Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8234 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-08-23
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 98 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The plot line may sound familiar: two mismatched cops are assigned as reluctant partners to solve a crime. Culturally they are complete opposites, and they quickly realise they can't stand each other. One (Jackie Chan) believes in doing things by the book. He is a man with integrity and nerves of steel. The other (Chris Tucker) is an amiable rebel who can't stand authority figures. He's a man who has to do everything on his own, much to the displeasure of his superior officer, who in turn thinks this cop is a loose cannon but tolerates him because he gets the job done. Directed by Brett Ratner, Rush Hour doesn't break any new ground in terms of story, stunts, or direction. It rehashes just about every "buddy" movie ever made--in fact, it makes films such as Tango and Cash seem utterly original and clever by comparison. So, why did this uninspired movie make over $120 million at the box office? Was the whole world suffering from temporary insanity? Hardly. The explanation for the success of Rush Hour is quite simple: chemistry. The casting of veteran action maestro Jackie Chan with the charming and often hilarious Chris Tucker was a serendipitous stroke of genius. Fans of Jackie Chan may be slightly disappointed by the lack of action set-pieces that emphasise his kung-fu craft. On the other hand, those who know the history of this seasoned Hong Kong actor will be able to appreciate that Rush Hour was the mainstream breakthrough that Chan had deserved for years. Coupled with the charismatic scene-stealer Tucker, Chan gets to flex his comic muscles to great effect. From their first scenes together to the trademark Chan outtakes during the end credits, their ability to play off of one another is a joy to behold, and this mischievous interaction is what saves the film from slipping into the depths of pitiful mediocrity. --Jeremy Storey

Amazon.co.uk Review
After years pleasing fans on his home turf, Jackie Chan finally broke into American multiplexes with the 1998 hit Rush Hour. In one of many tips of his hat acknowledging the late great Bruce, Chan plays Hong Kong-based Detective Inspector Lee who finds himself on the streets of LA assisted by motor-mouthed Detective Carter (Chris Tucker). The baddy's identity, his motive and exactly how the good guys will win in the end is all rather secondary to seeing lots of goons dispatched by increasingly flamboyant and jaw-dropping stunts. The inevitable showdown with nasty henchman Sang fulfils all Chan fans' expectations nicely. What genuinely made this an international success was the pairing of Chan with Tucker, who won Blockbuster Entertainment and MTV Movie awards for Best On-screen Duo.

On the DVD: After a flawless anamorphic 16:9 presentation with a choice of 5.1 or 2.0 Stereo, the extras package is generous to say the least. Animated menus with excerpts from Lalo Schifrin's superb score link to the usual fare: trailer, cast and crew biographies in scrolling text, two music videos for Heavy D's "Nuttin But Love" and Dru Hill's "How Deep is Your Love", and six deleted scenes totalling three minutes. Additionally there's a highly enthusiastic commentary from director Brett Ratner and a very peculiar 40-minute short from Ratner's NYU Film School days (funded by Steven Spielberg) called Whatever Happened To Mason Reese. The real jewel is the documentary "A Piece of the Action" consisting of 17 featurettes and totalling 40 minutes. It includes a fascinating 10- minute segment of Chan choreographing a fight scene from scratch and some hilarious outtakes not already featured in the end titles. --Paul Tonks

DVD Description
DVD Special Features:

Trailer
Deleted Scenes
Cast and Crew (stills and text)
Behind the Scenes
2 Music Videos
Short Film (what happened to Mason Reese ?)
17 Featurettes
Letterbox Ratio 16:9
Subtitles: English
Dolby Digital 5.1

Customer Reviews

Good movie, poor DVD
Brilliant special features, excellent picture and sound (except for a spot in the 5.1 version near the beginning) and a lovely movie. Unfortunately, The DVD has no English subtitles for the Chinese speaking parts. This is inexcusable. If you want the subtitles, get the VHS version as well.

Good film, though.

Fastest Hands In The East Meet The Biggest Mouth In The West
Today, Jackie Chan is one of the biggest names in Hollywood, and the huge success of this film (it grossed over $120 million at the box office) certainly helped him, and gave him that little leg up that he needed to really get in there, afterwards enableing him to make some big budget movies that have themsleves done pretty well. Just when you think you're fed-up to the back teeth of Hollywood's seemingly endless stream of buddy-cop comedies, along comes one like 'Rush Hour' and all is forgiven.

Chan plays Lee, the Hong Kong cop who flies to the States to investigate the kidnapping of little Soo Yung, the daughter of Chinese consul and close friend Han. The trouble is, the Feds want him out of the way so they can get on with solving the crime themselves. So jabber-mouthed LAPD 'tec James Carter is brought on board to keep Lee out of the way - or, at least, that's the intention. Lee pn the otherhand has other ideas and goes about hunting down the kidnappers on his own.

The thing that characterises a Jackie Chan movie is the stunts. Not only the technicality and regularity of them, but the fact that he does them all himself, every single one and for this he has become particularly well known. In 'Rush Hour' the stunts are in abundence, and some of the scenes near the end of the film come to mind. The great thing about this is that when your watching the film (this or anyother Jackie Chan movie) and you see these amazing stunts that make you gasp, you know that they are all done without stunt doubles and make them all the more real, and all the more terrifying to watch.

Probably the main reason for this films huge success is the brilliant teaming of Jackie Chan and the hilarious Chris Tucker. The fastest hands in the east, meet the biggest mouth in the west. Thus giving the audience exactly the right amounts of both action (mainly from Chan) and comedy (mainly from Tucker), and therefore providing for every type of audience.

If you have the delight of getting this film on DVD then you will dicover a whole world of extras which inclucde a short film, seventeen featurettes, a look behind the scenes of the movie, loads of deleted scenes which were filmed but were not used in the final version, cast and crew stills (photos), and last but not least a trailer. This makes the DVD a much better buy and gives the fans something to get their teeth into as well.

Overall, 'Rush Hour' is a wonderful martial arts action movie that provides the right mix of comedy and action to entertain just about everyone. If you are a fan of Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, martial arts films, or you just want to see some of Chan's brilliant stunts and fight sequences, this film is a must have and deserves a place on your shelf.

my most favourite film.
This film is the my favourite films to watch, i have seen it like 30 times or so and never get bored of watching this film. Its funny, the action sequences are good, theres a good plot, the whole thing is basically the whole humour cop/bad guy theme which is a genre that delights me. The difference with this one is that we get an LA tough beet cop and a kung-fu specialist from Hong Kong who we first think speaks no english. The story and twists in the film make it spectacular, there are some really very amusing lines in this film as well.


Overall a must see if you are wanting a fun filled, action packed film thats not heavy and will put a smile on your face when finished. Like i said i enjoy watching this film the most, because it cheers me up every time i watch it. PS this one is a lot better than the second.