Long xiao ye (1982)

Director:

Jackie Chan

Writers:

Jackie Chan (writer)
Edward Tang (writer)

Release Date:

1982 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Comedy

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

China | Contest | Martial Arts

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Paul Chang	...	Cowboy's Father
Jackie Chan	...	Dragon
Wai-Man Chan	...	Tiger (as Hui-Min Chen)
Kang-Yeh Cheng	...	Ah Dee
Tai Do	...	Ah Dum
Fung Feng	...	The Referee
Hark-On Fung	...	The Killer King (as Ke-An Fung)
Kam-Kwong Ho	...	The Commentator
Yeong-mun Kwon	...	The Hatchetman (as Kuen Wing-Man)
Hoi Mang	...	Lu Chen gang member
Mars	...	Cowboy
Yuen-Yee Ny	...	The Matchmaker
Tsim Po Sham
Lei Suet	...	Alice (as Sidney Yim)
Feng Tien	...	Dragon's Father
Ing-Sik Whang	...	The Big Boss
Corey Yuen	...	Lu Chen gang member

Also Known As:

Dragon Lord (Australia) (cable TV title) (Hong Kong: English title) (USA) (video title)
Dragon Strike (USA)
Lung siu yau (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
Young Master in Love

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for martial arts violence.

Runtime:

86 min | Italy:90 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

English | Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:16 (original rating) (cut) | Iceland:12 | Germany:12 (re-rating) (uncut) | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG | Norway:15 | UK:18 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Golden Harvest Company

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Art of Action: Martial Arts in Motion Picture (2002) (TV)

A necessity for Chan fans

This film has to be viewed in the right frame of mind. First, the central father-son relationship makes it pretty clear that the film was intended as a prequel to his Wong Fei Hung film "Drunken Master" (ideas from this film recur in "Drunken Master II), and not "Young Master"; that Chan backed away from this plan and renamed the characters indicates that he himself was not convinced the material was coming together properly; and, indeed, the film conveys a sense of being incomplete; for instance, the romantic relationship around which half the plot turns is left utterly hanging at the end of the film. "Young Master", from the same period, also feels underdone, but at least all its central threads are tied together at the end. This film feels as though Chan wrestled with the plot and characters trying to find his central theme, only to abandon the effort, possibly due to time and budget.

Or perhaps the film is simply over-ambitious. This is an important turning point film in Chan's career, because he commits himself to development of the central character above all other concerns - which is why there's such a lack of kung fu throughout the film. Chan wants to make an historical romantic comedy that just happens to have kung fu in it. But both the historical element and the romantic element come across as little more than plot-twists.

That leaves us with the comedy. Since Chan's concern is character-development, the comedy is largely character driven - as in the conflict between Chan's character and his best friend, an argument over a girl. But there's plenty of slapstick as well. Frankly, I find the comedy amusing enough to forgive the incompleteness of the plot.

This film represents an effort on Chan's part to find a viable formula that he can use and develop over time. It doesn't quite work, and Chan would only find that formula after abandoning the historical elements of his earlier films, with the making of the contemporary action comedy "Police Story". But going back to view this film is still very informative as to how Chan worked his way through the historical genre, and perhaps why he abandoned it.