Film Junk Premium Podcast #70: Jackie Chan

Posted by on February 5th, 2019   Filed under: Featured, Film Junk Podcast, Premium Podcast

jackiechan

“You can’t spend the rest of your life beating up people and robbing them. Why lower yourself? Don’t you know you are the scum of society?” With the 4K remaster of Police Story 1 and 2 currently making the rounds in rep cinemas, it was finally time for us to dive into the filmography of the legendary Jackie Chan. Special guest Reed Farrington joins us as we cover the 1978 classic Drunken Master and the first four Police Story movies plus the ’90s film that helped him break into the U.S. market: Rumble in the Bronx. There is plenty to discuss including the many different cuts of these movies, dubbing vs. subbing, the subtleties of scatalogical humour, his feisty female co-stars and the influence of Chan on American action movies. So what is the most impressive stunt of Jackie Chan’s career? Does he really perform them all himself? Is Frank completely immune to Chan’s charm? Can Reed crush a walnut with his bare hands? Don’t let the situation change you… change it and download this month’s premium podcast below.

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This series of premium podcasts was created to help support the regular weekly Film Junk Podcast. Head on over to Bandcamp and download full episodes for a minimum donation of just $1. As always, let us know if you experience any technical difficulties or if you have any other suggestions for future specials. Thanks for your support!

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  • RJ

    Fucking masterpiece.

  • Samb

    Still making my way through and loving it — pausing to say you all should consider a Shaw Bros premium. I’m a fan but I don’t know much about their history or process, and Reed brings a lot of knowledge (Reed-ucation? Is that anything?). Anyway, thanks for all you guys do.

  • milan

    Just noticed no ratings to any of this movies on Letterboxd from Frank, is he boycotting LB as well?

  • John

    The premiums are always great and this was no exception. Some suggestions for upcoming premium topics:

    Child’s Play Series (remake coming out in June, plus a TV show from the original creative team is coming soon)
    Leprechaun Series (new sequel is out now on VOD)
    Scorsese Part 2 (The Irishman is out later this year)
    The Godfather Trilogy
    The Man with No Name Trilogy
    Hitchcock Part 2
    Bond Part 2
    Coen Brothers Part 2
    Burton Part 2 (AKA The Garbage Years)

  • devolutionary

    Fun Reed-mium. Leave it to Reed to drag this installment to nearly 4 hours haha. Once thing you guys forgot to mention with Cannonball Run is that Jackie Chan was featured in the sequel, which was one of his first Hollywood credits. Too bad that movie was completely unnecessary.

    Love all those unintentional Reedisms. My only issue was with Police Story. On my copy, the subtitles are at least 5 seconds out of sync with the audio. Very jarring. I agree with Jay that there’s lots of questionable editing in the US releases. Looking forward to the Criterions!

  • Reed Farrington

    Actually my Shaw Bros knowledge is kind of limited as I don’t really appreciate these early Kung Fu films, but I would like to see more Ti Lung and David Chiang films. I only saw Come Drink With Me after Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I’d like to see the Shaw Bros/Hammer co-productions, too.

  • devolutionary

    Do you find yourself a fan of Wuxia films? If so, you’ll want to complete the King Hu set with Dragon Inn and A Touch of Zen.

  • pcch7

    Is it just my bandcamp or are there some seconds cut out between chapter 5 and 6? My bandcamp app sometimes skip an entire chapter randomly so I don’t trust it

  • devolutionary

    There’s a not-so-subtle jumpcut between tracks so my guess is something got editted out.

  • Tommy

    SB had some amazing and weird horror movies Jay should definitely check out.

  • Sam

    Watched that trilogy of King Hu’s last year and loved them. I’m planning some time this year to power through a lot of Hong Kong martial arts movies as well as the bullet hell stuff from the 80s and 90s. Should be fun to fill up some of those blind spots. As I mainly have seen some Jackie Chan, a few Woo, some Ringo Lam and a ton of Johnnie To. Need some more Sammo Hung and Tsui Hark in my life.

  • devolutionary

    I’ve only seen a few Tsui Hark films but liked them all (I think he prefers Troy Hawk as a US-immigrant film student). There’s an obvious influence of “Zu Warriors From the Magic Mountain” on “Big Trouble in Little China”.

  • Sam

    I own the Eureka set that I believe Jay owns too.
    Jay should looked into the Eureka Project A & Project A 2 set as well if he hasn’t already. It sounds like he pre-ordered the Eureka Wheels on Meals, which I’ve very much looking forward to. All three of these are fun and worth checking out. Also liked Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow which Reed briefly mentioned.

  • Sam

    I actually did catch up with a few his early ones, We’re Going to Eat You, Dangerous Encounters of the Third Kind, and The Butterfly Murders. All worth checking out. Favorite being Dangerous Encounters which is brutal (in content).

  • Lori Cerny

    The KOC HAS to love Armour of God 2: Operation Condor (1991). If he doesn’t, his title should be stripped away on-air and he should apologize for assuming the role.

    By the way, amazing premium, guys! I’m on my second run-through.

  • Sam

    I’d pull for these, but most are just wishful thinking:

    – Hammer Premium
    – Classic Screwball Comedy (the KOC can double down on hating some more comedy)
    – The Thin Man Series (same as above)
    – Lucio Fulci (Argento is done, let Frank check out some Fulci)
    – Film Noir (pick like 6 classic film noir like Big Sleep, Double Indemnity, etc..)

    And I would find a Robert Altman premium solid. Like covering Mash, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Long Goodbye, Nashville, The Player, etc… He’s a director I feel doesn’t get mentioned too much on Film Junk.

  • How much do I have to pay for a second acting rehearsal with Reed and Matt Gourley? Thanks for showing up Reed!

  • Jay Lee

    This was excruciating.

  • Reed Farrington

    I’ve never appreciated Robert Altman. I would like to see the sci-fi film he did with Paul Newman.

  • Reed Farrington

    I much prefer the Wuxia films attempted by recent filmmakers. I may have seen Dragon Inn and A Touch of Zen.

  • Reed Farrington

    I’ve seen quite a few Tsui Hark films. His films are sort of entertaining, but I don’t rate him highly as a filmmaker.

  • Reed Farrington

    I’m guessing I’m to blame for this comment. Thanks for not mentioning my name.

  • Reed Farrington

    I wonder if Matt could teach me how to cry on cue.

  • Jay Lee

    No, it was mostly Frank…. but it always is. At least Jay is there to call him out.

  • Mark Stevens

    I know what you’re going through.

  • Mark Stevens

    Believe me, you are missing nothing. And I’m a big Altman fan.

  • Oso Jugo

    I think the test for whether Frank is truly open to foreign films or not will be a Kurosawa premium. If he doesn’t like Yojimbo or Sanjuro, it’s probably safe to have him committed.

  • Tahir Abbas

    I have to be brutally honest here. I have no interest in Chan films. But when I read that Reed Farrington was amongst the hosts, I bought it.
    I fundamentally disagree with everything RF has said over the many he has been on the filmjunk podcasts/premiums. He talks crap – But man, it is top notch entertaining.

  • Reed Farrington

    To be honest, I’ve seen a few Kurosawa films and have never appreciated him except his influence on others. My holy grail of bargain bin shopping is to find Seven Samurai. I haven’t seen either Yojimbo or Sanjuro, yet.

  • Reed Farrington

    As long as we agree to disagree, we can be civil towards each other. I’m not sure I agree with everything I say, too.

  • Oso Jugo

    Yojimbo and Sanjuro are his best two films in my opinion. I would agree with you partly. Some of his stuff is not great. I’m not big on Rhapsody in August, Dodeskaden, Madadayo, and few others. I think, like most people I suppose, I really enjoy his period stuff, although I also love High and Low, and The Bad Sleep Well.

    Good luck finding Seven Samurai in a bargain bin. Might happen in Ontario I suppose. Here in Nova Scotia, I doubt you’d find a new copy in the whole province.