There are quite a few times you hear the short description of a film and immediately think that this movie is going to way off the rails. This can especially be true in the 1980s when filmmakers could easily get something so wrong. Heart of Dragon stars Jackie Chan as a Hong Kong cop who has to take care of his mentally challenged brother played by Sammo Hung (who also directed). A few people described the movie as Rain Man with Kung Fu. This isn’t accurate since Jackie’s movie came out three years before the Oscar winner with Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. There’s a more of a gentle story at the heart of Heart of Dragon (a.k.a. The First Mission) than imagined.
Tat (Jackie Chan) is a Hong Kong police officer who dreams of going to sea as a sailor. What’s keep him back? He has to take care of his brother Dodo (Sammo Hung). The man might be thirty, but he has the mentality of a five-year-old. While Tat is off on criminal cases, Dodo is hanging out with elementary school friends. Because he is an adult, the kids use their child-like pal in various stunts including having him pose as a guardian to get them out of trouble at school. It’s all too much for his older brother to handle. Jackie wants a break from Dodo and makes arrangements for others to care of his brother so he can take a sailor gig. Before his ship sails, Dodo gets entangled in a case that involves a criminal gang that’s on Tet’s radar. Dodo ends up in extreme trouble. This leads to a massive action scene in a construction site when Tet has to rescue his brother even if it means ignoring his orders as a police officer.
Even though this seems like an out-of-control movie, Heart of Dragon remains on the rails. The credit goes to Sammo Hung for giving a restrained performance and not turning Dodo into joke. It’s not Simple Jack from Tropic Thunder. While Sammo Hung might have been the top screen fighter, he doesn’t turn Dodo into a fighting savant. His fighting skills are mainly in the amount of punishment he absorbs by the bad guys. He takes a series of beatings over the course of the film. Likewise, Jackie plays the protective brother as a man who is about to snap from realizing that he will never have day without worrying about taking care of Dodo. His emotional breakdown scene has Jackie doing more than playing an action hero. I’m reminded of Robert M. Young’s Dominick and Eugene starring Tom Hulce and Ray Liotta which had the same dynamic of a smart brother taking care of his mentally challenged brothers. Remarkably enough that film like Rain Man also came out years after Heart of Dragon. The fact that Sammo and Jackie are able to take the drama of the brothers and wrap them in an action film without sacrificing either element is astounding. Heart of Dragon throws away the feel-good ending to give us a hard reality of the consequences of the final battle. Sammo and Jackie deliver a dramatic film that doesn’t hold back on the stunts.
The are two cuts of Heart of Dragon featured here. The original Hong Kong cut is 91 minutes long. When the film was released in Japan, the distributor wanted more action which meant the inclusion of two stunt scenes. The Japanese version of the film runs 99 minutes. The extended cut is done with seamless branching. I prefer the long cut since who doesn’t want more Jackie Chan action on the screen?
The video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The 2K restoration transfer looks sharp so you can see Jackie’s tears during the emotional scenes. The audio has the Original lossless Cantonese and English mono audio on both cuts. The Hong Kong cut also features Mandarin mono. The Japanese cut includes Cantonese with alternate score. English subtitles are on both versions.
Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng & FJ DeSanto on the Extended Cut. They get into how at this time Jackie Chan was making three movies including Police Squad. They get into Sammo Hung’s real name and spotting his brother in a small role. They point out the regular stunt guys that appear in the film. They also let you know what restaurants from the movie are still there in case you want to grab a bite in Hong Kong.
The Making of The First Mission (48:43) and The First Mission: Pre-Release Event (15:23) are two featurettes for the Japanese release by Shochiku. The include several bloopers. You get to see all four camera angles of the leaping out of the building stunt that went wrong. There is talk of Yeun Biao as action director.
Archive interview with star Jackie Chan (9:27) has him reflect on the film. He wanted to do a different character. Sammo and him wanted to have more drama in an action film. He still likes the film.
Archive interview with star Rocky Lai (10:05) get into being a part of Jackie Chan’s stunt team. His brother jointed first and he thought it was part of the Triad. He worked his way up by being a driver and observing what they were doing on the set. They also didn’t care too much about safety since they were young and indestructible (in their minds).
Two archive interviews with director/star Sammo Hung. The first (7:29) has Sammo talk about how he stopped production after the first day and had the script completely rewritten. He was only directing and after the new script, he assumed the role of Dodo. He talks about wanting to make sad scenes. The second interview (11:24) gets into how Sammo approached playing the character to make him seem real. He gets into not wanting the character to fight.
Archive interview with cinematographer Arthur Wong (15:12) has him talk about starting his work on the camera crews at Shaw Brothers. He knew Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung back when Sammo was a fight choreographer and Jackie would stunt double for the lead. He first was DP with Sammo on Wheels on Meals. He goes into Sammo’s working technique as a director.
Alternate English credits (2:32) for when the film was released as The First Mission.
Trailer gallery includes Hong Kong Theatrical Trailer (5:57), English Export Trailer (1:44), Japanese Theatrical Trailer (2:38), Japanese Theatrical Teasers (2:38) and Fortune Star Re-Release Trailer (2:31).
Image gallery has 27 press photos, posters a press release DVD cover
Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing by Dylan Cheung and David West
Arrow Video presents Heart of Dragon. Directed by Sammo Hung. Screenplay by Barry Wong. Starring Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Emily Chu, Mang Hoi, Lam Ching-ying, James Tien and Yuen Wah. Running Time: 91 minutes for Hong Kong cut & 99 minutes for Japanese Cut. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: April 11, 2023.
