Heart of Dragon
| Heart of Dragon | |
|---|---|
| File:HeartOfTheDragon DVD.jpg UK DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Sammo Hung Fruit Chan |
| Written by | Barry Wong |
| Produced by | Lam Chua Wu Ma |
| Starring | Sammo Hung Jackie Chan Emily Chu Lam Ching Ying James Tien Yuen Wah |
| Cinematography | Arthur Wong |
| Music by | Lam Man Yee |
| Distributed by | Bo Ho Film Company Ltd |
Release date | October 12, 1985 |
Running time | 98 mins |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Language | Cantonese |
Heart of Dragon (Chinese: 龍的心; Cantonese Yale: Long De Xin) is a 1985 Hong Kong action film directed by Sammo Hung, assisted by Fruit Chan. Sammo stars as Danny / Do-do, a man with a mental illness, cared for by his brother Tad, played by co-star Jackie Chan. Yuen Biao assisted Hung with the action choreography, though did not appear in the film.
It is also known by the titles Heart of the Dragon, The First Mission and Powerman III.
The final scenes were filmed on the building site that was later to become the Regal Riverside Hotel in Sha Tin.
Background
The film is unusual in that although featuring Sammo Hung and Lam Ching Ying, two actors famed for their kung fu abilities, neither actually perform any martial arts. Golden Harvest had wanted Hung to perform fight scenes in the film, but he refused, rationalising "My character was mentally retarded, mentally disabled, so how can you ask me to fall down and suddenly become well again? And fight? They knew my fighting skills and wanted me to be part of the action but I thought that would have completely destroyed the tone of the film, the principles behind the film."[1]
The action is left to Chan and his fellow CID officers, Mang Hoi, Yuen Wah, Chan Lung and Corey Yuen. Despite the relative lack of action scenes, the film was nominated for the Best Action Coreography award at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1986. It was beaten by Chan's Police Story.
The bad guys are led by James Tien and include Dick Wei, Chung Fat, Phillip Ko and Sau Leung Ko (aka Blacky Ko). The film also features a small role for Wu Ma as a restaurant owner, and like My Lucky Stars, Sammo Hung's real-life brother makes a cameo appearance as a henchman.
Versions
As this was intended as a dramatic film, showing a different side of Hung's acting abilities, it contains comparatively few action scenes. Two additional fight scenes were filmed, but these were cut from both the domestic Hong Kong print and the international print of the film. Due to the demands of certain markets, these scenes were included in some prints of the film, notably the Japanese release. They are included as additional features on the US, UK and Australian DVD releases of the film.
Awards and nominations
- 1986 Hong Kong Film Awards
- Won: Best Original Film Song - for the song "Sui Hoh Seung Yi" ("Who Could Be Dependent").(Lam Man Yee - music, Poon Yuen-Leung - lyrics, Noi So - performer)
- Nominated: Best Action Choreography
- Nominated: Best Director (Sammo Hung)
- Nominated: Best Actor (Jackie Chan)
- Nominated: Best Original Film Score (Lam Man Yee)
References
- ^ Sammo Hung (August 2004). Heart of Dragon, "Different Strokes" interview with Sammo Hung (DVD). Contender Entertainment Group.