Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

An All-American trucker gets dragged into a centuries-old mystical battle in Chinatown.

Director:

John Carpenter

Writers:

Gary Goldman, David Z. Weinstein

Stars:

Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kurt Russell	...	Jack Burton
Kim Cattrall	...	Gracie Law
Dennis Dun	...	Wang Chi
James Hong	...	David Lo Pan
Victor Wong	...	Egg Shen
Kate Burton	...	Margo
Donald Li	...	Eddie Lee
Carter Wong	...	Thunder
Peter Kwong	...	Rain
James Pax	...	Lightning
Suzee Pai	...	Miao Yin
Chao Li Chi	...	Uncle Chu
Jeff Imada	...	Needles
Rummel Mor	...	Joe Lucky
Craig Ng	...	One Ear

Storyline

Truck driver Jack Burton arrives in Chinatown, San Francisco, and goes to the airport with his Chinese friend Wang Chi to welcome his green-eyed fiancée Miao Yin who is arriving from China. However she is kidnapped on the arrival by a Chinese street gang and Jack and Wang chase the group. Soon they learn that the powerful evil sorcerer called David Lo Pan, who has been cursed more than two thousand years ago to exist without physical body, needs to marry a woman with green eyes to retrieve his physical body and Miao is the chosen one. Jack and Wang team-up with the lawyer Gracie Law, the bus driver and sorcerer apprentice Egg Shen and their friends and embark in a great adventure in the underground of Chinatown, where they face a world of magicians and magic, monsters and martial arts fighters.

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Plot Keywords:

truck | truck driver | cb radio | 1980s | airport | 

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Taglines:

Adventure doesn't come any bigger!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Cantonese

Release Date:

2 July 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$11,100,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, TAFT Entertainment Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kurt Russell lifted weights and began running two months before production began in order to get ready for the physical demands of principal photography. In addition, John Carpenter and his cast and crew did a week's rehearsals that mainly involved choreographing the martial arts scenes.

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Goofs

When Jack and Wang are rescuing the girls and a fight breaks out in the white plaster storage area, they use the same shot twice when one of the bad guys is kicked and lands on a table against a wall.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Pinstripe lawyer: What I'd like to do today is get your version of what happened.
Egg Shen: Oh, you mean the truth.
Pinstripe lawyer: Of course. First, just state your name and your occupation for the record.
Egg Shen: Oh, Egg Shen. Bus driver.

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Connections

Referenced in Grindhouse (2007)

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Soundtracks

Big Trouble in Little China
Written by John Carpenter
Performed by The Coupe de Villes

User Reviews

Its all in the reflexes

Now let me just speak my peace before some of you either laugh at me or totally agree with me but i feel Big Trouble in Little China is one of the greatest movies of all time!! Actually it is my favorite movie of all time!! Yes i know such movies as Saving Private Ryan, Shawshank Redemption, or even Willy Wonka might be looked upon as better movies but i say "Who Cares!!!" Big trouble in Little China is a fun movie that you can sit back on a lonely night and just enjoy. The plot is pretty basic and that is why it is easy to follow. Yet the acting of Kurt Russell alone makes the movie. Im not saying this just because i am a BIG KR fan but he just does a wonderful job in this movie as a Truck drive who has no clue on whats going on but just goes with the flow! The witty lines of Kurt Russell in this movie are some of the funniest lines i have ever heard come from an actors mouth.. I mean the whole part of Lo-pan and Jack in the wheelchair is one of the funniest peices of material i have ever seen on the big screen... Well gtg and just remember if some wild 8ft tall monster grabs the back of your favorite head and slams it aganist the bar room wall and ask if you paid your dues!!??! well just tell him what ole jack always says.. " Yes sir the check is in the mail"