Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

Director:

John Carpenter

Writers:

Gary Goldman (written by) &
David Z. Weinstein (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

2 July 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy

Tagline:

Adventure doesn't come any bigger!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Airport | Chinese | Green Eyes | Fiancee | Immortal

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

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
June Kyoto Lu	...	White Tiger (as June Kim)
Noel Toy	...	Mrs. O'Toole
Jade Go	...	Chinese Girl in White Tiger
Jerry Hardin	...	Pinstripe Lawyer
James Lew	...	Chang Sing #1
Jim Lau	...	Chang Sing #2
Kenny Endoso	...	Chang Sing #3 (as Ken Endoso)
Stuart Quan	...	Chang Sing #4
Gary Toy	...	Chang Sing #5
George Cheung	...	Chang Sing #6
Jimmy Jue	...	Wounded Chang Sing
Noble Craig	...	Sewer Monster
Danny Kwan	...	Chinese Guard
Min Luong	...	Tara
Paul J.Q. Lee	...	Chinese Gambler (as Paul Lee)
Al Leong	...	Wing Kong Hatchet Man
Gerald Okamura	...	Wing Kong Hatchet Man
William S. Wong	...	Wing Kong Hatchet Man (as Willie Wong)
Eric Lee	...	Wing Kong Hatchet Man
Yukio G. Collins	...	Wing Kong Hatchet Man
Bill M. Ryusaki	...	Wing Kong Hatchet Man
Brian Imada	...	Wing Kong Hatchet Man
Nathan Jung	...	Wing Kong Hatchet Man
Dan Inosanto	...	Wing Kong Hatchet Man (as Daniel Inosanto)
Vernon Rieta	...	Wing Kong Hatchet Man
Daniel Wong	...	Wing Kong Security Guard
Daniel Lee	...	Wing Kong Security Guard (as Daniel Eric Lee)
Lia Chang	...	Female Wing Kong Guard
Diana Tanaka	...	Female Wing Kong Guard (as Dian Tanaka)
Donna L. Noguschi	...	Female Wing Kong Guard
Shinko Isobe	...	Female Wing Kong Guard
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William B. Snider	...	Customs Agent (scenes deleted)
John Carpenter	...	Worker in Chinatown (uncredited)
Dawna Lee Heising	...	Chinese Guard (uncredited)
Leo Lee	...	Fighter in Ally (uncredited)

Directed by
John Carpenter

Writing credits
Gary Goldman		(written by) &
David Z. Weinstein		(written by)
W.D. Richter		(adaptation)

Produced by
Keith Barish	....	executive producer
Larry J. Franco	....	producer
Jim Lau	....	associate producer
James Lew	....	associate producer
Paul Monash	....	executive producer

Original Music by
John Carpenter
Alan Howarth

Cinematography by
Dean Cundey

Film Editing by
Steve Mirkovich
Mark Warner
Edward A. Warschilka

Casting by
Joanna Merlin

Production Design by
John J. Lloyd

Art Direction by
Les Gobruegge

Set Decoration by
George R. Nelson		(as George R. 'Bob' Nelson)

Costume Design by
April Ferry

Makeup Department
Ken Chase	....	makeup supervisor
Steve Johnson	....	special makeup effects
Susan V. Kalinowski	....	hair stylist (as Susan Kalinowski)

Production Management
James Herbert	....	unit production manager
George E. Mather	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Matt Earl Beesley	....	second assistant director
Larry J. Franco	....	first assistant director (as Larry Franco)
Tommy Lee Wallace	....	second unit director

Art Department
Brent Boates	....	production illustrator
Richard L. Cowitt	....	assistant property master (as Richard Cowitt)
James M. Davis	....	construction foreman (as Jim Davis)
Craig Edgar	....	set designer
David Evans	....	assistant property master
Kent H. Johnson	....	property master
David Jonas	....	production illustrator
Donald Krafft	....	lead man
Johnny Lattanzio	....	construction coordinator (as John Lattanzio)
James Lew	....	martial arts choreographer
Larry McGuire	....	lead man
Richard Morgan	....	construction foreman
Ken Scaife	....	construction foreman
Robert Scaife	....	construction coordinator
Steven Schwartz	....	set designer (as Steve Schwartz)
Mark Siegel	....	sculptor
Ed Verreaux	....	production illustrator (as Edward Verreaux)
John Villarino	....	construction foreman
Ron Ashmore	....	paint gang boss (uncredited)
William 'W' Gilpin	....	carpenter (uncredited)
Steven Kerlagon	....	paint gang boss (uncredited)
Brieann Rich	....	construction medic (uncredited)
Mark Sparks	....	propmaker (uncredited)
Drew Struzan	....	poster artist (uncredited)
Mike Villarino	....	propmaker (uncredited)
Frank White	....	laborer (uncredited)
Christopher Windisch	....	carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Don J. Bassman	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Don Bassman)
Joseph F. Brennan	....	boom operator
Thomas Causey	....	sound mixer
Kevin F. Cleary	....	sound re-recording mixer
Monika Dorfman-Lightstone	....	special sound effects editor
Dean Drabin	....	foley mixer
Martin Dreffke	....	special sound effects editor
David Fechtor	....	special sound effects editor (as David A. Fechtor)
William Hartman	....	sound effects supervisor
Gary A. Hecker	....	foley artist (as Gary 'Wrecker' Hecker)
Laja Holland	....	special sound effects editor
Pieter Hubbard	....	sound effects editor
David M. Ice	....	sound effects editor (as David Ice)
Lenny Jennings	....	sound effects editor
Eric Lindemann	....	sound effects editor (as Eric Lindeman)
Gary Macheel	....	sound synthesist
Anthony Milch	....	special sound effects supervisor
Richard Overton	....	sound re-recording mixer
Glad Pickering	....	adr editor
David A. Poole	....	assistant adr editor (as David Poole)
Robert Renga	....	sound recordist
Steve Rice	....	adr editor
Hank Salerno	....	supervising adr editor
Hal Sanders	....	sound effects editor
Alicia Stevenson	....	foley artist
Darcy Vebber	....	boom operator (as Darcey Vebber)
Bill Voigtlander	....	adr editor (as Bill Voightlander)
David Williams	....	special sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Stanley Amborn	....	special effects assistant
Randy Cabral	....	special effects technician
James Fredburg	....	special effects foreman
James Kagel	....	creature crew (as Jim Kagel)
Thaine Morris	....	special effects foreman
Joseph A. Unsinn	....	special effects coordinator (as Joseph Unsinn)
Randy Algoe	....	visual effects technician (uncredited)
Greg C. Jensen	....	special effects (uncredited)
Olov Nylander	....	special photographic effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Michael Backauskas	....	visual effects optical line-up
Mat Beck	....	camera operator: visual effects crew (as Matt Beck)
Peter Berman	....	first assistant photographer: visual effects crew
Dale Brady	....	creature crew: Boss Film Studios
Kevin Brennan	....	creature crew: Boss Film Studios
Theresa Burkett	....	creature crew: Boss Film Studios
Roberto Carlos	....	creature crew: Boss Film Studios
Craig Caton	....	creature crew: Boss Film Studios
Craig Clark	....	special effects animator
Charles Cowles	....	optical camera operator
Ken Diaz	....	creature crew: Boss Film Studios
Richard Edlund	....	visual effects producer
Robert Eyslee	....	gaffer: visual effects crew
Alex R. Felix III	....	creature crew: Boss Film Studios
Ed Felix	....	creature crew: Boss Film Studios
Eric Fiedler	....	first technician: Boss Film Studios
Eddie Garcia	....	creature crew: Boss Film Studios
Screaming Mad George	....	first technician: Boss Film Studios
Alan Harding	....	optical camera operator
Rebecca Heskes	....	technical animator (as Rebecca Petrulli Heskes)
George Jenson	....	visual effects art director (as George Jensen)
Steve Johnson	....	creature creator: Boss Film Studios
Ed Jones	....	optical line-up
James Kagel	....	creature crew: Boss Film Studios
Dave Kesley	....	creature shop coordinator: Boss Film Studios
Makio Kida	....	creature crew: Boss Film Studios
Neil Krepela	....	matte department supervisor
Brad Kuehn	....	optical line-up
Ron Macinnes	....	creature crew: Boss Film Studios
Mary Mason	....	optical coordinator
Dave Matherly	....	creature crew: Boss Film Studios
Dennis Michelson	....	visual effects editor
Virgil Mirano	....	still photographer: visual effects crew
Bill Neil	....	director of photography: visual effects crew
James Nelson	....	production advisor: visual effects crew
Lisa Nielsen	....	creature crew: Boss Film Studios
Roberto Olivas	....	creature crew: Boss Film Studios
Chris Regan	....	optical supervisor: visual effects crew
Richard Ruiz	....	chief effects moldmaker: Boss Film Studios
Wayne Strong	....	creature crew: Boss Film Studios
Annick Therrien	....	technical animation supervisor
Lynda Thompson	....	visual effects production supervisor
Patrick Van Auken	....	grip: visual effects crew
Paul Van Camp	....	software programmer
Garry Waller	....	special projects supervisor
Mary E. Walter	....	optical line-up
Mark Bryan Wilson	....	creature crew: Boss Film Studios
Sam Longoria	....	engineer/machinist (uncredited)

Stunts
Kelly Akai	....	stunts
T.K. Anthony	....	stunts
Tom Bergman	....	stunts
Simone Boisseree	....	stunts
Janet Brady	....	stunts
David Cadiente	....	stunts
Phil Chong	....	stunts
Chuck Clarke	....	stunts
Bob K. Cummings	....	stunts (as Robert Cummings)
Debbi A. Davison	....	stunts
Eddy Donno	....	stunts
Ellarye	....	stunts
George Endoso	....	stunts
Kenny Endoso	....	stunt coordinator
Ken Fritz	....	stunts
Mark Giardino	....	stunts
Kent Hays	....	stunts
Jeff Imada	....	stunts
Bobby Itaya	....	stunts
Denise Kellogg	....	stunts
Conan Lee	....	stunts
Gary McLarty	....	stunts
Ginger K. Miyazaki	....	stunts
Jimmy Nickerson	....	stunts (as James Nickerson)
Sherri Nickerson	....	stunts
Beth Nufer	....	stunts
Bill Saito	....	stunts
Steve Santo	....	stunts
Dennis Scott	....	stunts (as Dennis R. Scott)
Hayward Soo Hoo	....	stunts
Leland Sun	....	stunts
Tamiko	....	stunts
Joe Tornatore	....	stunts (as Joe A. Tornatore Jr.)
Dick Warlock	....	stunts (as Richard Warlock)
Mike Washlake	....	stunts
Dean Wein	....	stunts
Jack West	....	stunts (as Jack S. West)
Eddie Wong	....	stunts
Harry Wong	....	stunts
Joseph K. Wong	....	stunts
Carey Loftin	....	stunt driver (uncredited)
Carey Loftin	....	truck stunts (uncredited)
Dick Warlock	....	stunt double: Kurt Russell (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Clyde E. Bryan	....	first assistant camera
Ron Cardarelli	....	key grip (as Ronald Cardarelli)
Jack Cooperman	....	underwater director of photography
Larry D. Davis	....	second assistant camera
John Donnelly	....	best boy
J. Barry Herron	....	underwater director of photography
Gary B. Kibbe	....	camera operator (as Gary Kibbe)
George La Fountaine Jr.	....	best boy
Thomas Marshall	....	best boy
Steven Poster	....	director of photography: second unit (as Steve Poster)
John R. Shannon	....	still photographer
Raymond Stella	....	camera operator (as Ray Stella)
Steve Tate	....	first assistant camera
Mark Walthour	....	gaffer
Charles Williams	....	company grip (as Charles 'Tex' Williams)
Stefanie Wiseman	....	film loader
Billy Craft	....	lighting technician (uncredited)

Animation Department
Glenn Chaika	....	animator (as Glen Chaika)
Margaret Craig-Chang	....	assistant animator
Deborah Gaydos	....	assistant animator (as Deborah Ann Gaydos)
Renee Holt	....	assistant animator
Jeff Howard	....	animator
Mauro Maressa	....	animator
Samuel E. Recinos	....	technical animator (as Samuel Recinos)
Peggy Regan	....	animator
Eusebio Torres	....	assistant animator
Kevin Kutchaver	....	animator (uncredited)

Casting Department
Pamela Guest	....	casting associate (as Pamela Rack)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Oda Groeschel	....	set costumer
Paul Lopez	....	costumer: men
Michele Neely	....	costumer: women
Lois DeArmond	....	costume illustrator (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Nancy Froelich	....	assistant editor
David Jansen	....	apprentice editor
J.W. Kompare	....	assistant editor
Ronald B. Moore	....	effects editorial consultant (as Ronald Moore)
Steven Ramirez	....	first assistant editor (as Steven E. Ramirez)
Ed Stabile	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Scott Grusin	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Steve Duncan	....	transportation captain
Eddie Lee Voelker	....	transportation coordinator
Rick Braverman	....	driver (uncredited)
Dean E. Mason	....	driver: cast (uncredited)

Other crew
Susan Alpert	....	production assistant (as Sue Alpert)
Christine Baer	....	secretary to producer
Linda Brachman	....	production consultant
Dale Brady	....	creature crew
Kevin Brennan	....	creature crew
Theresa Burkett	....	creature crew
John Bush	....	location manager: San Francisco
Allen Cappuccilli	....	assistant: Ronald Moore
Roberto Carlos	....	creature crew
Craig Caton	....	creature crew
Kim-Kasey Costello	....	assistant: Mr. Monash
Dan Curry	....	title designer
Theresa Curtin	....	assistant: Mr. Franco and Mr. Carpenter
Ken Diaz	....	creature crew
Ken Dudderar	....	precision cinetechnician
Al Ebner	....	unit publicist
Alex R. Felix III	....	creature crew (as Alex Felix)
Ed Felix	....	creature crew
Eric Fiedler	....	film technician
Paulette C. Fine	....	production accountant (as Paulette Fine)
Eddie Garcia	....	creature crew
Mary Sutton Hallmann	....	production coordinator
Adam Hill	....	creature effects moldmaker: Boss Films
Adam Hill	....	puppeteer: Boss Films
Sandra Holden	....	production secretary
Jerry Jeffress	....	electronics
Steve Johnson	....	creature design
David P. Kelsey	....	creature shop coordinator
Makio Kida	....	creature crew
Sandy King	....	script supervisor
Harry Kohoyda Jr.	....	production accountant (as Harry Kohoyda)
Daniel Kwan	....	marketing coordinator
Jim Lau	....	martial arts consultant
Robin Dean Leyden	....	electronics
Ron Macinnes	....	creature crew
Dave Matherly	....	creature crew
Mark Matthews	....	precision cinetechnician
Lesa Nielsen	....	creature crew
Roberto Olivas	....	creature crew
Pat Repola	....	laboratory technician
Artist W. Robinson	....	production consultant (as Artist Robinson)
Mindy Rothstein	....	production administrator
Richard Ruiz	....	chief effects mold maker
Dana Miller Schornstein	....	assistant production coordinator
Jon Schreiber	....	production assistant
Steven Shkolnik	....	location manager: Los Angeles (as Steve Shkolnik)
Mark Siegel	....	creature maker
Mark Siegel	....	puppeteer
Peter J. Silbermann	....	marketing supervisor
Wayne Strong	....	creature crew
Gary Weddington	....	assistant auditor
Mark West	....	design engineer
Charles Whiteman	....	chief engineer
Robert Wilcox	....	electronics
Claire Wilson	....	assistant: Richard Edlund
Mark Bryan Wilson	....	creature crew
Adam Hill	....	fiberglass statue caster: Paramount Studios (uncredited)
Adam Hill	....	set sculptor/plasterer/caster: Fox Studios (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
• TAFT Entertainment Pictures

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1986) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox of Germany (1986) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• CBS / Fox Video (1987) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• CBS/Fox Video (1987) (Belgium) (VHS)
• Fox Video (1987) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Fox Network (1989) (USA) (TV)
• Fox Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment España S.A. (2001) (Spain) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD) (two-disc special edition)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Fox Films (1986) (Finland) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (Canada) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• CBS / Fox Video (1988) (Greece) (VHS)
• CBS / Fox Video (198?) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• FS Film (2006) (Finland) (DVD) (2-disc edition)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1994) (2007) (Finland) (TV)
• Showtime (1987) (Finland) (VHS)
• SubTV (2006) (Finland) (TV)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)

Also Known As:

"John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China" - USA (complete title)
"Ghost Hunters" - Japan (English title)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Australia:M | Canada:14A | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1986) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 (No. 27922) | West Germany:12 (w) | Germany:16 (special edition) | Singapore:PG | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Spain:13 | Portugal:M/12 | Ireland:15 | South Korea:15 | UK:PG (1986) (cut) | Denmark:15 | Brazil:14 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 (2009)

Filming Locations:

Conzelman Road, Marin Headlands, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The Truck Driven by Jack (Kurt Russell) - the "Pork Chop Express" - is a Freightliner FLC 120

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Kurt Russell is pulling himself up on the wheelchair from falling into the well, you can clearly see an effects hinge under the chair that is actually pulling the chair back up, even though it appears as though Jack Burton is doing this with pure strength.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Guest House Paradiso (1999)

Soundtrack:

Big Trouble in Little China

Do you believe in magic?

Despite his recent slide into mediocrity, John Carpenter is responsible for what could be termed some of the biggest cult movies of the 1980's. Following his resounding success with Halloween he went on to direct a number of quirky yet excellent movies that began to tail of toward the end of the 80's with the release of such dross as Prince of Darkness. Carpenters movies are probably some of the most under appreciated pictures of recent cinema history on a commercial level, and none more so than perhaps one of his finest, the delightfully absurd action movie Big Trouble in Little China.

The plot is as daft as they come. Loud mouthed truck driver Jack Burton (played by Carpenter's long time collaborator Kurt Russell) arrives in San Francisco's Chinatown where he agrees to help out old friend Wang (played by Denis Dun) by driving him to the airport to pick up his green eyed fiancé. Things quickly go south however when a band of street punks kidnap the girl and the motley duo set off in pursuit. The pair soon find themselves caught in the middle of gang war that takes on a decidedly mythical bent and are forced to flee while Jack's truck is stolen. All this occurs within the first fifteen to twenty minutes.

If there's one thing you can say about Big Trouble, it's that it's action packed. The plot (such as it is) moves at an incredible pace and the film rarely slows to take breath as it rolls from one action set piece to the next. In such movies, normally the dialogue, and subsequently the acting suffer from a lack of any real attention. Not so here. Carpenter balances everything so perfectly that it's a wonder his career took such a slide. Although the actual story may be incredibly absurd and at times suffers from some rather obvious gaps of logic, the dialogue never fails to sparkle. Russell gives his very best wise ass shtick as Burton, the confused have a go hero who's so out of his depth he should really be fish bait, while Dun excels with a character who is consistently more heroic and capable than the lead. Another wonderful turn comes from an appearance by a young Kim Cattrall (of Sex and the City fame) as Gracie Law, a downmarket lawyer with an ability to talk at incredible speed. Some of the scenes between these three are pure comic genius, as Dun and Cattrall rattle out plot information at a rapid staccato pace while an increasingly bewildered Russell tries desperately to keep up.

Despite such positive remarks, Big Trouble was perhaps one of Carpenter's biggest commercial flops. While many of the movie's fans find this difficult to understand I do not. The reason for its failure is really incredibly simple. In terms of its style and the underlying comedy behind the piece, Carpenter's loving part tribute, part send up of all things Kung Fu was way ahead of the curve in every important respect. Take the relationship between our 'hero' Jack and his 'sidekick' Wang. The true dynamic of this relationship is a wonderfully post modern slant on the cliché buddy dynamic that existed in the 80's and it was done long before post modernist humour became truly fashionable in films (the most obvious example of post modern piece of cinema being Scream). Despite receiving star billing, Russell's Jack is actually a sidekick to Wang. While Wang has the knowledge, the skill and the courage to make him a true classic hero figure, Jack lags behind, being brash, ignorant and of little actual use in a fight. Similarly the action, although remarkably quaint by today's standards in both its look and execution, is a surprisingly accurate foreshadow of the current Hollywood move toward the more graceful, balletic chaos exhibited by movies like The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Ultimately Big Trouble in Little China is a movie that survived thanks to the home video market and for that we can only be grateful. While its looks may have aged, its sense of humour and style is as fresh today as the day it first rolled out in cinemas. In short, it's pure escapist magic.