Miracles: The Canton Godfather (1989)

A country boy becomes the head of a gang through the purchase of some lucky roses from an old lady. He and a singer at the gang's nightclub try to do a good deed for the old lady when her daughter comes to visit.

Director:

Jackie Chan

Writers:

Golden Way Creative Group, Hal Kanter

Stars:

Jackie Chan, Anita Mui, Ah-Lei Gua

1 win & 8 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Jackie Chan	...	'Charlie' Cheng Wah Kuo
Anita Mui	...	Luming Yang
Ah-Lei Gua	...	Madam Kao (as Yah-Leh Gui)
Chun-Hsiung Ko	...	Tiger
Wu Ma	...	Uncle Hai
Bill Tung	...	Tung
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kenny Bee	...	Reporter #1
Anthony Carpio	...	One of Tiger Lo's men
Anthony Chan	...	Reporter #2
Ching-Wan Chan
Joanna Chan
Kwok-Kuen Chan	...	Chen Wah's Man
Sai-Tang Chan	...	Rope Factory Worker
Tat-Kwong Chan	...	Rope Factory Worker
Wai-Yue Chan	...	Lady Rose's Friend

Storyline

Jackie Chan's Hong Kong variation of Frank Capra's "A Pocketful of Miracles" set in the 1930s. Jackie plays a country boy who rescues a gang boss. Jackie becomes the head of a gang through the purchase of some lucky roses from an old lady. Jackie and a singer at the gang's nightclub try to do a good deed for the old rose-seller when her daughter comes to visit, all this while battling a rival gang.

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Plot Keywords:

martial arts | kindness | love interest | organized crime | rose | 

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Taglines:

"Overwhelmingly wonderful", "Nothing short of miraculous...a must see" - The Hollywood Reporter

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jackie Chan's and Composer Siu-Tin Lai's last collaboration.

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Goofs

When tripped at his initiation, Gwok begins to fall on his left side but lands on his right in the next shot.

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Alternate Versions

The international version is cut by 22 minutes from the original Hong Kong release.

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Connections

Version of Elmaci kadin (1971)

User Reviews

Chan's favourite of his films is technically superb and charming but drags far too much

Miracles is Jackie Chan's favourite amongst his movies ,and the one in which he invested the most time and care. The result is, technically, a triumph. The convincing sets, lavish costumes and graceful camera work really hold by western film standards, while the fight scenes boast choreography that is just incredible to watch. They are more like musical numbers than martial arts fights, but the level of invention is just staggering, particularly in the scene where Jackie has to make his way down some stairs, fighting heavies as he does so, and the end battle in a rope factory.

However, elsewhere the film has problems. It attempts to juggle several plot lines with mixed success. The 'gangster'part, with Jackie as a crime boss, generally works well, but Jackie's relationship with singer Anita Mui almost disappears from the film and the Frank Capra 'A Pocketful Of Miracles'copied story is dwelt on at such length and so slowly that the middle of the film drags terribly, with endless dialogue scenes that could have sometimes been shortened or cut without harm to the film {or course, there is a shorter version of this film, but with some of the wrong bits cut}. At least there are some great laughs, such as gangsters and their 'molls' trying to be respectable rich folk, and the Clouseau-like Richard Ng's police captain.

Miracles is certainly not one of Chan's classics like Project A, Police Story or Drunken Master 1 and 2, but there is still a lot to like.

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese English

Release Date:

15 June 1989 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Miracles: The Canton Godfather

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Box Office

Budget:

HKD64,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Harvest Company, Golden Way Films Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min 101 min (DVD) 106 min (USA)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1