IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

In 1991, the Discovery Channel aired The Incredibly Strange Film Show, a British docuseries focusing on the world of bizarre cinema.  In each one-hour episode, host Jonathan Ross would introduce audiences to the work of weirdo auteurs, such as John Waters, Ed Wood Jr., Russ Meyer, Herschell Gordon Lewis, and Sam Raimi.  On the whole, I was familiar with the characters covered, but the focus of one episode was new to me and especially intriguing — Jackie Chan.  While Jackie was already a superstar in Asia and Europe, he had yet to break through to the U.S. market, so he was almost entirely unknown to me (beyond his not-so-memorable turn as one of the contestants in the Cannonball Run films).  What I saw displayed in that broadcast impressed me immeasurably.  It was the most creative acrobatic stunt work I’d seen attempted since Buster Keaton’s silent features.

That episode of The Incredibly Strange Film Show started me on a decade-long deep dive into the world of Hong Kong action cinema.  Through extremely expensive import laserdiscs, I was able to sample the work of directors such as John Woo, Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam, and actors such as Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Jet Li, and Maggie Cheung.  While I found that I enjoyed a large slice of 1980s Chinese action, I was most delighted by the slapstick acrobatics of Jackie Chan and his Chinese Opera School compatriots Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao.

During my Hong Kong deep dive, Jackie Chan had his American breakthrough with Rumble in the Bronx (1995), which led to U.S. theatrical releases of his subsequent films and some of his earlier work.  Unfortunately, almost without exception, the versions of the films that were released stateside were dubbed and heavily edited, with occasional re-ordering of scenes and music replacement.  To this day, most of Jackie Chan’s films are unavailable in the U.S. in their original form.  Consequently, it was highly unusual and most welcome when the Warner Archive Collection announced that they would release a Blu-ray of Chan’s Mr. Nice Guy (1997), featuring a new 4K scan of the original 97-minute version, in addition to the more familiar 88-minute U.S. New Line Cinema version.

Based on Jackie Chan’s new found fame in America, Mr. Nice Guy was the star’s first film scripted and performed in English.  Jackie plays a TV chef in Melbourne, Australia who gets caught between a street gang and the Italian mob when he stops to help a TV journalist (Gabrielle Fitzpatrick) who filmed a cocaine deal gone wrong.  The journalist switches her incriminating video tape with one of Jackie’s cooking shows, and soon Jackie is the target of both criminal organizations.  This leads to lots of high kicks, flips, hard falls, chases, general mayhem, and destruction.

It must be admitted that Mr. Nice Guy is far from Jackie Chan’s best work.  At age 43, the stuntman/actor was nearing the end of his peak athletic years, and his performance was also hampered by his unfamiliarity with the English language.  Worse yet, the script is ponderous, and his fellow actors give some of the worst line readings ever committed to film.  Still, one doesn’t watch a Jackie Chan film for the story and performances any more than one watches a Fred Astaire film to check out his hairpiece.  What really matters is the action.

Despite approaching middle age, Jackie performs masterfully in the action set pieces. Occasionally, one feels that the editor may have helped Chan perform a long jump by piecing together multiple takes (in what might have played out in a single, uninterrupted cut with a younger Jackie), but it is still Jackie performing the jump, unaided by CGI.  It helps that the film is helmed by Jackie’s old friend, acrobat, star, and fight choreographer Sammo Hung.  Hung often got the very best from Jackie, and two sequences in Mr. Nice Guy (a chase in a runaway carriage and a fight in a construction site) rank with some of the best of Chan’s earlier work.

Mr. Nice Guy is decidedly a mixed bag.  The dramatic story beats are positively painful to watch, but the construction site scene alone is worth the price of admission.  If you are a Jackie Chan fan, Mr. Nice Guy is required viewing.   However, I’d suggest watching it with a finger hovering over the “fast forward” button of your remote.

HK/C-97m./Dir: Sammo Hung/Wr: Edward Tang & Fibe Ma/Cast: Jackie Chan, Richard Norton, Miki Lee, Gabrielle Fitzpatrick, Karen McLymont, Vince Polletto, Barry Otto

For Fans of: At this point, you probably know whether or not you are a fan of Jackie Chan’s comedic brand of chopsocky action.  If you are a Chan fan, you’ll enjoy Mr. Nice Guy.

Video: Hong Kong action films generally look terrible on home video.  Dupey-looking prints with washed out color are the norm.  Happily, the Warner Archive Collection’s new 4K remaster of the original Golden Harvest cut of Mr. Nice Guy couldn’t be further from the norm.  The image is sharp, the colors are vibrant, and the print is free of specs and scratches.  Having the full 97-minute version of the film on Blu-ray is a treat, but to have it in such good condition is a miracle.

The main extra is the 88-minute American release version, which is nice for comparison sake.  Here is the full list of special features:

• New Line Cinema Version with Alternate Audio Mix/Alternate Musical Score/Alternate Cut in high-definition (88 Minutes)
• International Theatrical Trailer
• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature

You can purchase the disc directly from the Warner Archive or from other online retailers (Amazon link below).

Streaming: The 88-minute New Line Cinema version of Mr. Nice Guy can be rented or purchased in digital form from Amazon and other outlets.  However, the new Warner Archive Blu-ray is currently the only way to watch the original 97 minute version.

More to Explore: Unfortunately, few of Jackie Chan’s best movies are available in their original form on Blu-ray in the U.S.  However, earlier this year, the Criterion Collection released a Blu-ray DigiPack with both Police Story (1985) and its sequel Police Story 2 (1988) in their original, unexpurgated form.  Hopefully, the Warner Archive Collection and Criterion have additional Jackie Chan movies planned for an HD release, because American audiences should have the opportunity to experience classics such as Project A (1983), Wheels on Meals (1984), Miracles (1989), and Drunken Master II (1994) in their original, uncut form.

Trivia: Mr. Nice Guy was the last of seven films in which Jackie Chan was directed by his childhood friend and frequent co-star Sammo Hung.  Sammo was a talented acrobat/martial artist and a star in his own right.  He makes a cameo appearance in Mr. Nice Guy as an inquisitive cyclist who takes a bit of a beating when he encounters some gang members who are holding Jackie against his will.

For More Info:  If you want more information on Jackie Chan, there is no shortage of books on the subject. I suggest you start with his own biography, Never Grow Up.