Gorgeous (1999) Boh lei chun (original title)

Director:

Vincent Kok

Writers:

Jackie Chan (written by)
Ivy Ho (story)
(more)

Release Date:

12 February 1999 (Singapore)

Genre:

Action | Romance | Comedy

Tagline:

She wanted adventure. In Hong Kong she found her match.

Plot:

A romantic girl travels to Hong Kong in search of certain love but instead meets a kind-hearted professional fighter with whom she begins to fall for instead.

Plot Keywords:

Taiwan | Hong Kong | Fight | Martial Arts Master | Gay Character

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jackie Chan	...	C.N. Chan
Qi Shu	...	Bu (as Shu Qi)
Tony Leung Chiu Wai	...	Albert (as Tony Leung)
Emil Chau	...	L.W. Lo
Richie Ren	...	Yi Lung
Ken Lo	...	Lo's Assistant
Sung Young Chen	...	Bu's Father
Elaine Jin	...	Bu's Mother
Bradley James Allan	...	Alan
Tats Lau	...	Lo's Assistant
Vincent Kok	...	Lo's Assistant
Sandra Ng Kwan Yue	...	Conwoman
Sam Lee	...	Frog
Kar-Ying Law	...	Chan's Assistant
Stephen Chow	...	H.K. Police Officer
David Leung	...	Lo's Assistant
Stephen Fung	...	Photographer
Daniel Wu	...	Photographer's Assistant
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Chang	...	Cameo
Maggie Cheung Ho Yee	...	Cameo
Siu Wai Cheung	...	Shelly (as Shelly Zhu)
Tat-Ming Cheung	...	Cameo
Asuka Higuchi	...	Pretty girl at seaside
Eric Kot	...	Man at Pier
Jo Kuk	...	Pretty girl at seaside
Yung Kwan
Lik-Chi Lee	...	Cameo
Sammy Leung	...	Recycle factory worker (as Sammy)
Mark Lui	...	Lo's Assistant
Edmond So	...	Robber
Kai Man Tin	...	Cameo
William Tuen	...	Lo's assistant
Ken Wong	...	Photographer's Assistant
Annie Wu	...	Xiao Jun
Kitty Yuen	...	Cameo
Rocky Lai	...	Masked Metal Bat Thug (uncredited)
Wai Cheung Mak	...	Masked Metal Bat Thug (uncredited)
Mars	...	Masked Metal Bat Thug (uncredited)

Directed by
Vincent Kok

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jackie Chan		written by
Ivy Ho		story
Vincent Kok		written by
Yiu Fai Lo		writer

Produced by
David Chan	....	executive producer
Jackie Chan	....	producer
Raymond Chow	....	producer
Steve Chun	....	executive producer (as Steven Chun)

Original Music by
Dang-Yi Wong

Cinematography by
Man Po Cheung

Film Editing by
Ka-Fai Cheung
Chi-Leung Kwong

Art Direction by
Chung Man Yee

Costume Design by
Shirley Chan
Dora Ng

Production Management
Chi Kwong Cheung	....	production manager
Tze Hung Lam	....	assistant production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sharon Lam	....	assistant director

Art Department
Sung Pong Choo	....	set designer

Sound Department
Nick Watson	....	sound consultant: Dolby

Visual Effects by
Ken Law	....	CG director
Shun Sing Edward Lee	....	digital compositor: Menfond Elec. Art
Eddy Wong	....	visual effects supervisor
Victor Wong	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Rocky Lai	....	stunts
Ming-Sing Wong	....	stunt coordinator (as Sam Wong)
Mars	....	stunt performer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Rick Greenhead	....	telecine colorist

Other crew
Jackie Chan	....	action choreographer

Production Companies

• GH Pictures (as A Raymond Chow/GH Pictures {China} Limited Production)
• Golden Harvest Company (as A Golden Harvest Presentation)
• Golden Harvest Pictures (China)

Distributors

• Artisan Entertainment (2001) (worldwide) (video) (International)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (2000) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2000) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Live Entertainment (1999) (worldwide) (video)
• Live Home Video (1999) (worldwide) (video)
• Media Asia Distribution (????) (worldwide) (all media)
• Splendid Film (Germany)
• TriStar Pictures (USA) (dubbed)

Special Effects

• Menfond Electronic Art & Computer Design Company

Other Companies

• Cine Art Laboratory  film processing
• Filmtech Camera Services  camera equipment provided by
• Filmtech Camera Services  grip and lighting equipment
• Jackie Chan Stunt Team  stunts
• Kodak (Hong Kong) Ltd.  film supplied by
• Mandarin Laboratory (International) Ltd.  subtitles

Also Known As:

"Boh lei chun" - Hong Kong (original title)
"High Risk" - Philippines (English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violent content

Runtime:

121 min | Finland:95 min | Germany:99 min (cut version)

Country:

Hong Kong | Taiwan

Language:

Cantonese | English | Mandarin | Japanese | Min Nan

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-14 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | UK:PG (video premiere) | USA:PG-13

Company:

GH Pictures

Quotes:

Bu:Who would give you a sense of security? You should give yourself the sense of security.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "You Know What's Bullshit: DVD and Blu-Ray Cases (#4.2)" (2011)

Gorgeous indeed

Gorgeous is not a typical Jackie Chan movie. Many people look out for it, expecting it to have that dazzling dose of wacky and insane stunts only Chan can have in his movies. If this is your case, you may as well look for another movie such as Dragons Forever or the number one Chan movie of all time, The Legend of the Drunken Master.

Gorgeous is instead a romantic flick where Shu Qi sets out to try and win Chan's heart after being led to leave her small town by a hilarious Tony Leung. Where most would expect totally unrealistic scenes with a totally unstoppable Chan, Gorgeous thus shows how a love affair strikes between Jackie Chan and Shu Qi, how the latter lies too much, and how things eventually work out in the end (how surprising!)

It's good to see Chan at least trying to do something different. And he is amazingly believable in a movie where he actually has his first on-screen kiss. Granted, his role doesn't require that much depth, but he still performs well, and Shu Qi is also decent.

And, while the movie is quite serious, a few humoristic scenes still make it thoroughly enjoyable. Tony Leung is astounding as a depressive homosexual who ends up being beaten around by Chan, and the other goons have witty dialogues.

But!

While it is a romantic movie, Gorgeous nevertheless has a couple of fights. And it seems the more serious tone of the movie really benefited the fighting because this flick has the most astounding fight seen ever seen on-screen, bar none, even topping the final fight in Drunken Master 2.

Things get started when Howie, Chan's rival, sets out to hire someone to beat him in a fight because as he say himself, he is totally 'useless' as a martial artist and always ends up losing. So, he hires the devilish kicker Brad Allan to do his dirty work. The main fight between Allan and Chan is simply astounding, even more so when one considers that Allan actually didn't use any wirework in the movie. They fight twice in the movie, but the first one mainly serves as a prelude to the second one, and I swear I was literally drooling when I saw the first fight scene.

If anything else, Chan fans just have to see this movie to know what Chan is capable of doing in a real fighting scene when he's not busy throwing chairs and tables at his opponent. The main fight is superb although I suspect Allan's kicking prowess and fast fighting makes it shine even more. And the music is absolutely top-notch; it's up there with Mystikal Fever from Kiss of the Dragon as one of the best fight themes done for a movie.

Gorgeous may come off as a joke movie, but in the end, it turned out to be one the best Chan movies, which is made even more obvious by the fact that it's a sole romantic effort among Chan's exhaustive action flicks. The movie as a whole is excellent, and I was taken aback by the brilliance of the fight scenes.

10/10