With the holiday season upon us, you might be looking for an unconventional Christmas movie. You crave a flick with a bit more edge than a Hallmark Channel offering. How about a Hong Kong action film that takes place at the end of December? Five guys from the countryside come to the big city to pick up a few extra bucks and gifts for their loved ones. They even visit a shopping mall that has an ice-skating rink. That almost sounds like a Hallmark except this movie features enough fire power knock Santa and Rudolph out of the sky. Long Arm of the Law isn’t a heartwarming tale about the holiday season in Hong Kong from producers Sammo Hung and Johnny Mak. This is a shopping trip gone extremely bad. Long Arm of the Law – Parts I & II (Deluxe Collector’s Edition) has the original and first sequel that will brighten up your Advent viewing.
Long Arm of the Law (1984 – 106:03) has Tony, an ex-military guy taking the train from Hong Kong back into Mainland China. He hooks up with five of his old army buddies for a simple business proposition. He has a plan for a jewelry store heist. While it’s a bit dangerous to cross the border, Tony’s plan will give each guy more money for two days work than what they’d earn in 100 years. They want to be men on a mission once more. One of the guys can’t make it over the fence, but the other four do. They’re ready for action. The crew have to not merely adapt to life in Hong Kong, but also the joy of Christmas season. There’s a bit of shock when they use a fancy bathroom at a bar. But for all the slightly comic moments, there’s a lot of violence. Their initial plan falls apart and they get lured into doing the dirty work for a Hong Kong mobster. This turn out to be a really bad choice. They might not get home. Among the amazing stunts is when a victim gets shot next to the balcony at a shopping mall, plummet down onto an ice rink and ricochet between the board leaving a massive blood streak. The lack of any major star power adds to the intensity since you have no clue who will survive any scene. The end of the film takes place in the Kowloon Walled City which was a rather seedy and cramped space. The finale is an all-out battle between the Mainlander gang and the Hong Kong police that fills the screen with hot lead. The Export cut is 105:09 with an English language soundtrack. It doesn’t seem like the missing minute was to reduce any violence.
The Long Arm of the Law Saga II (1987 – 90:19) doesn’t bring back any of the characters from the original film. We get a different twist on Mainland Chinese crime in Hong Kong. The police force realizes that part of their problem is they lack any stool pigeons in the Mainlander community. They offer a drastic deal to three men who had snuck into the country. Li Heung-Tung (Shaolin Intruders‘ Elvis Tsui), King San (Police Story 2‘s Ben Lam) and Hok Kwan (Tiger Cage‘s Yuen Yat Chor) can work as undercover agents for the cops. If they can do the job for two years, they’ll get legit passports. The trio have no problem accepting the deal since they’re in serious trouble in Mainland China. This Uncool Mod Squad receives training from undercover cop Biggy (Rogue‘s Alex Man) who has to get them acclimated to Hong Kong life and connected in the underworld. Their big case gets extremely complicated when one of the trio has to deal with an old pal from China being their target. Is he willing to betray his friend that saved his life to get citizenship? The Export Cut runs 87:23.
When the John Woo explosion happened in the early ’90s, Long Arm of the Law didn’t get mentioned that much. This was not on my list of Hong Kong Action films that needed to be tracked down during a trip to Dave’s Videodrome in Carrboro, NC. The Mak brothers weren’t given the same buzz as Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam and John Woo. Why? It’s hard to tell, but it’s now been remedied. These two films really set the tone for the Heroic Bloodshed and Ballistic Ballet movies that would follow as Hong Kong cinema transitioned from Martial Arts to Modern Mobsters. The Long Arm proved so popular that the Maks made two more entries in the series.
Long Arm of the Law is film with enough Christmas elements to have it playing on your TV set after the presents have been unwrapped. The sequel is also a bullet riddled tour of Hong Kong although in a different season. Long Arm of the Law – Parts I & II (Deluxe Collector’s Edition) is a great gift to give any fan of action cinema or just treat yourself.
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic for both films. The 2K transfers were taken from the original camera negative so you get all the details of life. The Hong Kong cuts feature Cantonese Soundtracks in LPCM 2.0. The Export cuts have English soundtracks at LPCM 2.0. Only the Hong Kong versions of the films have English subtitles.
40-page booklet featuring an essay by Tom Cunliffe and archive stills, posters and lobby cards.
Double-sided Fold Out Poster featuring original poster artworks of both films. This is suitable for framing.
THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW
Audio Commentary by Hong Kong Film Expert Frank Djeng is only on the Hong Kong Version. Djeng once more delivers the context of the film and details of the filmmakers and actors. There was a real issue in the ’80s with gangs from Mainland China sneaking into Hong Kong, committing crimes and hoping back over the border.
Family Business – An Interview with Michael Mak (16:32) gets into how they shot the film in 20 days although they used 8 cameras for the action and street scenes to catch everything. He gets into the exterior scenes that were shot in Mainland China. They used a bit of subterfuge to get the camera past the Communist authorities and back into Hong Kong. Because the actors weren’t major stars, people didn’t notice they were making a film at the time.
From Hong Kong Police to Big Circle Gangs (28:51) talks with Scriptwriter Philip Chan. He was a member of the former Hong Kong police force. He joined up because he went to an Irish Catholic High School and couldn’t pass the Chinese part to get into the University. He spent 11 years on the force. He was part of a singing group that opened for The Searchers and Herman’s Hermits when they came to Asia. He began to work with Johnny Mak on TV shows. He points out that a few of the actors were really gangsters. One of the cast members after the film wrapped went back and tried to rob a location. It didn’t work out like in the movie.
A Conversation with Action Director Billy Chan and Scriptwriter Philip Chan (37:02) has the two being interviewed in a restaurant. Phillip gets into how he made his characters more than run of the mill gangsters because of their military background and desire to smash and grab Hong Kong. The script was extremely detailed down to the dangling rat at the end. Billy Chan talks about how back in the ’80s, the action scenes weren’t laid down in the scripts so they’ve be improvised on the location. This was a change of approach for him. They get into the Walled City action.
An Interview with Director Johnny Mak (9:47) has him talk about wanting to be realistic on the screen. He gets into how he was able to make the audience in Hong Kong not completely hate the characters that snuck over the border. He describes the Walled City action and what it took to shoot in this rather unsafe area.
Hong Kong Trailer (4:56) will get you pumped up to see the whole film.
THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW – SAGA II
Audio Commentary by Hong Kong Film Expert Frank Djeng is only on the Hong Kong version. He points out that the film having clips from the original was good since in the late ’80s, there wasn’t much video rental action in Hong Kong at that time. He points out actors that worked with the Mak brothers over the year.
Bringing the Action (25:14) sits down with Director Michael Mak. He explains why he made the sequel instead of his brother Johnny. He gets into how he worked with the actors a lot during pre-production so when they started shooting, everyone was on the same page.
Man of Action (16:09) catches us with Co-Star Ben Lam. He got his start as a stuntman and worked with Jackie Chan’s team. He played a cop in the first film and shares how helpful the bystanders were during his big chase scene. He got a real role in the second film. He talks about how the script didn’t change during production. He really enjoyed working with Michael Mak.
An Offer You Can’t Refuse (8:07) lets Scriptwriter Philip Chan talk about writing the sequel. He wasn’t wanting to write the sequel. Johnny Mak gave him his expensive watch to get to change his mind. He points out how all the undercover cops during his time on the force were young unlike the trio in this film.
The Iron Fist of Crime (24:25) has Stuntman Stephen Chan reflect on his work on the film. He plays the main bad guy. He talks about learning martial arts while growing up in England. He ended up moving back to Hong Kong and opened up a gym. This eventually had him making connections in the film industry and working for Golden Harvest. He talks about how Johnny Mak wasn’t part of the shoot. He would see the dailies back at the office. This was all Michael Mak’s show on location. He discloses that the rats were white and painted black. He recalls the premiere of the film.
Hong Kong Trailer (3:33) gives us the plight of the three undercover agents without much narration.
English Trailer (1:40) has the narrator give us the choice of being behind bars or go undercover.
88 Films presents Long Arm of the Law – Parts I & II (Deluxe Collector’s Edition). Directed by Johnny Mak and Michael Mak. Screenplays by Phillip Chan. Starring Chen Jing, Kong Lung, Ben Lam Kwok Bun, David Lam Wai, Ng Hoi Tin, Shum Wai, Wong Kin, Wong Yan Tat, Ming-Wai Chan, Szu-Ying Chien, Wai-Jan Koo, Ben Lam, King San, Alex Man, Fui-On Shing & Elvis Tsui. Boxset Contents: 2 movies on 2 Blu-rays. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: December 12, 2023.
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