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Millionaires Express

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Millionaires Express
Hong Kong film poster
Directed bySammo Hung
Written bySammo Hung
Produced byAlfred Cheung
Raymond Chow
Leonard Ho
Wu Ma
StarringSammo Hung
Yuen Biao
Rosamund Kwan
Mei-sheng Fan
Hwang Jang-lee
CinematographyArthur Wong
Edited byPeter Cheung
Music byStephen Shing
Anders Nelsson
The Melody Bank
Alastair Monteith-Hodge
Distributed byGolden Harvest
Release date
30 January 1986 (1986-01-30)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryHong Kong
LanguagesCantonese
Japanese
Box officeHK$28.1 million[1]

Millionaires Express (Chinese: 富貴列車, also known as The Millionaires' Express[2] or Shanghai Express;[3] released in the Philippines as China Warriors)[4] is a 1986 Hong Kong martial arts western comedy film written and directed by Sammo Hung. The film stars Hung, Yuen Biao, Rosamund Kwan, Mei-sheng Fan and Hwang Jang-lee.[5]

Plot

In Russia, Ching Fong-tin attempts to steal goods from Russian soldiers. They catch him and force him to strip down to his underwear and dance for their amusement. He escapes by stealing the soldiers' grenades and blowing up the cabin with them inside. Ching is immediately caught by government agent Fook Loi, but escapes and retrieves his clothes.

In Ching's home town, policeman Jook Bo and his allies set fire to a large building, as a diversion for a bank robbery. Tsao Cheuk-kin and his fire team race to the scene and save a fat lady and a blind woman. While the fire rages, the criminals rob the bank; two of them are caught and jailed. Mayor Yi gives a negative speech lamenting that there is no chance of recovering the stolen money; in contrast, Tsao encourages the townsfolk, and he is given the job of head of the town's security.

A train is due to pass the town, carrying numerous wealthy passengers including Wong Kei-ying and his young son Wong Fei-hung, as well as three Japanese who are in possession of a stolen map showing the location of the Terracotta Army. A group of bandits conspire to steal the map; separately, Jook Bo's criminal group plan to board the train. Ching's ambition is to bring money into the town, so he intends to force the train to stop at the town by blowing up the tracks with dynamite. Ching recruits a group of women,[a] including Chi and Siu-hon, and they clean up and redress a hotel. When questioned by Tsao, the women claim to be make-up artists.[b]

Ching places dynamite at the railway station, but is caught by Tsao; they fight, knocking Tsao out. As the train travels through the country, passenger Han uses the roof to sneak back and forth between his wife and his mistress. Jook Bo's criminals try to board the train, using magnets, a lasso, and a cart. When the train reaches the station, Ching blows the dynamite, derailing the train.

As Ching had planned, the passengers spend time in his home town awaiting the train's repair. In the hotel, the criminals seeking the map attempt to occupy the room housing Han's mistress, in order to spy on the three Japanese in the room next door. The criminals don't know the language, and are forced to hide when the train captain and his mistress enter the room. Han enters the room via the hotel roof, inadvertently scaring the train captain's mistress. The commotion alerts his wife, who accuses him of cheating. To explain the situation, Han claims that he is actually an agent spying on the Japanese, which prompts the criminals to emerge from hiding and share the same excuse.

Fook Loi returns from Russia and uses Tsao to capture Ching and put him into jail. At night, Siu-hon and her group of ladies free Ching. An army of bandits arrives on horseback, storming the town and capturing the Japanese and other passengers.

Ching returns to town and frees Fook, Tsao, Siu-hon and her women, and Jook Bo and his criminals from jail. Ching and Fook attack the bandits with a multiple-barrel firearm, while their allies free the Japanese and the other train passengers. A huge fight breaks out, until the bandits are dealt with and Ching and Tsao finally take back the map from the Japanese.

Cast

Release

Millionaires Express was released in Hong Kong on 30 January 1986. In the Philippines, the film was released as China Warriors by Asia Films on 2 August 1987, rated "G" by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.[4][8]

Home media

The film was initially released on DVD in Hong Kong by Universe Laser (Region 0). It was re-released in 2006 by Joy Sales (Region 3).

In the US it was released in 1999 by Tai Seng, under the title The Millionaires Express (with a leading "The"). It was re-released in 2007 by Dragon Dynasty under the title Shanghai Express.

In the UK it was released in 2005 by Hong Kong Legends / Contender Entertainment Group, under its original title.

In July 2021, Eureka Entertainment released the film on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom, under the title The Millionaires' Express, as a two-disc set containing the 97 minute Hong Kong theatrical cut, the 101 minute extended version (a.k.a. the "international" cut), the 92 minute English export cut, and a new 109 minute "hybrid" cut.[9][10] In September 2022, Eureka released a single-disc edition containing only the former two cuts of the film.[11]

Notes

  1. ^ A scene introducing these characters as prostitutes is present in the 97 minute Hong Kong cut, but omitted from the 101 minute extended ("international") cut of the film.[6]
  2. ^ Scenes in which Tsao questions the women at the hotel, and in which Chi flirts with Tsao, are present in the 101 minute extended cut but are omitted from the 97 minute Hong Kong cut.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Top Hong Kong Grossers". Variety. 26 November 1986. p. 35.
  2. ^ "The Millionaires' Express". bbfc.co.uk. British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Shanghai Express". bbfc.co.uk. British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b "MTRCB Classification Guide for films reviewed 24-30 July 1987". Manila Standard. Standard Publications, Inc. 2 August 1987. p. 14. Retrieved 23 August 2020. The story revolves around the Shanghai Express and the three sectors who exploit it to attain their needs.
  5. ^ "The Millionaires' Express (1986)". hkmdb.com. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Millionaires' Express (Comparison: International Version - Hong Kong Version) - Movie-Censorship.com". Movie-Censorship.com. Retrieved 9 January 2023. 13:20 / 13:20-18:31
    Right after the meeting of the gangsters, there is an additional scene with Fong-Tin Ching (Sammo Hung) and his girls.[...]310.5 sec (= 5:11 min)
  7. ^ "Millionaires' Express (Comparison: International Version - Hong Kong Version) - Movie-Censorship.com". Movie-Censorship.com. Retrieved 9 January 2023. 35:40-41:54 / 36:38
    After his helper has left, Tsao says that Fong-Tin is probably up to something. Two long additional scenes follow:
    1. Tsao goes to the "beauty salon" to question Chi, in the meantime Fong enters and Tsao, hidden behind a door, gets to know a little part of his plan. After that, Chi tries again to get some attention from Tsao, but she's being turned down.
  8. ^ "2nd Action-Packed Day!". Manila Standard. Standard Publications, Inc. 21 August 1987. p. 9. Retrieved 23 August 2020. The Fiercest Encounter of Martial Arts Experts in a Gigantic Movie!
  9. ^ "The Millionaires' Express (Limited Edition Set – 3000 Copies) (Blu-ray)". eurekavideo.co.uk. Eureka Entertainment. Retrieved 9 January 2023. SKU: EKA70430 2 Discs Release Date: Jul 26, 2021
  10. ^ THE MILLIONAIRES' EXPRESS (Eureka Classics) New & Exclusive Trailer (Trailer). Eurekaentertainment YouTube channel. 22 April 2021. Event occurs at 1m24s. Retrieved 9 January 2023 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ "The Millionaires' Express (Standard Edition) (Blu-ray)". eurekavideo.co.uk. Eureka Entertainment. Retrieved 9 January 2023. SKU: EKA70477 1 Disc Release Date: Sep 12, 2022
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