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BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA
Review by Gordon Justesen
Stars: Kurt
Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James Hong, Victor Wong
Director: John Carpenter
Audio: Dolby Digital 4.1, DTS Surround, Dolby Surround, French Dolby Surround
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Features: See Review
Length: 99 Minutes
Release Date: May 22, 2001
Ok, you people! Sit tight, hold the fort and keep the home fires
burning. If were not back by dawn
call the president.
Film ***1/2
Sometimes,
if you dont find yourself willing to suspend any disbelief, then youve missed
the point of the entertainment value. No other movie is better proof of this fact than
John Carpenters totally over-the-top and out of the ordinary Big Trouble in
Little China. Its not everyday that a movie comes along which includes kung fu,
science fiction, comedy, monsters, and pure out-there fantasy all wrapped into one movie,
but Carpenter managed to pull it off with a movie which didnt find its audience in
its theatrical release, but has since then gone on to become an instant cult classic, like
many Carpenter flicks. Now that it has finally arrived on DVD, fans of such recent martial
arts hits as The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon can reflect on,
or experience for the first time, a movie from the 80s which includes some uniquely staged
fight sequences that may have inspired those movies.
The movie
also marked the fourth collaboration between Carpenter and actor Kurt Russell, who for my
money gives one of his most memorable performances as truck driver Jack Burton, who could
also be classified as a John Wayne wannabe. What I really appreciate about this over the
top performance is the fact that Russell and Carpenter both agreed to create a character
with heroic appeal, but who wasnt exactly a hundred percent on the brain. The plot
of the movie involves Jack and his friend Wang (Dennis Dun) pursuing the ladders
potential wife, who is abducted at the airport where they attempt to meet her. The duos
pursuit soon leads them into a dark, seedy side of San Francisco Chinatown, which is
flooded with ninjas dressed up in ancient attire, and ruled by powerful kung fu lords who
seem to possess some sort of mystical power within them. Jack and Wang, being the super
tough guys that they are, dont plan on backing down without a serious fight to the
finish.
I somewhat
doubt that the screen will ever display a hero like Jack Burton again. This is
because Burton is a complete buffoon, and heroes tend to want to be written with pure
courage and strength for the actors. Russell ad-libbed a lot of his dialogue, throwing in
the hysterical John Wayne sound to his dialect. To me, a hero as silly and incompetent as
Burton is a warm welcome, especially for a movie thats pleasantly and knowingly
absurd as this one.
The fight
scenes are nothing short of astonishing. In a fantasy movie like this in which anything
goes, anything and everything is done in the execution of the action scenes. In the last
battle scene, for example, a stunt is performed where two men leap simultaneously, with
ninja swords in their hands, dueling to the death while in the air. Call it over the top,
but its a glorious shot and a winning moment.
Call it
cornball, call it cheesy, or call it exciting, go for broke excitement, which is the exact
label I give Big Trouble in Little China. John Carpenter and Kurt Russell have
proven to be team that can be counted on, and this movie is vital proof.
Fans have
long awaited the day this movie would make it to DVD, and its good to know that Fox
is the distributor, because they are simply unbeatable when it comes to transfers,
especially when it happens to be a 2 disc set. The video job on Big Trouble in Little
China is of true Fox quality. I never saw the movie in the theaters, so until now, I
was only reduced to seeing the pan and scan version on video and television, so seeing the
movie in widescreen was a real treat. Fox has given 15 year old movie a bold, crisp,
anamorphic look, with no grain or any flaws included in the entire presentation. Vital
proof that Fox is one step ahead of the competition.
Quick note:
the box claims to have a 5.1 Dolby Digital track, but according to the menu screen, both
it and the DTS track are presented in 4.1 surround sound, but the result is still a
spectacular sounding disc. The score by John Carpenter is heard for most of the movie, and
its presence is felt in this presentation. The action sequences pick up extraordinarily
well, too, complete with side speakers and back up speakers picking up numerous sounds of
fighting and swordplay. A knockout job that only Fox couldve successfully pulled off
in my book.
If its
a 2 disc set and its from Fox, you can be sure to expect the very best of extras,
which in this case will please the many fans of this cult classic. Included on disc one is
a wonderful commentary by John Carpenter and Kurt Russell, which is filled many humorous
moments much like the commentary the two did for The Thing. My favorite moment is
when Carpenter says to Russell, This is one of my favorite performances from you, of
course my favorite of those is still Captain Ron, which garners a huge laugh
from Russell. They also reflect on how poorly the film did in theaters, thanks most in
part to poor marketing, as well as the decisions made in the development of Russells
character. Its a track that is truly worthy of a DMC award for best commentary.
Disc 2
contains many more extras, including a gallery of trailers and TV spots, including of all
things a pay-per-view advertisement, which I didnt know existed back in the 80s.
Also featured is a featurette, a deleted scenes compilation, an extended ending sequence,
an interview with effects creator Richard Edlund, several archived magazine articles
chronicling the initial release of the movie, and a music video for the title song by The
Coupe De Villes, which from the looks of it has John Carpenter on lead vocals trying to
sound a lot like Elvis; quite interesting to look at.
Both discs
also include some breathtakingly done menu screens which will no doubt be remembered at
the end of the year.
Summary:
Big Trouble in Little China is a big bang-for-your-buck action fantasy extravaganza, as is the custom of John Carpenter. Youll either love it or hate it, but either way, you cant ignore the top of the line quality of this DVD, which is one of Foxs best all around releases ever.