''Dragon Lord'' (also known as ''Dragon Strike'', ) is a 1982 Hong Kong martial arts

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

starring and directed by

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

, who also wrote the screenplay with Edward Tang and Barry Wong. It was originally supposed to be a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the sam ...

to ''

The Young Master ''The Young Master'' () is a 1980 Hong Kong martial arts film starring and directed by Jackie Chan, who also wrote the screenplay with Edward Tang, Lau Tin-chi and Tung Lu. The film co-stars Yuen Biao, Fung Fung and Shih Kien. The film was r ...

'' and even had the name ''Young Master in Love'' until it was changed to ''Dragon Lord''. The film was experimented by Chan with various elaborate

stunt A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually on television, theaters, or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Before computer generated imagery sp ...

action sequences in a period setting, serving as a transition between Chan's earlier

kung fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to commo ...

comedy period films (such as ''

Drunken Master ''Drunken Master'' () is a 1978 Hong Kong martial arts comedy film directed by Yuen Woo-ping, and starring Jackie Chan, Yuen Siu-tien, and Hwang Jang-lee. It was a success at the Hong Kong box office, earning two and a half times the amount ...

'' and ''The Young Master'') and his later stunt-oriented modern action films (such as '' Project A'' and '' Police Story'').

Plot

Dragon (

) is the son of a Chinese aristocrat who is always getting in trouble, and likes to skip his lessons. Dragon tries to send a love note to the girl he likes via a kite, but the kite gets away. Dragon tries to get the kite and letter back which have landed on the roof of the headquarters of a gang of thieves who are planning to steal artifacts from the towns temple. Dragon interferes with the gang’s plans and is forced to fight off the gang.

Cast

– Dragon Ho / Lung *

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmos ...

– Cowboy Chin * Hwang In-Shik – The Big Boss * Tien Feng – Dragon's Father * Paul Chang – Chin's Father * Wai-Man Chan – Tiger (as Hui-Min Chen) * Kang-Yeh Cheng – Ah Dee * Fung Feng – The Referee * Kang Ho – The Reteree * Fung Hak-on – The Killer King (as Ke-An Fung) * Kam-kwong Ho – The Commentator * Pak-kwong Ho – Spectator * Yeong-mun Kwon – The Hatchetman (as Kuen Wing-Man) * Lei Suet – Alice (as Sidney Yim) *

Corey Yuen Corey Yuen (; born Ying Gang-ming (殷元奎); 15 February 1951) is a Hong Kong director, film director, producer, action choreographer, and former actor. Yuen was a member of the Peking Opera Schools and one of the Seven Little Fortunes. As ...

– Lu Chen gang member * Mang Hoi – Lu Chen gang member *

Alan Chui Chung-San Chui Chung-San (often known as Shu Zhong Xin, Hsu Zhong-Xin or Alan Hsu; 16 August 1952 – 2 November 2022) was a Hong Kong actor, director, choreographer, martial artist and stuntman. He was known for being an action director and stuntman. Ch ...

- Lu Chen gang member * Yuan-li Wu – The Matchmaker (as Yuen-Yee Ny) *Yan Tsan Tang – Smuggler * Po Tai – Ah Dum Pao (as Tai Do) * Clement Yip – Thug * Benny Lai – Braves' team player * Johnny Cheung – Smuggler

Production

''Dragon Lord'' went over budget and took twice as long to shoot as was originally planned due to Chan's many retakes of shots to get them exactly as he wanted them. One scene in the film is reputed to have taken 2900 takes to complete, although sources disagree on whether the scene in question is the opening scene involving a

human pyramid A human pyramid is an acrobatic formation of three or more people in which two or more people support a tier of higher people, who in turn may support other, higher tiers of people. People above the bottom tier may kneel or stand on the shoulders ...

or a sequence depicting a

Jianzi Jianzi (), tī jianzi (踢毽子), tī jian (踢毽) or jianqiú (毽球), is a traditional Chinese national sport in which players aim to keep a heavily weighted shuttlecock in the air by using their bodies, apart from the hands, unlike in si ...

game. The opening bun festival scene was originally intended to end the film but was moved as Chan wanted a spectacular opening to the film. The final fight scene, which takes place in a

barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen ...

, also featured elaborate stunts, including one where Chan does a back flip off a

loft A loft is a building's upper storey or elevated area in a room directly under the roof (American usage), or just an attic: a storage space under the roof usually accessed by a ladder (primarily British usage). A loft apartment refers to large ...

and falls to the lower ground. According to his book ''I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action'', Chan injured his chin during a stunt, making it difficult to say his lines and direct. This is the first Jackie Chan film that includes outtakes (bloopers). Jackie Chan says that he was inspired to do this by the use of bloopers at the end of ''

The Cannonball Run ''The Cannonball Run'' is a 1981 action comedy film. It was directed by Hal Needham, produced by Hong Kong's Golden Harvest films, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Filmed in Panavision, it features an all-star ensemble cast, including Burt ...

'', a film in which Jackie Chan also starred. His subsequent films all include outtakes.

Release and box office

In its original Hong Kong theatrical run, ''Dragon Lord'' grossed 17,936,344 (). The film did not make as much as it was expected to in Hong Kong, but was a big hit in Japan. It was 1982's ninth-highest-grossing foreign film in Japan, where it grossed (). In

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

, it became the 14th-highest-grossing film of 1982, selling 92,957 tickets and earning (US$152,551). In South Korea, it was the highest-grossing film of 1982, with 298,122 ticket sales in the capital Seoul City, equivalent to an estimated (). In Spain (where it released in 1984), the film sold 188,958 tickets, equivalent to an estimated (). Combined, the film grossed an estimated total box office gross of approximately in Asia and Europe. Hong Kong Legends released the DVD on 25 August 2003 in the United Kingdom.

Dimension Films Dimension Films is an American film production company owned by Lantern Entertainment. It was formerly used as Harvey and Bob Weinstein's label within Miramax, which was acquired by The Walt Disney Company on June 30, 1993, to produce and r ...

released the film on DVD in the U.S. on 11 May 2004.

Reception

Joey O'Bryan of ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'' rated it 2.5/5 stars and wrote that the film, while not one of Chan's best, is an early attempt to take the genre into a new direction and set the stage for many of Chan's better, more-realized films. O'Bryan highlighted the film's climactic fight as a "worth the price of admission all by itself". ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program TV listings, listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine, TV Guide Mag ...

'' rated it 3/5 stars and wrote, "Aside from the meandering, stop-and-go screenplay, there's much to admire about the film." John Sinnott of

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

rated it 3.5/5 stars called it a "fun movie" that moves away from conventional martial arts films.

Awards and nominations

* 1983

Hong Kong Film Awards The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies are typically in April. The awards recognise achievement in various aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, screenwriting, ...

: ** Nomination: Best Action Choreography (

, Fung Hak-on, Yuen Kuni)

References

External links

''Dragon Lord''
at Hong Kong Cinemagic * * {{Jackie Chan 1982 films 1982 martial arts films 1980s Cantonese-language films 1980s martial arts comedy films Hong Kong martial arts comedy films Kung fu films Wushu films Golden Harvest films Films directed by Jackie Chan 1980s Hong Kong films