Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25168 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-06-24
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Anamorphic, Box set, PAL
• Original language: Cantonese Chinese
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 92 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
For people who've discovered Jackie Chan through his American hit Rush Hour and want to learn what his Hong Kong movies are like, Project A is an excellent place to start. Chan plays a sailor in 19th-century Hong Kong; pirates have been terrorizing the seas for months and all efforts to combat them have been sabotaged by the corrupt chief of police and a criminal gang, who are in cahoots with the pirates. But the plot is hardly the point--a Jackie Chan movie is about astonishingly acrobatic action sequences and breathtaking stunts, and Project A has plenty. Of particular interest is a bicycle chase that is more suspenseful than any car chase you've ever seen. Chan is joined by Sammo Hung (star of the US TV series Martial Law) as a shifty con man who comes through when the chips are down. Project A also features Yuen Biao, a frequent co-star in Chan's movies, who's yet another astounding martial artist. But what separates Jackie Chan movies from other kung fu flicks is his sense of humour; every fight scene is punctuated by something--a clever use of a prop or sudden reversal of your expectations--that will make you bark with laughter. Sometimes it's just so exquisitely choreographed that the entire movie seems to float on a cloud of giddy delight. Jackie Chan is often compared to the classic silent comedians for his grace and timing--he lives up to it. --Bret Fetzer

Special Features
2.35 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1
Feature Length Audio Commentary With Hong Kong Film Expert Bey Logan
The Elusive Dragon An Interview With Yuen Biao
Cant Stop The Music Featurette With Hong Kong Composer Michael Lai
The Pirates Den Featurette At Home With Lead Villain Dick Wei
Triple Dragons An Essay Feature On Jackie Chan And Sammy Hung And Yuen Biao
Interview With Wing Chun Grandmaster Lee Hoi San
Dancing With Danger An Interview With Hong Kong Stuntman Mars
Trailer Archive
Project A Classic Revisited
Photo Gallery With Original Lobby Cards And Poster Artwork
Fully Animated Menus

Synopsis
Jackie Chan stars as Dragon Ma, an honest marine cadet in late-19th-century colonial Hong Kong, who must do battle with the smugglers and pirates terrorising the South China Sea in order to preserve his company's honor. Revered by Chan devotees as one of his finest films, PROJECT A seamlessly combines exhilarating action sequences with classic slapstick comedy. Chan's energy, timing, and grace are truly infectious, as demonstrated by the hilarious opening bicycle chase and his now-legendary homage to Harold Lloyd's SAFETY LAST, in which he plummets from the face of a clock tower with only a series of window awnings to break his fall. Also starring Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, this is a must-see for fans of the genre.

Customer Reviews

(A word not yet invented yet for a film of this calibre)
I do believe I can honestly call myself a martial arts movie buff, having dedicated my free time to them since I was six, and I've seen and studied the best and the worst. This is beyond any shadow of a doubt one of the best. I won't bore you with plot, as I personnaly don't like to know what's going to happen before I watch it, but I will tell you that this is Jackie's finest work yet, with mind-blowing, arse-clenching stunts, superb fight scenes and the perfect co-stars with Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. My extremely close second favourite martial arts film, and in my top five best films of all time, I can't stress the importance of you watching this enough.

Jackie's first truly defining movie goes Platinum!
When Jackie Chan was making this movie, he was desperate for another hit following the lukewarm reception to his previous movie 'Dragon Lord'. Fortunately 'Project A' not only revived his fortunes, but also introduced audiences to his trademark of doing really dangerous stunts.

Jackie plays Dragon Ma, Sergeant of the local coast guard in late 19th Century Hong Kong, whose job it is to seek out and rid the area of pirates (Project A was a real-life plan devised for this very purpose). Unfortunately the miserable attempts of the inept Coast Guards to actually find the pirates' lair, never mind capture them, cost the government lots of funds, which in turn angers Captain Chi of the Police Force, who complains that the police are not getting enough funding.

Things come to a head when the Coast Guard and the Police brawl (led by Tzu, played by Yuen Biao) in a bar the night before the former are to set sail, plus just as the Coast Guard are about to embark on their mission their ships get blown up. Because of this the Coast Guard is disbanded and its members forced to join the police force, where Tzu puts them under torturous and seemingly unfair training regimes.

Meanwhile, the men who blew up the ships, who are working for head pirate San-po (played with brilliance by Dick Wei), are asked to get hold of 100 police rifles, so they hire Fei (Sammo Hung), a thief for hire.

Back at police headquarters, Tzu gives orders to arrest criminal Chiang, tipped to be hiding in a local high-society club. Unfortunately this causes disturbance with the club's members and this disgraces the force, so Dragon quits in disgust after bringing Chiang to justice.

Fei witnesses this and recognises Dragon as being an old friend, although Dragon won't trust Fei because of his usual thieving ways. Fei lets Dragon know that someone in the police force is leaking information to the pirates, and in the end Fei, Tzu and Dragon must join forces to overcome the common foe San-po!

This movie is still an absolute classic after almost 20 years. It has many things in its favour:

(1) The chemistry and unique connections between Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao,
(2) Some truly awesome, ground-breaking (and sometimes body-breaking?) fights and stunts (look for Jackie Chan's infamous clock tower sequence!)
(3) Jackie's love of the silent comedians such as Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton are parodied in some bits to great effect (the bike chase in the alleys is masterful!)
(4) Great villains played by the likes of Lee Hoi-San ('Magnificent Butcher') and Dick Wei ('Heart Of Dragon', 'My Lucky Stars' and 'Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars')

As for the DVD extras, being a Platinum Edition there is no shortage of it - over four hours of extras here! As examples, there's the usual Hong Kong Legends choice of either dubbed or subtitled; an audio commentary with Bey Logan (who does brilliantly as usual); interviews with Lee Hoi-San, Yuen Biao, Mars and Dick Wei, which are super (Lee even does a Wing Chun form!); an essay on Chan, Hung and Biao; a photo gallery; and trailer archive. The best one by far is the documentary 'Project A: A Classic Revisited', hosted by Bey Logan! He actually visits some of the sites where key movie bits were shot, and the whole documentary is stunning!

An essential purchase for action fans!

A True Master Piece
I recently perchased project A as i am a huge Jackie Chan fan,Within thee first 5 minutes i was hugely impressed,although after this the action dulls for ten minuets or so,however with perservernce if you carry on watching i can guarantee you, you will not be disappointed,I can truly say this is one of Jackie Chans best works,all the actors act well and the action scenes are amazing even for the slightly over weight Sammo Hung , If you are an action fan and like Jackie Chan then this should be a certainty in your collection.