As a young child, I knew the name Jackie Chan due to my love for The Cannonball Run films and The Big Brawl. These two English-language films were designed for marketing him as the next Bruce Lee, which would be a huge mistake. This was the early ’80s, and it wouldn’t be until the early ’90s that I would learn there was so much more to Chan.
Scrolling through late-night television, I discovered a show on The Discovery Channel called The Incredibly Strange Film Show. Hosted by Jonathan Ross, the twelve-episode, two-season documentary series profiled filmmakers like John Waters, Russ Meyer, Sam Raimi, H.G. Lewis, and several others, including Jackie Chan.
I was in awe when they showed clips from his Hong Kong films where Chan was not just partaking in these breathtaking fight sequences but putting his life on the line while performing his own insane stunts. I had never seen anything like it, and those films remain exemplary examples of why he’s one-of-a-kind. They were, at the time, almost impossible to find, so I found myself making friends on Prodigy bulletin boards and deep diving into VHS tape trading, where I would eventually get to see these films, all brilliant. Over the years, I’ve been able to get them as Chan became more widely known in the U.S. on proper releases.
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One of his films, though, has been incredibly difficult to get in the U.S., maybe only available at one time on Laserdisc from Tai Seng. That film is the 1988 masterpiece Dragons Forever.
Dragons Forever stars Chan as Jackie Lung, a lawyer who is hired by the head of a chemical company to defend them against a fishery. In order to make sure everything is on the up and up, he hires his pals Wong Fei-Hung (Sammo Hung) and Tung Tak-Biao (Yuen Biao) to assist, but things quickly take a turn when the truth about the company and their leader, Hua Hsien-Wu (Yuen Wah), appears to be dishonorable.
This may not be Chan’s best film, but it’s certainly my favorite. The tone shifts back and forth from serious to comical, but it’s never an issue. Watching Chan, Biao, and Hung interact in the lighter scenes is always entertaining. These guys have been friends since childhood, going through the Peking Opera schools together, then becoming international superstars, which is a rarity. Their lifelong chemistry is evident on the screen every time they share it.
The action itself is nothing short of phenomenal. The final fight in the chemical factory may be one of the most beautifully choreographed action scenes in the genre’s history. The stunt performers and stars risk their lives to bring it all to life. It’s not even worth describing; it has to be seen to be believed. The camera angles are always placed in a way so that you can see who is doing what, which makes it even more exciting.
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I wouldn’t be a true fan of Dragons Forever if I didn’t take the time to mention the final fight between Chan and martial arts legend Benny “The Jet” Urquidez. It’s a rematch in a sense since the two previously squared off in Wheels on Meals (1984). It’s a fast-paced, knock ‘em down, all-out brawl that still stands as the crowning achievement for the two performers.
Sammo Hung has always been a terrific director, proving here again why he’s one of the greatest living action directors in history. He was assisted by Corey Yuen (The Transporter), who is no slouch himself. He and actor Yuen Wah, who portrayed the villain, also attended school and trained with Chan, Hung, and Biao.
This may be a bold statement, but the 4K release from 88 Films and Fortune Star is the release I’ve been waiting for most of my life to see. I was around eighteen when I first saw it on a 10th-generation bootleg VHS. The subpar quality always left me wanting more. The Laserdisc I bought in the early 2000s was undoubtedly a step up but nowhere near what I would long for. This release is everything I have wanted and more.
Aside from the glorious presentation, it contains three film versions: the original Hong Kong cut, the Japanese cut, and an International version. There’s so much supplemental material included that it’s almost impossible to list them all. There are multiple commentaries on the various cuts, interviews, outtakes, trailers, music videos, an 88-page booklet, mini poster, lobby card replicas, and much more.
88 Films is releasing the film on both 4K and traditional Blu-ray. This is a legendary set for a legendary film, and I couldn’t be happier that this set now exists for fans all over the world to experience one of the greatest action films ever committed to celluloid.
Dragons Forever is available via 88 Films on January 10, 2023.
