Tai-Pan (1986)

Director:

Daryl Duke

Writers:

John Briley (writer)
James Clavell (novel)

Release Date:

7 November 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure

Tagline:

There can only be one.

Plot:

Tai-Pan is Chinese for "supreme leader". This is the man with real power to his hands. And such a Tai-Pan...

Plot Keywords:

Hong Kong | China | Hyphen In Title | Female Nudity | Historical

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Bryan Brown	...	Dirk Struan
Joan Chen	...	May-May
John Stanton	...	Tyler Brock
Tim Guinee	...	Culum Struan
Bill Leadbitter	...	Gorth Brock
Russell Wong	...	Gordon Chen
Katy Behean	...	Mary Sinclair
Kyra Sedgwick	...	Tess Brock
Janine Turner	...	Shevaun Tillman
Norman Rodway	...	Aristotle Quance
John Bennett	...	Orlov
Derrick Branche	...	Vargas
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vic Armstrong	...	Drunken Sailor
Dickey Beer	...	Brecks´s Crew
Chuang Cheng
Kuan Tai Chen	...	Pirate
Shu Chen
Rosemarie Dunham
Robert Easton
Richard Foo
Nicholas Gecks
Carol Gillies
Pat Gorman	...	British Merchant 2
Michael C. Gwynne
Billy Horrigan	...	Brecks´s Crew
Denise Kellogg	...	Nude Model
Barbara Keogh
Lisa Lu
Bronco McLoughlin	...	Brecks´s Crew
Bert Remsen
Patrick Ryecart
Rob Spendlove
Patty Toy
Jie Zhang

Also Known As:

James Clavell's Tai-Pan (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Sweden:15 | Australia:M | Singapore:M18 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

China

Company:

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG)

Trivia:

The film was originally announced by MGM in 1967-8 and was to be directed by Michael Anderson, but after severe operating losses the film was one of a number of expensive projects the new management at the studio dropped as too costly. In the 70s Steve McQueen agreed to play the lead for a then-record $10m and was paid an advance of $1m. When the producers were unable to pay the second installment on time, he dropped out, keeping the $1m he had already been paid. In 1980 Roger Moore agreed to play the lead, even going as far as to start to grow a beard for the part before that version fell through as well.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In a scene, set in 1841, several of the ladies were wearing bright mauve outfits. That would have been most unlikely for the wives of middle class traders at that time as the color purple was prohibitively expensive before the invention of analine dyes in London - in 1856. By 1870 these gaudy colors had become so cheap and commonplace that it became a status symbol to mimic the subtler, paler colors of the pre analine dye days.

Movie Connections:

Followed by "Noble House" (1988)

If you love exotic melodramas, this one's for you!

TAI-PAN

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (J-D-C Scope)

Sound format: Dolby Stereo

1840's China: Thrown off the mainland because of his opium dealings, a western merchant (Bryan Brown) sets up home on the island of Hong Kong where he faces conflict from friend and foe alike in the lead-up to colonization.

Hugely derided at the time of its release, this handsome production - based on the novel by James Clavell, and directed by TV specialist Daryl Duke (THE THORN BIRDS) - plays to the gallery at every turn, embracing the book's labyrinthine plot and outrageous melodrama with unashamed fervour, an approach which appears to have sealed its fate at the box-office. The movie opens a little too abruptly, indicating a troubled post-production, but John Briley's busy screenplay (co-written with Stanley Mann) unfolds against a colorful historical backdrop and includes just enough nudity and violence to keep boredom at bay. Brown's performance is compromised by an unconvincing Scottish accent, and he's upstaged by Joan Chen (THE LAST EMPEROR) as the Chinese girl who loves him regardless of his failings, while handsome Tim Guinee (HOW TO MAKE AN American QUILT) is achingly sincere as Brown's naive young son, led astray by villainous merchants plotting his family's downfall. Also starring John Stanton, Russell Wong, Norman Rodway, Kyra Sedgwick and Bert Remsen in supporting roles. Production values strive to capture an epic feel and are largely successful, though no one's ever going to mistake this for "Lawrence of Hong Kong"! Italian makeup maestro Giannetto de Rossi (a regular contributor to the films of Lucio Fulci) provides some occasional flashes of gore, including a brief - but realistic - decapitation near the beginning of the picture.