88 Films
4K UHD Release: October 15, 2024
Video: 2.35:1/2160p (HDR10/Dolby Vision)/Color
Audio: Cantonese and Mandarin Dolby Atmos (Project A, both cuts); Cantonese Dolby Atmos (Project A: Part II); Cantonese, Mandarin, and English (or English/Cantonese hybrid) DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (both movies, all cuts); Cantonese Hong Kong, remix version, and Japanese mix DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (Project A: Part II)
Subtitles: English SDH
Run Time: 105:48 (Project A Hong Kong cut), 115:24 (Project A Taiwanese cut), 106:36 (Project A: Part II Hong Kong cut), 98:09 (Project A: Part II export cut)
Director: Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung Kam-Bo
During the late ‘80s and into the ‘90s, Hong Kong action movies went through a creative renaissance that made their Hollywood counterparts look positively sluggish in comparison. Filmmakers like Yuen Woo-ping introduced extensive wire work to martial arts sequences, John Woo combined kung fu choreography with Sam Peckinpah shootouts, and Jackie Chan combined Peking opera acrobatics with increasingly dangerous stunt work.
Chan’s worldwide breakthrough came Stanley Tong’s Rumble in the Bronx (1996) and led Dimension Films and New Line Cinema to recut, redub, and reissue a number of his films, including Armour of God II: Operation Condor (1991, released as Operation Condor in 1997), which he directed himself, and Tong’s Police Story 3: Supercop (1992, released as Supercop in 1996) and Police Story 4: First Strike (1996, released as Jackie Chan’s First Strike in 1997). He was such a prolific hit-maker that this renaissance barely scratched the surface of Chan’s filmography before he had moved to Hollywood to make new movies with bigger budgets and American stars.
Age and rights issues still kept a number of Chan’s most career-defining crowd-pleasers from getting big stateside rerelease rollouts, including 1983’s Project A and its 1987 sequel, Project A: Part II. Ironically enough, Project A was actually part of the star’s return to Hong Kong, following a mostly failed run at Hollywood, where he led Robert Clouse’s The Big Brawl (aka: Battle Creek Brawl, 1980) and had a cameo in Hal Needham’s The Cannonball Run (1981), noting that he would give Hollywood a second try between Project A films via James Glickenhaus’ The Protector (1985), before Rumble in the Bronx finally got him in the door.
Project A
Dragon Ma (Jackie Chan) is a lieutenant in the 19th century Hong Kong marines. Pirates have been terrorizing local waters with assistance from the corrupt authorities. Dragon Ma hopes to defeat the evil pirate clan led by Sanpao (Dick Wei), but his plan is short-circuited. Ma then teams with a navy admiral (Hak Suen Lau), a police captain Tzu (Biao Yuen), and a crafty thief (Sammo Hung) in a new round of high-seas battles with Sanpao and his pirates. (From 88 Films’ official synopsis)
Chan had, by and large, played martial artists until 1983, when he appeared as police officials in two films – Sammo Hung’s Winners & Sinners (aka: Five Lucky Stars, 1983), where he had an extended cameo as a cop, and in Project A, where he played a Hong Kong Marine Police sergeant (or lieutenant, depending on the subtitles). Project A’s main protagonist, Dragon Ma, is the sort of the 19th century forerunner to the Police Story franchise’s Inspector Chan character. His cohorts and superior officers also meet typing requirements that became standard in Chan’s films, including those he only produced, like the Inspector Wears Skirts series. That’s basically where the similarities end, because Project A is a nostalgic look back on Hong Kong history, not an angsty look forward to mainland China’s upcoming takeover. It’s more focused on swashing & buckling than gritty law & order and, from this point-of-view, it can be viewed as the predecessor to Chan’s equally popular adventure movies, beginning with the Armour of God franchise.
Project A was a massive undertaking for Chan, so big, in fact, that he couldn’t complete it on his own. After a year of filming, producer Leonard Ho had had enough and brought Chan’s Peking Opera brother Sammo Hung on to finish the film. It isn’t clear where one man’s work ends and the other begins, especially since both are credited with choreography and stunt performances, along with their ‘brother’ Yuen Biao, who comes close to a co-lead. Hung was arguably the better choreographer and director than Chan, but he always had issues with tastes. Thankfully, Chan or credited co-writer Edward Tang (who worked on most of Chan’s best Hong Kong films) largely avoid the dopey, googly-eyed gags of the annoying Winners and Sinners/Lucky Stars series, which Hung would have been elbow deep in at the time. The humor here works, from the lowest of the lowbrow gags, to the cartoonish slapstick and situational comedy that typified all the best Chan/Hung collaborations.
Ultimately, Project A’s successes are probably owed to the directors’ best instincts combined – Hung’s raw fisticuffs and bone-crunching speed meeting Chan’s the death-defying stunts and innate charms. It’s a lively and funny movie, but the fights and set-pieces all feel particularly dangerous, though nothing compares to the show-stopping drop from a clock tower. Based in homage to a similar stunt from Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last (1923), the clock drop became a Jackie Chan signature and now appears on basically every documentary about him and the industry. Despite not having the infrastructure or money to completely match the film’s ambition, Chan, Hung, cinematographer Cheung Yiu-tsou, and the production designers manage to squeeze a near-Hollywood level of scale and value out of their comparatively modest budget.
Project A: Part II
Corrupt police inspector Chun (David Lam) has made himself the most powerful law enforcement officer in Hong Kong by staging high-profile arrests of the criminals and mobsters with whom he's in cahoots. The British authorities know Chun is a dirty cop, but have not been able to infiltrate his inner circle. Enter fearless and incorruptible military policeman Dragon Ma (Jackie Chan), who comes back to his hometown to pose as Chun's new right-hand man and take down both cops and criminals. (From 88 Films’ official synopsis)
Project A was a hit that changed the trajectory of Jackie Chan’s career, paving the way for big changes when it came time to make the sequel. Project A: Part II began by replacing Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao with Police Story alum Maggie Cheung and Bill Tung, along with Armour of God’s Rosamund Kwan and Carina Lau, forgoes the swashing & buckling, exchanging pirates for gangsters (the surviving pirates actually return as a proto-Axe Gang), goofball antics for deathtraps, and buddy cop tropes for complex conspiracies and hard-nosed action. There’s still time for fun, of course. By the time the relentless climax rolls around, Project A: Part II proves itself the superior action film and stunt showcase, punctuated by a show-stopper that references Harold Lloyd contemporary Buster Keaton’s Seven Chances (1923) and Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928).
It’s not exactly my wheelhouse, but it’s worth noting that the sequel was made after the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration set the date for the UK’s handover of Hong Kong to China and the sentiment reflects that. Project A’s playful treatment of the British is a stark contrast to Project A: Part II’s cynical opinion of colonization. Now, the lush turn-of-the-century production/set/costume design feel like a critique of British opulence and, while the first film explored the playful rivalry between street and marine police, eventually bringing the two sides together as heroes, Project A: Part II is about police corruption and ends with Dragon Ma befriending Chinese revolutionaries.
Bibliography:
Sammo Hung, the One and Only by Lam Chiu-wing, from Golden Harvest: Leading Change in Changing Times (Hong Kong Film Archive, 2013)
The Kid, the Cop, the Adventurer by Cheng Chuen-wai, from Golden Harvest: Leading Change in Changing Times (Hong Kong Film Archive, 2013)
Video
Project A took a while to hit official US VHS from Dimension Films as a smaller part of the Weinstein Jackie Chan cash-in process. It was released around the same time as their non-anamorphic DVD in 2000. The second film had a smaller release from Tai Seng in 1999, followed by Miramax’s own VHS and DVD sometime around 2003. Both films were then re-released in a big Jackie Chan collection by budget label Echo Bridge. Echo Bridge then put out barebones, misframed Blu-ray versions of the shorter US cuts of each film alone and in a collection. A superior, two-movie Blu-ray set, featuring the Hong Kong cuts, was released by Eureka in the UK.
88 Films has ended up with the rights for a North American release and has improved upon the Eureka discs’ 2K restorations with new 4K restorations of each film on full 2160p UHDs with Dolby Vision/HDR10 encoding. They’ve also included the original Hong Kong cuts of both, alongside the extended Taiwanese cut of Project A and the shorter export cut of Project A: Part II. I don’t have the Eureka discs on hand for a direct comparison and don’t have the ability to get screencaps from the UHD discs, but I have included some caps from the included Blu-ray copies, which are derived from the same 4K remaster. The images on this page are a pretty good indication of the grade and overall detail, minus the extra resolution and HDR upgrade.
Both transfers feature rich colors, eclectic hue quality, and deep, but not overwhelming black levels. These are nicely assisted by the HDR10/Dolby Vision boost, though the climax of Project A is still quite dark and probably always will be. Grain levels appear natural and tend to be consistent, but I’m most impressed by the sharpness, which pushes detail without creating notable haloes or distracting moirê effects. Project A: Part II is slightly duller and grittier than its predecessor, but still benefits from the 4K makeover, especially where the brighter daylight sequences are concerned. Most of the differences between the transfers is inherent in the material, because the sequel was shot using a lot of diffusion and low-lighting.
Project A’s Taiwanese cut scenes are a touch softer with fuzzier grain, but mostly match the superior Hong Kong footage. My guess is that the extended scenes were taken from a 2K, rather than a 4K source. The anamorphic warping that appears on the edges of the frame during some wide-angle shots is a part of the original material.
Audio
Each film comes loaded with a mix of audio options. Project A comes fitted with new Dolby Atmos remixes of both the Cantonese and Mandarin dubs, as well as Cantonese, Mandarin, and English original mono dubs in DTS-HD Master Audio. Some of the extended cut scenes were never dubbed into English, so they temporarily default back to Cantonese. The Project A: Part II Hong Kong cut is presented in Cantonese Atmos (no Mandarin) along with DTS-HD Master Audio mono Mandarin and three different Cantonese mixes (original, video remix, and Japanese release mix). The Project A: Part II export cut features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono English track. Whew.
As per usual, 1) I tend to avoid 5.1+ remixes of mono films and 2) much, if not all of the dialogue was added in post, so every track is dubbed and, thus, will not have perfect lip sync. Keeping in mind that I only sampled the Atmos tracks, I noticed that the Mandarin version is cleaner and more natural, but only slightly. The English dub, which was recorded in 1999 for the DVD and includes the Cantonese track’s fight vocalizations (“hi-yah,” et cetera) is pretty good, including some fun accents that only sometimes come across as racist. If it wasn’t for the fact that all of the English dialogue is way too loud, it might have been the superior mono dub, thanks to the lack of distortion, clarity, and the even volume levels of Michael Lai’s score and various sound effects. Otherwise, Cantonese is the way to go for Project A.
For Project A: Part II, I first watched the export cut with the English dub, which I believe was created in conjunction with its 2004 DVD release. It’s similar to Project A’s English hybrid dub, minus some of that dub’s sharper qualities. Again, I’d advise against listening to the Atmos remix and, though I was unable to find the time to compare and contrast every aspect of the alternate Cantonese tracks, the second option, the ‘remixed mono,’ sounded the cleanest and least condensed of the bunch.
Extras
Disc 1 (Project A 4K UHD)
Hong Kong cut (105:48)
Extended Taiwanese cut (115:24)
Commentary with Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto (Hong Kong cut) – For the first of three tracks he recorded for this release, everyone’s favorite Hong Kong film expert, Djeng, is paired with Transformers series writer and producer of Frank Miller’s The Spirit (2008), who focuses a bit more on critical aspects and sort of acts as a moderator for the information machine that is Mr. Djeng. Together, they cover the careers of the cast & crew, the history of Colonial Hong Kong (including connections to Colonial India), Project A’s influence on Hong Kong cinema, the trajectory of Chan, Hung, and Yuen’s careers, the historical rivalry between the sea and land police, and the logistics/design of the action.
Commentary with Frank Djeng (Hong Kong cut) – The second track features Djeng solo and, according to the man himself, is meant to be a supplement to the first track, covering everything that he and DeSanto didn’t get to. In truth, this is more of the mile-a-minute fact-filled sort of commentary we’ve all come to expect from Djeng, who digs deeper into the wider careers of the cast & crew, the state of the industry, the historical backdrop, and the film’s locations.
Lunar New Year introduction (3:32, HD) – A special New Year message from Chan/trailer for the film.
Hong Kong and English export trailers
Disc 2 (Project A Blu-ray)
Hong Kong cut (105:48)
Extended Taiwanese cut (115:24)
Commentary with Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto (Hong Kong cut)
Commentary with Frank Djeng (Hong Kong cut)
Jackie Chan's Best Stunt Double (14:35, HD) – A new interview with Mars Cheung, who discusses his early life and training, the impact that Bruce Lee’s death had on the stunt industry, hooking up with Chan and his people, a post-production sea disaster, and the logistics of various Project A and Project A: Part II stunts, including some of which he did and others that he supervised. He also claims that the sequel was put into production in part because Japan’s ceremonial emperor wanted one.
2001 Archival Interviews
Dancing with Danger (15:26, SD) – Another interview with Mars that covers a wider range of his collaborations with Chan and other filmmakers.
Master Killer (22:03, SD) – Wing Chun grandmaster and Shaw Bros. great Lee Hoi-sang (who just passed away in September of this year) chats about his career as a practicing martial artist and film performer.
The Elusive Dragon (18:07, SD) – Actor, stuntman, and choreographer Yuen Biao looks back on his Peking Opera school days with Chan, Hung, and the other Yuen boys, ongoing training, and breaking into the industry with the help of Bruce Lee and his ‘brothers.’
The Pirates Den (13:57, SD) – Actor artist Dick Wei talks about his breakout work at Shaw, the differences between Hung and Chan’s direction/chorography, and some of his collaborations with both filmmakers.
Can't Stop the Music (17:27, SD) – Composer Michael Lai closes out the archive interviews chatting about his work as a musician and MC, being a child star, producing Chan’s albums, and his film scores.
Project Collector (16:17, HD) – Host Paul Dre takes a look at super-collector Matt Routledge’s Project A franchise memorabilia.
Plan B – Writer Edward Tang on Project A (15:11, HD) – The screenwriter discusses some of the films he wrote with/for Chan, focusing mostly on the Police Story, Project A, and Armour of God franchises.
Outtake reel (24:03, HD)
Alternate Japanese end credits (2:24, HD)
The Making of Project A (11:45, HD) – Behind-the-scenes footage set to Lai’s score.
Lunar New Year introduction (3:32)
Hong Kong and English export trailers
Still gallery
Disc 3 (Project A: Part II 4K UHD)
Hong Kong Cut (106:36)
Export Cut (98:09)
Commentary with Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto (Hong Kong cut) – The duo returns for another extensive look at the production, the lack of Hung and Yuen, the broader work of the cast & crew, Project A: Part II’s place in Chan’s canon, and political subtexts. Djeng also helpfully explains a number of jokes that are either puns or referencing Hong Kong histories Western audiences may not understand.
Hong Kong trailer, English export trailer, and Tai Seng video release trailer
Disc 4 (Project A: Part II Blu-ray)
Hong Kong Cut (106:36)
Export Cut (98:09)
Commentary with Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto (Hong Kong cut)
Interview with Anthony Carpio (25:25, HD) – The filmmaker, historian, and Jackie Chan Stunt Team player reflects on his work in the industry, collaborations with Chan (beginning with Project A: Part II), division of labor on set, making Project A: Part II, the period sets, relationships with Hung’s stunt team, and safety measures and injuries.
The Big Boss (19:40, SD) – In this 2001 interview, actor Chan Wai-Man looks back on his childhood, martial arts training, competitions, his film career, collaborating with Chan, meeting Bruce Lee outside of the movies, and Lee’s impact on pop culture.
Someone Will Know Me (13:12, HD) – A 1998 featurette on the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, including older archival interviews with members.
Alternate Japanese end credits (3:59, HD)
Jackie Chan recording session (2:33) – A full-screen version of the star recording the film’s theme song.
Hong Kong trailer, English export trailer, and Tai Seng video release trailer
Still gallery
The images on this page are taken from the remastered BD – not the 4K UHD – and sized for the page. Larger versions can be viewed by clicking the images. Note that there will be some JPG compression.
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