Project A

Hong Kong around 1911. Sergeant Dragon Ma of the Marine Police is dealing with pirates, and at the same time with rivalry from the land police, with bribery and with arms smuggling. It ends in a reckoning with the pirate leader San Pao and the rescue of the hostages. Jackie Chan directed and starred, alongside Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. It opened on 22 December 1983. The moment that entered film history is the clock tower. Chan falls about sixty feet, and he did it three times because he was unhappy with the earlier attempts. He also injured his neck during the bicycle chase. It took roughly 18 million dollars worldwide and ranked among East Asia's biggest earners. In Japan alone it made 2.95 billion yen and was among the highest-grossing foreign films of 1984. At the 1985 Hong Kong Film Awards the Jackie Chan Stunt Team won Best Action Choreography and Chan received his first Best Actor nomination. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 81 percent and Leonard Maltin gave it three stars out of four. Who it is for: viewers who like stunts performed without a double and films where slapstick and fighting run together. Who it is not for: anyone who wants a story. The plot exists to connect the set pieces; the real work is the choreography.