Hong Kong at the turn of the 20th century. The South China Sea is occupied by notorious pirate Law. Government forces invariably lose to him and have to rely on young coast guard officer Dragon (Jackie Chan), his partner Fei (Sammo Hung) and Captain Tzu (Yuen Biao) to battle with Law’s gang. Combining a complex, twisting plot, plenty of breathtaking fight and stunt sequences, typical local humour and for the first time in a Jackie Chan’s film, a solid historical period setting, Project A remains to be one of the most entertaining films ever produced in Hong Kong Cinema. Great production value is added to the film by Chan King-sam’s thoroughly- researched and inventive design of its different sets, all conveying a feel of the early colonial milieu and environment. At least two sequences are absolutely brilliant for both their design and concept. The first has Jackie falling off from a clock tower, only to be saved by the arm of the huge clock. Here, Jackie is apparently paying homage to the much underrated silent comedian, Harold Lloyd and his film, Safety Last (1923), long before Martin Scorsese does so in Hugo (2011). The second is a bicycle pursuit in narrow alleys.

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*22/9

(Sat)

9:00pm

Cinema, Hong Kong Film Archive

*Post-screening talk with James Choo