Tai-Pan (1986)

Historical fiction set against the backdrop of Hong Kong in its early years of British rule.

Director:

Daryl Duke

Writers:

John Briley (screenplay), James Clavell (novel)

Stars:

Bryan Brown, Joan Chen, John Stanton

2 nominations.

Cast

Credited 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
Edowan Bersmea

Storyline

Tai-Pan's hinese for supreme leader ; the man with real power.. Such a Tai-Pan's Dirk Struan who's obsessed to make Hong Kong the jewel in the crown of her British Majesty. In 1841 he achieves the goal, but has many enemies who try to destroy his dream.

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Plot Keywords:

businessman | rivalry | hong kong | competition | based on novel | 

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Taglines:

Smuggler. Prince. Murderer. Father. Sinner. Saint.

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Genres:

Adventure

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the late-1970s, Georges-Alain Vuille acquired the rights to the James Clavell source novel with director Richard Fleischer attached to direct and George MacDonald Fraser hired to write the screenplay. After the film script was approved, Fraser was then asked to also pen a sequel. Star Steve McQueen agreed to play the lead for a then-record US $10 million and was paid an advance of US $1 million. When the producers were unable to pay the second installment on time, McQueen dropped out of the film, keeping the US $1 million he had already been paid.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Dirk Struan: No emperor has seen the guns of a British man-of-war.

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Connections

Referenced in Manhunter: The Eye of the Storm - An Interview with Dante Spinotti (2016)

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Soundtracks

Mazurka
(uncredited)
Music by Adrien Talexy
Arranged by Trevor L. Sharpe

User Reviews

It could have been so much more...

As another reviewer put it, this movie was very similar to Dune. Very interesting comparison, since Raffaella De Laurentiis produced them both. This was her first project right after Dune. Both were sweeping epic sagas with multiple intertwined plotlines. Both should have been six or eight hour mini series and not feature films. As with Dune, you will find that if you have not read the book, you will not understand the movie. However, if you have read the book, then the movie isn't all that bad. James Clavell's 'Asian Saga' is one of my favorite book series, so I bought this movie cheap just to see it. The characters are like old friends to me, so I didn't think that the movie was all that bad. I realized while watching it though, that someone who had not read the book would not be able to keep up with all of the plot points. My suggestion to you is to read the book, then watch the movie. You will discover two things; first it's a super good book. Second, this movie had everything going for it in cast and settings; it just had too much story to tell in too short a time. It definitely should have been a six-hour miniseries.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 November 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

James Clavell's Tai-Pan

Filming Locations:

China

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,863,469, 9 November 1986

Gross USA:

$4,007,250

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,007,250

Company Credits

Production Co:

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1