT AN AVERAGE)