Dragon Lord (1982)

The adventures of a restless martial arts student called Dragon, who, while constantly pursuing a girl, gets involved in the affairs of a gang of thieves.

Director:

Jackie Chan

Writers:

Jackie Chan, Jack Maeby (english adaptation) (as J. Maeby)

Stars:

Jackie Chan, Mars, Michael Wai-Man Chan

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Jackie Chan	...	Dragon
Mars	...	Cowboy
Michael Wai-Man Chan	...	Tiger (as Hui-Min Chen)
Shirley Yim	...	Alice (as Sidney Yim)
Ing-Sik Whang	...	The Big Boss
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Chang Chung	...	Cowboy's Father
Kang-Yeh Cheng	...	Ah Dee
Wah Cheung	...	Smuggler
Cam Clarke	...	Dragon's Father (voice)
Tyler Dean	...	(voice)
Fung Feng	...	The Referee
Hark-On Fung	...	The Killer King (as Ke-An Fung)
Jessica Gee-George	...	(voice) (as Jessica Gee)
Gam-Kong Ho	...	The Commentator
Kang Ho	...	Referee

Storyline

The adventures of a restless martial arts student called Dragon, who, while constantly pursuing a girl, gets involved in the affairs of a gang of thieves.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for martial arts violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of Chan's complex scenes involved a Jianzi game requiring many takes for a single shot. This movie went over budget and took twice as long to shoot as was originally planned due to Chan's many retakes of shots to get them exactly as he wanted them. The opening bun festival scene was originally intended to end the film, but was moved, as Chan wanted a spectacular opening to the film. The final fight scene, which takes place in a barn, also featured elaborate stunts, including one where Chan does a back flip off a loft and falls to the lower ground.

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Goofs

Around 1h19m (the barn fight scene), Cowboy (Mars) gets kicked off the loft by the Big Boss (Ing-Sik Whang). Dragon (Jackie Chan) is situated near the middle of the ladder. Just as the Big Boss kicks him in the back, the next cut shows him at the top of the ladder.

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Crazy Credits

Scenes of out-takes from the action scenes play under the credits.

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Connections

Featured in Top 10 Jackie Chan Fights (2007)

User Reviews

A Pyramid, A Golden Egg, Poetry, & Antiques.

"Dragonlord" sees Chan returning to his role of "Dragon" from "The Young Master". Not much has carried over from the first film though. "Tiger", his older brother, is nowhere to be seen; neither is the Marshall, his daughter or his son played superbly by Yuen Biao in the original film. Dragon does have the same master though - presumably all the other students have moved on to other things. (Dragon's laziness at training is portrayed heavily in this film, so maybe he's still studying!)

Originally titled "Young Master In Love", this film sees Dragon (for the first sixty minutes at least) pursuing a villager girl in various idiotic and slapstick ways. His rival for her affection is his friend (inappropriately named "Cowboy") played comically by the longtime Chan Stunt-team member Mars. We see various scenes where their silly schemes backfire. It is one of these scenes that we (thankfully) find "Dragon" in over his head.

This film is notorious in that it failed expectations at the box office. That said, I'm sure the expectations were pretty high, and I feel that this film has never had a fair judgment based on it's own merits. But even when I try to do this, I still feel that there is a problem with the film. It seems quite unfocused, sometimes rushed, and I think the action is too sporadic and not as brilliant as Chan's other work from this period.

The thing that really saves the film is the ending sequence. As in "The Young Master", there is a fantastic final reel that it full of incredibly exhausting action - you really feel every blow. And again, Chan goes up against the same rival from "The Young Master" (is it the same character?), and the timing and energy here is brilliant. Chan's style of using every last bit of his environment to help defeat his opponent - not just relying on pure physical ability - is as apparent here as anywhere else. The barn they fight in is full of clever little prop gags and improvisations. This is an absolute highlight of the film and one of Chan's incredible career.

It's not necessary to see the prequel before seeing "Dragonlord", in fact, it might even raise more questions than what it hopes to answer. But it must be said that the original film is the superior film, and "Dragonlord", with it's focus on girl-chasing and team-sports does seem baffling. Luckily, the few fight scenes it offers (plus a fantastic shuttle-cock scene) push it over the line as a must-see film in this genre.

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese English

Release Date:

21 January 1982 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Dragon Lord

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company Credits

Production Co:

Authority Films, Golden Harvest Company, Lo Wei Motion Picture Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min 94 min (dubbed)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1