Gwok chaan Ling Ling Chat (1994)

Directors:

Stephen Chow
Lik-Chi Lee

Writers:

Roman Cheung (writer)
Stephen Chow (writer)

Release Date:

1995 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy

Plot:

An incompetent 007-wannabe is sent to locate a stolen dinosaur skull.

Plot Keywords:

Skull | Dinosaur | Gadget | Police | Butcher

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Stephen Chow	...	Ling Ling Chai
Anita Yuen	...	Siu Kam
Pauline Chan	...	Mystery Woman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joe Cheng	...	Mystery Woman's Partner
Siu Juen Dang	...	Crying brother
Ming Wa Goo	...	Commander of Executioners
Kar-Ying Law	...	Da Mansi (as Kar Ying Lau)
Indra Leech	...	Guard
Kin-Yan Lee	...	Whore
Lik-Chi Lee	...	Iron Palm
See-ho Leung	...	Crying brother
Tony Leung Siu Hung
Sau-Ming Tsang	...	Leader of Robbers
Kam-Kong Wong	...	The Commander / The Man with the Golden Gun
Yut Fei Wong	...	Blind Man
Rongguang Yu	...	Yee

Also Known As:

From Beijing with Love (Hong Kong: English title)
From China with Love
Guo chan Ling Ling Qi (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:16 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Singapore:PG (cut)

Company:

Win's Movie Productions Ltd.

Trivia:

The title is a parody of the James Bond film From Russia with Love (1963) which had already been the subject of a title spoof with an asian locale i.e. "From Hong Kong With Love" [See: Bons baisers de Hong Kong (1975)].

Goofs:

Continuity: When Ling Ling Chai is about to jump over the wall with his magic box, Siu Kam turns her back to him. Next shot is a close-up on the box on the floor, and Siu Kam is clearly standing opposite to him according to the position of her feet. Then we see her turning back to him.

Quotes:

Da Mansi: [Chai and Mansi are on their way to the national agency after being summoned] So, Chai, you've been working as a pork merchant in these 10 years?
Ling Ling Chai: No, I'm just a down and out pork butcher.
Da Mansi: I'm not doing well either, I'm just a poor little greengrocer. But luckily, I have a part-time job in the National Psychiatric Hospital doing research.
The Commander: What research?
Da Mansi: Being researched.
The Commander: [nods] That's great.

Movie Connections:

References Speed (1994/I)

Almost a perfect parody...

In the grand tradition of Get Smart, we have here a wonderfully wacky send-up of 007 action films. For the first roughly 2/3 of the movie, I was literally rolling out of my seat laughing with this film's ontarget, brilliant skewerings of spy film cliches. As much as I hate to say it, though, at the 2/3 point the film begins to lose its focus. It starts to concentrate too heavily on creating the Bond mood, and consequently ends up being far too serious. Up until that point, though, it was really something special. The only other qualm I have is that it is far, far too violent. You have fingers getting sliced off, a man getting glass shoved into his face, necks being slashed, etc. Heck, just as the movie is building its comedic potential, a minor character gets brutally stabbed in the head. Had this been done in an over-the-top manner, it could have been very funny, like the Black Knight scene in Holy Grail. But they instead opted for a hyper-realistic look, that, when introduced into a heavily comedic environment, presents an uncomfortable clash of styles and makes the often startling violence uniquely disturbing and grotesque. Still, if you can overlook its flaws, this is definitely a movie worth seeing.