Crime Story (film)

Crime Story (Chinese: 重案組), also known as New Police Story or Police Dragon, is a 1993 Hong Kong action crime thriller film,[1] directed by Kirk Wong, and starring Jackie Chan, Kent Cheng, Law Kar-ying and Puishan Au-yeung. The film was released in Hong Kong on 24 June 1993.

Crime Story
Film poster
Traditional重案組
Simplified重案组
MandarinZhōng Àn Zǔ
CantoneseCung5 On3 Zo2
Directed byKirk Wong
Jackie Chan (action)
Bruce Law (action)
Produced byLeonard Ho
Chua Lam
Written byTeddy Chan
Cheung Chi-sing
StarringJackie Chan
Kent Cheng
Law Kar-ying
Blackie Ko
Ken Lo
Music byMark Lui
James Wong
CinematographyArny Lam
Arthur Wong
Edited byPeter Cheung
Distributed byGolden Harvest
Media Asia
Release date
  • 24 June 1993 (1993-06-24)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryHong Kong
LanguageCantonese
Box officeHK$27,439,331

Unlike most Jackie Chan films, which feature a combination of action and comedy, Crime Story is mostly a serious film. The film is based on actual events surrounding of the 1990 kidnapping of a Chinese businessman Teddy Wang.

Plot

Inspector Eddie Chan of the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau, who suffers from emotional stress after shooting several men in self-defense, is assigned to track down the kidnapped businessman Wong Yat-fei. The search takes him from Hong Kong to Taiwan, causing him to cross paths with some powerful mobsters. What complicates matters is that one of the kidnappers is operating within the police force, determined to stop Chan from succeeding. The relentlessly driven Chan finds himself fighting his personal demons at the same time he battles the seemingly unending wave of crime in the city.

Cast

  • Jackie Chan as Inspector Eddie Chan
  • Kent Cheng as Detective Hung Ting-bong
  • Law Kar-ying as Wong Yat-fei
  • Puishan Au-yeung as Wong Yat-fei's wife
  • Blackie Ko as Captain Ko
  • Pan Lingling as Psychiatrist
  • Christine Ng as Lara
  • Chung Fat as Ng Kwok-wah
  • Ken Lo as Ng Kwok-yan
  • Wan Fat as Simon Ting
  • William Tuan as Superintendent Cheung
  • Wan Seung-lam as Yen Chi-sheng
  • Mars as bank robber (uncredited)
  • Chan Tat-kwong as bank robber (uncredited)
  • Johnny Cheung as Black Dog
  • Wong Chi-wai as Black Dragon (uncredited)
  • James Ha as kidnapper / Ting-bong's henchman
  • Yu Kwok-lok as kidnapper
  • Wong Yiu as kidnapper
  • Rocky Lai as Taiwanese gangster / restaurant owner
  • Jameson Lam as policeman at construction site
  • Leung Gam-san as data centre manager

Production

According to the book I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action, written by Jackie Chan, Chan's legs were crushed after getting caught between two cars while filming the opening action scene.[2]

The film is set and was filmed in Hong Kong and Taiwan in 42 days from 9 July to 20 August 1992. The climactic scene, in which a building is decimated by explosions, was filmed in the deserted Kowloon Walled City, which was scheduled for destruction at that time.

Jet Li was originally considered to play the role of Inspector Eddie Chan. Eventually, Jackie Chan was interested in the role of Inspector Eddie Chan, and he got it.

Reception

Crime Story received positive reviews, which cited the sharp change in tone from Jackie Chan's previous films and his performance in a dramatic role.[3][4][5] The film currently holds a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[1]

Box office

Crime Story grossed HK$27,457,147 at the Hong Kong box office, slightly lower than the average take for a Jackie Chan film at that time.

Awards and nominations

U.S. version

After the success of Rumble In The Bronx, Miramax wanted to release Crime Story next in theaters, until Jackie Chan advised against it, so Miramax released Police Story 3: Supercop (1992) instead. The version was released on video and DVD on 18 July 2000 in the United States by Miramax was dubbed in English, although unlike most releases, it contained the original musical score. Chan's character had the name "Eddie" replaced with "Jackie" in the dub.[6] There were four cuts made from the Miramax version:

  • The pre-credits sequence with the kidnappers was removed.
  • A scene where Wong is dumped overboard.
  • The last scene, Wong Yat-fei's wife tells him to thank Inspector Chan.
  • The last scene again where Chan burns Wong's wallet.

The Dragon Dynasty (DD) version has the original Cantonese track and also restored the cuts made in the Miramax version. It was released in 2007 and is about 107 minutes long. It also contains other deleted scenes not seen in either of the previous versions.

Home media

DVD was released in Region 1 in the United States on 18 July 2000, it was distributed by Dimension Films. On 24 March 2003, DVD was released by Hong Kong Legends in the United Kingdom in Region 2.

DVD was released in Region 1 in the United States on 7 August 2007, it was distributed by Dragon Dynasty. On 15 January 2013, DVD and Blu-ray was released by Shout! Factory as part of a double feature along with The Protector.[7]

See also

References

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